Where are the wheels?
 

I was going to get my hernia operated on this spring but because I’m 73 and it doesn’t prevent me from doing anything, it is considered elective surgery. I started riding outside in March in cold New Hampshire, but I have lots of winter riding gear so as long as ice was not a factor I toughed it out.

Now warmer weather is here, and I just increased my mileage from 50 miles to 60 a day; I’ve already lost 17 pounds. The big change I made is that I am very careful not to cross any town or state lines. This means that I ride a lot of large repeated circles. Luckily I live in a semi-rural area about 10 miles from the city.

Fortunately, many of the country roads were freshly paved last year though I have to ride on some highways for a few miles. I anticipated light traffic because of the heath crisis but I am seeing the opposite; it’s like Mad Max. People pulling trailers of all sorts and driving like maniacs.

I am seeing a lot fewer road bikes than usual and I’m not sure how to explain that. I can go out for three hours and not see another bike even on great riding days. I’ve encountered only one riding group in three months. When I was young I used to go on exploratory rides but perhaps because I don’t get too far from home in circular rides now, that may explain the dearth of other riders. But this is prime riding territory, so I still wonder what’s up.

I mostly commute. During the first month of the Coronavirus pandemic I worked from home as much as possible and fit in "adventure rides" where I could. The MUPS seemed a little more busy with a few more bikes than usual, but not as busy as a "normal" spring weekend. Even so, I decided to steer clear of the MUPS to avoid exposure to the virus. Breathing deeply while slowing to pass close to pedestrians and other slower cyclists didn't seem safe to me. So I took to the streets, which have far fewer peds and bikes.

For the last four weeks I've resumed my usual commute to the office, and I am seeing far fewer bikes than usual for this time of year, even on the weekends.

When I'm out driving I'm seeing a few more bikes on main streets not suited for cycling. Based on the bikes and the outfits, these seem like cyclists who are new to biking or commuting who are using "car routes" instead of more bikefriendly streets and routes.

But over-all, I am seeing fewer cyclists than usual, with one exception. The local bike share made all rides free for a while, so I saw more people on the electric bike share bikes in and around the bikes downtown service area. But that has subsided.

I think the current bike boom is mostly people trying to avoid being in close proximity to others on public transportation; so in areas with little or no public transportation there would be fewer "new" cyclists.

Colorado Springs, where I live, has a fairly light bus system compared to larger cities like Denver or Chicago, which also have rail, and suburban rail lines. So I assume that is why I am seeing no evidence of a bike boom on the streets, and that may explain why you Ray9 are seeing fewer bikes.

However, the local bike shops are very busy.

The opposite here in Manhattan. No Spin classes means more people riding outside. The very fun 6 mile loop in Central Park is very busy. However, it does empty out late.

Overall many more cyclists in the city. CityBikes can be hard to come by.

Why do you not cross State or Town lines?

In my case it's that darn ankle bracelet!


Kidding!:p

Weird, I've been riding all over the SE quarter of NH, and it seems like about the normal amount of bikes. The Nashua River trail was too full of dogs, so I gave up on that about 6 weeks ago. Don't know if it calmed down.
I live in Nashua, the farthest north I've gotten this year is Loudon, and I've ridden to the seacoast several times this year. I tried some of the riding in circles thing, but I really get too bored by it.

Have you seen the mutants that live in Shelbyville?

Are you talking about my in-laws?