With every passing day it seems like there are more guidelines but no solutions. More fear but no light at the end of the tunnel. More demands of the people but no help for the people. Maybe this is all just a way of keeping us in line. Whatever it might be, I don’t like it (who does?) but the best revenge against the world is a happy and well-lived life.
I am noticing a few things in Week 4 of pandemic response: one is bad, one is good, and one is just interesting but I’ll call it good too.
First, contrary to what one would logically expect, it is now more dangerous than ever to walk or bike alongside a public road. Motor travel is supposed to be restricted to that essential for living, e.g. grocery trips, travel to/from work for essential staff, medical visits, etc. While there are far fewer cars on the road now, they are speeding like crazy. They treat stop signs and red lights as optional. And there is a lot of swerving; whether this is from influence of drugs or distractions (phone) is impossible to tell but it really doesn’t matter. This is not good. People are going to wreck, and when they do it will take hospital beds away from COVID-19 patients, whose illness is far less preventable than an auto crash.
Exacerbating this problem, people are walking, jogging, cycling in far greater numbers than ever before, since they don’t have much else to do. This in itself is not a bad thing at all…it is HOW they are walking/jogging/cycling that is disturbing. Instead of going single file, which is especially important where the road shoulder is narrow or non-existent, they are traveling side by side, ostensibly because they feel a need to carry on a conversation as they go. And, following social distancing guidelines, they are six feet apart from each other, side by side. This puts at least one of the travelers well into the lane used by motor traffic. It puts even more hazard onto a cyclist who is coming upon these road warriors, forcing them to practically cross the yellow center line amongst the speeding reckless cars, just to pass a couple pedestrians. It’s scary, far scarier than it needs to be.
Shifting from the bad to the good, I’m noticing that, now that the pace of life has slowed quite a bit, I’m able to pay a lot more attention to my surroundings and myself. I see, hear, smell, taste and feel more than I allowed myself to do previously. Instead of immediately dismissing most things because I don’t have time for the “distractions”, I can actually stop and take notice of sensations and happenings. Luckily, these are usually enjoyable and pleasant, such as the taste of a grapefruit or the feel of a warm and soft sweatshirt. Even when they aren’t super pleasant, they’re a nice reminder that I’m still alive.
Here is the one that is just interesting. Before the pandemic hit, I would shower at least once a day, religiously. I would shower after a workout or otherwise breaking a sweat. I would do this because if I didn’t, I would get some pretty bad B.O. pretty quickly. Nowadays, I find I’m not getting B.O. at all, even after a heavy workout and not having showered a couple of days. I’m not sure whether it’s because of reduced stress or something else, but I’m counting it as a good thing. My significant other can corroborate this, so I know it’s not just that I’ve lost my sense of smell or that I’ve “gotten used to” my own odor. It’s an interesting phenomenon.
Bike Newbie 