Who Is That Masked Man?

BOO!!!

I'm still not convinced there is any practical reason, other than avoiding a ticket, to wear a mask when you are far away from other people. The chances of contaminating anyone else, not to mention a fence lizard, is remote if there is no one around to contaminate. That said, no one is really positive about how far is far enough and simply modelling how far aerosols can travel during exercise doesn't answer all the questions. Wind? Humidity? Droplet size? Virus viability? I went over this a little before, here, and over here.

So a dear friend of mine fashioned me a mask that seems to be a little easier to breathe through under strenuous exercise, having a somewhat looser weave than a tightly woven N-95 or similar but better than some of the single layer headscarfs I've seen around. I tried it out yesterday, which was a very muggy day indeed. A few quick thoughts after the high humidity test.

One, it worked fine even when climbing hard. I didn't think I was any shorter of breath than I would have been maskless and I was pushing it to around max heart rate a few times on my Gonzales Road/Sierra del Norte loop. Two, when steeply climbing uphill, my prescription sunglasses turned into a rain forest so I had to fiddle with the mask and glasses and finally pull the mask down to avoid running into things. Three, to take a gulp from the water bottle the mask must come down. Four, it got soggy as hell.So it is definitely catching a lot of droplets.

But otherwise it worked great. If you are around people (downtown, running errands, on a busy road or bike path, etc) I think you are morally obliged to wear a mask, even if you want to grump about the health order. Fashion a good one, or one of those tubular things you can pull up around your face. Its COVID out there and it ain't going away. Last thing you want to be doing while riding your bike is unintentionally giving someone else The Bug if you are diseased but asymptomatic. Or, be seen setting a bad example, of which there are enough already. I've seen a number of people milling around the plaza lately maskless in numbers. Kinda dumb, and probably why our New Mexico numbers are going up fast. As Steve said in a comment, when people in his community got sloppy the numbers went up fast.

Be smart out there. The life you save may be your own. Or that of a loved one. As far as PPE, I spent sixteen years working in a Plutonium facility. You let your guard down, you get "crapped up", as we say in my business. So I guess I try to be careful with this COVID stuff. You can check for alpha contamination with a hand held monitor. You find out about COVID contamination when you get sick and its too late.

Wall Street Journal: Face Masks Really Do Matter

One Centimeter and 3,500 Feet. Or, Its the Little Things That Count

The only real sustained road climb around Santa Fe that rivals (or in this case, greatly exceeds) the old Ski Hill/Camp May Road climb or the Rt. 4 climb up into the Jemez Mts in Los Alamos is the Hyde Park Road, aka Santa Fe Ski Basin climb, which goes from 7000 to 10,300 feet over about fifteen miles. I rode the Hyde Park climb several times over the last couple years but for some reason, this season, every time I attempted it I ended up with lower back spasms as I got up onto the steep pitches halfway up. You know, where the downhill section says "use low gear".

So this morning, once again preparing for what has become an ordeal instead of a challenge, I said "I better check my bike ergonomics". Sure enough, the black Cannondale CAAD5, which has my Geezer Climbing Gears on it, had the distance between the crank spindle and the upper surface of the seat, measured along the seat tube, about a centimeter longer than measured on the Six-Thirteen. Hmm, as I don't think there is a measurable difference between the geometry of the two frames. I wondered if that caused me to rock my hips and strain the muscles. So I pulled out the allen wrenches and adjusted the seat down almost a cm, filled the water bottles with Gatorade solution, and off I went up the Big Hill.

Voilà. All the way to the top without lower back pain. Just every other kind of pain.  Sometimes its the little stuff that counts. I wish the rest of life was that easy to fix. And, no, I have no idea how I got the bike ergonomics so buggered up.

Of course the little stuff counts in both directions. About a mile down on the return trip, I was descending fast into a sharp left curve and suddenly the bike seemed to want to turn in too much. Looking down, I saw the front tire rapidly going flat. Fortunately, I had enough air to finish the curve without a faceplant and do a controlled panic stop and fix it. Sheesh.That was nearly a change-the-bike-shorts moment.

Take that, you big old hill!
View down at The World from Vista Grande Overlook
That's a 34x32 low gear.

Never underestimate the value of a tape measure
Not to mention, using same.
Jersey courtesy of Maddogmedia.com

Members Wanted: Santa Fe Bicycle and Trails Advisory Committee

Bicycle and Trails Advisory Committee (BTAC) Seeks New Members

Hikers, Bikers, Walkers, Runners: All Santa Fe County Residents Welcome To Apply By 5 p.m. Friday, June 19

SANTA FE, NM, June 1, 2020 – The Bicycle and Trails Advisory Committee (BTAC) was established in 2003 by a resolution of the governing body to bring direct community involvement into the city’s plans and policies related to bicycle and pedestrian trails, and to advise the governing body on such matters.  Applicants need not be bicyclists, all trail users are welcome to apply. DEADLINE for submissions is 5 p.m. June 19, 2020.

The duties of the committee include:

•             Prioritize bicycle and pedestrian trail related projects and review all phases of the projects' design and construction progress

•             Advise on policies, programs and ordinances as they relate to bicycle and pedestrian trail safety, design and construction

•             Organize media and educational campaigns to provide information and promote bicycle and pedestrian trail related activities and education

•             Work with other agencies for the enhancement of city and county trail systems

•             Review and recommend Parks Master Plan updates related to trails

•             Seek funding from city, state and federal sources

•             Pursue designation of the city of Santa Fe as a bicycle friendly city

•             Advise on policies, projects, ordinances and funding as they relate to cycling and pedestrians as safe alternative means of transportation on roads and trails

BTAC is currently chaired by City Councilor Michael Garcia, and the committee is now seeking new members.  Members are recommended by the city council to be appointed by the Mayor, with a balance of membership diversity based upon area of interest, council-district residency, and recently with the option to include a county resident.  Applicants must live in Santa Fe County and there is no compensation.

BTAC meets on the second Thursday of each month from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the City Council Chambers, 200 Lincoln Avenue, Santa Fe, New Mexico.  The meetings are open to the public.

Interested residents may apply by submitting a letter of interest and a resume to:

Romella Glorioso-Moss, AICP

Engineering Division, Roadway & Trails

City of Santa Fe, P.O. Box 909

Santa Fe, NM 87504-0909

Or by Email: rsglorioso-moss AT santafenm.gov

The remaining BTAC meetings for 2020 are scheduled for:

July 9, 2020

August 13, 2020

September 10, 2020

October 8, 2020

November 12, 2020

December 10, 2020

DEADLINE for submissions is 5 p.m. June 19, 2020.

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Contact: Romella Glorioso-Moss, AICP/ Staff Liaison; (505) 955-6623, rsglorioso-moss AT santafenm.gov

The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same

With the riots going on across the nation over the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis cop, we hear that the SpaceX mission went off fine. That reminded me of this song.

2020 Santa Fe Century Ride Cancelled

Details here.

National Bike Month in the Time of COVID-19

Newly gussied up south end of the Rail Trail 
just N. of  Spur Ranch Road in Eldorado. 
Nicely socially isolated.

Right now its nice to be healthy and not completely shack-happy. Many are out of jobs or otherwise in rough shape. So its a tough time to celebrate anything, including National Bike Month which to many riders is an exercise in gleeful self-indulgence rather than a serious commitment to sustainability and fair transportation policy.

Here in Santa Fe, we have abandoned mass efforts in favor of individual celebrations. Here is one link to what is going on if you have not found it already. Santa Fe Bicyclists Forge Ahead with Bike Month Celebration

Be that as it may, as William DeVaughn would say, be thankful for what you've got. At least for the moment, most of us still have our health. In Santa Fe we have trails and quiet roads. Be safe and stay healthy out there. This is not the time for careless abandon of social distancing or taking  "hold my beer" risks out on the roads and trails. As someone on the Los Alamos bike list said yesterday with regard to the virtual time trials being held up there and with folks recording results on Strava, put your maximal effort into the uphill sections rather than risking a high speed, fates to the wind, downhill crash. The last place you want to be visiting is an ER. The hospitals are busy enough without you or me showing up with a broken collarbone. I generally avoid the LaTierra trails labelled "Technical: use at your own risk" as some are pretty sketchy for an old klutz.

Weekdays are better days to explore the more popular trails as at least some users are apt to be working from home or still on the job. If you can break away from the home office during the week, do so. I did an abbreviated Rail Trail ride on Sunday but it was busy, so I aborted it. Monday was much quieter, so I took the full ride to the end of the improved trail at Spur Ranch Road in Eldorado (and a tip of the helmet to the city and county for the nice extension of the improved trail). Weekdays seem best for LaTierra Trails but on this most recent Sunday afternoon (this added later), they were pretty quiet.

See U on the trails, but keep yer distance!

And to close, musically...

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