Hey CVC‘rs, We are all (humanity as a whole) definitely having some challenging times. Personally, professionally and at the community level, life has changed completely. But one of the things that still is a constant that we are very lucky to be blessed with is the ability to get out and exercise, and for many of us, this is riding our bicycles. But with this blessing comes the responsibility that all of us need to take seriously.

One of the most important actions we can take is to continue our social distancing. Social distancing on a bicycle is not the same as social distancing on the sidewalk or in the grocery store. The distances could be much greater than for people walking. There are a lot of "studies" out there regarding safe cycling distancing so read up but understand that not all are scientifically factual. The best thing to do is use common sense.

Other ways we may be able to help with keeping our possible respiratory discharge down slightly is in the wearing of a mask or a bandanna. I have been taking a bandanna and rolling it down upon its diagonal and wearing it “cowboy style” with the bottom of the bandanna tucked into the top of my jersey. It’s not perfect I’ll admit, and it’s definitely not going to filter out very much as It’s just a piece of cotton, but it may help, and we need all the help we can get!

As LA Mayor Garcetti put it “We want you to keep your respiratory droplets

to yourself” And showing that we cyclists are taking this seriously is a very strong step in the direction of keeping the privilege we’ve been given of being able to exercise and ride outdoors.

Another thing we need to be careful of is using standard start locations to ride from. Riding from The Landing, the Starbucks parking lot in Westlake, etc is probably not the hottest idea right now. It could appear to others, including city officials and law enforcement that we cyclist are congregating even though we are keeping 6 feet apart.

Finally, I would be remiss in not reminding everyone that we need to be a bit more careful out there than usual because hospitals, medical facilities, and first responders need every asset they have going towards the fight against the COVID-19 virus and not towards patching up crash victims of bicycle incidents. Just take it a little easier out there for the time being.

Doing everything we can to minimize the spread and flattening the infection curve in order to save lives is the sole reason behind many of these recommendations

I know these are very tough times and many of you are going through a lot; some being ill, some being on the front lines as medical and first responding professionals and volunteers, some have lost jobs, and some have had to deal with the terrible reality of losing loved ones and friends. But if we do our best to follow a few simple guidelines, we can be good stewards of our sport and possibly cut one of those viral links that creates hardship and sadness in our families and our community.

Thanks, and as always, I look forward to seeing all of you on the road and trail (when the trails open back up)

Kent Koral-Conejo Valley Cyclists