Starting this thread because somebody has to. Definitely not cycling related but everyone has a family.

Hospitals up here in MN are in Beast Mode. Docs doing pre-surgical decon before leaving for home, and contingency plans to convert entire buildings into neg-pressure areas, parking lots designated for drive through testing. 

ER is flooded with "worried well" wanting tests. FYI the diagnostic cascade right now is to test for the "old fashioned" flu first - if positive that implies a COVID negative. 

Universities all closed, K12 dragging their feet in MN but closed in WI. We fully expect MN to follow suit this week. It's telling that childcare and food are the stumbling blocks to this, not safety.

Birthday parties getting cancelled faster than we can reply to the evites.

Grocery stores doing 2x the normal business with no end in sight according the managers I talked to.

Grownups I know stress eating and drinking.

Apologies for the non-cycling related post. I think we did something similar for the hurricane/flood in NYC.

Stay safe out there gang.

I joked about it with the last few people who were at the office last week, just as long as they don't buy up all the toilet paper, hehe.
Damnit, went into the super market later on Friday and ALL the toilet paper was gone.  Really, people, that's your panic buy?
They still had beer and bbq potato chips, which I casually dropped into my basket.  People have their priorities mixed up.

usa cycling cancels all events until April
https://twitter.com/usacycling/status/1239043991934398464?s=21

I just realized that school is over for the year.

Aaand it's official. K12 closed in MN

These are strange times for sure. My Union is fighting tooth and nail with the Mayor's office to close schools. The boro president has even gone as far as sending a statement to parents in Queens telling them to keep their kids home.

Hopefully when all is said and done, this will expose some of the underlying problems that are forcing NYC public schools to stay open while everything else seems to be shutting down.  

That said, I recently stopped subscribing to Zwift as the Trainer road/ Zwift combo felt like overkill, but now I'm thinking of re-upping lol. 

My rationale is that zwift is welcome to a couple of months of payments if gets us through.

 

Mark Taylor said:

@RobertMullen
lets hope it highlights the issues with the schools staying open 
and 🤞everything else

RobertMullen said:

Hopefully when all is said and done, this will expose some of the underlying problems that are forcing NYC public schools to stay open while everything else seems to be shutting down.  

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/mar/15/america-public-health-system-coronavirus-trump?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

If the shoe fits...

@Bruce van-Schalkwyk He sent an email Today about cost cuts?
OMG

He sent the email on Friday so we'd have the whole weekend to think about it!
The irony would be having the whole spring to train, but no money for new tires.

Bruce van-Schalkwyk said:

He sent the email on Friday so we'd have the whole weekend to think about it!
The irony would be having the whole spring to train, but no money for new tires.

That's some cold hearted shit, for sure.

Totally get it but most businesses in NYC specially bars and restaurants can't barely survive. There will be deep consequences if the mayor gonna sign something without making it sustainable for the smaller businesses.

It is very easy to imagine 90% of restaurants & bars in NYC going out of business in the next 3 months.

The economic impact of this is going to be huge - not just for NYC but globally. 

TLDR; aspirin, ibuprofen & cortisone are *very* bad for the over 50 crowd

@Thierry Bonnaire did I get that right?

https://www.francetvinfo.fr/sante/maladie/coronavirus/coronavirus-les-anti-inflammatoires-deconseilles_3866569.html

Here is Switzerland things are getting tough. It’s a somewhat functioning confederacy, the cantons/states are allowed to make their own rules, so long as they are not weaker than the proposed federal rules. Fribourg went further than the federal, and closed schools until April 30, and no gatherings over 50 people. My wife thinks that soon they’ll be like Italy and go full on quarantine.  So, I’ll need more kids art supplies or the family will go nuts. I heard there aren’t nearly enough tests here, and the hospitals are beginning to reach their limits. As far as cycling is concerned, because there’s no school and day care, and my wife must work (science researcher), there’s no time for me. It’s a small price to pay, so long as everyone gets through this well, especially my elderly parents in Bethesda, MD. At least it’s sunny outside. 

Schools closing for possibly the rest of the school year is going to be super tough for younger kids. Aside from the restrictions on public gatherings (libraries and museums, etc are closed anyway), they're telling families to end playdates.

Yep, NYC schools are going full on remote instruction until after spring break. So closed, but not totally closed. We are going in tomorrow, Wednesday and Thursday to get training in eLearning. I'm curious to see what the city has cooked up! 

There is also talk of having teachers volunteer to watch the children of folks who are mandated to go to work. So if your job requires you to work and you need somewhere for your kiddos to go, keep an eye out in the next few days. 

Good luck there. My wife says that she thinks here we’re going into full quarantine mode soon. Stay home, only go out for food shopping. The rate of increase is at 35%, so clearly the Swiss don’t have their shit together. That should be fun with a 5 year old!
I also predict a higher birth rate in 9 months. 

Jules said:

TLDR; aspirin, ibuprofen & cortisone are *very* bad for the over 50 crowd

@Thierry Bonnaire did I get that right?

https://www.francetvinfo.fr/sante/maladie/coronavirus/coronavirus-les-anti-inflammatoires-deconseilles_3866569.html

Doctors noticed that some young people show greater symptoms of the Coronavirus after ingesting Ibuprofen to bring their fever down. My feeling that there are other factors at play like smoking which is so widespread among the youth in France unfortunately. There are confirmed indexes that smoking exacerbates the gravity of the symptoms among the young.

An interesting perspective from Reme Herse blog: https://www.renehersecycles.com/adjusting-to-new-realities/

Good Afternoon,

I just wanted to send a quick note here during this crisis and wish you all an optimistic headspace and good health.  In a time where there are several moving pieces with news and protocols changing by the hour, we still have our bikes.  That said, we need to be vigilant and obey all state and federal instructions.  The actions and practices of the Club should be no different from what we are being advised to do on the news.  As we have heard from USA Cycling - racing and events are all cancelled until April 5th.  I am aware we have had several group rides over this last weekend.  In a global effort to contain this virus, the board asks we halt all group rides until April 5th (or longer). Ride indoors on your trainer and join Zwift races.  Ride OUTDOORS - yes, go out and keep your immune system pumping.  We just ask you ride two abreast and be extremely conscious of your breathing etc. if you happen to see a fellow teammate in the park.  We are in this pandemic crisis together - lets continue to keep the moral up and the conversations flowing via the Forum and Slack.

Please feel free to reach out to myself or anyone else on the board if you have a direct concern.  

Stay healthy,

Erik Pfiffner
President

For what it's worth, I will be keeping to my self as much as I can, despite not being able to WFH yet due to tons of BS, but I care for my mother who has a compromised immune system (22 lymph nodes removed and 1/5 of her lungs removed.) Hopefully when all this starts receding we can all get back to group riding, racing, etc... And no I don't have Zwift.

Just wrapping up day two of solo dad homeschooling 3 kids. For those of you in a similar boat, I thought I'd share this gem

https://twitter.com/ShesSoOffbeat/status/1239756410805727232?s=20

I've been trying to call people on the (gasp!) voice phone more often now and one thing that seems to be a theme is the older folks not taking this seriously.

This article may make you (at a minimum) realize you're not alone with this struggle:

https://lifehacker.com/how-to-convince-your-parents-or-grandparents-that-the-c-1842358582

Even after today’s announcements 
my office has still failed to give any guidance from working from 
Headsinsand

Mark Taylor said:

Even after today’s announcements 
my office has still failed to give any guidance from working from 
Headsinsand

My boss has been absolutely silent while other groups in my building (small building) are being given the okay, although at a price. They have to document every little thing they do while working form home, which means management doesn't trust their own employees. For me I'd need some accommodations due to the nature of my job and the need to have access to equipment... which I don't think they will do, thus I'll be stuck having to come in. Might not be so bad with almost no one in the building.... 

Quick Dept of Ed update for you NYC parents:
Word is we won't see kids until after the April 20th scheduled return date. It seems like Middle School state tests are on hold. Regents Exams are unclear. AP Exams may move to at home computer assessments. For now, things will be run through Google Classroom. 

We just learned about a self-reported case at the school in my building's second floor. We're still here, but we have no kids for now. 

I feel like I have a decent grip on this online education stuff, so if you know a student or a parent that needs some help working out some HS math (or if you're bored in self-quarantine and are interested in right triangles) shoot me an email!