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Riding Motorcycles During the COVID-19 Pandemic Part II

moshe_levy

moshe_levy

New member
In this new video, I discuss common arguments about riding motorcycles during the #COVID-19 pandemic, and rational rebuttals to them. If you are in a COVID-19 hotspot and on the fence about riding, or trying to convince a friend or loved one to stop riding until the crisis subsides, this video may be helpful.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Z1ycd011AIs" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

-MKL
 
OK. You convinced me not to ride in Bergen County.

I enjoy your product videos.

I think you should keep the Public Service Announcements on the shelf.

MHO


Joe
 
Thanks for part 2...

It could make folks think more as it could be coming to a town near you no matter your wishes or beliefs:wave

Be safe!
 
I appreciate and respect your views. However, we choose to continue to ride because of the large difference in conditions between where you live and the conditions in our home in Montana. In the entire state of Montana 27 people have been hospitalized with the virus. I have not seen a number of those who have been discharged, but think it safe to say at least 25% (6 or 7) are no longer in a hospital. The number of known infected people is growing at a rate of 17 to 19 per day, and is at 319 for the entire state. Not a rate where the number of cases is doubling every few days as seen in some hot spots. In my rather large county there are 15 known cases with none of those hospitalized. My point is that, at this moment there is no exceptional demand on the emergency services or medical system where we live. Should this change, then our behavior will change accordingly.
 
akbeemer said:
I appreciate and respect your views. However, we choose to continue to ride because of the large difference in conditions between where you live and the conditions in our home in Montana. In the entire state of Montana 27 people have been hospitalized with the virus. I have not seen a number of those who have been discharged, but think it safe to say at least 25% (6 or 7) are no longer in a hospital. The number of known infected people is growing at a rate of 17 to 19 per day, and is at 319 for the entire state. Not a rate where the number of cases is doubling every few days as seen in some hot spots. In my rather large county there are 15 known cases with none of those hospitalized. My point is that, at this moment there is no exceptional demand on the emergency services or medical system where we live. Should this change, then our behavior will change accordingly.
Click to expand...

Kevin, we would probably do the same here in Brewster County, TX. No confirmed cases in the three county area comprising the heart of the Big Bend, which says almost nothing since there is no testing. We hear rumors and suspect there are a few folks with appropriate symptoms who have been sent home to quarantine but the official line is no cases. In any event we would only ride to accomplish an essential purpose like getting groceries. We will be out of Eggs, Bananas, Avacados, Ice Cream, and a few other things in a couple of weeks; otherwise we are good for a couple of months. So when the time comes we will probably ride to the grocery store. Unless something changes.

We enjoy what has become a luxury: living by ourselves in a comfortable home with guest quarters too and my shop on 32 acres in remote rural America, with excellent UPS, excellent mail, and OK Fedex service. DHL, not so much. Some truck freight lines can find us; some profess to not be able to. Decent internet via fiber optics in the highway with a connection .7 miles away. Having been a City Planner and Community Development Director in urban America for 30 years I still would not want to have to live where I worked.
 
As mentioned in another thread, when conditions warrant, we too will change behaviors including non essential riding. We still are at two cases from travelers who are quarantined. The population is just under
12K and a land mass of 713 sq miles, lot’s of open spaces/ ranches. However, we are an hour away from Austin and San Antonio so we know it’s close.

The adjoining counties are climbing and we are able to avoid them for the time being.
If not retired, I would be responding to power delivery issues in Austin... a high case city.

EDIT:
Our county just enacted a stay at home order effective midnight last night. We
saw on news this morning and I read the order minutes ago. Only essential travel with lots of restrictions, including an 11pm to 4 am curfew.
So, can’t go for a head clearing motorcycle ride but H can continue to work commute.
We can exercise practicing social distancing, so bicycling is on the schedule still and going today
 
Last edited:
akbeemer said:
I appreciate and respect your views. However, we choose to continue to ride because of the large difference in conditions between where you live and the conditions in our home in Montana. In the entire state of Montana 27 people have been hospitalized with the virus. I have not seen a number of those who have been discharged, but think it safe to say at least 25% (6 or 7) are no longer in a hospital. The number of known infected people is growing at a rate of 17 to 19 per day, and is at 319 for the entire state. Not a rate where the number of cases is doubling every few days as seen in some hot spots. In my rather large county there are 15 known cases with none of those hospitalized. My point is that, at this moment there is no exceptional demand on the emergency services or medical system where we live. Should this change, then our behavior will change accordingly.
Click to expand...

Isn't "Social Distancing" the state motto for Montana? :scratch :laugh

PGlaves said:
... we would only ride to accomplish an essential purpose like getting groceries. We will be out of Eggs, Bananas, Avacados, Ice Cream, and a few other things in a couple of weeks...
Click to expand...

Ice Cream?! Ok, Ok... I'll agree to the notion that it's a necessity. :yum :D
 
Guys,

I fully appreciate and have been careful, I think, to keep repeating that this issue is regional - for now, at least. I am in the heart of the epicenter of the crisis - the most infected town, in the most infected county, in the second most infected state, a few minutes away from the most infected place (NYC) in the world right now. So my level of alarm is obviously higher than someone in, say, Montana. Totally understandable.

I do think the media is doing quite a poor job of portraying what is going on here. A few shots per day of the interior of your typical NYC metro hospital would go a looooooonnnngg way towards convincing folks who are unaffected right now that whatever draconian lockdowns you're now questioning are well worth the temporary inconvenience they cause - so you don't wind up like us right now.

As for "putting the PSAs on the shelf" the answer is no, I won't stop. I have dozens - perhaps hundreds by now - of personal emails, replies on Facebook, forums in social media, and comments on my Youtube channel of folks who watched my videos, considered my points, and parked their motorcycles until this is over. As far as I'm concerned, that's exactly what I set out to do - present reasonable, rational arguments for folks to consider and hopefully act upon. I'm prouder of these two videos than all the product reviews over the past 16 years combined.

-MKL
 
The best case scenario is that we prevent another NYC elsewhere and then after this all passes we can state; "gee, why did we have to go through all of that?", knowing that if we did not isolate, it would have been a lot worse.
 
moshe_levy said:
Guys,

I fully appreciate and have been careful, I think, to keep repeating that this issue is regional - for now, at least. I am in the heart of the epicenter of the crisis - the most infected town, in the most infected county, in the second most infected state, a few minutes away from the most infected place (NYC) in the world right now. So my level of alarm is obviously higher than someone in, say, Montana. Totally understandable.

I do think the media is doing quite a poor job of portraying what is going on here. A few shots per day of the interior of your typical NYC metro hospital would go a looooooonnnngg way towards convincing folks who are unaffected right now that whatever draconian lockdowns you're now questioning are well worth the temporary inconvenience they cause - so you don't wind up like us right now.

As for "putting the PSAs on the shelf" the answer is no, I won't stop. I have dozens - perhaps hundreds by now - of personal emails, replies on Facebook, forums in social media, and comments on my Youtube channel of folks who watched my videos, considered my points, and parked their motorcycles until this is over. As far as I'm concerned, that's exactly what I set out to do - present reasonable, rational arguments for folks to consider and hopefully act upon. I'm prouder of these two videos than all the product reviews over the past 16 years combined.

-MKL
Click to expand...

This is me pressing the 'like' button.
 
Respect!

Thanks Moshe K. Levy for the time and effort in creating an excellent video with a most appropriate perspective. So much of what we see on MSM is in conflict with itself and what we may see in our corner of the states. Hearing and seeing the truth of the situation on the ground from an MOA member, for me, brings a lot of credence and weight to the argument. Since this thing started I have seen a TON of misinformation on social media.

I went for a mentorship ride with my German officer today. It was glorious, even more so with the niggling thought that my region may soon find itself in Moshe’s situation and then I’ll have to make unpleasant choices like he and other riders have had to do already.

And finally: IMHO and MHO; just a reminder, the “H” in these two internet acronyms stand for “Humble”. If you are going to use them, my suggestion: use humility, tact, and discretion in your post, as the humor of the irony is lost on most of us as we’ve seen it used ironically too many times to count now.
 
azgman said:
The best case scenario is that we prevent another NYC elsewhere and then after this all passes we can state; "gee, why did we have to go through all of that?", knowing that if we did not isolate, it would have been a lot worse.
Click to expand...

Looking at the numbers, there's several NYC's in progress at this time, Detroit, Chicago, New Orleans, Parts of Georgia. I fear some folks may have a false sense of security in thinking of this as a NYC phenomenon at this time.

In my state, PA, we shutdown non-essential businesses in Mid-March and the state government followed direction from the CDC and our own state health department. In many Boroughs and Cities, the local governments began planning exercises in the first week of March. So far, we seem to be doing pretty well relative to the fatalities to our east. But, for most areas within the state, we've been pretty proactive in shutting down places where people congregate.
 
Last edited:
RadioFlyer said:
"A study by disease modelers at the University of Texas at Austin states that "Given the low testing rates throughout the country, we assume that 1 in 10 cases are tested and reported. If a county has detected only 1 case of COVID-19, there is a 51% chance that there is already a growing outbreak underway""


Probability of current COVID-19 outbreaks in all US counties
https://cid.utexas.edu/sites/defaul...-risk-maps_counties_4.3.2020.pdf?m=1585958755
Click to expand...

Color me skeptical of their being able to make such predictions. Information is only helpful if it can be confidently used to inform decisions; this ain't.
 
Generally speaking, when one sees the affected numbers rise in a specific area it is two weeks after it is actually happening.

At that time if everyone acts immediately they would see the result of those new actions now four weeks after the start of the rise.

This begets an exponential rise in affected numbers and becomes out of control.

Almost every country in the world has had to learn this themselves because they believed they were 'different'.

This virus does not care if you are different - a virus targets humans as the preferred place travel within and spend its life replicating in the lungs of victims.

YMMV
 
I’ve been spending a lot of time watching YouTube vids, like Uncle Doug, Tim Pierce, Techmoan, etc.
Itchy Boots was my motorcycle escape until the last 3 of her posts.
Bill
 
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