A lot of people got into biking last year because of the lack of transportation and as a recreational activity. This year, more people will probably be interested in venturing further from the cities for bike exploration or are planning to meet up with friends for group rides. While borders have started easing up, we’re still not out of the woods yet. As long as vaccines are not yet available, it’s better to err on the side of safety.
That being said, biking is a physical exercise that’s beneficial for maintaining health, fitness, and the body’s immune system. When done alone or with members of your household, it can be a relatively safe and rewarding activity.
Experts consider the risk to be lower in outdoor settings where safe social-distancing practices are in place. To keep cycling outdoors safe from exposure to the coronavirus, we need to do our part to implement health protocols to lessen the risk of transmission.
Here are just a few bike safety tips to keep in mind during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Wear protective gear
With or without the pandemic, one of the basic rules of biking is “no helmet, no ride.” Wearing a proper cycling helmet reduces the risks of a serious head injury by nearly 70%. It’s always going to give you better odds than going bare headed.
But aside from a cycling helmet, these days, wearing face masks is absolutely essential anywhere you go outdoors, including physical exercises like cycling.
Generic cloth masks aren’t always breathable, and they’re usually heavy or can sag below your nose if not secured tightly, which defeats the whole point of wearing a mask. Similar to the clothes you use to workout, you’ll want to wear masks made from lightweight, moisture-wicking materials when biking.
The best face masks for cycling and physical exercise should keep you safe, comfortable and dry, while being flexible for you to move around without falling off. Since biking involves constant motion, you’ll want a mask with a snug fit.
I personally prefer to wear headware/buffs while cycling because they’re versatile and reusable and to avoid wearing disposable medical masks which have contributed to so much medical waste.
As for wearing face shields while biking, every biker knows that it’s really hazardous, can obscure vision while biking especially when there’s a buildup of sweat and moisture within the shield itself, and can make breathing difficult. While some cities have announced that cyclists are exempted from wearing face shields in public, the rules may vary per city. Purely for compliance sake and to avoid getting slapped with penalties, you might want to bring one in a small backpack or bag, just in case you’re apprehended at a checkpoint or if you need to enter establishments before or after your ride.
Ride solo or with small groups only
The safest way to ride during the pandemic is to ride alone or just with members of your household. In terms of general safety, two cyclists on the road are more visible than one. Plus, if something happens to you, your cycling buddy may be able to facilitate the emergency response process (and vice versa).
Riding with a small group of two to three that you trust can be safe, depending on the area you’re biking in and the precautions you all take. Biking around nature spots and wide outdoor and uncrowded spaces where the air circulates better is much better than biking through major thoroughfares and crowded streets.
I’ve been seeing a lot of people going on group rides and enjoying post-ride meals with buddies since biking has become the new socialization and bonding activity. The moment you take off your masks for those post-ride hangouts, meals, and drinks, that’s where the risk of transmission comes in. As much as possible, keep group rides small for the safety and well-being of your loved ones back home.
Keep your distance
If you do plan to bike with friends, assess whether you’re feeling well or are feeling symptoms of COVID. It’s better to just stay home if you aren’t feeling well and ask your friends to do the same for you. But even if you feel well, there’s always risk of being exposed or asymptomatically spreading COVID-19.
If you are biking in a group or meeting up with members outside your household, just try and spread out and avoid physical contact with each other. Just assume you’re a potential carrier when you meet up with friends. Skip the handshakes and physical contact altogether.
Experts say it’s best to keep a distance between cyclists around 6 meters to avoid the risk of transmission and maintain safety when biking on the road. Of course, our crowded streets are not really designed for socially distanced biking, so this is not always possible.
As for those post-ride meals, choose open-air or outdoor restaurants where you can practice socially distancing and opt for individual servings rather than family-style orders.
Bring your own water bottle
It’s important to keep hydrated on the road especially for longer rides. And while you may be easily able to buy bottled drinks from vendors, it’s safer to just bring your own drinks for health reasons.
By bringing your own drinks in a hydration bag or water bottle, this limits the need for cyclists to stop by stalls to buy drinks that could risk transmission. It also lessens the amount of disposable single-use water bottles and garbage left behind.
Boost your immune system
Taking care of your body is a must for you to stay safe and healthy especially during these difficult times. Aside from frequent handwashing and wearing masks, another line of defense you can do at home is to try and boost your immune system. This can be done by getting the proper amount of sleep, keeping stress levels low and maintaining a balanced diet.
A healthy immune system can fight off infections more than a sleep-deprived immune system. Adults should focus on getting between six to eight hours a sleep a night. Sleep in a dark room and keep a regular bedtime and wakeup routine.
Find ways to lower stress levels by meditating, exercising and controlled breathing techniques. Biking itself is a great therapeutic and stress-relief activity.
Enjoy a balanced diet. Nutritional deficiencies make us more susceptible to viruses and bacteria, that’s why it is important to eat nutritional foods that maintain a healthy immune system. Whole-foods including grains, beans, nuts and seeds provide daily nutritional value along with sweet-tasting vegetables and leafy greens.
Take precautions & drive defensively
These days, the thought of going to the hospital is so scary, so take every precaution to be safe. Even if you don’t get COVID, the risk of getting in a biking accident which could land you in the hospital, immediately puts you at risk for transmission.
Keep your bike in shape with regular maintenance and repairs to avoid accidents. Invest in the proper safety gear and drive defensively to avoid accidents. Wear bright or reflective clothing while biking so you’re more visible on the road.
Stay indoors and postpone leisure or exercise rides during rainy days to avoid getting sick. If you need to head out, bring or wear waterproof gear as needed so you don’t catch a cold if you get caught biking.
You might want to carry a small backpack to hold lightweight extra layers and other essentials for every ride. Weather in the Philippines is very fickle especially if you head up to the mountains. A sunny day could easily turn into a downpour in a matter of minutes.
Bring a patch kit. Learning to patch up your own flat tire can prevent you from being stranded in an unsafe or remote location or having to stop at vulcanizing shops in communities.
Make sure your smartphone is fully charged as well. If you don’t have a patch kit and need a ride, your phone will come in handy for calling for help. If something bad happens to you, your ID will help emergency responders know who you are and how to help you.
Have a first aid kit handy
For newbie bikers, expect crashes and minor accidents during your first few months of riding. It helps to always be ready with a first aid kit handy for common bike-related mishaps like bruises, wounds, road rash, fractures, muscle pain, and more. Consider these your biking battle scars.
Mountain biking especially can leave you covered in some pretty colorful bruises. While you may easily dismiss bruises, after some time it starts to discolorate and can become painful and may take some time to fully heal, hindering you from heading outdoors again.
Some areas – like the shins, elbows, and knees- have less cushion, making them more prone to bruising and really painful for cyclists.
Some over-the-counter medications like Hirudoid can help you #LoseTheBruise and heal faster. Hirudoid has MPS (Mucopolysaccharide polysulfate), which has been clinically-proven to make the healing process of Hematoma and Bruises faster by up to 50% so you no longer have to worry about the pain lingering more than you’d wish.
The topical cream comes in 2 sizes: 14g – Php. 299.00 and 40g – Php. 669.00, making it easy enough to stash in your first aid kit. You can buy this from any pharmacy like Mercury Drug, Med Express, and Watsons.
Other useful things to have in a biking first aid kit include band-aids, bandages, medical tape, wet wipes, and medications like ibuprofen, benadryl and diatabs. Be sure to use hand sanitizer, which has become another must-have during the pandemic, to keep hands clean when treating other wounds, or before and after eating.
Pick the best route
When you’re biking, getting to your destination in one piece is more important than getting there fast. Avoid high-traffic areas or choose roads that are extremely wide or have dedicated bike lanes. If you can, opt for quieter neighborhood roads or parallel streets over major thoroughfares, especially on weekends.
Take bike-specific paths, make use of bike lanes, or use sidewalks if you have to. Metro Manila has a very sorry state of bike lanes, but there’s been some progress in various cities in the past few months compared to how it was years ago. If there’s one good thing that came out of this pandemic, it’s the awareness and need for bike-friendly infrastructure.
Ride with traffic and never against it (don’t counterflow). Cyclists are 3.6 times as likely to get in an accident when riding on the left side of the road (and that likelihood more than doubles for cyclists age 17 and younger) because drivers entering the road from a driveway rarely look right for oncoming traffic.
There are a lot of other general bike safety tips to share, but so far these are a few specific to biking during the pandemic. Stay tuned for more bike-related content and destination ideas this year
Stay healthy, ride safe, and happy biking!