• Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Mail
CalBike
  • About Us
  • Get Involved
    • Reform Traffic Policing
    • Sign Our Petition for E-Bike Rebates
    • Volunteer
    • California Dream Ride
    • Join/Renew
  • What We Do
  • Resources
    • Free Quick-Build Bikeway Design Guide
    • COVID-19 & Bicycling
      • COVID-19 Bicycling FAQs
    • Learn to Bike at Any Age
    • Map & Routes
    • Crash Help
    • Register Your Bike
    • California Bicycle Laws
  • Shop
    • Get our beautiful jersey!
    • Pre-order a bicycle-themed license plate
    • Donate
  • Blog
  • Donate
  • Search
  • Menu Menu
  • COVID-19 and Bicycling
  • Fact Sheets and FAQs
  • Our Video Channel
  • 2021 Legislative Watch
  • Blog
The Latest
bicycling during pandemic

Is Bicycling Safe During a Pandemic?

March 17, 2020/in Newsroom, The Latest /by Jenn Guitart

Support your physical and mental health during a pandemic: go for a bike ride!

It’s an upsetting and disorienting moment we are living in. Riding a bicycle can help, giving us opportunities for exercise, fresh air, and social interaction from afar.

Social distancing measures are key to slowing the spread of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 and keeping our healthcare system from becoming overwhelmed. But some of us still need to get to work, and all of us have essential errands to run—to the grocery store, or to drop off food for a sick friend, for instance. Bicycling offers a safe and healthy way to get where we need to go, as well as a way to get exercise and fresh air. According to a spokesperson for San Francisco Mayor London Breed, quoted in SFGate, it’s fine to ride your bike for exercise, as long as you maintain a distance of at least six feet from anyone you aren’t already self-quaratining with.

Enjoy the open air, get your heart pumping, and do your part to keep the social distance

Bicycling allows you to abide by social distancing measures while also getting outside, having fun, getting exercise, and having social interactions, all of which are good for mental health and immunity. 

When you ride a bike, you can easily stay six feet away from pedestrians and other cyclists. You get fresh air and stimulation, and have social interactions as you pass people on the street or wave to fellow bicyclists. Biking gives you the exercise you need to keep your immune system humming, and the peace of mind that you are not contributing to the spread of the virus. 

For those of us who may be taking a financial hit during this slow-down, bicycling is also the most affordable transportation mode.

And while it’s an anxious and challenging time, with event cancellations, closed schools, people working from home, and shelter-in-place directives, a silver lining is that there is less car traffic on the streets, making it more fun to bike. 

Keep on riding, Governor. The joy of a simple bike ride will help to keep us all sane in these crazy times. Stay positive, and stay negative! https://t.co/r2MCQnhBfO

— California Bicycle Coalition (@CalBike) March 16, 2020

Bicycling in the time of coronavirus

Here are a few tips to keep extra safe from coronavirus while moving about your city on a bike:

  • Smile and say hello! Social interaction boosts immunity. 
  • Carry sanitizer and sanitizing wipes to sanitize your hands, your handlebars, and your lock (after it contacts a bike rack), especially if you use a shared bike.
  • Mindfulness practice while bicycling can help with getting better at avoiding touching our faces—a challenging task that requires heightened awareness.
  • Wear gloves—fingered bicycling gloves work fine!—when you’re out in public.
  • Steer clear of people, keeping six feet of distance from them as you pass.
  • When you get home, wash your hands, and throw your gloves in the laundry

Tags: biking and immunity, coronavirus, COVID-19
Share this entry
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on WhatsApp
  • Share on Pinterest
  • Share on Reddit
  • Share by Mail
https://www.calbike.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/CTCSkaterBlog_1.jpg 512 1024 Jenn Guitart https://www.calbike.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/calbike-logo.png Jenn Guitart2020-03-17 15:10:232020-03-17 16:03:33Is Bicycling Safe During a Pandemic?

Latest News

  • Biden Administration Taps Californians for Progressive USDOTJanuary 26, 2021 - 6:10 pm
  • quick build street design6 Reasons Why We Love Quick-Build ProjectsJanuary 26, 2021 - 4:21 pm
  • e-bike4 Ways to Get Financial Help to Buy an E-BikeJanuary 25, 2021 - 6:22 pm

BLACK LIVES MATTER

California will never have the equitable, prosperous and inclusive communities that CalBike advocates for until we address and redress anti-Black violence. We want to actively contribute to ending systemic racism, especially in transportation policy, and most especially in bicycling advocacy. We promise to listen and learn how we can best do this work. To our community members who experience the violence of racism on a daily basis: we see you, we hear you, and we stand with you.

Join the movement for better biking in California

Be the first to hear about the latest news and actions you can take to help create bike-friendly communities.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

DONATE

JOIN/RENEW

CONTACT US

ABOUT US

  • About Us
  • Financials & Governance
  • Staff
  • Board of Directors
  • Local Partners
  • State and National Allies
  • Careers
  • Volunteer
  • Contact Us

WHAT WE DO

  • Current Projects and Campaigns
  • Past Campaigns and Projects
  • California Bicycle Summit
  • Sign-On Letters

RESOURCES

  • COVID-19 and Bicycling
  • Fact Sheets and FAQs
  • Our Video Channel
  • 2021 Legislative Watch
  • Blog

EVENTS

  • California Dream Ride
  • 2021 Agenda Kickoff
CalBike Logo

California Bicycle Coalition | 1017 L Street, #288, Sacramento, CA 95814 | 916-778-0746

Made by Zac Maybury

California Bicycle Coalition
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Mail
Transportation Tax Measure Could Fully Fund a Connected Bay Area Bikeway Ne... bikeable bay area CalBike Statement on Club and Group Rides
Scroll to top