{"id":806543,"date":"2020-04-18T18:46:43","date_gmt":"2020-04-19T00:46:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/?p=381952"},"modified":"2020-04-18T18:46:43","modified_gmt":"2020-04-19T00:46:43","slug":"summit-county-doctor-cyclists-contextualize-how-to-properly-recreate-during-shutdown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/local-news\/summit-county-doctor-cyclists-contextualize-how-to-properly-recreate-during-shutdown\/","title":{"rendered":"Summit County doctor, cyclists contextualize how to properly recreate during shutdown"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"wp-block-image p402_hide\">\n<div class=\"caption-container\"> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/04\/CoronaRec-SDN-041920-3-1024x682.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-post-image\" alt srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/04\/CoronaRec-SDN-041920-3-1024x682.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/04\/CoronaRec-SDN-041920-3-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/04\/CoronaRec-SDN-041920-3-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/04\/CoronaRec-SDN-041920-3-1536x1023.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/04\/CoronaRec-SDN-041920-3-2048x1364.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"><figcaption><strong>Alison Casias of Dillon, Colorado wears a face mask while running along the bike path in Dillon on Friday, April 17, 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the use of PPE while exercising outdoors is being encouraged by health care professionals.<\/strong><br \/><em>Jason Connolly \/ jconnolly@summitdaily.com<\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>DILLON \u2014 With the \u201cstay home\u201d message pervading social media during the ongoing novel coronavirus pandemic shutdown, active Summit County residents, have wrestled with the proper way to recreate outside.<\/p>\n<p>For many residents, exercising outdoors is a way to keep their mental health balanced. Dr. Christine Ebert-Santos understands this, as she said in recent days she\u2019s been getting more and more calls from people going \u201cstir crazy,\u201d including parents with kids restless from all of the social-distancing and health restrictions intended to slow the spread of the COVID-19 virus.<\/p>\n<p>Ebert-Santos says she highly encourages local people to recreate outside not only for their mental and physical health, but also because if they exercise \u2014 running or biking on corridors like the Summit County rec path with the proper precautions \u2014 she says there is little danger to spread the virus.<\/p>\n<p>On Friday she pointed to discussion points on a virtual panel she listened into with University of Colorado School of Medicine experts. The 6-foot rule that has become the effective rule-of-thumb during the pandemic, Ebert-Santos said, is not heavily researched and is based on how far large droplets travel in the air before they fall to the ground.<\/p>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col\">\n<div class=\"row sd-donation sd-donation-mobile p-0\">\n<div class=\"col-xl-4 p-2\">\n<div data-bg=\"url(https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/03\/SDN-logo-white-1.png)\" class=\"p-0 mt-2 mb-2 h-75 text-center rocket-lazyload\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/03\/SDN-logo-white-1.png\" class=\"logo m-0 p-0 invisible\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-bg=\"url(https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/03\/sdn-banner-paypal.jpg)\" class=\"col-xl-8 p-3 text-center rocket-lazyload\">\n<h3 class=\"d-inline mr-3\">Support Local Journalism<\/h3>\n<p><button class=\"btn d-inline\" type=\"button\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/donate\/?utm_source=article&amp;utm_medium=website&amp;utm_campaign=donation&amp;utm_term=&amp;utm_content=mid-article\">Donate<\/a><\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>She said though small droplets can stay aerosolized much longer, there is so much space in Summit County she\u2019s not terribly worried about the kind of potential spread that might be seen in more urban parks.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t think there\u2019s any concern about that,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd there\u2019s another study they quoted in this meeting I was listening in on this morning. In Singapore, they had 137 health care workers who were exposed to COVID patients without personal protection equipment in the early weeks. Of those healthcare workers, only 35% developed symptoms and only 2% tested positive. But here\u2019s the thing: the ones who actually got sick were exposed for an average of 120 minutes and they were exposed \u2014 directly involved in \u2014 procedures that caused aerosolization of droplets, such as nebulizer treatment or intubation. So that\u2019s a pretty intimate thing. That\u2019s not going to happen on a bike.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The hypothetical danger of spreading the virus while cycling on a corridor like the county\u2019s rec path has been a topic of debate in recent weeks online. Summit County residents have read information such as <a href=\"https:\/\/medium.com\/@jurgenthoelen\/belgian-dutch-study-why-in-times-of-covid-19-you-can-not-walk-run-bike-close-to-each-other-a5df19c77d08\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">a Dutch University study<\/a><i class=\"fas fa-external-link-alt\"><\/i> that suggests a much larger distance is necessary between heavily-breathing recreators, namely cyclists, to avoid spread.<\/p>\n<p>The simulations the scientists analyzed suggest runners and cyclists in one another\u2019s slipstream of increased aerobic output could ingest pathogens at a distance within four to five meters for walking, within 10 meters for running and slow biking and within 20 meters for faster biking.<\/p>\n<p>Breckenridge pro cyclist Taylor Shelden, who was out riding on the rec path last week, said the theory made logical sense to him, though he qualified that he, of course, isn\u2019t a scientist. An avid fat biker in the winter, Shelden said he almost always rides his fat bike with a buff on and has been riding solo with one during his recent outdoors rides when he\u2019s not cycling on his Zwift virtual training app at home.<\/p>\n<p>Shelden said he recommends people wear gloves and a facemask or buff, he also encourages them to ride shorter, solo self-sufficient routes if and when they bike outdoors. He said though he\u2019s seen good practices thus far from fellow Summit County cyclists, he doesn\u2019t want the community to ruin the good thing they have going \u2014 he has pro cyclist friends of his in Spain and other parts of Europe who, by law, are currently not allowed to cycle outside.<\/p>\n<div class=\"p402_hide\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\n<div class=\"caption-container\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/04\/CoronaRec-SDN-041920-2-1024x682.jpg\" alt class=\"wp-image-381934\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/04\/CoronaRec-SDN-041920-2-1024x682.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/04\/CoronaRec-SDN-041920-2-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/04\/CoronaRec-SDN-041920-2-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/04\/CoronaRec-SDN-041920-2-1536x1023.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/04\/CoronaRec-SDN-041920-2-2048x1364.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"><figcaption><strong>Mark Simms of Boston, Massachusetts uses a set of rings to perform pull-ups while exercising outdoors on Friday, April 17, 2020 in Dillon. With both recreation centers and gyms closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Mark says he is looks for alternative ways to exercise, both outdoors and indoors daily.<\/strong><br \/><em>Jason Connolly\/ <a href=\"mailto:jconnolly@summitdaily.com\">jconnolly@summitdaily.com<\/a><\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>Ebert-Santos said she doesn\u2019t buy into the Dutch study. That said, she feels it\u2019s important people wear face masks or buffs when recreating on the rec path corridor.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEven if it\u2019s not necessary, as the contact is so fleeting,\u201d Ebert-Santos said, \u201cI think it\u2019s a sign of respect to our fellow community members.<\/p>\n<p>Ebert-Santos said many of the patients she\u2019s seen with COVID-19 symptoms have spread the disease within the confines of their homes, to other family members and friends and she believes being outdoors is imperative to proper social distancing and mental health. That said, she also feels people should not cross county lines to recreate right now.<\/p>\n<p>JT Greene, co-owner of Wilderness Sports in Dillon, said cycling interest has been higher during the shutdown than the shop was expecting. Gravel bike demand has skyrocketed in recent weeks.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Like Breckenridge Recreation Center Sports Coordinator Vince Hutton, Greene has worn a buff and pulled it up and over his face when passing people on the bike path. After 200 miles on the rec path in recent weeks, he said he\u2019s seen really good distancing on the path.<\/p>\n<p>He\u2019s also happy the county and towns got the path open when they did. He actually was drafting an email to those entities about opening earlier when their opening announcement came out. It was music to his ears as he knows the importance to the rec path\u2019s community of users.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think with distancing, the biggest thing right now while riding bikes is to say \u2018hi,\u2019\u201d Greene said. That little bit of that two seconds of human interaction is awesome and definitely uplifting.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/news\/summit-county-doctor-cyclists-contextualize-how-to-properly-recreate-during-shutdown\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">via:: Summit Daily<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Alison Casias of Dillon, Colorado wears a face mask while running along the bike path in Dillon on Friday, April 17, 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the use of PPE while exercising outdoors is being encouraged by health care professionals.Jason Connolly \/ jconnolly@summitdaily.com DILLON \u2014 With the \u201cstay home\u201d message pervading social media during [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[99],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-806543","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-local-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-07-13 16:27:30","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSMT The Mountain","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/806543","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=806543"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/806543\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=806543"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=806543"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=806543"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}