A Long, Strange Trip

A lot has happened since our last adventure in December 2019.

If you missed it, there was a pandemic that shut everything down for 2020. Hair grew long, bodies grew soft, and we all developed agoraphobia. I won't even go in to masking.

Yes, I will. I spent a lot of the apocalypse in New Mexico. I planned to fly, but with that out of the question (I could have flown out, but there was no public transportation that could get me home) I grabbed a go bag, cooler, and whatever toilet paper I had and drove West.

The trip was uneventful. I checked AAA for any reports of checkpoints or roadblocks. I only had to avoid eastern Pennsylvania, which is a policy of mine anyway. I stopped twice and made a point of wiping down all surfaces. I had alcohol spray for anything I bought. I paid no visits and had very few bathroom breaks.

New Mexico's governor imposed some of the most draconian measures in the nation. Most small businesses and trading posts are gone now. This in a state with 18 people per square mile. To be fair, the population is so dispersed there are few hospitals and even fewer ICU beds. I think there were four in the county of 38,000 people. People were on vents at home and many hotels (closed down by the governor) were used for patients and visiting medical workers. Gas stations were blockaded from dusk to dawn, aligning with the curfew.

I managed to get there a month before gyms were allowed to reopen. I weighed a lot of my tools and anything with handles and worked out at home.

Elite Fitness reopened after that and adhered to the strict state guidelines. Masks were always required, of course, and the owners came in several times a day to disinfect.

I went daily, for the most part, and never had more than two other people in there with me. Most people wore masks going in and coming out unless they were doing cardio and wiped down equipment well. I have a mask that has a filter and 2 valves. I removed the filter and reversed the valves so I could inhale more effectively.

Exhaling still offered some protection for others from my spittle, and I never went if I was feeling even remotely unwell. I never got sick, thankfully, but I wasn't going to take a chance. In fact, the only time I felt ill was immediately after my flu shot. I stayed in for two weeks.

I work remotely when in New Mexico, which turned out to be good practice. In February 2020 we were all told to leave our offices and work from home. I know it was February because I went back a year later, and the calendar was still in February.

Ultimately it was decided to not return to the office. Our work is conducive to being remote and, if anything, we have been more productive. Removing the commute and allowing for more personal downtime helps. We communicate well and try to get together in person for lunch now and then.

This, along with a series of unfortunate events, meant that I no longer had to stay in Virginia Beach. I rented out the condo and moved North.

I've glossed over quite a bit here, but the result is I am now back among other Wheelers! 3/4 of the gang is back together. Our Brazilian remains in Spain without a plane. We are working on our remote workouts, and she is working on getting back to us.

I have started back with ClassPass and we've done a few workouts now, so watch this space! Hopefully we'll come up with some good stuff to talk about before the next apocalypse hits!