I feel like a jailbird — sort of. The mayor of my home city issued a stay-at-home mandate sometime yesterday. The list of essential reasons to leave home does not include \”exercise\”, which did not please me at all.

Yet some were saying it WAS all right to go cycling. It had me thinking, Oh, this @#&* coronavirus!

I sent emails to various family and friends, voicing my chagrin with this situation. Shortly, one of them emailed back a link to a news article that I hadn\’t yet seen. It said that yes, it was OK to go outdoors to exercise; just practice social distancing.

After replying with my thanks, I lost no time getting out on the road bike. It\’s such a huge relief knowing that it isn\’t taboo.

We don\’t know how long this mandate will be in effect, which makes it all the harder. Even convicts know how long they\’ll be locked up! I\’m sure that concerns over it is what led to panic buying. It\’s natural to worry that you might run out of things under such circumstances. Everyone wanted to get all that they could, while they could.

An obvious example is T-paper. Another is non-perishable foods. Yet another that I didn\’t think of for a while: grooming needs such as soap and toothpaste. Fortunately I already had enough on hand to last a while; I was at a supermarket yesterday, and Ivory soap was sold out. So were most other bar soaps.

I was considering doing Tour de Cure, scheduled for November 21. That might well be out of the question now; it depends on how long this lasts.

Even if TdC does end up getting cancelled, it\’s good to know that I don\’t have to be a complete jailbird.