By Dennis Pedersen
Last year I did pretty well at our NCNCA Masters Track District Championships, though my 2019 racing season wasn't great in terms of my results at Nationals. For this year, they'd already announced that the 2020 UCI Masters Track Cycling World Championships were to be held in Manchester, England, again. And when USA Cycling announced that 2020 USAC Masters Track National Championships would be held in Pennsylvania, at the end of June, I was pretty sure I wouldn't be racing this year.
Add to that several other obstacles: I had several colds over the winter, and a vacation to Los Angeles and France from February 27th to March 8th that prevented me from starting my full-on training. When we returned from France I came down with another cold after my first day back on the job, right when I had planned on starting my training.
So I was already somewhat disinclined to race in 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic arrived on the scene. Yeah, that.
On March 11th I started to work from home. I felt I had good reasons to be one of the first people to work remotely at our office: I had a cold, I had just returned from a 10-day vacation overseas, and I felt I was possibly in a high-risk group. Even so, I admit to being skeptical about what looked like hysteria to me. There wasn't a lot of good info available for me to make up my own mind, but it looked like the Chinese government had done a good job of isolating the outbreak to mostly just the city of Wuhan. And there were only a handful of cases reported in the USA. The mortality rate initially looked to be about the same, or less than, the seasonal flu, so I wasn't too worried since I had none of the symptoms we were initially told to look for (fever, dry cough, difficulty breathing). But reasonable precautions made sense to me, and I'm perfectly capable of working remotely, and have spent many years doing so.
The next week, on March 16th, our "Chief People Officer" announced that our headquarters would be closed, starting on the 17th, for two weeks. So then my entire office was working remotely. But per an announcement by our CEO on March 26th the two-week closure was extended to last through April 26th, along with the temporary furloughing of over half the headquarters staff and the temporary closure of about 20% of our retail stores too. On the up-side, we also chipped in to help health workers.
But all of that was just the tip of the iceberg.
On April 10th our CEO extended the work-from-home order through May 18th. Combined with the return of most of the furloughed workers on April 22nd, and the re-opening of many of our stores on the 26th. He also announced the intent to return to working in our headquarters offices on May 18th. On May 6th he announced some layoffs, and the indefinite extension of the remote work order.
Finally, we were told that the remote workplace would end starting on July 6th, with a long list of safety requirements:
And, of course, the economy has suffered its worst decline since the Great Depression of the 1930s. That impacts so many people and businesses, property values, investments that people rely on, and so much more that it's hard to fathom the full extent. On top of that the protests over George Floyd's murder have thrown even more uncertainty into my little world. What a year for this world.
All of that, of course, completely overwhelmed all else, including any training and racing plans I had. But I am thankful, and maybe a little embarrassed, to admit that my life has been good through all of this turmoil and uncertainty. Instead I was getting caught up on home projects and relaxing with my wife with the time I saved by not having another season of hard training and racing. And I am one of those people lucky enough to have had a job through the disastrous economic crash that has resulted. This was not without its own stress, of course, but whenever the pressure got to me I just had to remind myself of how lucky I am.
My training since March has consisted of riding my fixie bike for short rides, about 30 minutes to 1 hour long, with sprints thrown in. Since my gym was closed down at the same time, my gym has consisted of several pairs of dumbbells, a pull-up bar, and bodyweight exercises I can do at home. All thoughts of racing this year went from almost zero chance to a full zero.
Until today: My gym has reopened! And I expect the track to re-open soon too. Restaurants that were closed or just had take-out service now have limited inside seating, and some outdoor seating. Perhaps people of color will get some justice too.
All of this puts our trivial interests, obsessions and concerns in perspective, doesn't it?
For the 2021 season, my goal will be to win another National Championship, or a podium spot at the World Championships (any spot will do!). I don't know where Nationals will be held, but unless it's in Los Angeles I may not go... unless my teammates convince me they need me there. Worlds will be in Los Angeles, so I will almost certainly be there!
And perhaps now is the time for me to focus on more important things outside of racing too.
Last year I did pretty well at our NCNCA Masters Track District Championships, though my 2019 racing season wasn't great in terms of my results at Nationals. For this year, they'd already announced that the 2020 UCI Masters Track Cycling World Championships were to be held in Manchester, England, again. And when USA Cycling announced that 2020 USAC Masters Track National Championships would be held in Pennsylvania, at the end of June, I was pretty sure I wouldn't be racing this year.
Add to that several other obstacles: I had several colds over the winter, and a vacation to Los Angeles and France from February 27th to March 8th that prevented me from starting my full-on training. When we returned from France I came down with another cold after my first day back on the job, right when I had planned on starting my training.
So I was already somewhat disinclined to race in 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic arrived on the scene. Yeah, that.
On March 11th I started to work from home. I felt I had good reasons to be one of the first people to work remotely at our office: I had a cold, I had just returned from a 10-day vacation overseas, and I felt I was possibly in a high-risk group. Even so, I admit to being skeptical about what looked like hysteria to me. There wasn't a lot of good info available for me to make up my own mind, but it looked like the Chinese government had done a good job of isolating the outbreak to mostly just the city of Wuhan. And there were only a handful of cases reported in the USA. The mortality rate initially looked to be about the same, or less than, the seasonal flu, so I wasn't too worried since I had none of the symptoms we were initially told to look for (fever, dry cough, difficulty breathing). But reasonable precautions made sense to me, and I'm perfectly capable of working remotely, and have spent many years doing so.
The next week, on March 16th, our "Chief People Officer" announced that our headquarters would be closed, starting on the 17th, for two weeks. So then my entire office was working remotely. But per an announcement by our CEO on March 26th the two-week closure was extended to last through April 26th, along with the temporary furloughing of over half the headquarters staff and the temporary closure of about 20% of our retail stores too. On the up-side, we also chipped in to help health workers.
But all of that was just the tip of the iceberg.
On April 10th our CEO extended the work-from-home order through May 18th. Combined with the return of most of the furloughed workers on April 22nd, and the re-opening of many of our stores on the 26th. He also announced the intent to return to working in our headquarters offices on May 18th. On May 6th he announced some layoffs, and the indefinite extension of the remote work order.
Finally, we were told that the remote workplace would end starting on July 6th, with a long list of safety requirements:
- A mask is required by all employees, at all times while at WSC [headquarters office]. It must cover your nose and mouth. If you do not have a mask, we will provide one. This is required, not optional.
- The main front entrance door will be the only one open for WSC. All associates must enter and exit through the front lobby doors only, at all times.
- No outside visitors are allowed in WSC with the exception of key operational partners such as the cleaning crew.
- The fitness center and Galley kitchen will be closed.
- Wear gloves as needed.
- Practice social distancing at all times.
- Avoid using conference rooms for meetings. Virtual meetings are just as effective and we will have open meeting spaces throughout the building.
- Clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces.
- Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, or use an alcohol based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol.
- Wipe down common equipment with sanitizing wipes after use. Wipes will be provided near those areas.
- Stay at least 6 feet away from others, wear a mask, and disinfect items you must touch.
- Do not share food or drink with others.
- Bring food from home or go out and get food. Refrigerators, microwaves, and vending machines will be available.
- If you believe you may have symptoms, please notify your supervisor and do not come into the building.
And, of course, the economy has suffered its worst decline since the Great Depression of the 1930s. That impacts so many people and businesses, property values, investments that people rely on, and so much more that it's hard to fathom the full extent. On top of that the protests over George Floyd's murder have thrown even more uncertainty into my little world. What a year for this world.
All of that, of course, completely overwhelmed all else, including any training and racing plans I had. But I am thankful, and maybe a little embarrassed, to admit that my life has been good through all of this turmoil and uncertainty. Instead I was getting caught up on home projects and relaxing with my wife with the time I saved by not having another season of hard training and racing. And I am one of those people lucky enough to have had a job through the disastrous economic crash that has resulted. This was not without its own stress, of course, but whenever the pressure got to me I just had to remind myself of how lucky I am.
My training since March has consisted of riding my fixie bike for short rides, about 30 minutes to 1 hour long, with sprints thrown in. Since my gym was closed down at the same time, my gym has consisted of several pairs of dumbbells, a pull-up bar, and bodyweight exercises I can do at home. All thoughts of racing this year went from almost zero chance to a full zero.
Until today: My gym has reopened! And I expect the track to re-open soon too. Restaurants that were closed or just had take-out service now have limited inside seating, and some outdoor seating. Perhaps people of color will get some justice too.
All of this puts our trivial interests, obsessions and concerns in perspective, doesn't it?
For the 2021 season, my goal will be to win another National Championship, or a podium spot at the World Championships (any spot will do!). I don't know where Nationals will be held, but unless it's in Los Angeles I may not go... unless my teammates convince me they need me there. Worlds will be in Los Angeles, so I will almost certainly be there!
And perhaps now is the time for me to focus on more important things outside of racing too.
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