Bike Fitting in the time of COVID-19 - Pressing play again
As I write this piece the UK is starting to come out of ‘lockdown’. Boris has just told us that we can be ‘1 metre plus’ from each other, which is in most situations well inside my personal space. While I’m not one of those pining for the boozer to open again, I am hoping that all is open by November so that the Cyclognome and I can tie the knot!
So, what does this mean for bike fitting? Todays announcements doesn’t really change much. Social distancing is still in place. Although some have attempted to bridge the gap created by the suspension of face-to-face bike fitting with video consultations, I made the decision that I didn’t think I could provide a service of the quality that Cycloform has come to be recognised for this way and just pressed pause. However I am now officially pressing play again!
To undertake a bike fit, to undertake a proper physical assessment and to make real time assessments to form on the bike, you just cannot maintain Boris’s sanctioned 1 metre social distance. This means that some changes have had to be made to the way Cycloform undertakes bike fitting. There is nothing that will affect the overall quality, but things wont be quite so free and easy!
To wilfully invite folk into an indoor clinical space I have to make sure that my client, my following clients and myself remain safe and that we reduce the risk of transmission as much as possible. I also don’t want folk who are at higher risk to place themselves into a situation that they may come to regret. With this in mind there is going to be some COVID-19 screening taking place.
Clients will be asked to confirm that they have not had:
Symptoms of COVID-19 in the last 14 days
A member of their household displaying symptoms of COVID-19 in the last 14 days
Contact from the NHS Test and Trace service and have been asked to self isolate
Residual symptoms following a positive COVID-19 test in the last 14 days
Any medical issues that place them at higher risk
This all follows the guidance set out by NHS England. If any of these situations are in play, alas you will be asked to defer your Bike Fit. This means that if you are attending you can rest assured that the environment has been screened to the best of our ability. This leads to the first change in bike fitting.
Online booking is going to be suspended to ensure that all clients have been screened on the phone prior to attending.
Contact me via the contact form, email, Facebook or the phone.
Before and after each client there will be appropriate cleaning of the floor, surfaces and equipment. The reason for this is to reduce the risk of cross contamination between clients. With the addition of the fact that only one client will be allowed in the clinic at a time, you should feel confident that as much as possible has been done to reduce any transmission between clients.
This brings me on to one of the more unpalatable aspects of the change in fitting. The reduced capacity caused by time between clients means that I have had to rethink my charging. I did toy with the idea of increasing my prices, but came to the decision that instead of this I would:
Suspend any discounting for the time being. Those club members at the Wetherby Wheelers, The Yorkshire Lasses or Cyclesense CC, I hope you understand.
One of the ways in which clinical services are continuing in these COVID-19 times, when social distancing cannot be maintained, is the use of Personal Protective Equipment, or PPE. As a disease passed on predominantly by respiratory droplets, any form of exercise that increases respiration rate/depth has the potential to generate an increase in respiratory droplets or ‘spittle’ and increase the likelihood of transmission. Particularly when peddling harder. This means that during the session I will be in disguise! I will be wearing gloves, apron, goggles and a surgical facemask. Some would say that this could make the whole session more bearable.
I will also be asking clients to wear a facemask and will give you a surgical facemask as you arrive. This will inevitably make the action of riding somewhat harder. If you have worries about this or have any underlying respiratory illness it might be a good idea to defer your Bike Fit for now.
Another change – this is a big one.
So that any respiratory particles aren’t excessively spread about the room I will have to stop using a fan to aid cooling while fitting.
This is going to have then effect of making the session much hotter and I would urge clients to make sure they bring at least two water bottles with them. In addition I will not be able to provide water either. You must come prepared!
Well done if you have read all this way down, I do go on a bit, but this stuff is important. I need clients to be aware of what they are letting themselves in for. The final thing that will change is that I wish to control the clinical space much more than usual. The room will be clutter free and I ask that you bring only those items on the list below:
Your bike
Clip on aero bars if used
Your usual shoes/pedals
Cycling clothing
A drink x2
A towel
Heart rate monitor if used
Power meter if used
Any cycling computer you may use that links to HR or power meter
Apart from your bike, all your kit needs to fit in a single bag.
If you think you really need to bring anything else with you then discuss this with me when we speak.
It turns out that the Queen was right; we will meet again. We all might have terrible lockdown haircuts and a look of total bemusement on our faces as 2020 shows us quite how weird stuff can get, but we are at it again. Bike fitting has resumed. Pending any plagues of locusts, that weird smoke stuff from Lost or any more pronouncements from Boris, I will see you in clinic. If one sport can get through this, cycling can. After all I’ve ridden with people for years and still don’t recognise them in the real world; a bit of PPE wont hold us back!