Life is canceled, thanks to COVID-19. Races and events are getting postponed or canceled left and right, while schools and workplaces close or switch to work-from-home mode. With a sudden abundance of extra time on our hands, as long as we're not at risk of infection this might not be a bad time to go out for a ride.
Don't get me wrong. If you're feeling any symptoms or are in quarantine because you might have been in contact with someone who is infected, stay home. I'm just a guy with no medical training who writes about motorcycles on the internet, and the last person you want to consult for medical advice. If you're not in quarantine, though, and you're going stir crazy from the calls for "social isolation," a solo motorcycle ride might be just the ticket for you.
Everybody's Doing It:
There's a meme going around that isn't wrong. To avoid contagion, you should wear gloves, cover your face, and avoid crowds. Gloves are part of any proper riding gear. A full-face or modular helmet, while certainly not designed to substitute for a proper surgical mask, still covers your face and helps prevent you from touching it. As for avoiding crowds, riding alone down your favorite twisty roads or trails will certainly accomplish that. In fact, with so much of society shut down at the moment, there will be less traffic on the road, enabling you to enjoy the ride that much more. You're not staying in one place long enough to catch the virus from other people. Getting a large group together for a ride will defeat the purpose, but riding a motorcycle alone is perhaps some of the best social isolation you can get.
During your travels, you can patronize the small mom and pop restaurant or store that's feeling the hurt from the lack of business these days. Who knows, they might even still have supplies like food and toilet paper on the shelf, which has all but disappeared from the big box stores. Yet your motorcycle will prevent you from taking too much, just a reasonable amount to keep you going for a while.
In fact, if you're an able-bodied person not sick or under quarantine, you could check with your neighbors who might not be so lucky and see if you can help them resupply. You don't even need to see them. Just drop their supplies on the front steps and go. You'll be doing a good deed for someone who needs help, and doing so will be an excuse for you to go for a motorcycle ride. Everyone wins.