  Cepheid distances of local galaxies (<7 Mpc) are used to study the very
nearby velocity field, as pioneered by Sandage (Sandage 1986) who also pointed
out its remarkable properties: linearity and quietness. The new data show that
the velocity dispersion in the distance range as seen from the barycentre of
the Local Group 1-8 Mpc is as low as 38 km/sec. The local rate of expansion
coincides with the global Hubble constant. Down to 1.5 Mpc we cannot detect a
deviation from the linear Hubble flow. This puts an upper limit for the mass of
the Local Group, for a wide class of Friedman models, including those with the
cosmological constant.
