I have been sticking to the rules pretty closely, I take this seriously – however I don’t believe a solo 2hr road ride is actually risking anything. Do you think it is?
I'd say that was the borderline of what most people would see as reasnoble.
But then it'll be different depending where you live. Scotroutes could be out all day and see no one, if everyone in London actually went out for a 5k jog every day it would be carnage.
I'm happy enough going out for a couple of hours as I'm reasnobly sure I wont come into close contact with anyone other than the RAF regiment that are now guarding AWE who didn't bat an eyelid as I zipped* past in full lycra. Pentlands or Peckham, Snowdonia or Soho, Bowland or Bow Street, use your common sense.
*trundled/laboured/wheezed
I plan to take a drive out into the hills tomorrow evening for a XC route. Nothing risky. Just a few tough climbs.
My issue is that I can’t run anymore or have any impact through my ankle(because of a bad ankle injury) - otherwise that’s what I’d do and I wouldn’t have to drive anywhere.
I also don’t have the benefit of a bike route directly from my front door. Not without coming into contact with others.
If I get to the remote spot tomorrow and there are others there and I can’t maintain a safe distance - then I won’t ride.
What else can I do?
I genuinely need the exercise to keep me in a good frame of mind and of course to keep healthy (as I am sure many of us do).
I’m open to suggestions.
If you could walk or run from your front door surely you can do the same on a bike ?
I think driving to a place to ride is taking the mick to be fair.. If that was the case should I drive 30 mins to the Peaks against Derbyshire polices express will or maybe 70 minutes to Kendal for a Lakes ride again against what the local councils been tweeting. or option C ride from home dont twist the very fine guidelines and dont break rule one of life ..
I could bike alone the road and pavement from my front door but that would be past everyone else that’s doing the same.
IM just driving to the closest (remote) spot where I’m pretty sure nobody else will be. If I’m wrong then I’ll come back.
The other option might be to just buy a used static exercise bike. I’ll look into that as well.
https://www.forestryengland.uk/coronavirus-visitor-information
Best put your Stava rides to private,.
solo ride round woburn today -as is usual, im a billy no mates, but I did get to ride in the daylight today & it was dry, which is very rare
was 3 groups of lads congregating in 4s or 5 the rules & smoking weed , quite a few dog walkers & a group of 3 mtbers!
Bizarre behavior from people.. not only are the normally completely empty roads I ride home on occupied with strange cyclists, but the streets are packed (slight exaggeration) with people out running! Driving back from the shop this evening, I saw 5 joggers within a 20yard section of road.
What do these people normally do? And why does a time when they're not really supposed to be out, bring them out like, "Oh yeah, exercising! I should do that!". People are ****ing weird.
But then it’ll be different depending where you live
This is key, as is what time you chose to ride. There is little point in setting arbitrary hourly limits when this cannot possibly be applied to everyone equally. One person riding gently for an hour may encounter vastly more people than another on a 4-5 hour ride. There is a reason why the official advice has been incredibly vague.
Don't take the piss, stick to solo/family rides, maintain physical distancing and you are sorted in my eyes. I can't imagine that the police are going to spend much time hunting down solo recreational cyclists (whether they are on a long or short ride) and they certainly aren't going to be patrolling rural bridleways.
The main thing I would be concerned about is encountering people that don't take the 2m distancing as seriously as I do. I am also wary of higher-than-average traffic due to gyms/pools/whatnot being closed. But I can still easily plan a 4 hour loop at a place and time when I know there is very little chance of encountering anybody.
I live near the TPT in Cheshire and normally ride it every day in some capacity. Since the 'lock down' it's been busy as **** even at 5pm, and it's amateur hour with ****ts you never normally see on bikes wobbling about and getting in the way. Even saw some stupid young couple drinking cider on the bridge. I dread to think about how busy the Bridgewater canal track is.
Needless to say, I'll avoid it now and just use some of the quieter roads. People are treating this as a bank holiday and taking the kids and dogs out for the day. I suppose I ****ing resent it 'cos normally during weekdays I have the whole TPT to myself, and ironically during this 'lock down' I'm exposed to more people than normal, but also people aren't taking it seriously which pisses me off too.
What do these people normally do?
Go to the gym or go to shopping centres mostly
Just thought, it's the same mentality as panic buying - the sheeple mentality, this is what others are doing so this is what I must do. ie. Panic exercising.
In a lot of people's minds it probably seems like you're bailing out the ocean by not going anywhere other than from your doorstep when pictures from London show people crammed on to tube trains and construction site elevators. The chances of spreading the disease by driving on your own and riding/walking in distant forests is vanishingly small compared to the situation on the underground. I don't think we should be going anywhere but I see why some try to justify it. I could only buy two bottles of beer from the CO-OP tonight, which means if I want more I'll have to go back, again increasing the chance of spreading. It's this inconsistency which will breed contempt and thus further restrictions. Maybe that's the plan though. That £350million a week will come in handy, hey Boris?
Great solo ride from home. Fair few people out walking, running and riding. Still lots of people driving out to get their exercise.
I could bike alone the road and pavement from my front door but that would be past everyone else that’s doing the same.
Go out earlier or later than them. You may need lights.
A
I'm currently between jobs (finished one on Friday, should be starting another on the 6th April) so have a lot of time on my hands.
Today I went for a decent road ride in the white peak. I was out for a couple of hours. I saw a few other cyclists and overtook two going up hills (go me!), pulling right out to be more than two meters away. I even had a very courteous driver wait patiently behind as I rounded a corner before overtaking. I waved thanks as they passed - it was the rozzers and they seemingly didn't care about me being on the bike.
Later I had to go to Aldi. Although it was surprisingly quiet in the shop the chances to transfer infections seemed inordinately higher than when on the bike. Touching products/trollies/surfaces and personal proximity were almost impossible to avoid.
On reflection, I think that so long as we try to shop as little as possible getting out to ride or run away from other is fine.
Referring to some of the points above regarding an increase in runners and riders - I don't think it should be a surprise that more people are getting out. People have more time on their hands, more energy, the sun is shining, gyms are shut and the roads are safer as there is less traffic. One of the oft reported findings of active travel investigations is that people are scared of the roads (quite rightly). Hopefully a long term outcome is that people get hooked and continue to get out exercising more frequently.
*Edit to add* I cocked up yesterday. Did a one hour spin on the MTB - stopped to help a lass whos pedal had fallen off her nice new road bike (clearly hadn't been tightened up). She didn't have any tools so I helped. It was only as she cycled off that I thought "I've been within two meters and touched bits of her bike she's been touching". Easy to forget, I'll be more careful from now on.
I could only buy two bottles of beer from the CO-OP tonight, which means if I want more I’ll have to go back, again increasing the chance of spreading.
do they not do the beer you drink in multipacks? got a box and a half of bud and a box of stella downstairs so that’ll easily last as long as the food in the house.
Looks like people took advice seriously for one whole day!
wtaf. I really can’t figure humans Brits out
Amazing how attitudes - and policy - have shifted in a matter of days. A week ago, me and two mates did a 35km MTB ride then met another mate at the pub. Think we were a bit concerned at the situation then, but also a little bit blasé.
Since then, one mate has stopped all outdoor riding (from previously thinking the whole CVD was a mass hysteria over-reaction). I've gone from "I'll still do Ninja rides if they ban cycling" to cutting back my riding by two-thirds and bought a turbo trainer (which I swore I'd never do) and running laps around my garden instead of up the trails.
Strange times.
We can argue all we like about what is/should be allowed, but we need to stop pushing it and taking the piss, otherwise by (or before) next week, we'll be on this guy's situation ...
bob_summers
Subscriber
Just about surviving on the turbo. Utterly fed up.
Cycling here is permitted to your work (except mine is non-essential) or to your nearest shop or pharmacy (mine are about 50 metres away). Running banned outright.
What I wouldn’t give just to be allow to trot around the block.
Two more weeks, at least, to go.
Just thought, it’s the same mentality as panic buying – the sheeple mentality, this is what others are doing so this is what I must do. ie. Panic exercising.
I reckon a good third to a half of the people out on the footpaths and bridleways around me would not ordinarily be out walking or cycling.
Maybe some are reading it as you have to go out once a day to run,walk or cycle.
Really though people exercise socially all time. Gym, classes, dance, football, tennis, etc. All of these are off limits now so there are limited options
This is key, as is what time you chose to ride. There is little point in setting arbitrary hourly limits when this cannot possibly be applied to everyone equally. One person riding gently for an hour may encounter vastly more people than another on a 4-5 hour ride. There is a reason why the official advice has been incredibly vague.
even more reason to have a fixed time limit, to stop the your frequent encounter example rider riding for the 4-5 hours of the infrequent encounter rider.
even more reason to have a fixed time limit, to stop the your frequent encounter example rider riding for the 4-5 hours of the infrequent encounter rider.
But then if everyone in a City went out for their 1 hour, or 30thanks minutes, or 15, or 5, on their lunch break it would still be carnage almost regardless of how short you allowed it. so then you would have to tell people when their slot was.
Or you can just keep it simple and say "stay at home" and not overly complicate the message.
and touched bits of her bike she’s been touching
I really can’t figure humans Brits out
I think we need to rein in the Brit bashing - pretty much every democracy with restrictions is having the same issue with idiots, it's just not on our national news
I decided against going out for a ride in the end, rode part of the way up ventoux in my garage instead.
I really want a smart turbo now, shame they’re all gone 😣
But then if everyone in a City went out for their 1 hour, or 30thanks minutes, or 15, or 5, on their lunch break it would still be carnage almost regardless of how short you allowed it.
an hour it is then.
I will be riding Saturday and Sunday morning just as I do every weekend all year round. I expect to see about 5 people at most and I won't be within 5 metres of any of them as that is my experience based on my last 20 years of riding where I live. More people may be getting out and about for exercise but not at 07:30 on Saturday and Sunday mornings they're not...
Went out tuesday and wednesday. From the house I can get up the Sidlaws and back in just over an hour. Saw half a dozen walkers on tues and 3 walkers and 1 mtber on weds.
I reckon a good third to a half of the people out on the footpaths and bridleways around me would not ordinarily be out walking or cycling.
Give it a couple of days, it won't be so sunny and the novelty will have worn off.
People seem determined to massively over-complicate this. Surely as long as you social distance effectively and don't crash and put an additional load on health resources plus take sensible precautions not to catch owt from random surfaces you touch, that's all that matters.
How you achieve that will differ depending on where you live, but really those things are what actually matter. Don't go near to others. Don't smash yourself up, don't lick door handles or absent-mindedly pick up used hankies in the street and eat them.
Maybe there's a final point, which is that if you feel unhappy about riding for more than an hour or seeing other people or being seen to be out, then do whatever makes you feel safer or more responsible, but maybe accept that it's part of your personal protocol and not some universal rule you can impose on everyone else because you're not the government.
The idea that by going out on a bike you somehow normalise deviant behaviour seems fanciful to me. The sort of people who are going to flout social distancing would still do it even it it were a capital offence.
Stay safe, stay happy, live and let live as long as people are doing it safely no?
Oh, and it's brilliant that I'm seeing little family gaggles out on quiet roads on their bikes. People who'd normally not cycle. Who knows, maybe some of that will stick eh.
Probably more likely to catch on than your reasoned and circumspect approach to the matter 🙂
https://road.cc/content/news/how-much-distance-should-you-leave-cyclist-ahead-272229
This was an interesting read and you may want to avoid trying to catch and pass the cyclist ahead for the foreseeable. Also take note of the no spitting nor snot-rocket suggestion.
This was an interesting read and you may want to avoid trying to catch and pass the cyclist ahead for the foreseeable. Also take note of the no spitting nor snot-rocket suggestion.
That's a basic club rule anyway (or it is with us). If you want to take off/put on clothing, do snot rockets, ride no handed while you get a bar out your pocket, you do it at the back of the group. That way, when you crash, you only take yourself out, not the whole group and you're not blowing snot over everyone.
I reckon a good third to a half of the people out on the footpaths and bridleways around me would not ordinarily be out walking or cycling.
Surely this is good, no?
I work from home most of the time and most days try and pick the best window of weather for a 1-2 hour pedal often through the quiet country lanes and the woods near me. Never really see anyone. The other day I passed three (individual) riders on a single stretch of the lanes, that's never happened before. Seeing loads of people out walking, people out on bikes who clearly don't do it regularly. As long as everyone's being careful and sensible, it's great. Hopefully lots of people keep doing it in future, we'd all benefit.
Not me or my wife but just seen this on Faceberk.
The social unacceptability of spitting is pretty much the only good thing about this outbreak.
I always have to restrain myself from punching spitters in the face. It's never, ever necessary. I've managed to run marathons, climb Himalayan peaks and beast myself to near collapse on a bike with ever having to spit.
Keep it in.
Unfortunately as a life-long hay fever sufferer, snot rockets are inevitable. There's no way I could swallow the amount of sputum that I produce during a ride.
I just make sure I'm nowhere near anyone and do it into a bush. It's that or snot stalactites, and that's not a good look on anyone.
Surely this is good, no?
Yes. If.....
As long as everyone’s being careful and sensible
Which is where it may fall down.
Who's to say the bloke walking past you at a sensibly safe distance hasn't just been in up to the third knuckle in both nostrils just before opening the gate you are about to use.
And yet half the population - women - manage not to do it.
And yet half the population – women – manage not to do it.
Snot rockets and spitting? It's pretty common when riding hard amongst those I ride with, ladies, gentlemen and those still to make up their mind.
I can ride from the house to Innerleithen and Glenstress but the tweed valley trails are now closed to bikes. Walkers are fine.
I know these are exigent times - but I really wish Forest and Land Scotland had taken ten minutes to get a pedant like me to check their drafting.
https://forestryandland.gov.scot/covid-19
Parking and facilities shut - clear.
Walking trails open - also clear.
Mountain bike trails shut - kinda clear-ish.
Does this mean you can ride your bike on the walking trails? Can you ride on a forest road or 4X4 track that crosses FLS land?
(not that I am considering doing either of those things - but as people seem to want to find the loopholes)
This was an interesting read and you may want to avoid trying to catch and pass the cyclist ahead for the foreseeable.
Unlikely to be an issue for me.
And yet half the population – women – manage not to do it.
And do you have to refrain from wanting to punch them in the face if/when they do?
