scotroutes
Subscribersportscotland are saying you can ignore the 5 mile limit if you are an elite athlete and need to travel for training purposes.
Well, it's their job, so if they can't work from home I suppose they were always allowed to?
The definition of "performance athlete" seems quite restrictive to me.
It presupposes you're a member of a club or an organisation, or professional (if I've read it right).
For example, the classification doesn't seem to cover individual who will be contesting the World Solo 24 hours (if it's still on - the Euros are postponed to next year). Pretty hard to train for a 24 hour with a 5 mile limit.
There is probably the same problem in some other endurance sport too.
That's not a complaint - there's 2 vulnerable members in my family, so I've been very observant of the guidelines.
There's no 5 mile limit in reality, not when the likes my inlaws drive 20 miles to go to a ****in garden centre.
There’s no 5 mile limit in reality, not when the likes my inlaws drive 20 miles to go to a **** garden centre.
The 5 mile limit is only with regards to exercise. You can travel as far as you want (with the only limiting factor being needing to use a toilet) to visit someone, sit around drinking, sunbathe, go to a shop etc. but absolutely can't do any exercise while there.
Pretty hard to train for a 24 hour with a 5 mile limit.
The 5 mile limit is about how far you can drive to take exercise. Why does that make it hard to train for a 24 hour?
kcr
The 5 mile limit is about how far you can drive to take exercise. Why does that make it hard to train for a 24 hour?
Suitable terrain.
Suitable terrain
I still don't get it. Where in Scotland can you not ride from the door and train for a 24 hour?
Tinker Juarez trained for 24 hour races on a turbo, staring at a blank wall for 24 hours, according to legend.
In the English system exam boards are moving towards providing and sharing resources, which is new.
The 5 Mile local limit applies to visiting as well. Guidance was quietly changed with no announcement.
I think this is latest version.
kcr
I still don’t get it. Where in Scotland can you not ride from the door and train for a 24 hour?
You're right. It's probably my mindset that's the problem.
Going round and round in little circles is boring as hell, so it's something I only do for races. I prefer going further afield on long rides.
I wonder what the serious endurance racers do though.
As for 24 hours on a turbo, ugh.
^^^^ I saw on Instagram that Isla Short rode up the Crow road 8 times yesterday so I guess they find their ways !
Rab Wardell putting in some serious miles too
I think Tinker was training his head more than his body. Consider the lockdown challenge training for resourcefulness. Will come in handy during racing!
If you extend your radius to 10 miles, you can ride a lot more trails, and let's face it epi, you're not really training, just riding. 😊
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BoardinBob
SubscriberRab Wardell putting in some serious miles too
He is indeed. Interestingly though his other half, who is a Pro rider is keeping her rides short and local, so it can obviously be done that way as part of a professional training regime.
Yes, but you should stay in your local area if possible. As a guide we suggest ‘local’ to be no more than five miles from your house.
Key words highlighted. Great if you live in the same town as family, otherwise not possible.
Nobeerinthe fridge
...and let’s face it epi, you’re not really training, just riding. 😊
Aye, but riding with purpose. 🙂
Not really training in the formal sense, more like conditioning.
I was just looking for an excuse to widen my scope and knock off a few audax distances. 🙂
The 5 mile thing is one of the oddest parts of this.
During lockdown proper I wasn't aware of any stated maximum distance from home so many of us quite understandably did rides that took us much further away than that. Especially so when they said unlimited outdoor exercise was allowed.
Initially it looked like the 5 mile guideline was just for driving to do your exercise but it now seems to be a flat recommendation so doing a ride that took you 20 or 30 miles away would not be acceptable.
It's probably just one of those things that happen when you write a document in a hurry which needs to cover everyone in an unprecedented situation. But it is infuriating!
I thought the 5 miles was guidance on driving distance to exercise...
However have just checked the Phase 1 doc on the government website ..
Permitted to travel short distances for outdoor leisure and exercise but advice to stay within a short distance of your local community (broadly within 5 miles) and travel by walk, wheel and cycle where possible.
International border health measures are introduced
TBH I think the guidance is put together by folk who can't conceive of cycling/walking distances in excess of 5 miles. We have thus ended up with the illogical position that I can drive for some distance to visit someone and spend time in their garden but we couldn't then go for a socially-distanced ride or walk. This is actually a bit of a reversal from the first part of Lockdown where I could cycle a few miles up to Loch Morlich but my wife couldn't drive there to go for a walk.
These anomalies are driven by behavioural science, not epidemiology.
Aye, it's a bit of a reversal from the initial lockdown, when there was folks riding 100 miles around the roads here into galloway. Then we relax lockdown, and we're stuck to 5 miles. 🤔
I think it's more about folk driving from Glasgow to Strathclyde park or Edinburgh to Linlithgow and parking in mass numbers to ride a few miles, barely separated from each other.
It doesn't really consider the likes of someone who lives where epicyclo does, in Bryans, SR's or Spins shoes, I'd be 'as you were'.
I'll be driving 10 miles to ride wirh a couple of mates in a quiet area tomoro night, I'll be surprised if we see anyone.
The 5 Mile local limit applies to visiting as well. Guidance was quietly changed with no announcement.
I think this is latest version.
How strange that quite a major change was made secretly with absolutely no comment. As an employer in the tourism industry waiting for firm guidance I thought that I was keeping on top of the changing guidelines!
Key words highlighted. Great if you live in the same town as family, otherwise not possible.
That was my first thought. If those you want to visit don't live within 5 miles then it's not possible to stay within that limit.
No, you are permitted to leave the house as often as you like to undertake exercise, but strict physical distancing and hygiene measures should be followed and please stay local to your home, which we recommend is up to five miles.
Eh? The previous guidance was clearly limiting how far you could drive to start your exercise. I completely missed the release of this new version (published June 8th).
I reckon almost every ride I've done since lockdown started has probably been more than 5 miles from home. That's not going off on all day epics, just going out for an hour and a half in the evening. I thought the Scottish Government had been doing a fairly good job of issuing sensible, consistent communications so far, but this recommendation seems like a confusing step backwards when other restrictions are being relaxed.
Yeah, it’s a bit different. My elderly mother lives on her own 20 miles away. We’ve been going to see her, by car, the last 2 Sundays and sitting in her garden for an hour...
Doune this morning - lines of 20+ motorbikes all heading into the Trossachs. That was at 9.30m and again at 11.30am. Clearly all off for thier daily exercise dressed in jeans and leathers.
Also more awful driving than we've seen over the last few months - we were subject to two punishment passes, three cars just cutting us up and one giving some lovely hand signals...
Oh, it's been quite amusing seeing the folk who were all PURITY SPIRAL a few weeks ago simply ignoring the current guidelines.
It was certainly the impression given that you could drive as far as you wanted to see someone, subject to your bladder control. This is where the guidelines are internally inconsistent.
Initially the broadly 5 mile rule was to prevent e.g. Glasgow flooding to eg loch lomond and other such honeypots (Nicola's words) Since this was ignored on the first weekend I get the feeling that they have redirected the tone of the guidance to try and keep us within 5 miles. And we're back to where we started with a choice to ride within 5 miles of a population centre on busy paths tracks or to go a bit more out the way and find quiet trails.
The other change I "think" is that the focus for exercise restrictions is about containing the virus spread as opposed focus on low risk to prevent pressure on bbs. That perception could be wishful thinking however!
Right, having followed the link that iainc posted, it appears we now have three documents to consider. There's the actual Legislation that was changed on 29th May, the Guidance that was updated at the same time, and now this "Route Map". The first two are consistent. The latter seems to want to explain things further but actually makes a complete hash of it 🙂 As LD says, this is partly because it seeks to influence behaviour in a way that perhaps wasn't originally intended but as a result of what was seen on the ground after 29th May.
scotroutes
Oh, it’s been quite amusing seeing the folk who were all PURITY SPIRAL a few weeks ago simply ignoring the current guidelines.
Ta, you've just given me the name for a local loop I'm mapping within the Lockdown rules. Love it. 🙂
scotroutes
SubscriberRight, having followed the link that iainc posted, it appears we now have three documents to consider. There’s the actual Legislation that was changed on 29th May,
With a quick skim of the regs I see recreation listed as an exemption from staying home.
to take part in outdoor recreation—
(i)alone,
(ii)with members of their household,
(iii)with members of one other household.]to take part in outdoor recreation—
(i)alone,
(ii)with members of their household,
(iii)with members of one other household.]
Don't see any reference to distance in the regs. So we are good to go? Happy for anyone to point out what I have missed in the regs.
Don’t see any reference to distance in the regs. So we are good to go? Happy for anyone to point out what I have missed in the regs.
The Legislation never contained any reference to distance. However, the associated Guidance normally applies (you can see the same link between the LR(S)A and the SOAC). That's where the 5 mile "limit" is mentioned.
scotroutes
SubscriberTBH I think the guidance is put together by folk who can’t conceive of cycling/walking distances in excess of 5 miles.
Aye, same as Gove's comment that an hour was reasonable for exercise.
3 documents, wonder if they were drafted by the same person that did Royal Mail terms and conditions?
I don't think anyone is ignoring the rules though, as I pointed out, the key phrase in that visiting guidance was "if possible". That is by no means an absolute. They also said local conditions may have an effect so if you live somewhere quiet then crack on.
This is not inconsistent with saying if you end up 50 miles from home you are (for most cases) taking the piss somewhat (its perfectly possible to do big rides within a far smaller radius in most scenarios).
Don’t see any reference to distance in the regs.
It's in the new guidance, as quoted above.
Back to earth with a bump today. I ignored the new recommendation about what constitutes "local" and did the loop round the bridges. Lots of motor traffic. I reckon some of the roads were actually busier than pre lockdown, and I had a couple of instances of really poor driving. Ironically, I think that I also saw more cyclists out today than I've seen on any other run this year.
I guess there has been an immediate spike of people visiting friends and relatives they haven't seen for a while, but I wonder how much worse it is going to be once the shops start to open, and more people start going back to work (with reduced public transport)?
I know the cycling boom was unlikely to be sustained long term, but feels like we could rebound to even worse traffic conditions for a while, as everyone catches up with their deferred car assisted activities.
The route map I printed out at end of May refers to the broadly within 5 miles for exercise so has been like that since end of May
Lockdown appears to be unofficially over at Glentress. Cars parked all over the fireroads, I saw people riding all the red runs, some in large groups. I was pootling on the fireroads, for the record!
Half dozen T6s at the bottom of Janets Brae earlier too nicely clogging up the road, can't believe they came from within 5 miles...
we could rebound to even worse traffic conditions for a while,
I think that's sadly inevitable, I cannot foresee many folk going back to public transport anytime soon so more journeys will be done by car.
As for the 5 mile thing, if it's OK for thousands to congregate all ever the county to protest last weekend, it's just as OK to flout other restrictions that are much lower risk - 5 mile limit and no bivvying being two such things I'll ignore now.
Good on you, excellent community spirit there keep it up.
it’s just as OK to flout other restrictions that are much lower risk – 5 mile limit and no bivvying being two such things I’ll ignore now.
Just have a placard with you so it's a protest. Peaceful protests are exempt from the lockdown rules it would seem.
Lockdown appears to be unofficially over at Glentress. Cars parked all over the fireroads, I saw people riding all the red runs, some in large groups.
Surely they were just riding the off-piste runs?
I saw people riding on the red waymarked official forest trails. Many people.
Off piste? Off piste? Most of those in the Tweed Valley were built illegally...surely you wouldn't want riding THOSE on your conscience as weLL? 🙂
I'm sure I saw Munrobiker and his OH on the Roslin cycle path today so he's almost certainly broken the 5 miles from home guidance which just leaves one of youse...NZCol, please light a candle for us all next time you're in.
The 5 mile guidance thing on rides etc seems to be ignored in the main. As I mentioned earlier, for the past 2 weeks we have made a weekly drive to my mum’s, 20 miles away, and sat with her in her garden for an hour or so. She’s 88 and on her own and I feel I can just about justify going to see her. My rides have all been from home, circular loops, max distance maybe 30 miles, so probably never much more than 5 miles from home. My Strava feed today shows more than half a dozen rides at over 80 miles, and one willy waver at 140 miles.
People will continue to push boundaries and rip the piss on rules/guidance/regulation until they see some negative personal impact from or intervention to, their behaviour. I can understand their justification that they go self contained, don’t touch stuff, hence should be left to do what they want. It’s not like it’s a national emergency or anything.
