Am I the only one wondering if Boris’ Bike Ride is another dead cat. Tie the media up in knots talking about it to hide some other misdemeanour somewhere else…?

Hypothetically speaking such as being seen opposite side of London to where he may or may not have any potential mistresses stashed? In a Last of the Summer Wine style.

Thing is by saying “look the pm did it, it must be ok” it is pointing the finger. We’ll end up back at Barnard Castle and traveling all over the place with that approach.
The gov at the moment is unwilling to provide any specifics or any real clarification, we are back to BJ’s common sense & stay at home unless absolutely necessary. So just do what you think is the bare minimum you can for exercise and mental health for your personal common sense – until it becomes law that is all we can do.

My personal common sense tells me that with my current situation I shouldn’t go out at all.

Personally I also think it’s fine for the PM to get some distance on central London before going for a bike ride, just for security reasons.

Am I the only one wondering if Boris’ Bike Ride is another dead cat.

QAnon supporters thought TheDonald was playing 4d chess, turns out he’s stupider than mud. I think you give him too much credit

the Secretary of State for Health then went on the news and also said it was OK

the day after stating on the news he supported Derby police for issuing fines to those two ladies.

one rule for them…etc.

During my ride from home last night, I passed 5-6 fishermen off the inner harbour wall road at Sandbanks, all had driven (Fishing next to their open car boot) but all were 20 meters or so apart), completely harmless but I presume illegal? The only Police I saw was along the promenade between Sandbanks and Bournemouth and they were attending to a young girl who looked like she had just come out the sea.

Am I the only one wondering if Boris’ Bike Ride is another dead cat. Tie the media up in knots talking about it to hide some other misdemeanour somewhere else…?

Absolutely…
How badly is Brexit going today?

I think there is a rich vein of distraction available if you can set people at each other’s throats on the basis of Lockdown Piety…

The truth is most people are making real efforts to comply with both the letter and spirit of the rules and guidance in spite of the inconvenience.
It’s a lazy meeja reaction to start focusing on “non-compliance” following a couple of, relatively minor, but visible infractions…

I wouldn’t put it past our government to have sent Bozza down the Olympic park with his Apollo and wonky helmet, then tipped off a Pap or two. Knowing tomorrows front pages would act as cover for the chumocracies next nefarious scheme…

I’m still far more annoyed by Boris telling people they could travel all over the country for Christmas, when it was self-evident that would spread Covid all over the shop. But that’s fast disappearing in the rear-view mirror for attention span Britain and we’re focussed on apparently “Selfish” exercise choices…

During my ride from home last night, I passed 5-6 fishermen off the inner harbour wall road at Sandbanks, all had driven (Fishing next to their open car boot) but all were 20 meters or so apart), completely harmless but I presume illegal? The only Police I saw was along the promenade between Sandbanks and Bournemouth and they were attending to a young girl who looked like she had just come out the sea.

That’s exactly the nub of the problem with the vague “advice”.

I can ride my bike from home.

But the Sailing club (last time I checked) is still open if you don’t use the building (i.e. warm clothes and dry suits only) and don’t require rib cover (so avoid windy days and be sensible). But has said that it’s “locals only”, even though members are from anywhere upto an hour away. I’ve not been as I think it’s daft, but the option is there.

Same with dog walkers, every gateway to a ROW is 3 deep with SUV’s round here partially blocking the roads.

But that’s fast disappearing in the rear-view mirror for attention span Britain and we’re focussed on apparently “Selfish” exercise choices…

I agree. The government made it quite clear this week that they want us finger pointing at each other for things that are relatively low risk, rather than examining how wrong they have got everything from September to now. Let’s stop doing it. Focus on workplace, school and other indoor transmission still going on because of the government’s choices.

Bohnson was horse riding in Lowestoft now!

https://www.instagram.com/p/CJ8Q3uPLrbM/

But that’s fast disappearing in the rear-view mirror for attention span Britain and we’re focussed on apparently “Selfish” exercise choices…

Couldn’t agree more. I think the other point around what personal common sense is in this situation applies too. If someone’s actions are within guidance/law then move on – personal interpretations are exactly that personal for yourself. I have tried to defend my own “selfish” actions in the past but really if they are within the guidance / law what someone else thinks is just a cows opinion.

Possibly a more important discussion. The main reason I’m not driving anywhere to ride at the moment is to avoid “the gnar”. Crashing and requiring medical attention would be bad for all involved, and on a selfish personal level I really don’t want an injury that ends up having an unnecessarily bad outcome due to insufficient capacity resulting in suboptimal treatment.

I’ve had this thought regularly as one of my lockdown loops goes past a well-used DH spot. Nearly always people there sending it of muddy drops onto slippery landings, far too much risk for the current situation seeing as the local hospitals are pretty much full. I’m sticking to general XC trails to limit the risks but still keeping things interesting.

Scotland’s rule seems sensible…. maximum 5 miles beyond your local authority boundary. That to me would allow a decent ride on road for the majority and for quite a lot of people a decent off road ride too

Great, I’d take that. Dorset Council is the unitary local authority for the entirety of Dorset (excluding the conurbation of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole).

Great, I’d take that. Dorset Council is the unitary local authority for the entirety of Dorset (excluding the conurbation of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole).

Apart from that’s not the situation in Scotland. The poster forgot to put in this bit from the very first paragraph of the guidance….

Travel no further than you need to reach to a safe, non-crowded place to exercise in a socially distanced way. To minimise the risk of spread of coronavirus it is crucial that we all avoid unnecessary travel.

So whilst I live in the largest local authority in the UK (the Highlands) I can’t reasonably drive 3 hours to Wick (also in the Highlands) for a bike ride. But I can cross the border into Moray 3 miles away and travel another 5 miles further to park up to start my exercise if there was no reasonable spot for me to do so closer. But there is, so I’m guided not to. Which seems reasonable in a lockdown where we are all trying to minimise travel where possible.

also in Scotlands rules is stay local and do not go past a suitable place. So you can leave a city but once you reach a suitable place thats it – do not go to a better place.

Exactly. My rather flippantly made point was setting a distance is not that easy. In Kent the local authority thing would mean that I would be limited to a rather small area with about a million other people. Now I live in Dorset it would open up the whole county plus 5 miles into Hampshire, Wiltshire, Devon and Somerset.

I am taking local to be the distance I can ride from home in an hour. That, to me, is not unreasonable, perfectly within the law (and I would argue is a justifiable distance if stopped by the police and taken to court) and puts me at about 12 miles radius from my house as I only ride MTB. I will do long rides within that radius too as it’s not unusual to do 40+ miles without coming within 100m of another person.

I am however very luck to be able to ride into the countryside in pretty much any direction from my door . I have no issue with people driving a few miles to get to quieter spots to walk, ride or take any other form of permitted exercise.

During my ride from home last night, I passed 5-6 fishermen off the inner harbour wall road at Sandbanks, all had driven (Fishing next to their open car boot) but all were 20 meters or so apart), completely harmless but I presume illegal?

It seems it’s definitely legal as the cabinet office have decided fishing is a form of exercise.

It seems it’s definitely legal as the cabinet office have decided fishing is a form of exercise.

Well, it falls under Sport England or whatever it is these days, and seems to help a lot of people with their mental wellbeing. And easier to be more socially distanced than going for a bike ride with a mate.

The poster forgot to put in this bit from the very first paragraph of the guidance….

Travel no further than you need to reach to a safe, non-crowded place to exercise in a socially distanced way. To minimise the risk of spread of coronavirus it is crucial that we all avoid unnecessary travel.

I didn’t mention travel deliberately. I wasn’t suggesting travelling to get to a place of exercise. Just that a roadie, for instance, could ride from home to 5 miles outside their local authority boundary and back again should they so wish (I’m happy to be corrected though)

Im sorry but Johnson has just done this very thing: driven to a cycling loop out of his area

Well, he needed some space to practice his backpedaling and U-turns.

I wouldn’t put it past our government to have sent Bozza down the Olympic park with his Apollo and wonky helmet, then tipped off a Pap or two. Knowing tomorrows front pages would act as cover for the chumocracies next nefarious scheme…

My thoughts exactly @cookeaa
The school meals debacle is raising its head again, Boris is getting some more stick from Marcus Rashford; and there’s bound to be yet another bit of sunlit upland that’s buried under a pile of Brexit red tape and shit somewhere that needs some attention focussing elsewhere too.

It seems it’s definitely legal as the cabinet office have decided fishing is a form of exercise.

all bets are off then, you can ride all day all night (and not “local”) if you want because that’s what the local fishermen are doing round here.

At least a third of my 5 mile radius is in the sea. Can I add that back on in the other direction? 😜

At least a third of my 5 mile radius is in the sea. Can I add that back on in the other direction?

I’m pretty sure you can cut the circle up in to what ever shapes you like a overlay it on a map to make the ride you want. Infinitely narrow but long string shape? No problem.

also in Scotlands rules is stay local and do not go past a suitable place. So you can leave a city but once you reach a suitable place thats it – do not go to a better place.

still quite vague – say I wanted to go for a run, somewhere that wasnt a tarmaced pavement next to a road. If someone of my fitness level felt 5 miles was a normal length run and suitable exercise, could I reasonably argue that a suitable place for me to do this is:
-somewhere like a forest or open countryside big enough that allows a single 5 mile approximately circular loop?
-laps of the local council football pitch?
-up and down the nearest public footpath until I reach my distance?

these achieve the same thing, 5 miles of running without hurting my knees or being run over, but anyone can see that they are listed in decreasing desirability.

At least a third of my 5 mile radius is in the sea. Can I add that back on in the other direction?

In my other home back home, there’s a flippin big estuary in the way. I’d have to take a 30 mile trip each way to be able to access some of my 5 mile radius. Unless canoeing over the water also is permitted exercise?

ayjaydoubleyou

its pretty clear unless you want to find anomalies / argue. Its the nearest public space that is not excessively crowded – so laps of the football pitch it is or whatever other green space nearby that is not crowded.

Even by STW standards, the level of pedantry on the last few pages has sunk to new lows… 😉

Do the minimum you can to keep fit/sane, otherwise ‘they’ could make it binary. Try to do it from your door. Try not to travel. Keep away from people. It might not be your best month of biking…

Apparently, it was like a bank holiday this weekend again at the usual spots. Families walking, as well as bikers. Pretty sure that’s not the intention.

I wonder if this bicker debate has dribbled on for 53 pages is because our chosen sport is on the ‘approved’ list but most of the niche dwellers here would normally go further, longer and are generally more choosy about our riding than fits easily within the guidance?

If this was weightliftingandgymbunnytrackworld or icehockeytrackworld and your chosen sport was effectively shut down we’d be more resigned to a plod around field and a bit of grunting in the garage. It’s the fact that we want full unlimited unfettered access to something we can sort of do that makes us stamp our little grumpy feet.

If this was weightliftingandgymbunnytrackworld or icehockeytrackworld and your chosen sport was effectively shut down we’d be more resigned to a plod around field and a bit of grunting in the garage. It’s the fact that we want full unlimited unfettered access to something we can sort of do that makes us stamp our little grumpy feet.

Strangely, I’d never put it into that sort of context. Feel a bit of an arse for squabbling now 🤣

Put another way – on the Cummings Scale. It might be appropriate not to go to Durham Castle because it’s in the centre of the city and could be quite crowded. Aukland Castle is quite close and the centre of Bishop Aukland is likely to be less crowded – it would be a legitimate second choice. If he wanted to be in the countryside then there’s Raby Castle a few down the road. There is also Witton Castle quite close to Bishop. Arriving at Barnard Castle having rejected four other castles is taking liberties. Then having the audacity to talk about eye tests – definitely in the realms of the dog ate my homework and a hefty fine.

With Boris – riding within a seven mile radius – not really a major issue. Choosing to visit a busy park on route – not really using common sense but how many people really think about overcrowding. Driving to a busy park having rejected closer quieter ones including riding from the door. Not the greatest idea but as a first offence bit of a talking to about acting in the spirit of the legislation and how he could minimise his contact. If he’d gone to Chequers and then out for a ride – that would have been taking liberties.

Its the nearest public space that is not excessively crowded

But it really isn’t that clear TJ. That might be suitable for you but not for others. For example before my grandparents died both would like to be taken out for a walk to keep as fit as possible but both needed to go somewhere with easy access to toilet facilities (Grandad was just old and incontinent, Nan had dementia and basically had the bladder and bowel control of a toddler). The nearest public space with toilets for us is the park which is the 4th public space away (about 3 miles).

We don’t take our kids to that park as it is usually rammed so we take them to Moor Valley Country Park. It’s 6 miles away and probably the 10th public space away but only the 2nd with toilet facilities and the space to keep away from other people. For us this is the first suitable public space

I wrote a post and had bored myself by the end of it.

Pretty much sums this thread up.

At least a third of my 5 mile radius is in the sea.

What you moaning about? The sea doesn’t seem to be a problem in Watopia (Zwift)from what I can tell on my Strava timeline.

I wrote a post and had bored myself by the end of it.

Pretty much sums this thread up.

Fair point

Fair point

FWIW @MoreCashThanDash you’ve basically been writing exactly what I’d write anyway 😁

the centre of Bishop Auckland is likely to be less crowded

Even with a raging Covid infection on my brain stem, and my vision fading to black, I’d still keep driving past Bishop Auckland. 🙂

jonm81

Yes uit is – if you read what the guidence actually says rather than looking for anomalies / ways to get round it. IIRC “suitable” is in there

Yeah TJ. My point is that not only would you have to fully define “local”, you would also have to fully define “suitable”.

As this would be a virtually impossible task without alienating some part of society the current rules allow for almost all circumstances to be accommodated and are therefore probably correct.

So in answer to “Lockdown, can I ride my bike in the countryside?
Yes you can. How far and how long you ride, where the area you ride is and how you get to that area is down to individual personal circumstances as long as it is within the law.

So can we please stop casting aspersions on those whos circumstances are different from yours.

(for clarity I don’t mean you personally TJ 🙂 )

do not go to a better place.

Don’t go to the light TJ?

its pretty clear unless you want to find anomalies / argue. Its the nearest public space that is not excessively crowded – so laps of the football pitch it is or whatever other green space nearby that is not crowded.

So you think 2 of my 3 suggestions are acceptable (imagine that all three can be suitably socially distanced, and my only requirement is car free non tarmac running)
someone else might say only the nearest one is acceptable.
someone else that I should run up and down my (short) garden

Things get more complicated when you add mountain biking into the equation, rather than running.
Should they be entitled to:
-awesome singletrack appropriate to their skill and bike
-some sort of singletrack
-something non-tarmac (bridleways, fire roads)
-something traffic free (towpath)
-anything thats not a busy A road

For me personally, I’ll be exercising from my door, with a walk or run that I can do without stopping, or a bike ride that I can do with 1 water bottle and no food or meaningful stops. Picking my route and time of day to avoid people as much as possible. Living at the edge of a town, I could quite easily walk to the next one and back.
I’ll keep doing this until its made illegal, or restrictions are relaxed and we can go to fun places again.

@ajaydoubleyou The lovely Cressida Dick recommended from your front door yesterday and suggested that her officers would regard that as local.

That’s ok for me as I’m happy to dodge the cars to get into the countryside and I live reasonably close to the fields to start with. It’s a bit of a problem if you are not confident, want to take children and your local drivers are all psychopaths.