I’m in the ‘at risk’ group & isolating the best I can. However, I’m still out riding for a couple of hours, avoiding people & not visiting the café.
A few minutes ago Hospital rang to say my operation this Friday has been cancelled! Half of me didn’t want to go in and the other half wanted the job done. Now await new appointment.

I’ve got to ask, all the “it’s much better than being locked inside/won’t do any harm” folk do you disagree with the rest of the advice or just the (currently theoretical) bits you don’t like?

If, and it’s a big if, the powers that be say we shouldn’t be doing it, it’s unlikely to be because of an underlying anti cycling agenda. It’ll be because some people who understand this whole thing much much better than you or I, think it should have a positive impact.

Don’t you think it’s a bit odd to think “this advice good, this advice BS”?

(strikes me as a lot like thinking speed limits/mobile phone use behind the wheel and various other STW favourites don’t apply to “you” because you’ve never crashed your car)

*FWIW I think it’s all the wrong call, but sometimes you have to shut up, sit down and do as your told so I will.

Can you point to any actual advice that says we are not to go out on our bikes?

Because I have not seen any. Its all about avoiding contact with people

I also have to continue to go to work which is a far more risky enterprise than going for a cycle ride

@tjagain you’re right about the work risk thing. I’m off at the moment but dreading going back in next week. As a postie I’ve got to sort through hundreds of items of mail each morning from all over the world, many of which will have been in the system for less than 24 hours after being handled by god know who with god know what. Got to get out of the habit of licking my dry fingers while sorting.

The lockdown rules from Belgium

Going out for a walk or a run, or riding a bike is allowed, “even encouraged”, the authorities say, as long as people observe a distance of one and a half metres from anyone who is not a member of their household.

Can you point to any actual advice that says we are not to go out on our bikes?

Assuming you’re still up in Scotland, has anyone, anywhere, suggested such advice exists [relevant to you]?

If they tell us to stay in I’ll stay in and ride Zwift, until that time though I’ll carry on keeping my distance, I never meet folk locally anyway 😀

dangerousbrain some folk on this thread seem to be saying going out for a bike ride is not on. I would like to see this advice that leads them to say that.

There are one or two on this thread currently in Spain (and Italy I think) amongst other places, so it maybe they’re talking about there rather than here. Of course they could just be making it up.

Email from Audax UK
——————–

Dear Member
You may already be aware from the AUK Forum and social media of the Board’s decision on Monday night to suspend recognition of all calendar, permanent and DIY events, with immediate effect, until further notice.
While the decision was, of course, taken in response to the updated government advice given yesterday, I thought it might be helpful to give some insight into why we have decided to suspend all AUK events and the implications for the various events that run under the AUK umbrella.
Our overriding priority must be the health and safety of our membership and the wider community. Long distance cycling poses two fundamental challenges in relation to Covid-19.
The first relates to infection control. The importance of hand hygiene has been repeatedly stressed by the health authorities but maintaining this can be challenging on long rides. Additionally, control points and cafes can bring riders, volunteers and the public into close proximity and so increase the risk of the virus being spread, in either direction.
A further factor is that at this stage we have no indication of the extent to which rider fatigue may affect susceptibility and resilience to infection.
The second challenge is that, while the risk may be small, accidental injury can and does happen on Audax rides. In normal circumstances, we manage this through risk assessment of rides and the expectation that participants take reasonable care.
Our health services will be under extreme pressure in the coming weeks and months. Riders who are injured may struggle to access timely and appropriate care and will take resources that could be used to the benefit of other, potentially critically ill, patients.
As well as the risks to riders and the public, a reputational risk to AUK attaches to this. It is hard to imagine that there would be much sympathy for an injured rider who had prioritised gaining a couple of Championship points over their own and others’ well-being. We understand that the decision of the Spanish and Italian cycling federations to ban all recreational cycling was taken in response to this.
In summary, we would be failing to meet our organisational responsibility to benefit the health and well-being of the community, and we would be in breach of our health and safety policy, which requires us to undertake specific risk assessments and provide a safe environment, taking the specific nature of randonneur cycling and related disciplines into account.
<
… admin details
>
I hope that all members will appreciate that this decision was not taken lightly. We will formally review the position at the next Board meeting on 22nd April and update you as appropriate.
My best wishes to all members and their families during these challenging times.

Doug and Dot are in Spain and are subject to strict restrictions on cycling.

That’s the issue, dangeourbrain, If the “advice from powers that be” is different in different places and different times, there are different people thinking different things.

In Spain, going for a bike ride is currently illegal, would get you a big fine, and as a result of the strength of that direction, it’s being taken very seriously to the extent that it’s socially unacceptable too. In other countries, keeping people healthy through exercise is seen as vital, and there’s advice about how to do it safely

We’re all facing the same issues, but advice is different, because opinions of those taking the decisions is different. The same is true of speed limits, blood alcohol levels for driving, drugs, parking on the other side of the road, wearing a helmet when cycling and a thousand other things.

It’s not totally irresponsible to feel the official line in belgium is more appropriate than the official line in Spain, or the line intented to keep the majority safer in London isn’t especially relevant in your house in the Highlands.

Can you point to any actual advice that says we are not to go out on our bikes?

As I’ve already said, no one is saying this is the advice in the UK. Lots of people getting very high and mighty have either misunderstood, or maybe like being hypothetical keyboard warriors

Doug and Dot are in Spain and are subject to strict restrictions on cycling.

And molgrim,spekkie and me. Maybe we should have a group hug.

Don’t you think it’s a bit odd to think “this advice good, this advice BS”?

No, it’s completely sensible. Judge each bit on its merits. Just deciding on a blanket basis that everything that X says is wrong and everything that Y says is right is odd.

strikes me as a lot like thinking speed limits/mobile phone use behind the wheel and various other STW favourites don’t apply to “you” because you’ve never crashed your car

It’s not saying “You can’t ride your bike but I can ride mine”. It’s about saying “everyone should carry on getting exercise as long as it’s not particularly risky”. Deciding what risky actually means is another issue. But if that level of risk is acceptable for me then it’s acceptable for someone else with the same risk factors as me.

Maybe we should have a group hug

I seem to recall this is acceptable, but only if you hire a neighbour’s dog so you’ve a reason to be outside first.

After a trip to Aldi this morning, I know where I’d much rather be for my own health and well being!

Deciding what risky actually means is another issue.

That’s sort of my point. None of us here is qualified to make that assessment in the current situation. (If we were we’d be shut up in a lab working our asses off not worrying about if it’s acceptable or not to be out riding our bikes.) you and I have, for example, no way of knowing if increased exercise is beneficial, neutral, or detrimental here, there are plenty of “known unknowns” for the public, let alone “unknown unknowns” you simply don’t have the data to make anything other than an emotional judgement.

Don’t you think it’s a bit odd to think “this advice good, this advice BS”?

No, it’s completely sensible. Judge each bit on its merits. [see above] Just deciding on a blanket basis that everything that X says is wrong and everything that Y says is right is odd.

But that’s not the issue, no-one so far as I can see its saying “what X says is right, what Y says is wrong”. – unless you mean X is Spain Y is Belgium, in which case misrepresenting it imo, because clearly what is being said in Spain is what’s “right” for Spain but possibly [currently] irrelevant to Belgium (the straw man there being no bull fights because of Covid-19, its relevant in one, not the other). Its the same as the Chinese easing lockdown, I’m guessing you don’t think the Spanish would be wise to do that at the moment?

If you trust that our government is doing any of this for the right reasons, and it’ll have any beneficial effect, what extra info do you have to make you think that some of it isn’t sensible?

(again all theoretical at the moment here in the UK anyway) whilst I accept the transmission risk of a bike ride from Richmond North Yorkshire is less than round Richmond Park, who is to say the ban is to reduce transmission? Who is to say you won’t just find lots of people travelling to places its “ok” (so they’re busy) and so on.

“Go for a fun drive with family”

🤔

“Go for a fun drive with family”

Doughnuts round all the empty roundabouts obviously!

“Go for a fun drive with family”

beetle drive?

beetle drive?

What about a Whist drive?

Going out for a walk or a run, or riding a bike is allowed, “even encouraged”, the authorities say, as long as people observe a distance of one and a half metres from anyone who is not a member of their household.

Seems sensible to me. Small groups, keep your distance, and don’t go to a cafe or pub.

I’ll be taking a flask and sandwiches with me from now on.

@daern – what’s the source of that info? Notable that it covers gym etc but no mention of swimming even though PHE have said typical chlorination levels of pools should inactive Sars-cov-2. Obvious risk from the changing facilities but at my local pool you were wise to avoid touching anything in there anyway.

Well I’ve had a phone consultation with my doctor so he could issue a repeat prescription for my inhalers so I asked him about this very subject. This is the advice he gave:

* If you want to go for a ride, go.
* Avoid congregating in groups.
* Minimise time at cafés/pubs etc.
* Don’t take risks.
* Tell someone where you are and roughly what time you’ll be back.
* Wash all your kit after every ride.
* Don’t share water or food with others.
* The boost your immune system and mental health will receive is far greater than any small risk you’ll face.

Basically what I thought. Ride solo and on gentler trails, stay away from the busy areas and keep up the hygiene regime. I’ll take that as a green light to ride until it’s specifically banned.

Plus I have new inhalers 😎

Don’t you think it’s a bit odd to think “this advice good, this advice BS”?

I think it’s a bit odd to be conflating official advice which has actually been issued by the authorities with a hypothetical ban on all cycling.
The UK authorities have not told people to stop cycling. You don’t need to be a public health expert to understand why they haven’t done that.

I was out this lunchtime. My social distancing was strictly enforced.

From the Gruaniad

The cycling industry will join forces to call on government to exempt cycling from any ban, due to its strategic role in the nation’s resilience – not only as transport but a form of exercise, the Bicycle Association has said.

Italy and Spain banned leisure cycling in the last week. The industry wants the UK to avoid cycling bans, and it wants bike shops exempted from shop opening restrictions as it believes cycling has a strategic role to play in mitigating some of the impact on peoples’ lives of restrictions on transport and access to the outdoors.

This follows 30 prominent health and transport experts’ calls to protect cycling and walking plus keeping parks open, and warns of the risks of confining otherwise healthy people to their homes.

Getting outside for fresh air and green spaces could be crucial in maintaining physical and mental health in the population during these times, they say.

I self isolated on the trails with 3 mates today 🙂

Weird one that…..
Whilst I agree with them, I think it’s just destined to make the general population loathe us even more.

Me me, us, us us, look we’re special… The rules shouldn’t apply to us… Cos were cyclists.

Lead balloon.

God how I loathe this piece of shite Google pixel phone.

Please don’t buy one….

Me me, us, us us, look we’re special… The rules shouldn’t apply to us… Cos were cyclists.

Except that, for once, the word “cyclist” doesn’t appear at all in that text. It’s all about “cycling”. And, what’s more, it’s lumped in with walking: the whole point is that they’re resilient forms of transport (in terms of lack of dependency on fuel and infrastructure) and exercise which are broadly accessible to almost everyone.

If you’re scared of people citing the benefits of cycling because you identify as a cyclist then you’ll end up stuck in a vicious circle of logic.

Bez beat me to it – so much of this thread had been the result of people not reading something properly and thinking it through – see also the other virus threads! 😄

I went out for a solo ride at lunchtime, ironically my employer has ‘banned’ the work social clubs (running, cycling, gym etc) which seems pointless given that if one person int he office get’s it we’re basically going to be stuffed whether we go for a ride together in the lunch break or not.

There were a lot of people out walking the dogs! I usually only see one or two at most, but everyone shirking from home!

Weird one that…..
Whilst I agree with them, I think it’s just destined to make the general population loathe us even more.

Me me, us, us us, look we’re special… The rules shouldn’t apply to us… Cos were cyclists.

Lead balloon.

I can see the front page of the Sun now “cyclists demand special treatment”, actually……..no I can’t see that at all.

Only on stw could people be debating advice that hasn’t actually been given.

Surrey Hills today

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=116543076624796&id=105970951015342

There’s been no statement banning cycling in UK. I can’t find the link at the moment but there had been comments from MPs I think, or at least some GPs, advising cycling being good form of solo exercise.

The risk and pressure on NHS does apply however, but then the risks from driving are far greater and that hasn’t been banned. Only non-essential foreign travel currently advised against.

The pressure isn’t there yet though. There were 30 confirmed cases in Surrey as of yesterday. Not all of those will have required hospital treatment and many of those are old cases. Might only be a few in ICU if any currently in hospitals near me.

However it can all go through the roof in the next few days/weeks/months. At that point I expect cycling will be banned. I really hope not as it’s a lifeline for me for mental health amongst other reasons.

Anyway, social gatherings advised against but again, not banned. That’s been enough for events to cancel which maybe is fair enough, and a lot of informal group rides binned too, which I’m not so sure about.

Got no problem with going out with a few friends and just keeping distance. Still, I’m happy with solo rides. Just more of a problem for night rides.

If WHO give cycling a green light as above, then fine by me. Just knock the gnar on the head.

Meanwhile – https://www.forbes.com/sites/carltonreid/2020/03/17/do-not-ban-bicycling-in-covid-19-measures-industry-urges-uk-government

James Wilson MTB training guy has put up 3 indoor workouts on his site

3 Free Workouts To Help You Stay Strong For The Trail & Life

Got no problem with going out with a few friends and just keeping distance.

The government advice to reduce transmission of the virus being “ Avoid gatherings with friends…”

but then the risks from driving are far greater and that hasn’t been banned

Are they?

The average person (not adult, person) in the UK makes 2 “car” journeys a day that’s a lot of driving for not a lot of accidents.