Have you been out today?

[Cudzoziemiec]

What really struck me was a busker playing a cora on King[']s Heath high street.  Without amplification.  They're not a particularly loud instrument.

I told a kora-loving friend a few streets away about this and he's already planning sometime-in-the-future visits to a kora recital at St George's.

[LittleWheelsandBig]

Whatever one thinks of the government I would have thought (and I am right) that the longer people are out, the more "congestion" there is.  The mathematics is indisputable unless we have an expanding planet.  The question then becomes "Do I give a fuck about anyone else?"

Just back from an hour's ride and saw 4 other cyclists and perhaps 2 dozen walkers (mostly on other streets and footpaths). Not too surprising since I live in the famously-deserted wastelands of West London suburbia. I think we can cope with a bit more "congestion" without worrying too much about fucks.

[Phil W]

Whatever one thinks of the government I would have thought (and I am right) that the longer people are out, the more "congestion" there is.  The mathematics is indisputable unless we have an expanding planet.  The question then becomes "Do I give a fuck about anyone else?"

Depends whether the extra time is spent.  If you live in certain parts of LONDON you may hit areas with over 16,000 people per square km. Where as in areas of the countryside it may be as low as 1 or 2 families per square Km. They will mostly be farmers not cycling in the lanes.

Even in London very few will cycle or even exercise so  2m distance (and much more) on road is easy to maintain.

If however you go to a local beauty spot or park, and stick to narrow paths, you may encounter someone close up every minute or so and therefore come closer to many more people even in 30 mins.

Same with pavements. You can’t keep 2m distance as they are too narrow as much of the space has been given over for cars.

[Feanor]

On our 2:45 ride today in rural Aberdeenshire, we encountered perhaps 10 cyclists, and a couple of runners.
And almost no cars.

Maintaining distance was absolutely no problem.

[bludger]

Yes - did some regents loops.

Everyone well behaved except some late middle aged guy head to toe on rapha who crept up on me and said 'it's only because I slowed down' was his excuse.

Cazzo.

[Andy W]

I went out on the bike this morning (Sunday) and saw 1 cyclist and 3 cars. 9 am northeast Herts. Pick your battles. If I choose to go out on the cross bike I can access bridleways where I normally don't see a soul. Similarly I go out very early or late I m lucky to see anyone. Rural and city life isn't the same.

[Peter]

These are fairly predictable responses and are fine as far as it goes.  The maths remains the same.  Most of the population lives nowhere near open spaces, so the space available for social distancing is far less.  It is NOT the goverment giving the advice but SCIENTIFIC cinil servants and medics, though politicians may be the mouth-pieces.  And obviously I'm not just talking about cycling, which I continue to do myself but "exercise" (possibly including "fucks"!).  If people start to think that actually FOR THEM longer is ok, then the corollary is obvious.  Why do you NEED to cycle for longer?  Why do you NEED to give cyclists a bad name among the ignorant?  Because that is already happening and the fact that the critics are ignorant doesn't alter the effect that may remain in their future attitudes.

[Asterix, the former Gaul.]

Got the new turbo-trainer out of its box yesterday, a fine piece of Italian craftsmanship. I'd quarantined it for 24 hours and today I will put its legs on and connect the bike to it.

My cycling map of the Yorkshire Wolds arrived last week too. It'll be useful one day, meanwhile my cycling will be on the trainer in my garage plus the rare shopping trips with the bike trailer.

Looks like my January-booked trip to the Alps ain't gonna happen this year either..

[LittleWheelsandBig]

The government (following scientific advice on COVID-19) has flipped its advice at least three times in the past fortnight.

Pandering to ignorant critics (appeasement) is a waste of time.

I’ll stick with facts and evidence. If there are issues with congestion, then I will adjust my routing and timings. Here on the suburban streets of West London (not wide-open spaces by any stretch of the imagination), away from the honeypots of traffic-free Royal Parks, I’m not seeing any congestion problem at all.

[bairn again]

Up and away by 7am for a run out to Linlithgow and back this morning before settling into week 4 of enforced working from home. 

Encountered

- 1 bus
- 3 cars
- 1 deer
- 3 other cyclists

None even close to 2 metres, not even the bus going the same way as me on St Johns Rd (God bless Lothian Bus drivers).   

Official advice which I make a point of checking periodically still states

"one form of exercise a day, for example a run, walk, or cycle – alone or with members of your household".


with no explicit time limit which Im taking as licence for us to use common sense and discretion. 

I can only comment on my experience but Ive been delighted to see a noticeable increase in the number of people cycling these last few 2-3 weeks which has coincided with a corresponding reduction in vehicle traffic.  Individuals/families who haven't cycled in years are out on bikes now and its great to see.  There also appears to be more than enough room so that everybody who wants to ride a bike can do so safely.  The road I cycled on this morning would normally be a commuter rat run on a weekday morning.   

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/ 

[Davef]

These are fairly predictable responses and are fine as far as it goes.  The maths remains the same.  Most of the population lives nowhere near open spaces, so the space available for social distancing is far less.  It is NOT the goverment giving the advice but SCIENTIFIC cinil servants and medics, though politicians may be the mouth-pieces.  And obviously I'm not just talking about cycling, which I continue to do myself but "exercise" (possibly including "fucks"!).  If people start to think that actually FOR THEM longer is ok, then the corollary is obvious.  Why do you NEED to cycle for longer?  Why do you NEED to give cyclists a bad name among the ignorant?  Because that is already happening and the fact that the critics are ignorant doesn't alter the effect that may remain in their future attitudes.

How do you make it clear to the casual observer that your cycle rides are shorter ? Could you explain the obvious corollary ? I would also like to see some of your calculations regarding distance cycled and proximity to others as my gut instinct is that people tend to cycle away from population density. I would have thought if the first and last 10 minutes of a ride were in an urban environment, extending the ride in distance and duration would not increase that.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Jaded]

The government (following scientific advice on COVID-19) has flipped its advice at least three times in the past fortnight.

Pandering to ignorant critics (appeasement) is a waste of time.

I’ll stick with facts and evidence. If there are issues with congestion, then I will adjust my routing and timings. Here on the suburban streets of West London (not wide-open spaces by any stretch of the imagination), away from the honeypots of traffic-free Royal Parks, I’m not seeing any congestion problem at all.

Can't wait for everyone to think the same way...

Here's a big fine fine for a lack of social distancing.

[De Sisti]

Wish I could. Week 2 of 12 week home-confinement.

[TimC]

Official advice which I make a point of checking periodically still states

"one form of exercise a day, for example a run, walk, or cycle – alone or with members of your household".


with no explicit time limit which Im taking as licence for us to use common sense and discretion. 

In a verbal answer this morning on the BBC (telly), a government-type personage (not sure who) indicated that "about an hour" was an acceptable period for which we may exercise outside. The reasoning being that the longer we each spend outside, the more crowded our open spaces are and the more likely we'll come into contact. There's absolutely no wish or intent to shut down outdoor exercise, but we need to play our part and be responsible and reasonable with how we use this privilege.

[Kim]

Whatever one thinks of the government I would have thought (and I am right) that the longer people are out, the more "congestion" there is.

On average, sure.

But given that housing density is uneven, it surely makes sense for people to be able to go further?  (Similarly, I think cyclists who feel able should be sticking to the roads, and not taking up the local parks and shared-use paths needed by the walkers and runners.)

[Peter]

I haven't got the energy to deal with all the refutations of my earlier post that I received.  Some are perfectly reasonable and some are just special-pleading.  The fact is that we've been asked to adopt certain behaviours for the benefit of the whole population.  Some of them may seem, and may even actually be, over-cautious - but what is so upsetting about accepting them?  If you can't stay or get fit on half an hour a day, then you possibly need medical intervention.

Places (from Linlithgow to London) only appear uncongested because MOST PEOPLE are accepting the restrictions.  If everyone who saw some of the posts on here about how deserted it all looks, decided to take advantage of it then the situation would deteriorate rapidly in terms of space.  Of course, we're all sensible on here .... mostly, aren't we? But lots aren't.

My initial post was based on NHS guidelines which have been available for some time and I draw the panel's attention to this para:-

Important
These 4 reasons are exceptions – even when doing these activities, you should be minimising time spent outside of the home and ensuring you are 2 metres apart from anyone outside of your household.

[Octave]

My newly devised Corona Crit took 1:08 this morning, hope Mr Gove doesn’t start following me on Strava or I will have to up the average speed. The few cars about seem to be practicing social distancing which is a bonus.

More seriously my normal little local rides do include two Royal Parks but for the time being I have decided to avoid them to dodge possible congestion and limit stress (mostly mine).

[Asterix, the former Gaul.]

 Got the turbo up and running.

Upside is I can ride when and how far I like whatever the weather, I don't need to clean the bike and no worries about the cops.

Downside, the scenery is a bit samey.  I need to get the app sorted and fix up a telly.

[Ian H]

45km circuit today took me within 3 or 4 metres of no-one.  2 or 3 friendly greetings from a distance was the total of interactions. 

A couple of different 13km circuits on foot a few days ago resulted in even fewer sightings of fellow humans.

The short walk down the High Street to the shops is potentially rather more hazardous, especially as the smaller shops don't really have the space to keep distant from the staff, let alone other customers (some wait outside, but there's often some elderly person dragging a trolley and brushing past). 

We're shopping for elderly neighbours as well. 

[Asterix, the former Gaul.]

Will shop for an immune compromised relative, also a keen cyclist. Very fed up he can't go out but resigned to it. His SO won't go shopping lest she brings CV back.

[Phil W]

  If you can't stay or get fit on half an hour a day, then you possibly need medical intervention.

Of course, we're all sensible on here .... mostly, aren't we? But lots aren't.

Fit for what?  Simple fact is the fitter you are the better the outcome if you get infected. If you significantly reduce exercise (which we are all doing anyway) your ability to deal with infection will significantly reduce.

The deputy chief medical officer was talking about it potentially being up to 6 months. Whilst I wouldn’t expect a massive reduction in a couple of weeks (though VO2 max can decline 20% in such a period), over 6 months it would be very significant across all fitness markers. I’d rather not have my fitness level reduced to that of just above a couch potato, just as I catch Covid-19 thank you.

HIIT outdoors in 30 mins? No thanks I’m being extra cautious out on the bike to avoid any potential serious accidents requiring medical attention.

As for your second bit about being sensible. That’s usually a proxy for someone saying if you don’t agree with me, you are not sensible. That is patently nonsense..

[MikeFromLFE]

20k in suburban and outer-suburbs of Leicester.
A surprising number of joggers and cyclists about.
The outer roads were very quiet, but there was a lot of cars around in the city. I crossed over the M1 twice and it seemed to be mostly lorries, with a couple of cars hooning down the outside lane.
Generally most vehicles were behaving well, but one MGIF and a near head-on with a courier van. No problem giving pedestrians and runners plenty of space.

[Peter]

@ Phil W

What you personally "would rather not have" is not exactly the issue.

As for the bit about "sensible" - it is not code for what you suggest at all.  I don't mind disagreement, I'm a big boy.  It's non-code for "some people are not sensible".

[Phil W]

@ Phil W

What you personally "would rather not have" is not exactly the issue.

As for the bit about "sensible" - it is not code for what you suggest at all.  I don't mind disagreement, I'm a big boy.  It's non-code for "some people are not sensible".

Peter for someone who doesn’t mind disagreement you are spending an awful lot of time pretending your opinion is right and everyone else is wrong.  Just accept you have an opinion, that is all. You are neither right nor wrong. It’s just your opinion on what you personally will do with your interpretation of the guidance. Others have different opinions.

I could tell you to spend no more than 5 minutes exercising outside your property and it would be no more correct than your arbitrary 30 min figure plucked out the air.

Perhaps if you got out for a bit longer each day you wouldn’t spend so much time on here trying to prove you are right when no such proof is possible.

[zigzag]

some people feel entitled to point the finger and tell how others should behave/live - nothing new..

i've been out today, but only in my back yard to wash my bike - it's done 10,000km.