Bike rides

[whenskiesaregrey]

So, if someone goes on a 30, 40, 50+ bike ride, what explicit reasons can I give for why they can't do it?

Just for clarity, I don't think it should happen. But when challenged, people say there is no contact, routes are quiet etc. Just wondering how to respond to this.

Taking spare tubes and equipment clearly indicates you are going too far, not staying local and not minimising time out.

It really doesn't. any more than motorists carrying a spare wheel and jack.

Taking spare tubes and equipment clearly indicates you are going too far, not staying local and not minimising time out

No it bloody doesn't, many cyclists carry those things as a matter of routine either in a saddle pouch or in a bottle in the cage. Walking even a mile or two in road shoes is uncomfortable and likely to ruin them. Why comment on something you clearly know nothing about?

Sadly I think some people are just using this thread as an opportunity to bash cyclists, again. A cyclist's place is in the wrong.

30 miles might be a short bike ride in ‘normal’ times but these are far from ‘normal’ times

Going for a 6 hour hill walking might be ‘normal’ for other people

How do you think these are comparable? 30 mile rides are short, everyday activities for cyclists starting and ending from home - nobody is or was doing daily 6 hour hill walks.

Just because you think 30 miles is a long way doesn't mean that it is.

There are broad brush guidelines but no ban on, say, cycling for 90 minutes. Clearly people jogging round their block for 20 minutes are more likely to spread illness than cyclists riding on roads at least a metre from the edge of the pavement and likely most of the time on roads where they pass no pedestrians at all,even at several metres distance.

We are ( 62/65) keen recreational cyclists and lucky enough to live in a beach town with lots of cycle tracks. We are trying to keep within a radius of 1 mile approx of our house so our rides are about 6/7 miles about 1 hour at our leisurely speed.
We are doing the one mile radius thing so we could walk/ limp home if I fell off my bike etc.

No Barbara we have always cycled. My Dh has always done a long cycled commute.

Some cyclists are clearly bending the rules and clearly think minimal,local exercise doesn’t apply to them. Nobody needs extra equipment for a bike ride a mile down the roads. Local means your neighbourhood not a 30 mile bike ride.

They cover that distance in 1 hour (ie the 1 hour's exercise we can take?). Wow.

Taking spare tubes and equipment clearly indicates you are going too far, not staying local and not minimising time out.

Imo people should be stopped by the police if they are NOT carrying these things. You get a puncture or whatever, you fix it on the side of the road, you ride home.

That's clearly preferable to pushing your bike home or bothering someone in a bike shop unnecessarily.

I mean what are you supposed to do if you've cycled 8 miles to the nearest shop,done your shopping and get a puncture? Push your laden bike home? Wouldn't it be more sensible to be prepared?

A mile?
That's a very short distance on a bike. If cyclists all did circuits within gas mike of home that then there would be loads more in the centres of population. Far better they get at least a little way beyond the local walkers, surely?

They cover that distance in 1 hour (ie the 1 hour's exercise we can take?). Wow

There is no 1 hour limit. It's a guideline to aid those without common sense. Clearly if you live in an urban area an hour of jogging may be quite likely to spread disease, whereas if you live in the countryside, several hours on quiet roads is unlikely to do so.

A mile radius from home covers a fair few miles and we go out when families are prob at home ie about 5pm. We are not clogging up the town centre.

Walkers do t tend to use our cycle tracks, they are walking elsewhere, local parks, lengthy secluded beach etc. We are actually considering the impact of our rides on others, some posters are so quick to criticise!

@Missanneshirley I know someone who cycles every day to anf deom work, 3 hours in total, 5 times a day, never had an accident, where are you pulling the 'more likely to have an accident' from?

I've no idea what typo I committed to get autocorrected to 'gas mike '.

My comment wasn't aimed at you, granny - sounds like you've found a really sensible solution for you. I'm thinking of the large numbers of cyclists we get hereabouts - stereotypical 'mamils' mostly.

This really is just another thread with people announcing why the guide lines stay at home, if you have to go out minimise the number of times and the length of time doesn't apply to them, isn't it?

It really doesn't matter what you are going out to do -shopping, permitted exercise, whatever - the same rules apply. Minimise the time you are out and the number of times you go out.

@hearhoovesthinkzebras We're never more than about 4 miles from home and ride a circular route.

Any problem with a bike, we just walk home, still getting exercise. If DS needs a wee, he goes behind a bush. We start from home, we aren't in contact with anyone else, we are maintaining health.

I understand town-dwellers are fed up, not being able to use their cars, but taking it out on country dwellers who exercise safely by cycling or walking is unhelpful.

Go for a carefully timed and planned walk yourself. 11pm in the cool when the streets are empty.... Admire the moon.

For starters, urinating in public is anti social and disgusting.

Secondly, I can't go for a walk at any time of the day or night because I'm shielded.

Thirdly, all the posts that I see on here about how country dwellers can follow different rules - so COVID19 isn't happening in the countryside then, no?

Thirdly, all the posts that I see on here about how country dwellers can follow different rules - so COVID19 isn't happening in the countryside then, no?

Covid-19 is concentrated in London and certain other areas. It likes crowded places. Some parts of the country have far fewer cases. It may be at some point we get staged opening up of different areas to reflect the very different rates of infection

Until then we all have to abide by the same rules.

Which are that you can exercise as much as you like.... Those are the rules. Anything else is merely 'guidance'

My village is built in a big square. I reckon the circuit of the square is a mile, maybe a bit longer.

I could go round the loop 20x a day......but I’d be a lot closer to a lot more pedestrians and run the risk of catching the virus/spreading it more than going for A 20 mile ride down quiet lanes.

Unfortunately, there are no distance or time restrictions on exercise. DH and I have been going on cycle rides separately, but within a couple of mile radius of home. We're telling eachother where we're going and taking our mobile phones with us, so if we have a minor accident/other incident one of us can drive or walk to the other to help, rather than asking someone outside our home to immediately help. Would this be possible for a 30-50 mile cycle ride? The police are regularly stoppin people here and have made it clear they're tightening up this week with people clearly going away for Easter, day trips. I don't think they'll be impressed.

Same rule. Stay at home unless you've got a 'reasonable excuse' to be out.

What's reasonable in one place won't be in another.

Ok. Thank you for trying to clarify the situation to me. Just to add, I haven't challenged anyone, but have seen conversations take place on Facebook when aforementioned Strava routes are posted. I do agree that it doesn't really seem in keeping with things, hence my original question as to whether there are any explicit reasons to support the argument not to do so. I do also agree that worrying about what others are doing isn't great for our MH, but it's difficult to avoid examples in the media of people doing things they shouldn't, so I suppose there is a rhetoric around it, and I feel that as a society we need to help 'police' situations to an extent? Not in a confrontational way, but in that we've got to all be in this together, as we are frequently told.

I do struggle when there are grey areas, so this whole situation is a bit of a minefield for me!! But thank you to those who have constructively tried to help explain this for me.

No you can’t exercise as much as you like outdoors they said it needs to be minimal time out doors.