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Original poster

Exercise - where is the logic??

86 replies

YogaLite · 12/01/2021 12:30

Why or why genuine users of countryside outdoor spaces travelling there in own car are scapegoats for the crisis caused by people crowding the streets before Christmas and mingling at Christmas???

Has anyone ever caught a virus on a walk in the hills??

Has government (and now police) lost the plot??

What is the point of pounding a pavement by the shops that are still open with people around?

I would far prefer to drive 5-10-20 miles TO AVOID them. As it is, I don't go out as constantly trying to dodge people on pavements is not what I would call a healthy exercise.

OP posts:
Lemons1571 · 12/01/2021 13:38

It’s all a distraction from the real issue of underfunded hospitals and the huge spread within them (and care homes). Irritates me how tens of thousands of people can pick up covid in hospitals and care settings, but the media and government manipulate the focus towards Nora Jones resting on a bench.

gnushoes · 12/01/2021 13:39

It's really pissing me off as well. Leave exercise alone - focus on places INDOORS where people are meeting (supermarkets) and supermarket queues.

trulydelicious · 12/01/2021 13:40

@Orangeblossom77777

I wondered if it was to take the focus off the Christmas mixing etc which is basically the fault of the Government

Similar happened after Eat out to help out, public blamed then as well

It was people who mixed and 'ate out to help out'. They did not do it at gunpoint, no one forced them. They could have chosen to be more sensible

PurpleDaisies · 12/01/2021 13:43

[quote trulydelicious]@PurpleDaisies

I don’t think the government will be keen to criminalise driving for exercise when Boris appears to have done that yesterday

He rode his bike for 7 miles, he didn't ^drive for exercise'[/quote]
That hasn’t been clarified by Downing Street (unless I’ve missed it) which makes me very suspicious that he probably drove first and then rode his bike.

I still don’t think that’s a problem at all but politically it’s more difficult to defend.

CaptainMyCaptain · 12/01/2021 13:46

I'm not a fan of Johnson but driving 7 miles to cycle in a safe place seems fine to me.

trulydelicious · 12/01/2021 13:47

@PurpleDaisies

he probably drove first and then rode his bike

It's highly unlikely.

90 minutes from no10 to the Orbit tops. Why would he need to be driven (for someone who is used to cycling)? It's ridiculous

badpuma · 12/01/2021 13:48

[quote trulydelicious]@PurpleDaisies

he probably drove first and then rode his bike

It's highly unlikely.

90 minutes from no10 to the Orbit tops. Why would he need to be driven (for someone who is used to cycling)? It's ridiculous[/quote]
Downing Street have been asked to confirm whether or not he drove and they have refused to do so. If he had cycled, it would be an easy answer.

trulydelicious · 12/01/2021 13:49

@PurpleDaisies

Even if he did, he's the Prime Minister, he should be allowed to do it for security reasons (hardly two mates driving to catch up over a Starbucks situation) We are losing all perspective here

lazeeboy · 12/01/2021 13:51

Downing Street have been asked to confirm whether or not he drove and they have refused to do so. If he had cycled, it would be an easy answer
Yes, of course they would have quickly issued a statement if he had cycled there, which they have not done.
It is reasonable to assume therefore that he was driven.

I have no problem with this. 7 miles seems perfectly acceptable to drive for exercise. The Guidance (not even law) states that '• outdoor exercise. This should be done locally wherever possible, but you can travel a short distance within your area to do so if necessary (for example, to access an open space)" which is why Boris Johnson is allowed to travel 7 miles for exercise.

It is also why all of us are allowed to travel 7 miles for exercise.

PurpleDaisies · 12/01/2021 13:52

@trulydelicious it’s the fact that Downing Street haven’t come out explicitly saying that he was riding his bike the whole time that makes me think he wasn’t. That’s an easy defence that they’re not making. You’ve got to question why.

Plus, there’s just been a statement from the PM’s official spokesperson responding to Cressida Dick’s comments this morning saying exercise should begin and end at home. Spokesperson said something like that’s the best plan but it isn’t always that simple.

I want to say again that I sometimes drive before exercising to access a safer running route. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with Boris driving first.

trulydelicious · 12/01/2021 13:52

@badpuma

If he had cycled, it would be an easy answer

Maybe they are looking after his safety? He is the Prime Minister after all

PurpleDaisies · 12/01/2021 13:53

[quote trulydelicious]@PurpleDaisies

Even if he did, he's the Prime Minister, he should be allowed to do it for security reasons (hardly two mates driving to catch up over a Starbucks situation) We are losing all perspective here[/quote]
Read my bloody posts properly.

I have said multiple times that there is no problem with driving first.

Original poster
YogaLite · 12/01/2021 13:53

I don't care about Boris but I want to be free to drive out of town for a days walk in the countryside - but it's not allowed Angry

OP posts:
copernicium · 12/01/2021 13:54

I can access open space pretty much at the end of my street. Pre lockdown on my dog walks of a few miles here, I would pass one or two people. Same route, same time, and I'm now passing people shoulder to shoulder, stopping constantly to step back to let them pass. I could drive a few miles along the road to access more remote areas but know people have been fined for doing so.

trulydelicious · 12/01/2021 13:55

@PurpleDaisies

cross-posted, yes

yearinyearout · 12/01/2021 13:57

I don’t think the government will be keen to criminalise driving for exercise when Boris appears to have done that yesterday.

I'm no fan of boris but didn't he cycle there?

PurpleDaisies · 12/01/2021 13:59

@yearinyearout

I don’t think the government will be keen to criminalise driving for exercise when Boris appears to have done that yesterday.

I'm no fan of boris but didn't he cycle there?

Look at the recent posts.

Why aren’t Downing Street saying he cycled there if he did?

There’s no issue with driving first other than it’s politically more tricky to defend.

Wontdothisagain · 12/01/2021 14:00

Totally bloody agree.

The truth is most people are catching the virus at work or by visiting people in their homes.

NOT driving to a green space for a god damn walk ffs.

yearinyearout · 12/01/2021 14:00

Not according to Cressida Dick, she said this morning door to door under own steam only or face fine.

She may be senior police officer but she still doesn't get to MAKE the laws, which clearly say you can drive to exercise. So she can stick it up her arse as far as I'm concerned.

JamesMiddletonsMarshmallows · 12/01/2021 14:01

It baffles me too OP. I strongly suspect that it actually has something to do with people who are over protective about "it's MY local area" - you know the type! Think because they had the good fortune to be born somewhere or settle somewhere that the surrounding public land belongs to them too and "outsiders" are to be treated with disdain and suspicion

lazeeboy · 12/01/2021 14:03

@yearinyearout

Not according to Cressida Dick, she said this morning door to door under own steam only or face fine.

She may be senior police officer but she still doesn't get to MAKE the laws, which clearly say you can drive to exercise. So she can stick it up her arse as far as I'm concerned.

This is literally making up a law.

There is no such law and even the non-binding Guidance issued to the public by the government allows us to travel for exercise if necessary, for example to access an open space.

What kind of state do we live in where the police are allowed to enforce laws that do not exist, while refuse to enforce laws that do exist (face coverings).

lazeeboy · 12/01/2021 14:05

[quote trulydelicious]@badpuma

If he had cycled, it would be an easy answer

Maybe they are looking after his safety? He is the Prime Minister after all[/quote]
The prime minister is allowed to do exercise because he is a human being not because he is the prime minister.
We are all human being who are allowed to leave our homes for exercise and the Guidance specifically says we are allowed to travel for this exercise, just like Boris John has done, and we can also do, as fellow humans requiring exercise.

stclair · 12/01/2021 14:09

In the Telegraph this morning Grin

Exercise - where is the logic??
lazeeboy · 12/01/2021 14:12

@stclair

In the Telegraph this morning Grin
This was me after lockdown 1. I was so afraid of being stopped by the police and having to explain why I was driving 5 miles to access open space for exercise (which was actually allowed) that I didn't leave the house for 2 months Sad. I put on a stone and lost a lot of lung capacity, making me more vulnerable if I were to catch Covid-19.

I don't want to exercise from my front door because that puts me at an exponentially higher risk of catching Covid-19 - busy suburb with whole households exercising across the entire narrow pavement, many joggers and cyclists huffing past in close proximity, busy roads so we are all crammed onto narrow pavements.

The Guidance says I can travel to access open space for my exercise. Why are the government and police lying that this is not allowed?

badpuma · 12/01/2021 14:20

[quote trulydelicious]@badpuma

If he had cycled, it would be an easy answer

Maybe they are looking after his safety? He is the Prime Minister after all[/quote]
Yes and it's perfectly reasonable for him to drive short distances to exercise for any reason whatsoever, exactly as it is for everyone else.