Cycling in the time of Corona

Does anybody have an opinion on why they think that the UK won't heavily restrict recreational cycling in the same way that Italy, France and Spain has? All three of them started with the same guidelines as the UK, and all three of them decided to take further action because of a perception that cyclists were taking the piss despite it being unlikely that it caused any problems.

Whats different here?

I really had no idea that was how I was coming across. I am mortified.

I also think that's a little unfair.

I don’t. You’re alluding to having insight to greater knowledge at a national level, which it looks like you don’t have.

Whats different here?

Nothing. I think you’re right on this, it’s only a matter of time.

I'm not sure that is wise right now. Maybe we can mount boxing gloves on the end of selfie sticks and go at each other that way?

Or alternatively just the time-honoured tradition of bike jousting. Excuse me while I go searching for a goretex glove to throw down.

The problem with "guidance" is it's just that. If the UK government wants people to exercise but stay near home then do what the French have done; pass a law which says no more than 1 hour and no more than 1km from home. Easy.

Complaining about and threatening people who choose to ignore something that isn't the law is perverse. Either it's the law or it isn't.

I have experience in policy making decisions in pandemic planning because I am a former member of the UK's pandemic planning team. Albeit only for a year in 2009/10. Hence why I claim to have insight into how anecdotal and not necessarily constructive information can be fed into the decision making process. That is the limit of my direct expertise in the area.

It'll be you London lot that spoil it for the rest of us.

Jesus is this still going on?

It's gonna be longer than LPW as we all turn on each other.

"OMG you used a turbo trainer with the window open?! Your heavier breathing could cause infection to spread further!"

Hopefully. It's you commuter belt scumbags that spoil London for us. :-*

I've started to realise how much of a cock I'm sounding about this for which I apologise. I am a terminal pedant and this goes against me.

I did not intend to hint about any inside information over policing beyond informal conversations with officers I see and speak to almost every day. Over the last few weeks I was just trying to point out that the perception of the issue is far more damaging than the reality and wanted to point out that what I have been predicting to happen here has already happened in other European countries.

It doesn't matter that recreational cycling probably has zero/minimal impact on transmission. Sadly the thing that matters is that its easy for incorrect perceptions to be fed into the decision making process as we have seen elsewhere.

We're in the second week of the lockdown and we are already seeing people becoming a bit more slack with their conduct in relation to the guidelines as indicated by the increase in traffic. Further tightening is inevitable.

because of a perception that cyclists were taking the piss

This is the part of your argument that I take issue with. I don't see any evidence of this. Yes RLJ and generally the red tops love to give cyclist a kick any chance they get. But currently there's a lot of other shit going on and I can't see any evidence that cyclist taking the piss is something that's being reported on or discussed in the wider community at all.

If cycling gets stopped because of a further general lock down then fair enough, but your suggest that changing our actions now will have an bearing on this rubbish. cyclist will just be caught up in stopping motorists moving about.

Right now there doesn't seam to be any suggestion that a further lock down is coming. Matt Hancock doubled down on the get out and get some exercise line last night and also said driving to walk the dog is also fine. If anything that's the rules being relaxed from the general perception of the rules from a week ago.

Your heavier breathing could cause infection to spread further!"

Don't joke. This is a common complaint from what I can tell.

Now you're banning jokes?! OMG when will this all end?!

What if they dont explicitly ban jogging, but offer ambiguius "guidance"?

.

If cycling getting stopped because of a further general lock down then fair enough, but your suggest that changing our actions now will have an bearing on this rubbish. cyclist will just be caught up in stopping motorists moving about.

When the lockdown first happened I did say that a couple of times on this thread but my opinion changed.

I think you are right, when it happens it will be because of a general tightening but I also believe that the government will cite reasons for the tightening and the perception of excessive car journeys and cycling will like be one of the mostly bullshit reasons given to justify it.

Yeah this kind of thing I can definitely agree with. No need for bike jousting after all :P

When I started bickering about this on this thread my trigger was a few people saying "they can't ban cycling", "they won't ban cycling" and "it doesn't matter if I cycle, it won't harm anybody".

The first two are outright incorrect and the third is mostly true, apart from the fact that these situations arise from perception and not from actual risk/impact. My point has (almost) consistently been that it doesn't matter if it makes no sense, it doesn't mean it won't happen. See France justifying their recreational cycling ban on the potential impact to health services if you fall off, which surely is just an excuse.

I think my new world order hobby will be laying Stingers on any road near here I see someone doing >20mph on.

I onow that strava have been working with authorities in Italy and Spain...

Again genuine question, but can we please have a citation for this?

which surely is just an excuse.

?

France?

If true it sounds like a great way to entirely destroy the not insignificant user loyalty they’ve spent the last ten years building.

Evidence is now emerging on social media that the French police are receiving tips from members of the public pointing them to rides cyclists have posted on Strava.

Social media does not contain ‘evidence’.