Ghent bans cyclists dismount signs; Rooligan: Australian cyclist headbutted by a kangaroo; Your thoughts on Boris Johnson breaking lockdown accusations; FOI request suggests ambulances aren’t slowed down by LTNs; Peter Sagan’s plan + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
Your thoughts on Boris Johnson being accused of breaking lockdown with Olympic Park bike ride
Yesterday Boris Johnson was accused of breaking lockdown, even though he didn’t appear to break the law, by travelling to the Olympic Park in Stratford to go for a bike ride. In the Evening Standard’s exclusive story, they said that the government guidance on exercise during lockdown in England is that you can only exercise once a day and “you should not travel outside your local area.” The Standard made no reference to the regulations, which unlike the guidance, are enforceable by law. So it seems the PM did not break the law.
However, he has been criticised for breaking or stretching the limits of the guidance which states: “This [outdoor exercise] 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).”
In our cycling dos and don’ts in a time of pandemic – how to be a responsible cyclist piece, we cite the Government’s Covid-19 Travel Guidance in advising not to drive somewhere to ride if possible as only essential travel is permitted. Travelling a short distance within your area to exercise is mentioned as an essential reason for travel, however some would say that while it is legal it probably isn’t a sensible or desirable thing for people to do.
No they don’t the guidelines do but the law doesn’t hence the confusion. Not helped by Derbyshire police
— terribletim (@terribletim6) January 11, 2021
Jesus Christ if 7miles is too far to exercise anyone that enjoys being a roadie is screwed
— James (@moodyjames_1) January 11, 2021
Monday's poll results
With the Champs-Élysées to undergo a £225 million makeover that will turn the famous avenue into an “extraordinary garden”, we asked you if the Tour de France should change up its finale…
The majority of you want to see the Tour keep the traditional final stage on the Champs-Élysées, while 30% wanting to see something new.
Rooligan: Australian cyclist headbutted by a kangaroo
Thankfully this incident is less serious than some of the other videos we’ve seen of cyclists hitting kangaroos. The video was posted on YouTube by cycling camera company Cycliq. As the cyclist rolls past, the animal jumps out and goes straight for the front wheel.
Posting alongside the video, Cycliq said: “Kangaroos really, really can’t change direction well… Animal encounters are an important factor in identifying cycling safety hotspots.”
Our archives are, unfortunately, full of kangaroo/cyclist incidents more serious than this one…
In 2018, this video did the rounds of a group ride getting taken down by a roo bouncing across the road. Two years earlier, four cyclists were hospitalised after crashing when they hit the carcass of a dead kangaroo while riding in Victoria.
Deceuninck-Quickstep team manager Patrick Lefevere says athletes should have to wait for coronavirus vaccine like everyone else
Patrick Lefevere wasn’t impressed by UAE Team Emirates riders getting vaccinated at their winter training camp due to their team’s connection with the UAE. The country has offered the Chinese Sinopharm vaccine to all its citizens. Speaking to Sporza, Lefevere stated that he does not think cyclists should get preferential treatment.
“Athletes have to queue up, just like everyone else,” he said. “It doesn’t make me jealous. That means they are more efficient than us. I think it mainly has to do with the country. I don’t think a squad can get a vaccine right now unless they do it in a devious way. I suspect the Emirates had good connections with China and that they will have paid for it.”
Last week, former pro rider Riccardo Riccò said that he didn’t want to be injected with a “who knows what shit” vaccine. Riccò is currently serving a lifetime ban from cycling handed to him by anti-doping authorities…
More Tour de France final stage options
Fair point from Global Nomad in the comments about the difference between the Tour de France final stage finishing with a Paris procession and it finishing in Paris with a competitive race. How can the Tour keep its traditional finish on the Champs-Élysées and also make the final day of racing competitive? A time trial would be the obvious suggestion. Think 1989 and Greg LeMond overhauling Laurent Fignon to win by eight seconds.
The sprint stage on the Champs-Élysées is a bit more difficult… It’s an easy stage for the sprinters’ teams to control and even strong riders struggle to build a significant lead over the bunch. Imagining the GC changing on the final day without someone puncturing or crashing at an awkward moment seems unlikely. Anyone got any ideas? Or is it simply a case of saving the champagne glasses for after the finish line and treating it like any other sprint stage?
Geraint Thomas launches new podcast - and he's told road.cc all about it
It’s here!
Episode 1 of my new podcast, the Geraint Thomas Cycling Club is out now, and the club is officially OPEN.
Me and the amateur @tomfordyce are joined by one of the world’s best climbers @richie_porte 🇦🇺
🎙️https://t.co/rAZiBu5bQ9
🎙️https://t.co/ZqZQRpaDzH pic.twitter.com/O4wGWMZnd4— Geraint Thomas (@GeraintThomas86) January 12, 2021
Following on from his popular ‘Watt’s Occurring’ pod, G is back with the Geraint Thomas Cycling Club. Jointly hosted with journalist Tom Fordyce, the podcast aims to “give fans an unprecedented insight into the world of elite cycling”, featuring special guests while also charting Thomas’ mission to build his own cycling club. To become a ‘member’ of the Geraint Thomas Cycling Club (GTCC), you simply have to listen to the podcasts so we’re told.
The podcasts will be weekly, and are available on iTunes and Spotify. What’s more, we’ve interviewed G about it and asked him a few bonus questions too… so look out for that on the site around teatime.
Brompton Bike Hire tells NHS staff who want a bike to get in touch
We’ve got a limited number of @Wheels4Heroes bikes that got returned at the end of last year available for key workers.
Drop us a a DM if you’re wanting support getting too and from work. pic.twitter.com/SAaKNoQKMI
— Brompton Bike Hire (@BromptonHire) January 12, 2021
Brompton Bike Hire has a limited number of its Wheels for Heroes bikes for NHS staff to use for free. Their campaign in the spring used crowdfunding to help expand their existing fleet so that more NHS key workers could get to hospitals safely during the pandemic.
FOI request suggests ambulances aren't slowed down by LTNs
Was there any discernible impact on ambulance response times while the @wandbc LTNs were in place? From the information provided by @Ldn_Ambulance in response to an FOI request, it would appear not. Compare Aug/Sept 2019 with Aug/Sept 2020. 1/n pic.twitter.com/qQOl09FJR4
— Open Tooting (@opentooting) January 7, 2021
However, @Ldn_Ambulance did restate their support for Low Traffic Neighbourhoods and explain that they would work with local councils to adapt, rather than remove, schemes where necessary. 5/5 pic.twitter.com/A3aViwuOcj
— Open Tooting (@opentooting) January 7, 2021
Peter Sagan sets out plans for 2021 — will decide on Tour de France and Olympics after the Classics
Despite a report in Slovakian newspaper Prvada, Peter Sagan says the Classics are currently the only races on his calendar. Bora-Hansgrohe director Jan Valach told the paper that Sagan will race the Giro d’Italia, Tour de France and Olympics in 2021. That may well turn out to be the case but the seven-time green jersey winner wants to focus on returning to the form that saw him win the Tour of Flanders in 2016 and Paris-Roubaix in 2018.
Sagan told TuttoBici: “At present, nothing is to be considered certain. As I said, after the Classics we will see what happens. Already many races have been cancelled and no one is able to say if there will be further changes to the calendars. I think it will take some time to plan everything.
“If I had to decide right now, I would certainly try to win the green jersey of the Tour again, but nobody knows what will happen. We may have to be forced to arrive in Japan two weeks earlier, but now there is a vaccine and things may change and there may be different rules, no one is able to say what will happen and how we should prepare, we need to see what will happen in the next five months.”
Sagan’s director Valach had told Prvada: “We start with the spring classics, followed by the Giro, the Tour, the Olympics. Peter is the type of rider who can withstand more load, benefit from it, it doesn’t tire him and he gets better and better.”
Bora-Hansgrohe teammate Emanuel Buchmann has decided to ride the Giro d’Italia after seeing the Tour de France’s time trial heavy route and hopes to compete for a place on the podium having recovered from the back injury that hindered his 2020 Tour.
“The current plan is for me to focus on the Giro. We decided that the Tour with the many flat stages, the time trials and the few mountain finishes wasn’t made for me. At the Giro, I have a better chance of finishing on the podium or finishing right at the front,” Buchmann said in an interview with Radsport.
Durham bike thief caught after fingerprints found at crime scene
A bike thief who stole two children’s bikes from a cellar in South Street in Durham was caught after fingerprints found at the scene matched his. John Davison and an accomplice snuck into the property at 7.45pm on July 15, taking two of the three children’s bikes in the cellar. A neighbour’s CCTV footage showed two men riding away on the bikes, which were Christmas presents from the children’s grandmother.
The Northern Echo reports that forensic checks at the scene found fingerprints on the cellar door which matched with Davison.The 36-year-old was arrested and admitted a charge of burglary. He was handed a ten-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, with 150-days unpaid work.
Lizzie Deignan: "Women's cycling has grown so much. I do feel like I'm part of a new sport"
Lizzie Deignan says the standard of women’s cycling is higher than ever and that it keeps her motivated to stay at the top of the sport in 2021. Deignan won four races in 2020 and is targeting the Olympics, World Championships and the inaugural women’s Paris-Roubaix in 2021.
“[Paris-Roubaix is] really exciting, but there’s also just the fact that women’s cycling has grown so much,” Deignan told Sky Sports. “I do feel like I’m part of a new sport. It’s harder to win races and that is still motivating. Winning as many races as I did in 2016 is way harder now. It’s not easy and that keeps me motivated.
“Things that won me races back then, being able to attack at the bottom of a steep climb and pull away won’t work now. Now the speed into the bottom of the climbs, because of the depth of the peloton, doesn’t allow my jump to get me as big of a gap as it used to.”
Deignan signed a new contract with Trek-Segafredo until 2022 having previously contemplated retirement. Last year, she won La Course and Liège–Bastogne–Liège.
Ghent bans cyclists dismount signs
‘Cyclists dismount’ signs will soon be banned in the Belgian city of Ghent. The new rule will be presented to the Ghent City Council this month and will prevent contractors and utility companies using the signs. Belgian politician Filip Watteeuw says it is necessary to intervene as roadworks have become a problem for cyclists and businesses. He said: “Works are started at peak times, signage is inadequate, sidewalks are broken up without safe passage, cyclists are pushed onto the road, traders see access to their shops blocked.”
Het Nieuwsblad reports the Ghent Cyclists’ Association are pleased by the development and the Fietsersbond, a cycling union that lobbies the government on cycling issues suggests that ‘cyclists dismount’ signs have no legal value and that instead bike riders should simply slow to walking pace and use common sense.
“There is a new generation of cyclists for which fast is the norm. Pedestrians are allowed to react if cyclists go too fast. But a cyclist who cycles at walking pace simply takes up less space than a cyclist walking with a bicycle” said Yves De Bruyckere, a Fietsersbond representative.
Miguel Ángel López tests positive for Covid
.@SupermanlopezN no podrá acompañarnos en la concentración 2021 de Almería tras ser positivo en un test de COVID-19. Comunicado Oficial ⬇️
Miguel Ángel López won’t be able to join us at the 2021 camp in Almería after a positive COVID-19 test. Press Release: pic.twitter.com/YrLu6QGENM
— Movistar Team (@Movistar_Team) January 12, 2021
12 January 2021, 09:08
12 January 2021, 09:08
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That's the most convoluted logic I can imagine! Cyclists don't frequent this road because there is no cycle lane. Then a cycle lane is put in for the cyclists. Now cyclists don't use the cycle lane even though there IS a cycle lane! What's the point of putting in a cycle lane and wasting all that money!!!! ("Forgot" to mention that cars park in the cycle lane.)
@ktache isn't it mostly European standards which apply for impacts with pedestrians? notjustbikes was suggesting in on of his videos that as a result of the US tariff strong-arm tactics Europe at least might be doing a deal with "reciprocal recognition of standards". That would essentially declare the US tests as good - and apparently US car makers get to mark their *own* homework also...
Cradle Care you say? "Nobody shops for their baby clothes on a bike!" "You certainly can't carry a child on a bike!" "No way can you carry *two* kids on a bike!" "These cycle paths make it too dangerous for children which is why we all drive them and need to park right outside (to minimise the danger from ... er ... cyclists" I'm being unfair, but isn't it mostly "we can't walk / cycle because places are unpleasant / feel too dangerous *because of all the motor traffic*?" Yes, I know there's quite a steep hill there...
There was a bit in the forum a while back, someone was attempting to create a web based thing. Forum went a bit sour with the upgrade, but I do remember mark1a's fine travelling tool kit...
Clearly it's hard not to do so - indeed you seem to have separated "us that ride bicycles" from others already... Ultimately concentrations of people - that is, urban spaces - work best when there is indeed a (physical) separation between quite different modes of transport *. Trains, motor vehicles, "cycles" and pedestrians. And bigger, heavier vehicles (driven by the same indifferent drivers) just make things more dangerous / put pressure on authorities to allocate even more space for their use etc. * Or as eg. the Dutch sustainable safety principle has it - homogeneity of speed / mass. And "combine where possible, separate where necessary". Note that means it *can* be sensible to share space but only where speeds / volumes of the more dangerous mode(s) are suitably controlled. Of course - "different roads for different modes" "doesn't work" if we start from the assumption that motoring is *and will/must be* the predominant mode, so that should get the existing direct routes and everything else must then be designed around it...
Well, I can only say I hope Berk have improved their QC. I’ve had numerous (due to the fact that if you break one, Berk will simply send you a new saddle, no questions asked), and only one hasn’t broken. For info, I’m under 70 kilos, so well within the weight limit. You can’t argue with the customer service though - as I say, it’s a no questions asked replacement.
Bits of a car are made to deform too, absorbing energy and increasing impact time, ain't so for a bus...
So much to unpack here. Are you perhaps another example of the armed cyclist? And if so, is the reaction because you rode in with big iron on your hip? (I know, it's the Arizona ranger... 😉)
This is a flawed article and creates a polarization between those that drive an SUV and people like us that ride bicycles. There’s a premise here that if somebody drives an SUV they don’t care about cyclists or pedestrians. All motor vehicle/cyclist/pedestrian accidents aren’t caused by SUVs. While it’s clear that driving an SUV might create a greater risk. It does not take into account the size of the SUV or the quality of the driver. Is it a teenage driver? An adult? Are they an extremely careful driver? Are they under the influence of anything? Is our cyclist behaving responsibly? Do they have adequate lighting and a helmet? If you were about to buy a car. Any car. And I came to you and I said your buying this car increases the risk that you will have an accident and severely injure a cyclist would you still buy the car? So I think the research is flawed. I think if they had asked the person purchasing the SUV, on a scale of 1-5 how concerned are you with harming a cyclist you would have a better picture. I just don’t think you can conclude somebody doesn’t care at all because they buy an SUV. Just as I stated earlier that you could not surmise that if somebody bought a convertible. I am HO it is articles like this that creates such a clarity between cyclists and motorist. For example, if I believe this article and I am out on the road and see an SUV I will assume they don’t care about me as a cyclist or a person.? So I don’t think this kind of article really helps to bridge the gap between motorists and those more vulnerable. I lived in Houston, Texas for many years and commuted to work on highways, freeways and beltways. Belonged to a large organized cycling group. My view is I’m a motorist that loves cycling. Now I live in Colorado and even when people scream at me as they pass, they do it from a safe distance. These are not my enemies. They’re just people doing what they do.
45 thoughts on “Ghent bans cyclists dismount signs; Rooligan: Australian cyclist headbutted by a kangaroo; Your thoughts on Boris Johnson breaking lockdown accusations; FOI request suggests ambulances aren’t slowed down by LTNs; Peter Sagan’s plan + more on the live blog”
Regardless of what’s law and
Regardless of what’s law and what’s a guideline, it’s how this looks that’s really important. Given how most of the media cover leisure cycling in this country it’s just adding more fuel to the anti-cycling rhetoric flames. The roads are undoubtedly busier than lockdown #1 and the likely reaction to this makes me more nervous about riding on the road.
My intention this lockdown is to drive a short distance (I live on the outer edge of the New Forest) and then cycle off-road on forestry tracks. That way I’m not cycling in my local town which is busy both in terms of pedestrians and traffic and feels like a higher risk to me. Certainly not possible to give pedestrians 2m distance for example because the roads and pavements are narrow. If we’re still locked down come March I’ll go back to what I was doing in lockdown 1 – heading out at first light for road rides. Intending never to be more than either 5 miles from home or 5 miles from the car, and fully self-sufficient with spare tubes, tools, quicklink, pump, food, and drink.
I have no love for Johnson
I have no love for Johnson but there are many many other reasons to cricticise him.
This is really being exaggerated for political point scoring. If it emerges he did drive to the Olympic park to then cycle it will highlight that, despite the flagship cycle lanes going in and out of the centre, many of London’s roads remain hostile and unsafe for cycling.
from the back entrance of
from the back entrance of Downing Street he could have ridden laps around St James Park – perhaps the only partial cycle lanes dissuaded him.
For me the 7 miles isnt an issue particulalry – my commute across London was a similar route, rather if he was driven there, but he is the PM. Dont think he is doign a good job but he does perhaps need to be given some slack for this and rather criticised for his governments lack of strategic thinking.. PS i’m riding rollers on my balcony – too ‘dangerous’ out in East London…
yesterdays Poll on the tour
yesterdays Poll on the tour finale seemed to mix up two things – finishing in Paris on the Champs Elysees and having a processional last stage. I am happy to keep the finale there but would prefer a fully raced finale (not just the sprint) .
I don’t really get the
I don’t really get the distinction. Once they get on to the Champs it is a race. I wonder if this would even be a thing if they did the processional bit, stopped just outside the circuit, and then restarted for the race. Or did the processional bit around the Champs, and then did an out and back loop for the race part.
For me where the question falls down is that it’s not either/or. There’s no reason why they couldn’t mix and match – circuit race one year, something a bit different the next. Maybe even throw in the odd time trial on the circuit.
[Edit] And the latest update is just confusing things even more. Just because the GC may not change doesn’t mean the racing isn’t competitive. The whole thing about a Grand Tour is that there are lots of contests going on, and the GC is just one of them. No-one complains when you have a sprint stage on Stage 17 that ‘the racing isn’t competitive’, so why should it be any different on the last day?
Finishing on the Champs
Finishing on the Champs-Elysee is now such a tradition, it is difficult to see it being changed. However, there is absolutely no reason for the final stage to be a procession (which I assume is just one of cycling’s many weird, unwritten rules and agreed by the teams rather than mandated by the organisers).
The 2020 Giro had an amazing finish, with the final time trial and you could easily do that with a finish on the Champs as usual. If you want a bunch finish, then the current sprint stage already provides that, but the idea of having the teams process in, and then formally start the stage when they reach Paris, could be one idea … but that again assumes that the teams will still not wish to compete for the GC on the last stage.
It is that part that needs to be dealt with … maybe the organisers insisting on a competitive final stage when the leader is less than, say, 5 minutes ahead at the start, on pain of team sanctions if they don’t.
That’s the thing – people
That’s the thing – people always talk about this being an ‘unwritten rule’, but it isn’t. It’s just that it would be utterly pointless. Anyone who tried it would find themselves immediately shut down by the combined weight of their rivals and the sprint teams. The only thing it would achieve is making everyone make an extra unnecessary effort and your name being mud in the peloton as a result.
The only time where it would have any chance of working would be if you were within a couple of seconds of another rider and tried a late attack for bonus seconds at an intermediate sprint, but even then your chances would be vanishingly small.
But the main question is, why is there this insistence on the GC being in play on the last day in the first place?
mdavidford wrote:
Haven’t you just literally described how pro cycling’s unwritten rules work though? There is no rule anywhere, but try to “break” it and the combined weight of the peloton’s scorn comes down on your head … just like attacking when the leader has a mechanical (or needs a slash). There is no rule against that, but woe betide anyone who does it (looking at you Movistar).
And personally, it doesn’t bother me at all whether the last stage has the GC in play … the green jersey is often very much in play in Paris, and the KOM never is, so I agree, why does it matter. There is a whole load of stages along the way where the GC is unlikely to be affected in any way, it just happens that one of those is the final one.
I would say the unwritten
I would say the unwritten rules are where there are situations where you are or are not allowed to take an advantage. So your example of not attacking when someone has a mechanical would be an example where you’re not allowed; drafting the car back after you’ve had a mechanical would be an example where you are.
Attacking on the Paris stage would be more a case of doing something to no advantage, but which quite reasonably pisses off the peloton. It would be more equivalent to taking a leak in the bunch without moving to the side of the road first…
If Boris went out for a 15+
If Boris went out for a 15+ mile cycle ride to take a break from running the country, in order to get his head straight and have some meditation time then Chapeau.
If that’s what he did then why is Downing Street being so coy.
The only response they’ve given is that “he didn’t break any rules”. Does that mean he didn’t break the law or that he didn’t breach the guidelines? Again when pressed on specific details of the guidance they are being evasive. Why won’t they give people advice on “best practice”. Isn’t the PMs interpretation of the guidance important?
I know I’ve become rather anal about the guidelines but that is exactly the message that Whitty and Hancock were putting out all of yesterday. “Don’t try and Flex the Guidelines or we will impose tougher laws” seemed to be the message.
Honestly, I’m more concerned about the interpretation of the “need to go shopping” but it’s going to be hard to persuade people that they shouldn’t go out and buy paint from B&Q or to drive to Costa or McDonalds (ie things they want rather than need) if the PM is happy to drive across London to visit a park.
Re: the Boris Johnson article
Re: the Boris Johnson article, if the fat tw@t spent more time riding a bike and less time fvcking up the UK, he’d be less of a fat tw@t. QED.
Come down off that fence
Come down off that fence Mattie and tell us what you really think of him ….
Chris Boardman shared a tweet
Chris Boardman shared a tweet yesterday of a picture of the Dutch PM cycling to a cabinet meeting, looking like any other normal Dutch cyclist, in a totally normal Dutch cycling context,and I doubt it even registered in the Dutch press as newsworthy, not even as a ‘and finally story’.
The UK PM goes for a bike ride and the UK press pack & chattering classes immediately react with apoplexy about whether the distance he rode broke their latest set of imagined guidelines or rules and arguing over whether Stratford can be considered to be “local” to London.
Be more Dutch about things is my thought.
I think Boris was naive, as
I think Boris was naive, as obviously his actions will be taken, out of any context, as a template excuse by others.
However, he is the PM. So long as he is not on holiday then he is at work. It is part of the job that the PM will be out and about seeing at first hand how the country is shaping up. For example witnessing that popular “exercise” venues become rapidly overcrowded. To have a PM holed up in No10 relying on newsfeeds and reports from flunkies for his picture of the wider world is a scary thought.
Shame the default is to ask
Shame the default is to ask has Boris broken the local rule? The media by doing this just encourage more cycling hate rather than encouraging / welcoming responsible exercise. Surely this is as much setting a good example as is visiting hospitals. In reality on a bike you are far less likely to cause covid contact compared to walking/ running in a busy park. Boris needs exercise as much as the next person.. the press need to look at themselves.
Greygeezer wrote:
But it’s so much easier for lazy journos to attack the PM for errant riding than for his multitude of failures over covid and Brexit.
Shame the default is to ask
True enough, but the legitimate question would be: “on the back of your recent visit to the Olympic Park could you clarify the “local rule” as a number of of our readers want to ensure they are not going to get fined if they go for a 50m cycle ride”
After all he is the PM surely he would know!
I think Boris missed a trick
I think Boris missed a trick there. If he’d have said, “It’s a fair cop” and ponied up 200 notes, not only would some think him more a man of the people, but in terms of getting the message across it would have been the best £200 ever spent.
Sriracha wrote:
Guaranteed this would have been met with Nicola Sturgeon demanding he resign, as she did with Dominic Cummings…Yet she didn’t resign when she broke mask rules at a funeral wake. Hypocrite.
Boris has been hoisted upon
Boris has been hoisted upon his own petard. His Governments insistence on putting in place “guidelines” instead of hard and fast laws is creating a mess for the police who have no clear power to enforce them, and for people because they dont know where they stand and are therefore tempted to interpret them in the best light for themselves.
Right now there are people dying because of his intransigence – screw the cycling angle.
The problem with hard and
The problem with hard and fast laws is that they’ll inevitably come up against edge (and not so edge) cases that make a nonsense of them. The issue is not so much putting things into guidance, as the fact that the guidance is ill-thought-through and ambiguous, the government keeps trying to talk about it as ‘rules’, and it’s not accompanied by the necessary honest national conversation about risks and reasonable behaviour. It’s more of a communication problem than a codification problem.
I think its both, but it does
I think its both, but it does skew more towards comms agreed.
This is the only valid thing
This is the only valid thing Boris has ever done, cycling to keep fit is a positive. 7 miles from home is easily justified as being local. Apart from that he’s an utterly inept buffoon and complete privileged Tory cockwomble!
Dame Cressida Dick’s take on
Dame Cressida Dick’s take on the Boris Johnson story:
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme the trip had not been “against the law – that’s for sure”.
People should go for exercise “from your front door and come back to your front door”, she said, adding: “That’s my view of local.”
I’m happy withn that interpretation. Unfortunately:
Policing minister Kit Malthouse told BBC Breakfast that Johnson was taking his once-a-day exercise, saying as long as people are “staying local within their own mind” and are not mixing “then that is reasonable”.
clearly nothing like the actual definition of local in the guidance document.
Luckily for us by the time he reached Sky Mr Malthouse apears to have had a rethink:
On Sky News, Mr Malthouse also admitted that “local” was open to interpretation, adding “but people broadly know what local means”.
“If you can get there under your own steam and you are not interacting with somebody… then that seems perfectly reasonable to me.”
Although that potentially precludes buying coffee and cake.
Personally I find it bizarre
Personally I find it bizarre anyone would want to buy a takeaway coffee and a cake for immediate consumption. Is it really worth the risk of queuing and potentially catching it from surfaces/your hands? If you must have something to eat/drink just take a flask and a couple of jaffa cakes. But of course the govt won’t close takeaways because of the impact that would have on the economy…
What if you are an essential
What if you are an essential/key worker or you work in eg construction?
Not everyone can take with them the requirements for the day, so have to rely on takeaways to some degree.
kil0ran wrote:
Sounds like you’re describing a picnic ?
It’s increasingly annoying that the media and police seem obsessed with the exercise clause of the guidance and have no interest in whether people are going to buy things they don’t need. Seems like they don’t understand the difference between need and want. They are clearly more interested in protecting the economy than people’s mental health and wellbeing.
Trouble with not protecting
Trouble with not protecting the ecomony is that there is a balance between medium long term objectives and short term. No good if in the medium term we are all worse off overall. That will lead to reduced public services and they are already stretched for police and social care.
Not an easy equation to balance.
IanMK wrote:
absolutely it should. nothing essential about stopping for coffee and cake. You can make coffee at home and even bake cakes.
If you travelling so far you cannot carry enough food and water for your excercise then you are not local.
I can’t understand why coffee shops are still open, they are not selling meals to people who have to work. If we are serious about reducing interactions and the spread of the virus why plan for additional interactions
As there’s people still going
As there’s people still going to work, then it’s reasonable to allow coffee shops etc. to be open for business. Just think about frontline workers who might feel like they deserve a treat and want to grab a coffee and slice of cake during their break.
As I said up thread
As I said up thread
What if you are an essential/key worker or you work in eg construction, plumbing, gas heating ? Or police, ambulance staff out and not near their base ?
Not everyone can take with them the requirements for the day, so have to rely on takeaways to some degree.
Even if you normally have a work canteen, there is no guarantee it will be open.
edit : checked the regs and the default is work place canteens have to shut unless they are are certain type eg hospital, care home, school or where there is no practical alternative for staff at that workplace
hirsute wrote:
At the risk of seeming argumentative, who? Who, being capable of going to work, is not capable of taking a sandwich and a flask?
Sriracha wrote:
People who don’t own a flask?
Sriracha wrote:
Someone working multiple shifts who’s already consumed their lunch and didn’t realise that they were needed to do multiple shifts?
‘seeming’ ?
‘seeming’ ?
You must have a magic flask that does not lose heat and unlimited space for all those flasks filled with different liquids.
Being an ambulance driver is harrowing enough at times – don’t you think they would appreciate a fresh drink when stuck out on duty and unable to get back to base?
Current guidance from Sport
Current guidance from Sport England is as follows:
“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)”
https://www.sportengland.org/how-we-can-help/coronavirus/return-play/frequently-asked-questions-national-lockdown-restrictions#travel-11509
Note that fishing (coarse and sea) are allowed, as is rowing, kayaking, etc. The majority of anglers would need to drive in order to take this form of “exercise” so driving a short distance to do exercise is currently OK.
Sitting on a chair outside is
Sitting on a chair outside is exercise – amazing
Does that mean knitting is allowed?
hirsute wrote:
Well, that’s cycling!
British Rowing have told all
British Rowing have told all rowing clubs to close their doors – you can only go rowing if you have the means to do it from a private residence/car and from a public launching space. This effectively means there’s no rowing going on save for a few lucky individuals, all because there is a perceived risk in accessing boats from inside boathouses, rather than the risk of single sculling (one of the most socially distant sports there is)! Luckily cycling uses the same muscle groups. 🙂
Contrarian idea: The TdF has
Contrarian idea: The TdF has thrived when it’s tried to mix things up a bit. In the early days, heroically difficult stages built the Tour’s reputation. Then visiting other countries added new interest. A very short first or second stage helps encourage some aggression and the jerseys change hands. The quirky final stage of the 1989 Tour became the most exciting in decades, only beaten by 2020’s penultimate stage (a more unconventional time trial).
The best future for the TdF is one where it has a couple of unconventional stages, whether there’s a 400km slog, or something cheeky with points and big time bonuses, or a cobble stage. There are some amazing gravel routes in the Alps. Maybe a madison-esque team-centric stage in a velodrome.
Just do something different for one or two stages – and experience has shown that the TdF is much more exciting if that happens near the end.
RE Durham bike thief: I tihnk
RE Durham bike thief: I tihnk the most news-worthy aspect of this story is that the police actually bothered to attend the property and check for fingerprints!
OnYerBike wrote:
Sounds incredulous that the police did the first bit of being bothered, even before you get to the rest.
Posh bit of Durham.
Posh bit of Durham.
Ghent is right of course. If
Ghent is right of course. If road works allow the progress of drivers and pedestrians, why not cyclists?
There is a UK government leaflet about cyclists at road works, TAL 15/99 https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20120606202833/http://assets.dft.gov.uk/publications/tal-15-99/tal-15-99.pdf but none of the highway engineering companies have read it, or if they did, they didn’t understand it, and if they understood it, they just can’t be arsed to follow it.
They love putting diversion
They love putting diversion signs, often only relevant to motorists, blocking cycle routes too.