Don't mess it up! As warm weekend looms, cyclists reminded to ride responsibly

So Michael Gove said '' do no more than you normally would'' and everybody loses their shizzle over a world class triathlete going 200 miles.

Eyebrows will be raised and mutterings from Knighthood questers if I dare to start doing what I ''normally'' do this time of year, you know what with it being sportive season and Sundays usually being taken up with 75 - 100 mile rides.

And yet....not a single squeek from anybody mentioning the huge number of ''huge'' people who suddenly appear outside on the trails and paths looking completely bewildered at all the nature and stuff! People on the Ridgeway in Wiltshire wearing jeans and Nike fashion trainers walking dogs fatter than they are the poor little b*ggers. The bikes that have been dusted off from the back of the garage sqealing like a shunter locamotive from a total lack of lubricant and tyres so flat the wheels are on the rims!

 Do ''no more than you normally would''? Then tell 90% of the people I saw today to  get back indoors, sit on the couch, open another packet of biscuits, tune in to the Big Brother re-runs and leave the outside stuff to those of us who actually knew it was there before googling it last week.

There will be more early onset coronaries this weekend than cyclists with gravel rash.

 Just saying

 Actually it's really good to see, hope the lazy sods keep it up after.

It was glorious out there today. Plenty of people on bikes - I saw age range from toddlers all the way through to probably 80-plus on my ride. People on dutch bikes, people on top end pro kit. And a distinct lack of arsehole drivers. Reminded me of riding at 5am in the summer months even though I was out way gone 10. The only people I saw "misbehaving" were the older generation in the bus queue in town, unless of course they count the local care home as "same household". Whenever I encountered walkers I took the option to ride down the centre of the road, mainly because there were so few vehicles about so it was easy.

uh-oh...

You don't have to "rules lawyer" this - just bear in mind 2 things.

1.  Use your common sense.

2.  Don't be a dick.

Ride in a group where you aren't obviously a family living together - you're dicks.
Do 200 miles - you're a dick.

Its not about our individual personal convenience it's about us as a group being seen as being responsible.

In the current climate no-one is gonna care or take time to analyse whether it's a few bad apples ruining it for the rest of us - so it's up to us all to play it safe - to the point of calling out (politely) silly behaviours.

Over the past two weeks I have been cycling through central and north London regularly, as part of my job has been to service and provide cycles and eBikes to NHS workers. The reduction in traffic has been an eye opener and a deserted central London has been quite gobsmacking at times. Like a post apocalypse (without the zombies) Yesterday I cycled back my usual route but i have never seen anything like it in London. It was like the Day of the Triffids with cycles rather than triffids. Cycles were everywhere and every type of cyclist - teenagers, older people, mums and dads with their children! , sporty types, cargo bikes,  Bromptons, tricycles and so many children. These cyclist all exist but you never see them because normally they dare not ride on the road, they dare not pootle along, they dare not take their children for a ride, they dare not use the public highway which is their right and which they, too, have paid for. 

Personally I won't be out doing a sneaky 100 miles. I'll probably use my exercise time for a walk with Mrs M, as we have done every day so far. But if you really must go and cycle my suggestions would be:

Dial it back a notch, keep your head up, enjoy the scenery, don't group ride and above all don't be posting it all over strava or social media.

Stay safe and think of others.

Two different ideas seem to getting confused (as in, fused together).
On the one hand some EU countries have banned cycling:
"The restrictions appear to be in place not primarily over fear of infection while cycling, but rather the potential cost to emergency services in the event of a crash."
https://www.cyclist.co.uk/news/7869/spain-bans-cycling-amid-coronavirus-...

On the other hand, some UK Police people have been getting excited about "lycra clad" cyclists going about in club groups, as evidenced by their lycra being all of the same design. The talk in the UK has all been about cyclists flouting social distancing regulations, swarming in cafés etc.

Now commentators are putting these two together to warn that if UK cyclists can't learn from the experience of their continental cousins and so behave themselves then they will suffer the same punishment.

Just don't ride where people are likely to walk. I agree with the Richmond Park ban, places like that and the canalways will be heaving this weekend. Let the pedestrians take the blame, ride solo.

I think I'll get up early and hit the BMX track for some training laps first thing.

The park was very busy today and the track was full of random riders wobbling along very slowly. 

I'd rather have been and gone before they get there.

If the "no group riding" rule can't be enforced, how will the "no riding" rule be enforced? By drivers punishment-passing you while shouting "you shouldn't be on the fucking road!"?

I've been thinking about this for the past couple of days. How exactly is a 4 hour ride once a week more dangerous than 4 1 hour rides every week? Especially if you keep within about 10 miles of where you live for that four hours. If I'm having to ride in and out of the suburbs to get to where I want to exercise, I think doing that once a week is less dangerous and involves less chance of catching anything than doing it four times a week.

My impression is this one hour thing is done more to make sure other members of the public don't think cyclists are "taking the piss" rather than any actual risk assessment.

People mishandling avocados has resulted in injuries requiring trips to A&E - are we banned from eating them? (https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/shortcuts/2017/may/10/avocado-h...) Also I know of people who are doing DIY right this minute. I am grateful for being to ride my bike, just that for me (and I suspect many others) a weekly 40-50 mile ride gives me a better mental health benefit than short 1 hour rides.