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news
coronavirus - cyclists rides past social distance warningLondon and Southeast England move into Tier 4 – What does that mean for cycling?
Reaction to yesterday’s announcement that London and much of southeast England would, from today, be subject to new Tier 4 restrictions aimed at halting the spread of the coronavirus has centred on the impact on Christmas, plus a last-minute rush to leave the capital before the new rules came into effect.
Here, we take a brief look at how the new rules affect cycling, should you live in, or close to, a Tier 4 area, with British Cycling having immediately suspended all sanctioned activities in the areas affected and underlining that people there should not leave them to participate in cycling activities or events.
Currently, Tier 4 applies to Kent, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Surrey (excluding Waverley); Gosport, Havant and Portsmouth in Hampshire; Rother and Hastings in East Sussex; London (all 32 boroughs and the City of London); and the East of England (Bedford, Central Bedford, Milton Keynes, Luton, Peterborough, Hertfordshire, Essex excluding Colchester, Uttlesford and Tendring).
The regulations themselves are yet to be published, but the Gov.uk website makes clear that people should not leave or be outside of their home unless for a specific purpose or with a “reasonable excuse,” such as for work purposes if that cannot be done for home, or for essential shopping (bike shops, as before, remain “essential” retailers).
In terms of travel generally, people are not allowed to leave a Tier 4 area, or enter one from elsewhere, except for limited essential reasons, such as work, education and caring for vulnerable people – so if you commute by bike, and have to cross the boundary between tiers, that would appear to be permitted.
As far as exercise is concerned, the government says: “People can also exercise outdoors or visit some public outdoor places, such as parks, the countryside, public gardens or outdoor sports facilities. You can continue to do unlimited exercise alone, or in a public outdoor place with your household, support bubble, or one other person.”
However, it goes on to say: “If you need to travel you should stay local – meaning avoiding travelling outside of your village, town or the part of a city where you live – and look to reduce the number of journeys you make overall.”
Among exceptions to that, are “Spending time or exercising outdoors,” but the government adds that “This should be done locally wherever possible, but you can travel a short distance within your Tier 4 area to do so if necessary (for example, to access an open space).”
Another exception to the ban on meeting people outside your household or support bubble in a Tier 4 area is worth noting, applying to “elite sportspeople (and their coaches if necessary, or parents/guardians if they are under 18) to compete and train.
At present there is no clarification on what might constitute “a short distance,” but one thing that does seem clear is that exercise is not included among the exemptions allowing people to enter or leave a Tier 4 zone.
With a handful of exceptions – Havant, Gosport and Portsmouth in Hampshire, plus the Peterborough Unitary Authority area – all Tier 4 local authorities form one contiguous zone around London (see above for the full list of the areas now under Tier 4).
And, other than Peterborough, which is adjacent to two Tier 3 areas to its north, and Portsmouth, with its direct ferries to the Tier 1 Isle of Wight (operator Wightlink is clear that non-essential travel is not allowed on its services), where they do meet lower-tier areas, those are in Tier 2.
So, for example, if you live in Tier 4 West Berkshire, say, riding into adjacent Tier 2 areas in Oxfordshire, Wiltshire or Hampshire is not permitted.
Likewise, residents of the Uttlesford district of Essex, which has its seat in Saffron Walden and is currently Tier 2, would not be allowed to go on a bike ride into other parts of the county, all of which are under Tier 4, nor the neighbouring district of East Hertfordshire – but they could cycle into Tier 2 South Cambridgeshire, and other Tier 2 areas beyond that.
The new Tier 4 represents the strictest measures currently applicable in England, similar to those in the initial nationwide lockdown that started in March – the main difference being, as highlighted above, restrictions on movement into and out of some areas.
How the regulations might be enforced would be an issue for individual police forces – but we’d be surprised if at least some did not place patrols at times on boundaries between Zone 2 and Zone 4 areas, particularly on county borders, to check the reasons why people – including cyclists – are moving between the two.
British Cycling has already updated its website to reflect the new Tier 4 regulations in England. The governing body says:
Following the Prime Minister's announcement on Saturday 19 December we are suspending all sanctioned activities for adults in Tier 4 areas in England.
Staying active is important, and those living in Tier 4 areas can continue to cycle – however they must either do this alone, with members of their household/bubble or with one person from outside their household/bubble.
Those living in Tier 4 areas should not leave their areas to take part in cycling activities or events.
In Tier 4 areas organised outdoor sport for under-18s and disabled people is exempt. We are waiting for further clarity from Sport England and DCMS on this and will provide an update as soon as we are able.
We know this news will create uncertainty for many of our clubs, groups and members, and we are working hard to quickly understand and communicate the impact on our sport.
Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
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54 comments
Yay...I'll be able to cycle to North Norfolk and back on Boxing Day. That's a 138 mile bike ride through what is fast becoming an economic wasteland....
I live in Surrey which apart from Waverley is all in Tier 4. A dim question but if I go out for a ride am I supposed to stay within my own local area, Guildford or can I ride through other Tier 4 boroughs within the county. I'm only half a mile from Mole Valley , can be in Elmbridge in ten minutes plus Woking, Waverley etc within half an hour.
There is no limit I can find in the SI but awavey above sets out a practical method quite well.
It's complicated. I'm in Hampshire (New Forest) which will be Tier 3. Dorset is a mile to the west (Tier 2), Wiltshire 4 miles to the north (also Tier 2) whilst Southampton is tier 4 and within 45 minutes ride.
Ultimately, like most things when it comes to the virus, doing the right thing and erring on the side of caution rather than finding the loopholes in the law seems simplest.
It's going to be simpler soon.
Hampshire and Oxfordhire to go into tier 4 on Boxing day. (Not sure if it means Sat or Monday?)
It at least means I can ride my "lockdown route"
0001 on 26th.
New Forest still escaping tier 4 though, so no simpler for kil0ran.
It's going to get a lot more simple on Boxing day. Waverly, Hampshire and Oxfordshire to all go into tier 4.
Not sure if Boxing day is on Saturday or Monday?
Does anyone know what tier Watopia is in?
SI 2020 1611 requires tier 4 people to stay at home unless they demonstrate reasonable excuse. Exercise is one such thing but I think it would be foolish to travel too far even though the SI does not seem to mention how far you can exercise.
Both British Cycling and the various UK govts say "should not leave their areas to take part in cycling activities or events" or similar. I read that to mean "don't travel somewhere with a bike and then ride it" but not that you have to stay in your local authority area if starting & finishing at home.
Is that just wishful thinking? Some local authority areas are very small.
Seems to me that crossing boundaries out of tier is not allowed, crossing into a different district or county that is in the same tier shouldn't be an issue. I'm running with the following rules
1) ride alone
2) don't stop in shops outside my district
3) don't ride into tier 2
4) don't take the piss. Surrey and Kent might be the same teir, but riding 100 miles from home is not justifiable
This is what I take from it all too.
My commute takes me into Reading, by bicycle, then into Hampshire by train. And into Surrey by bicycle. It is the train part that worries me. So much so that my holidays have just lengthened to include tomorrow.
It is a disease where one person's ideas, concepts and selfishness can affect everyone. There will be many travelling too. I'll see what happens in 2 weeks.
Unfortunately, my hourish (recreational/exercise) ride would take me into South Oxfordshire, which at the moment is in Tier 2, so not allowed. And my Getting to Work bike is very much set up for the mud too. I can find other routes, and I'm guessing most will be quieter than in the spring.
Though Reading moved from tier 2 to 4 in 3ish days, so anything can happen. Keeping an eye on local numbers, the rise in West Berkshire was shocking.
It's a disease of social contact, we know how to put a stop to it, yet it's spreading like crazy.
It is transmitted significantly more in aerosol form than in pure social contact, which translated means that it can travel 30m or more in the right conditions and can linger. Keeping away from people isn't going to prevent it from spreading, the same way that you can smell someone smoking an illicit substance as they drive by or the perfume of a woman who walked past several minutes earlier.
Luckily it's not quite as contageous as the wiff of green, otherwise we would have all got it by now.
My view on crossing tiers when cycling is less that it's not allowed,more that it's best avoided, controversial I know
but I dont see how if you are following your rules 1,2 & 4, for example, which is basically how we approached the full lockdowns so far (which must be equiv to tier 11) why then cycling across a line on a map makes any difference.
When the lines on the map were fairly arbitrary 90 cases per 100,000 here vs 110 per 100,00 there. I'd probably agree, but if the objective is to stop varient covid from spreading to new areas then it's best to stop all cross border movement. Of course that would mean going a step further and stopping workers crossing the lines and applying the rule immediately following the announcement rather than allowing people an 8 hour window to flee from the plague, because we know that never works out well.
Also I suppose it depends on what you mean by crossing a line on a map, cutting through the other area for a mile or so to avoid a long detour, or doing a significant chunk of your ride over the border.
Although the lines on the map are fairly arbitrary - they've chosen to use local authority areas because they're conveniently already defined, but the geography of them doesn't have a lot to do with the contours of virus infection rates.
Living in a fairly large town in Oxfordshire (Tier 2), I'd be willing to bet that I could cross the boundary into Buckinghamshire (Tier 4) and cycle for hours through the villages without passing through one place that had a rate as high as where I'd started.
you might be surpised, here the information can be broken down to election ward level, very few places where you could cross from oxon to bucks and not see an increasing level. Maybe if you headed to Brill for Bicester. Certainly all the district council areas are high
https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/details/interactive-map
That's actually pretty much what I had been planning (though more north from Brill) until the new tiers came in...
There are big chunks of Oxfordshire that are on a par with most of N Bucks outside of MK and Aylesbury, and by the looks of it there's much more to worry about going through Oxford than anywhere in that direction.
Meanwhile, the hills around Lambourne, the Ilsleys, etc. (W Berks - Tier 4) look a lot healthier than most places.
my take, and Ill accept its probably not a universally shared by everyone take, is that its not so much about what tier you are in, its what you are doing whilst in that tier that matters most.
And if you are just riding your bike around the roads by yourself, or with another person from your household, starting and finishing at your normal residence, being sensible on your capabilities, so no Rapha festive 500kms in one day if youve never done more than 5km before, not trying to do a last bit of christmas shopping in the only shops left open, or meeting up and having a quick party with friends.
Basically just riding around keeping well out of the way of other people and situations where youd be mixing with lots of people,then what difference does it make what tier you started from, or what tier areas you crossed through on the way around ?
Because you are essentially behaving as if everywhere was Tier 4, or actually as if we are all in lockdown again, because this is how we rode between March and June, and in November too,and no doubt be faced with in January and whilst there were people who complained about people riding through their villages, or the distances cyclists were riding, because they wanted everyone to be as miserable as they were stuck in their house, I dont believe that type of activity poses any greater risk to the virus spread.
But its a personal circumstance thing, which you cant codify in rules that easily for everyone.
The rules are as clear as mud.
Thanks for ignoring the entirety of Wales going to Tier 4 yesterday.
Perhaps there's a separate article in the works - it is Sunday after all. Though it wouldn't be hard. Here's the info:
Alert level 4 - Sport, exercise and outdoor activity
https://gov.wales/alert-level-4-frequently-asked-questions#section-58322
At least you can be thankful that you're not in England. Mind you there will be a fair number of second home owners who fled the tier 4 areas last night and brought their city germs to the Welsh countryside.
I would say that it's time to build a wall... but I'm currently living on the wrong side of the border.
Given the infection rate here is more than triple that in England I don't think it's us that should be worried!
Understandable in the south. It's a very different story in Gwynedd and Ynys Môn.
Good point.
The South West is no longer the COVID free zone it once was, hopefully the North West will avoid the same fate.
Ceredigion and Powys have seen spikes or a noticeable increase in cases recently whereas they were consistently very low in the first lockdown. Not sure why that's happening - population density is very low in both counties. Latest breakdown here and weekly overview for Wales here - 10 new deaths reported, making a total of 3,125.
Meanwhile Merthyr's numbers are through the roof.
They must be a very sociable bunch around there.
It is a seasonal thing, just like other respiratory virus's. Those areas who got off lightly in March/April, are getting hit harder this winter and vice versa. The virus came late in the season and was curtailed, just like the flu, with the approaching summer. Now that winter is back amongst us, it is simply carrying on from where it left off.
Second homes, maybe?
Impressed by the footage of people fleeing London before their Tier 4 lockdown comes in, because the virus knows it has to count to ten before it starts infecting anyone...
Seriously, have none of those people seen a zombie movie? They always start with someone fleeing a quarantine zone 'because they feel fine'...
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