Coronavirus: Are cyclists being wrongly targeted during lockdown?

On 26/04/2020 14:13, Peter Parry wrote:
On Sun, 26 Apr 2020 03:07:22 -0700 (PDT), Simon Mason
wrote:

QUOTE: Cycling is one of the three examples of daily exercise the
government advises people to engage in during lockdown.

Not quite - it is simply one used as an example of exercise.

Despite this, there have been reports of abuse towards cyclists,
including signs in a village telling cyclists to stay away.

Some residents say riders "pose a threat" by travelling through
villages and increase the likelihood of spreading coronavirus.

But is there any science to back this up?

Yes. Wind tunnel tests at Eindhoven and Leuven have detected Covid19
particles up to 20m behind cyclists

It backs nothing up. In any casual encounter, your time of exposure to
that cloud is going to be very short.

" Social Distancing v2.0: During Walking, Running and Cycling" found
walkers should keep at least 4m clear when following others,

While you are perambulating along you could be in another walker's 4m
cloud for several minutes.

runners should stay 10m from one another other, and fast cyclists
should ride as much as 20m apart, in order to avoid passing through
“droplet clouds� from others exercising.

I shall bear that in mind when I'm in a steady headwind. Except, of
course, wind is never as constant in outdoor conditions as it is in a
wind tunnel.

On 26/04/2020 13:13, Pamela wrote:
On 11:07 26 Apr 2020, Simon Mason said:

QUOTE: Cycling is one of the three examples of daily exercise the
government advises people to engage in during lockdown.

Despite this, there have been reports of abuse towards cyclists,
including signs in a village telling cyclists to stay away.

If there's a problem then why not use a stationary exercise bike?

I don't have one.

On 26/04/2020 15:49, TMS320 wrote:
On 26/04/2020 13:13, Pamela wrote:
On 11:07Â* 26 Apr 2020, Simon Mason said:

QUOTE: Cycling is one of the three examples of daily exercise the
government advises people to engage in during lockdown.

Despite this, there have been reports of abuse towards cyclists,
including signs in a village telling cyclists to stay away.

If there's a problem then why not use a stationary exercise bike?

I don't have one.

I do, but nothing feels like fresh wind in your hair!
However, my turbo always feels like riding uphill and no freewheeling. :-(
Scenery is boring too!

On Sun, 26 Apr 2020 15:44:44 +0100, TMS320 wrote:

On 26/04/2020 14:41, Peter Parry wrote:

The misuse of the roads by selfish cyclist groups has already led to
Wales banning long distance cycling. The new rules for Wales state
"Cycling should be local, as a rule of thumb limited to traveling no
further than a reasonable walking distance from home.

How can something that is not illegal be banned?

It is now illegal under the regulation which came into force
yesterday.

On Sunday, April 26, 2020 at 3:44:46 PM UTC+1, TMS320 wrote:
On 26/04/2020 14:41, Peter Parry wrote:
On Sun, 26 Apr 2020 05:20:57 -0700 (PDT), Simon Mason
wrote:

The article mentions someone who cycles to different work venues - is his cycle use recreation or sport? What about shopping?

What about the 30,000 UK MAMILS who have joined the Strava long
distance challenge for April signing up to cycle 777 miles in the
month. Some of these idiots cycle for 12 hours a day, many went out
as groups.

777 miles in a month is just 25 miles a day.

I used to do just that going to work and back.
Took me 90 minutes.

On 26/04/2020 16:17, colwyn wrote:
On 26/04/2020 15:49, TMS320 wrote:
On 26/04/2020 13:13, Pamela wrote:
On 11:07 26 Apr 2020, Simon Mason said:

QUOTE: Cycling is one of the three examples of daily exercise
the government advises people to engage in during lockdown.

Despite this, there have been reports of abuse towards
cyclists, including signs in a village telling cyclists to stay
away.

If there's a problem then why not use a stationary exercise
bike?

I don't have one.

I do, but nothing feels like fresh wind in your hair! However, my
turbo always feels like riding uphill and no freewheeling. :-(

Scenery is boring too!

I had one but gave it away because it's nothing like the real thing.
This was a magnetic one so reasonably decent, not like a grotty friction
one.

The worst thing is no airflow. It's worse than walking on a hot summer day.

On 26/04/2020 15:06, colwyn wrote:

What about it? Everyone should know the rules by now and ANY
transgressionÂ* should be tested by the enforcement agencies, not by
vigilantes.

People have the idea that when travelling by car they are hermetically
sealed. Whereas cars have flap vents behind the rear bumper to let
occupant generated exhaust fumes out. I wonder what the covid footprint
is of a red faced driver when shouting "bloody cyclist, get off my road"?

On 26/04/2020 14:13, Peter Parry wrote:
On Sun, 26 Apr 2020 03:07:22 -0700 (PDT), Simon Mason


Some residents say riders "pose a threat" by travelling through
villages and increase the likelihood of spreading coronavirus.

But is there any science to back this up?

Yes. Wind tunnel tests at Eindhoven and Leuven have detected Covid19
particles up to 20m behind cyclists

" Social Distancing v2.0: During Walking, Running and Cycling" found
walkers should keep at least 4m clear when following others, runners
should stay 10m from one another other, and fast cyclists should
ride as much as 20m apart, in order to avoid passing through
“droplet clouds� from others exercising.

Without a link, there is no clue to methodology. I expect it has been
cherry picked. How did they find volunteers with covid? And did they
really use real people? Also, all it seems to prove is that when
breathing out, covid has a certain lifetime in the air, no matter who
produces it and the length of the cloud depends on airspeed, not on
ground speed. At first sight it's pretty meaningless to any practical
application.

On 26/04/2020 16:28, Peter Parry wrote:
On Sun, 26 Apr 2020 15:44:44 +0100, TMS320 wrote:
On 26/04/2020 14:41, Peter Parry wrote:

The misuse of the roads by selfish cyclist groups has already led to
Wales banning long distance cycling. The new rules for Wales state
"Cycling should be local, as a rule of thumb limited to traveling no
further than a reasonable walking distance from home.

How can something that is not illegal be banned?

It is now illegal under the regulation which came into force
yesterday.

All I can find is this:

https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/w...uring-18142904

"We understand that "reasonable distance" is within 10 miles of your home."

"Cycling should be local, as a rule of thumb limited to travelling no
further than a reasonable walking distance from home."

"In general this should not involve people driving to a location away
from home for this purpose."

OK. The last is not new and makes sense. None of it is expressed as
though it is law; and what is "reasonable" is a matter of judgement. In
your rants about cyclists bear in mind that plenty of people treat the
rules in an elastic fashion.

On Sunday, April 26, 2020 at 6:34:02 PM UTC+1, TMS320 wrote:


"Cycling should be local, as a rule of thumb limited to travelling no
further than a reasonable walking distance from home."

What about these idiots?

https://www.hulldailymail.co.uk/news...y-spot-4080021