You don't need to be an 'investor' to invest in Singletrack: 6 days left: 95% of target - Find out more
Following on from the gov announcement that "shielded" people are allowed out once a day is anyone in this position planning getting out on the bike?
I'm on immunosuppressants and went out in the car for the first time since early March to see how busy it was out locally near Hicks Lodge, seems quiet and think I would manage to keep away from anyone on a local ride from my door, certainly no worse than sitting in my garden with families on 3 sides. I'll probably give it a week or so to make sure the numbers are still falling and also not go out at the weekends.
I would manage to keep away from anyone on a local ride from my door
Why not head out right now before it rains? It's really easy to avoid other people on a bike - especially on a weekday.
Enjoy 🙂
We're doing daily blasts around town, easy to avoid people and empty streets up the flanneur effect.
I did a quiet ride in the Surrey hills yesterday, didn't stop and barely saw anyone. Avoided Box Hill as it's always busy but quite enjoyed it, zwift has kept my fitness up but the bike on zwift is a bit small and my road bike is a bit racier so will need to do a bit of core work.
I'm in shielding also for immunesupressants and have continued riding since the lockdown. The advice was ridiculously strict but had to be becuase of the whole 'caution contents are hot' society that we live in. Someone even went on the BBC to say if you can go outside and guarantee you don't go near anyone then thats fine. At the end of the day if the advice is you should isolate but if you live with someone just make sure you're 2 metres away then I'm pretty sure I can continue to ride a bike alone.
I have to say going out during lockdown was actually better than it is now, we did 40 miles Sunday and the amount of cyclists and walkers on the roads we encountered who refused to move 2 metres away was mind boggling. Great that they've made the deicison that it's safe enough to pass people closer than 2 metres however, I haven't made that decision!!
If for some reason you decide to go out with others (you're technically now allowed to meet one other person under our shielding) I would warn you that they likely won't respect or stick to the distance so I would either have a serious word with them or just stick to solo for now.
Golfchick you seem to be saying you didn't follow the rules but are complaining about people not following the rules, slightly mixed message.
Nope we were advised to stay home at all times, it wasn't a rule, it wasn't compulsory. I'm under the impression social distancing of more than 2 metres is compulsory though.
I'll probably look at doing a ride towards the end of the week then, just a gentle plod around on the mountain bike avoiding people, main problem I can see with Hicks is impatient people trying to barge by on the single-track.
I'm supposed to be in isolation but have been riding almost everyday. While that does go against the regulations I think you need to take into account individual circumstances.
I'm lucky in that I can ride straight into the woods and there are so many paths/tracks I just change direction everytime I see another person, if I stuck to a particular route then it could be an issue.
I’ll probably look at doing a ride towards the end of the week then, just a gentle plod around on the mountain bike avoiding people, main problem I can see with Hicks is impatient people trying to barge by on the single-track.
Careful route choice makes life easier, though the weirdness of lockdown is that you find people walking in places where there are normally not people. I try to avoid anything narrow and enclosed because it's just harder to keep distance even if you both want to.
Mrs_oab has Primary Immune Deficiency (CVID). She has been going out for walks and rides with us, just consciously away from busy times and busy places. She gloves up and touches nothing when out. Living where we do, the risk (in our view) has been minimal.
I'm also immunosuppressed and have been out for local rides, I'm not far from Hicks lodge but so far have avoided it. The kids are desperate to get back there though.
Until the last week or so it was rare to see anyone else out but now it seems to be a free for all of stopping in groups in the middle of the road or path chatting with no attempt at social distancing so I might actually stop going out now that I'm 'allowed' to!
I'm shielding too - immunosuppressants and asthma - and have been out riding throughout. The combination of boosted vitamin D and cardio vascular exercise, let alone the mental health benefits far out weighs the risks of encountering someone else while out.
Under the new regime I have been driving 10 miles to a forest area to ride. Although technically infringing the 5 mile rule, my interpretation is that I am reducing the risk to myself and others as staying away from the busier parhs around the village where I live means I don't have to pass other people on the local path network.
I suppose that it really depends on the nature of the reason for "shielding". I decided at the start of this lockdown to not start my steroid treatment. This was in consultation with my GP and Neurologist so not a decision taken in a vacuum. I was rather naive to begin with as I didn't realise just how high a dose of steroids I was being given. Turns out it's 5 times the dose that would put someone into the highest risk category so i started to liken in to "Chemotherapy" type levels of immunosuppression. Were I still taking this level of drugs I think I would still be fully shielding however others on a lower dose of medication might take a different view.