Corona Virus & cycling impact (see mode note post 1322)

CramCycle

Lets cut the PC BS, these groups of 20+ elderly walkers in the wicklow mountains, parents lifting theri kids over barriers at playgrounds to fit 100 into a playground that is built for 40, roads in Wicklow being so packed that emergency services annot get through, gangs of teenagers hanging round every free space or Centra opening. This is the reason we cannot have nice things. The government gave us some rules and some guidelines, if we all followed them, we would be grand, tough, very tough for some, but we would survive. Now we went from being a fortnight ahead of the UK too, I am guessing, at the same place. Trends on positive tests are indicating we are in line, if not slightly worse than Italy, not sure ti will go that far but FFS, it really f*cking could. We had a narrow window to do the right thing. People will blame the government but f*ck me, if it goes t*ts up, we have no one to blame but ourselves, we should be ashamed as a country.

Fair play to the front line staff for putting up with us, at this point I am going full right wing and thinking allow the army and gardai some practice shooting to take free shots at the muppets who are dragging this country to its knees.

fryup

seeing a lot more cyclists about during the past week, its not having a negative impact as far as i can see

magicbastarder

CramCycle wrote: »

Now we went from being a fortnight ahead of the UK too, I am guessing, at the same place.

there have been over 50 times as many deaths in the UK as in ireland, for a population 13 or 14 times the size.
yes, the footage of people up the mountains, etc., does not look good, it only takes a couple of thousand people to generate that sort of footage, out of a population of millions.
perhaps i'm being naive. but in general, most people i see are being sensible.

Seth Brundle

billyhead wrote: »

I'm enjoying the solo spins at the moment. Less traffic on the road.

In my experience traffic is moving a lot faster presumably because of less traffic on the roads

Tenzor07

bazermc wrote: »

I was out yesterday (solo) id say only 5% of drivers gave me 2 meters of space on overtaking.

That's the issue, i'm not worried about falling off the bike, i've done it enough times with only some scrapes and bruises...

I am worried about some clown in an SUV who's driving around the parks or mountains distracted by kids in the car and also the numbers of people not used to driving on narrow country roads with cyclists on them...

Much more dangerous than a Virus!

Tenzor07

Seth Brundle wrote: »

In my experience traffic is moving a lot faster presumably because of less traffic on the roads

I prefer when the traffic is slow and heavy, faster moving motor traffic has the potential to cause more injuries to cyclists and pedestrians..

CramCycle

magicbastarder wrote: »

there have been over 50 times as many deaths in the UK as in ireland, for a population 13 or 14 times the size.
yes, the footage of people up the mountains, etc., does not look good, it only takes a couple of thousand people to generate that sort of footage, out of a population of millions.
perhaps i'm being naive. but in general, most people i see are being sensible.

100%, same as my experience of going shopping, in the last week we have went from 50% compliance to over 90% compliance. The problem is, that is not enough. You need 99% compliance. People will make mistakes but if enough people do the right thing, it will be fine. Take for example, I went to Tescos on the way home from work. They have markers down for social distancing. On the way in, people were giving space etc. (although I don't understand in a store that has two entrance /exits, why they don't make it one entrance and one exit, but thats me). And there we had it, that one muppet who felt, we were leaving too much space and he could just wheel his trolley through. The efforts of 30 brought to 0 by 1 muppet. If he is that much of an arsehole to skip a queue, you can bet he is enough of an arsehole that he isn't having any manners elsewhere, and this is where the issue is. If muppets like those on the wicklow mountains, Bray Seafront, the person who won't give you space in a shop don't stop, then we are really just wasting our time and will have to implement harsher measures, which hurt everyone in a different way. At the minute, many of can still work and our Health and testing sector is stretched, but too much more and the health sector will see their own workers going home ill, the death toll rise and the economy suffer even more. We can talk about percentages of the ill and the death. They make them sound like small numbers. Remember though, 2% sounds small but 2% of 5 million is 100,000. We can't stop a virus like this, but we can slow it. If we slow it, that 2% drops to 0.5% or 0.1% maybe even lower.

Hands on my heart, I was giving out on the over reaction a few weeks ago, based on the data at the time there was a need for precaution but it wasn't a major concern. That view has changed in light of the facts that are presenting themselves. I am now one of the few people on my floor still in work. I am giving gloves, gowns, PPE, alcohol to the HSE as there is no one around to use it in my labs and thanks to all the panic buying, the supply chains are struggling, not crumbling yet but they are under strain.

I have no issues with solo spins or solo walks and so on, it is when people turn up and a friend who lives down in Wexford on the seafront has to turnaround from his wallk because the beach beside his house, which isn't used often and never has more than 5 people on it is so thronged he can barely see it.

Eamonnator

I reckon a statement from Leo, similar to the one from Boris, is on the near horizon.
Hopefully, solo cycling ,for exercise, will be treated in the same manner as in U.K.

SAM SO NITE

i cant get a turbo trainer anywhere online. trying shops in scandinavia and australia even. Nada

SAM SO NITE

Eamonnator wrote: »

I reckon a statement from Leo, similar to the one from Boris, is on the near horizon.
Hopefully, solo cycling ,for exercise, will be treated in the same manner as in U.K.

Im in Spain and the cops are getting physical with people. They cant even be reasoned with. Stay indoors, cyclists and joggers get a fine , and if you get fresh the batons come out.

i have even thought about going for a run after dark ( like 1am) and I've been warned off by the missus that ill actually get a dig if they catch me.

Mercian Pro

South of Greystones there is a stretch with a two-way cycle path alongside a footpath separated from the road. There weren't many walkers but I met two muppets who insisted on walking on the cycle path presumably to keep away from infectious walkers. Ringing the bell was totally ignored and I reckoned a sneeze might be a bit OTT.

Wishbone Ash

Eamonnator wrote: »

I reckon a statement from Leo, similar to the one from Boris, is on the near horizon.
Hopefully, solo cycling ,for exercise, will be treated in the same manner as in U.K.

Boris said 'one period of exercise per day' so a 15 hour ride could be ok!

On a more serious note I've been dismayed to see gangs of teenagers congregating in Donabate while I've been commuting home from work over the past few nights.

Wishbone Ash

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

Boris said 'one period of exercise per day' so a 15 hour ride could be ok!

On a more serious note I've been dismayed to see gangs of teenagers congregating in Donabate while I've been commuting home from work over the past few nights.

NamelessPhil will be clipping in waiting for Leo to announce this , seeing it as a gauntlet being thrown down !!!!!

Wishbone Ash

Deleted User wrote: »

NamelessPhil will be clipping in waiting for Leo to announce this , seeing it as a gauntlet being thrown down !!!!!

In fairness, she will probably restrict herself to one period of exercise per week - begining on Wednesday morning and finishing on Sunday evening. :pac:

Harrybelafonte

I had a whole post in my head to write, probably a lot of pent up fear and anger, mixed with some empathy... none of which had to do with cycling, so...

I'm just glad I kept my Bullitt when I was selling off all my bikes and gear a few years ago. My referring to it as the "Apocalypse Machine" may have been more apt than I realised.

CramCycle

I won't lie having a social beer at home, while surfing boards last night was probably not the wisest of ways to spend my time at home. Be nice to everyone, it might not be as bad as you think.

loyatemu

simple solution to the problems of people congregating at tourist spots. Ban driving for unneccessary journeys. If you're not going to work, to the shop or some other essential, stay out of your car. Want to go for a walk - stay local. Councils could assist in this by closing their carparks.

Don't Chute!

Mercian Pro wrote: »

South of Greystones there is a stretch with a two-way cycle path alongside a footpath separated from the road. There weren't many walkers but I met two muppets who insisted on walking on the cycle path presumably to keep away from infectious walkers. Ringing the bell was totally ignored and I reckoned a sneeze might be a bit OTT.

Unfortunately that’s not just because of the apocalypse, it’s like that all the time. Hence why I never use it unless cycling with my daughter!

Mc Love

Just heard on my local radio that someone was complaining about traffic wardens issuing tickets. Mind boggling

Don't Chute!

Btw la-di-da to all of you with all your fancy “mates” to cycle with! Cycling solo is not new to me! I’m so desperately lonely 😂

CantGetNoSleep

loyatemu wrote: »

simple solution to the problems of people congregating at tourist spots. Ban driving for unneccessary journeys. If you're not going to work, to the shop or some other essential, stay out of your car. Want to go for a walk - stay local. Councils could assist in this by closing their carparks.

It's like that where I am at the moment in Belgium. 350€ fine if you get stopped at a checkpoint and don't have a very valid reason for going wherever you are going. And there are checkpoints everywhere. I heard of someone getting fined last week at the entrance to a city, they went out of town to go to a big hypermarket to get groceries. Cops took the address, listed the supermarkets in the area and said you should have went closer to home.

Absolutely no question of getting in the car to go for a walk, walk the dog etc.

NamelessPhil

[Deleted User] wrote: »

NamelessPhil will be clipping in waiting for Leo to announce this , seeing it as a gauntlet being thrown down !!!!!

At the moment I'm waiting to give blood because I won't be needing these red blood cells for a while.

CormacH94

Mentally preparing myself for 100km around Phoenix Park at some point - Tour de Phoenix Stage 1 (ITT)

CramCycle

NamelessPhil wrote: »

At the moment I'm waiting to give blood because I won't be needing these red blood cells for a while.

I think we have a freezing protocol for blood samples in the lab if you need a protocol :eek:

Gerry

Anyone have an idea on how bike shops will be classified? I think a certain amount should remain open as essential services.. lot of people still needing to go to work in essential services have no car or public transport, public transport is discouraged.
Failing that I'm sure we all have enough bike parts to run a socially distanced bike trailer sale.
Really glad no restriction on solo cycling yet.. stay safe out on the bike folks.

Fann Linn

Just classified as essential now on 6.1 along with garages and service stations.

Mercian Pro

NamelessPhil wrote: »

At the moment I'm waiting to give blood because I won't be needing these red blood cells for a while.

Given my inability to get much beyond 200k, I suppose a transfusion is out of the question?

It's actually something (blood donations) I haven't seen mentioned anywhere in the media.

According to their web site clinics are still being run but with additional safety measures and checks. So wroth keeping in mind if you're one for normally rolling up your sleeve for them.

NamelessPhil

When I phoned to make an appointment, the member of staff said that donations were down because they couldn't do workplace or group donations. They also had to allow for physical distancing in the clinic.

So if you can't give skills, time, or money to help fight COVID 19, give blood.

magicbastarder

i would suspect many people would be hesitant to - as covid19 when things go bad, causes oxygen deprivation, i suspect many people will not want to reduce the oxygen carrying capability of their blood.

even if (and this is me talking about something i know nothing about, but that never stopped me before) the bottleneck is the lungs, not the blood.