Sunday Times names and shames cyclists racking up miles on Strava

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There's no frothing at the mouth here. Nor any outrage. Nor any rocks being thrown. Nor any condemnation of anyone. It's just an interesting question how far there are ethical considerations weighing against doing long rides in the current environment, that are independent of the extent to which any particular one of those rides might lead to any immediate harms. It's possible, after all, to consider moral issues calmly: don't take the suggestion that there might be reasons against acting in a certain way as itself amounting to a vilification of that course of action! I'm inclined to think that there are reasons weighing against doing long rides, which is why I'm not myself doing any - in the normal run of events I'd be doing a lot of long rides myself around now, but I haven't been out in some weeks - but these are complex questions.    

demondig wrote:

I'm inclined to think that there are reasons weighing against doing long rides, which is why I'm not myself doing any - in the normal run of events I'd be doing a lot of long rides myself around now, but I haven't been out in some weeks - but these are complex questions.    

I think your choice is very reasonable. I've had similar thoughts myself, not only about how far to ride in the current situation but throughout my adult life about rock climbing, riding powerful motorbikes and other dangerous activities. I'm not sure it's complex but it's certainly individual.

What I take issue with is some people taking it upon themselves to decide what everyone else should or should not do and telling them so. When those people are journalists I think they are abusing their privileged position. I think that there are far more important questions that are not being asked while cyclists as a collective (which we aren't) are being scapegoated once more.

I don't quite know what I think about those out cycling long-distances. There's a basis for thinking they maybe shouldn't be doing that. I'm not a cyclist currently, I'm barely a 'go-outside-ist' (and I have no garden or balcony, hence am in an even worse mood than usual).

But I certainly think the country has much bigger problems to worry about than a few guys on Strava. I feel it's a distraction activity by a media that continues to fail to do its real job, just as it failed to give this the attention it merited back not just in early March, when it was clear they should be stopping or restricting travel to northern Italy or even the whole of Europe, but right back to January, when it was obvious this was going to arrive here at some point from China.

I reckon this sort of thing is partly projection of a guilty-concience by our useless media.

"...and i think we should do our bit so I am limiting my rides to less than 2 hours - and only 3 times a week anyway."

And you'll be pissing in the wind, because those who subscribe to that reductive logic will never be satisfied until you share their misery.

Two hours? On a bike? Multiple times per week? You're up against people who have never conceived of such excess in their lives and think nothing of driving under a mile to the shops every day.

I have a neighbour who drives to the shop which can be seen from his house. And yes, he is fat.

You are right. Well done

Am I missing something? Perhaps sarcasm that's too subtle for me.

Thanks for the link, though. There is an opportunity to reallocate roadspace temporarily, and keep it that way if people like it.

Sorry Harrogate xxxxx Spa, somebody had found it as hate filled as some of the right wing nasties out there earlier in the weekend.  Referencing that...

Spewing it's hate filled communistic bile...

How's the recent dry weather made the Stray look?

Down in the now drought afflicted South, all of my formally impassable mudpits of bridleways are now incredibly dry, the horse hoofprints are now set in dry mud, almost concrete like, much like the ruts were during the beast from the east, even bits of the Thames that had flooded fields are drying out.

The Stray is dry again.

It's only one bit - West Park Stray - where the UCI trucks and stalls were. Much of the grass there has been killed off. It'll recover one day!

I saw quite a bit of "essential" car journeys yesterday.  Odd when even supermarkets were closed.  I even saw a "vital" easter egg delivery.

ktache wrote:

I saw quite a bit of "essential" car journeys yesterday.  Odd when even supermarkets were closed.  I even saw a "vital" easter egg delivery.

The police seem to have trouble seeing these 'essential' car journeys. Maybe because they're too busy flying drones and goose stepping around the parks.

It's not the police harassing cyclists, and neither would I want them mounting roadblocks to interrogate motorists. It's the likes of the Sunday Times - why are they so obsessed with cyclists yet they don't publish any telephoto pics of motorists? If their agenda was unnecessary excursions beyond the home then I'd expect some variety to their coverage. If anything, there can be an assumption that cyclists are legitimately taking exercise, something motorists can not claim. So I'm guessing their agenda is just anti-cyclist.

The fuckwit neighbours had their 'vital' builder down all weekend, constructing their 'vital' outbuilding. The fuckwit showed no signs of socially distancing from the builder, nor his mates, who came down for a nosey.

We were only discussing this today whilst on our daily walk. At the beginning of the lockdown, the roads were definately quieter. But I think people are getting bored, the novelty has worn off, the 'me me me' snowflake brigade are thinking "I will not do what you instruct me".

We live on a main A road. I was painting the house windows on Good Friday. The traffic was astonishing, just like a normal day. Easter Sunday was unbelievable. After a quiet start, it was busy as fuck, considering all the supermarkets and everywhere else were closed, where were all these motorists going on their 'essential' journeys? Even the retarded Fuckwit neighbours were in, out, in, out, in, out, all day, as usual.

When out today for my mandated daily exercise I saw one definite, and with the next vehicle, a very probable learner driver being given an informal lesson by their parent.  Essential journey?

Yeah I've seen a few learner drivers out. Ridiculous.

philtregear wrote:

Road cc is quick to take the moral high ground when debating the behaviour of other road users. About time it took a dose of it's own medicine and condemned this obviously socially irresponsible behaviour.

Why is it socially irresponsible? It's not obvious to me.

Nor me

Because you are spreading it around - like the plague or something. Then everyone will die.

The responsibility is to demonstrate social lly isolating behaviour. Boasting about how long you have been out on strava is the opposite of this.

philtregear wrote:

The responsibility is to demonstrate social lly isolating behaviour. Boasting about how long you have been out on strava is the opposite of this.

Uh? You seem confused. Social distance is about staying 2m away from other people. It had nothing to do with the distance recorded on Strava. Never mind opposites, they are not even on the same axis.

It is, but there seems to be a confusing conflation of that with the issue of 'travelling to a different area'. Hence most countries other than the UK stopping all incoming flights and more-or-less closing borders, or the police telling people off for shopping at a shop that isn't the closest one, or following lone hikers with drones.
I find the whole thing quite confusing, myself. It's not helped by government daily briefings where they pretty much completely ignore every single question, just instead saying something else entirely unrelated to the question just asked. I know that's a bit off-the-subject but I just listened to one and I'm finding the things a bit surreal - they have the form of a question-answer format, but the content is completely unrelated.

FluffyKittenofTindalos wrote:

It's not helped by government daily briefings where they pretty much completely ignore every single question, just instead saying something else entirely unrelated to the question just asked. I know that's a bit off-the-subject but I just listened to one and I'm finding the things a bit surreal - they have the form of a question-answer format, but the content is completely unrelated.

Even worse was the pretend apology from Priti Patel ‘sorry if people feel there have been failings’ over PPE" not that she was sorry they'd failed to supply it.  Positively vomit inducing.

I saw that and thought how it sounded like a satirical fiction rather than reality, like if a TV show was trying to show a heartless and uncaring politician or corporate lawyer type who isn't even really pretending to be a normal human being.  IMO.

No it's not. I see fewer people while I'm out cycling in the countryside than I do in the local supermarket. I appreciate that everyone's situation is different but out on a bike I'm far more socially distant and therefore near zero risk. 

You could actually argue the opposite - boasting about how long you've been out on Strava shows how keen you are to get away from everyone!