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news
coronavirus - cyclists rides past social distance warning“Stay local” – What the latest lockdown laws and guidance mean for you and cycling
The escalation in the number of cases of coronavirus over Christmas and New Year has led Prime Minister Boris Johnson to announce a new lockdown in England, effective from today; while in Scotland, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has outlined new measures that have come into effect there today. British Cycling says it is seeking urgent clarification from the government about what “Stay local” means for people in England when it comes to riding bikes for exercise; but according to the latest amendments this appears to be guidance, not law.
> Recovering from long COVID - a cyclist's guide
Here’s a brief summary of what the latest rules in England and Scotland, plus the existing ones in Wales and Northern Ireland mean for cycling, with a focus on exercise and leisure – with active travel encouraged for those who have to commute to work, or when undertaking essential shopping.
England
There is a summary of the rules on the Gov.uk website, which includes guidance and also outlines most things which are against the law. On Tuesday evening a full set of amendments were published which laid out the new laws that have now come into effect. Here are the rules relating to exercising and meeting other people.
Exercising and meeting other people
You should minimise time spent outside your home.
It is against the law to meet socially with family or friends unless they are part of your household or support bubble. You can only leave your home to exercise, and not for the purpose of recreation or leisure (e.g. a picnic or a social meeting). This should be limited to once per day, and you should not travel outside your local area.
You can exercise in a public outdoor place:
by yourself
with the people you live with
with your support bubble (if you are legally permitted to form one)
in a childcare bubble where providing childcare
or, when on your own, with 1 person from another household
Public outdoor places include:
parks, beaches, countryside accessible to the public, forests
public gardens (whether or not you pay to enter them)
the grounds of a heritage site
playgrounds
Outdoor sports venues, including tennis courts, golf courses and swimming pools, must close.
When around other people, stay 2 metres apart from anyone not in your household - meaning the people you live with - or your support bubble. Where this is not possible, stay 1 metre apart with extra precautions (e.g. wearing a face covering).
Additionally, in the 'travel' section of the guidance document it says: "This [outdoor exercise] should be done locally wherever possible, but you can travel a short distance within your area to do so if necessary (for example, to access an open space)".
British Cycling has provided updated guidance on its website, where it acknowledges that some people may be confused by what constitutes their local area, and says it is seeking clarification on the issue.
“We know many of you will want to know what is meant by 'staying local'. The government’s definition of this is stated as ‘your village, town or the part of a city where you live’,” the organisation said.
“We understand that this definition is particularly restrictive for cycling, and we are working to seek further clarification on this. We will provide a further update as soon as we are able.
“In the meantime, we recommend that you follow the advice to stay local, ride well within your ability and ensure that you are self-sufficient.”
Update, January 6th: as mentioned above, it's now become clearer that exercising once per day and 'staying local' is guidance, and not the law. Does this mean it's sensible to go/ride against the spirit of the guidance? Probably not in most cases, and we'll be giving a more holistic answer to this question in our soon-to-be-updated guide to being a responsible cyclist in a time of pandemic.
Scotland
The mainland, and some islands including Skye, have been placed in Level 4. Some islands remain in Level 3, and you can find a list of those here.
For areas falling within Level 4, people are told to stay at home “as much as possible” and to “Travel no further than you need to reach to a safe, non-crowded place to exercise in a socially distanced way.”
The Scottish Government says: “A maximum of 2 people from 2 separate households can meet outdoors for sport or exercise. Children under the age of 12 from these households do not count towards this number.
“The members of an individual household or extended household [similar to a support bubble – Ed] can meet outdoors for sport or exercise.
“You can travel for local outdoor sport or exercise such as meeting another person, walking, cycling, golf or running that starts and finishes at the same place (which can be up to 5 miles from the boundary of your local authority area), as long as you abide by the rules on meeting other households.
“Indoor sports facilities are closed.”
Scottish Cycling last month produced a detailed guide to what informal and formal (ie organised) cycling is permitted under each of the country’s five tiers, which range from Level 0 (lowest) to Level 4 (highest).
You can find the guide here, but the Level 4 restrictions announced yesterday appear more restrictive than those that previously applied.
Wales
Wales has been in an Alert Level 4 national lockdown since 20 December, with the Welsh Government’s guidance available here. In response, Welsh Cycling said:
With the new regulations and guidance coming into place, this will mean a change in organised sporting activity. The new regulations mean you must adhere to the following:
All group activities are suspended until advised otherwise by Welsh Government
Ride on your own or with members of your household*.
Your ride has to start/finish at home.
Keep to social distancing measures of two metres apart.
If you live around borders into England please be aware of that regulations differ so please check the latest advice, we urge you to ride responsibly and within your ability to help protect the NHS [nb The latest rules in England mean that people in Wales will not be allowed to cross into the country – Ed].
It is also important to be self-sufficient by carrying the tools you need (i.e. inner tubes, chain tool and a working pump).
Welsh Cycling added: “As we enter another difficult period, we understand the physical and mental benefits exercise and cycling can have. We encourage you to continue to cycle but urge people to do so responsibly during this upcoming period and to follow Welsh Government regulations and guidance.”
Northern Ireland
As outlined on the regulations guidance page on nidirect.gov.uk, tougher restrictions were introduced in Northern Ireland following an increase in coronavirus cases on the 26th December, which meant the closing of all non-essential retail. From Friday NI will enforce a 'stay at home' law, however residents will still be allowed to take exercise outdoors. Here is the current guidance for sports on NI Direct.
Indoor and outdoor sport is not permitted, other than at elite level.
Elite training and competition can continue, both indoors and outdoors.
Elite sporting events must be held behind closed doors without spectators.
The definition of an elite athlete is set out in the regulations.
Horse racing can take place behind closed doors, in line with the elite sport regulations and animal welfare considerations.
All sports facilities such as leisure centres, gyms, health clubs, swimming pools, tennis courts, golf courses, fitness and dance studios must close.
Other exercise facilities, including activity centres, equestrian centres (access for the purpose of animal welfare is permitted), marinas, and venues relating to motor sport and water sport must also remain closed.
Only individual or household outdoor exercise is permitted. Physical activity such as walking, running, cycling, horse riding, or just walking the dog, bring many health benefits.
You cannot participate in personal one-to-one training sessions or group activities such as running or cycling.
Physical education delivered by or for schools, pre-schools and other education providers is permitted to continue.
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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149 comments
Indeed - however, the guidance recognises - as it should - that not everyone has the means to exercise safely and effectively from their front door. The intent is abundantly clear, which is that travelling a short distance in the local area to exercise is permitted.
I think some attention is on this site as it was badly affected with being over ran during first lockdown (and just after) with people travelling some distance from Manchester or Nottingham to visit. The area is pretty scenic and relatively quiet but with some large villages and cities such as Ashby or Derby nearby. In the earlier lockdown all local roads were blocked or affected by parked cars and litter with some people their to just cruise up and down (in cars) as opposed to getting out and excercising. It is also near Caulke Abbey a National Trust venue but is normally a good place to cycle. I do feel sorry for the women affected who seem from the report to be sensible responsible people and a warning may have sufficed. Perhaps the police were wishing to send a keep away message to prevent the issues that happened last year.
There's never any shortage of police when it comes to clamping down on minor misdemeanours or major sporting events.
Dealing with actual crimes is far too dangerous for todays police forces.
And no I'm not clapping.
I doubt they will actually get a fixed penalty as this is not against the regs.
Personally I have no trouble with them driving 5 miles for a walk, as it is in their local area. Unfortunately as their local area is the peak district the police will be on the lookout for people arriving by car from much further away.
The guidance does specifically allow walking with one other person, as long as distancing is maintained.
However, it seems that they did both stop at starbucks on the way, and that will clearly have involved unneccesary contact. I don't see how these places are allowed to stay open, there is nothing essential there.
Those in Derbyshire watch out - over zealous plod about!
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-derbyshire-55560814
Actually that is a tricky one. I think the Police may well be worried about a repeat of Wales where loads of drivers thought they could drive to snowden and there was the doctor in Devon
https://www.devonlive.com/news/devon-news/dartmoor-road-closed-exception...
He needed an escort due to blocked roads.
I wonder if they are coming down hard to deter too many people being packed in to a small parking area. Plus the potential for nearby roads to be jammed up.
Turning up with a take away coffee didn't help their cause though as they can't really claim that journey was 'reasonably necessary'.
If it's a location that they're worried about getting busy it seems reasonable to turn them away, but the approach seems heavy-handed - on what's reported, they appear to have skipped over the Engage, Explain, and Encourage steps and jumped straight to Enforce.
And whether or not they should've stopped to buy coffees, claiming that they're classed as a picnic just smacks of the 'make up a bunch of extra spurious offences if you're challenged on what you're doing' approach to policing.
I agree it appears heavy handed but their defence is
Derbyshire Police said in a statement: "Driving to a location - where exercise could easily have been taken closer to a person's home - is clearly not in the spirit of the national effort to reduce our travel, reduce the possible spread of the disease and reduce the number of deaths."
I can't agree with your second para. The basic requirement is to stay at home "No person who lives in the Tier 4 area may leave or be outside of the place where they are living without reasonable excuse".
The use of the phrase 'picnic' isn't the right one but driving for a walk and takeaway drinks is stretching the concept of 'reasonably necessary' for not being at home.
I'm not saying that they shouldn't have been challenged on whether they should have gone to buy coffees, but that isn't what happened.
If they'd stopped to buy coffees on their way to the supermarket, I doubt whether the police would have pulled them up on it (even though there should be a special place in hell reserved for people who do this anyway, virus or no virus), and they certainly wouldn't have claimed that it was because it was a picnic.
Claiming that a coffee counts as a picinic is getting back into the realms of people getting stopped because they've taken sandwiches out on their walk.
I see the derbyshire police have rolled back a bit claiming revised guidance
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-derbyshire-55594244
But in a statement, the force said further guidance issued by the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) had "clarified the policing response concerning travel and exercise".
The guidance said: "The Covid regulations which officers enforce and which enables them to issue FPNs [fixed penalty notices] for breaches, do not restrict the distance travelled for exercise."
The NPCC added that rather than issue fines for people who travel out of their local area "but are not breaching regulations, officers will encourage people to follow the guidance".
The force has now said it will be "aligning to adhere to this stance".
Assistant Chief Constable Kem Mehmet said: "We are grateful for the guidance from the NPCC.
That said, leaving home to drive to get a takeway drink does not qualify as a reasonable excuse from not being at home.
well I note they arent exactly apologising for the opportunity they created to need to align to further guidance...but if a coffee shop that serves takeaway coffee is deemed by the government to be an essential shop and is allowed to open & operate for the purposes of selling takeaway coffee under this lockdown, which it is,
how is anyone meant to buy a takeaway drink from them if its not a reasonable excuse to travel to them to buy a takeaway coffee ? I mean it does seem sometimes like theres a coffee shop on every street corner, but they arent, some aspect of travel is required to use them.
Your local park/open space has a cafe that supplies take away; you are an essential/key worker; you cannot work from home and you buy a drink from a cafe next (or near to) to your place of work.
Not sure what it's supposed to achieve restricting solo activities for fit and healthy people.
And why on earth are golf courses closed? I don't play but surely it's easy to socially distance and a healthy pursuit both physically and mentally for those that enjoy it.
Meanwhile 'vulnerable' pensioners continue to visit open garden centres and think nothing of going for a drive as their daily exercise.
I'm fed up of my activities being restrcted to protect a minority who should shield themselves.
youd think so, like you also cant play tennis now even with someone who lives with you/same support bubble though you can exercise with them, why is tennis suddenly more risky than exercise...but the latest round of rules seem to be of the well we heard some people might be getting away with doing this,and weve no proof they did but we'll make darn sure people know they cant do that now.
there might also be a concern with golf courses in terms of the distances people might travel to play at a course they were members at, which then breaks their "stay local" guidance.
Although in Scotland
'Outdoor gyms can remain open.
Outdoor non-contact sports such as golf and tennis are permitted for all age groups provided this is within a single household group, or the group contains no more than 2 people from 2 different households. Children under the age of 12 from these households do not count towards this number.'
I'd have thought travel to golf courses in Scotland would be further than in England.
Depends where you're starting out from:
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jan/04/trump-biden-inauguration...
youd need to be a hardy sort to want use an outdoor gym in Scotland at the moment
and I dont doubt the distances are further for travel, but I dont get the impression theres been much thought put into these rules around how things could operate in Covid secure ways anymore, theyve gone for a well there could be greater risk if people behaved in this certain way, but we'll just say no-one can do it as the mitigation instead of bothering to think of the logic to it.
Tennis uses balls, very difficult to sterilise.
The level of fomite transmission has somewhat been downplayed for this virus, but for other respirtory infections it can be very high.
1 lift button caused a great many cases of SARS.
Generally people touch the mucas membranes around the eyes and nose (and ears) a lot.
So why isn't health and safety doing more to police sanitisation? Simple things like supermarkets not scrimping on their sanitiser by removing it from exits, sanitising trolleys, baskets, regularly wiping surfaces, door handles etc I could go on and on. We havev been informed that surfaces can transmit this so we have to accept the responsibility and sanitise our own hands regularly, lift buttons included.
As for tennis balls - a game within two of the same household isn't gong to present anymore risk than sharing the same living space.
How about fishing? Or have you got some crap story about how that causes untold cases?
Staying local isn't really about the risk of car accidents, cyclist breakdowns etc, it's about restricting movement. A population predominately housebound is much easier to police.
The bottom line is the govt have changed the rules/guidance so many times that they've lost goodwill and now have to micromanage us. This micromanaging has scooped up lots of perfectly safe and low risk activities.
Does anyone else remember that during Lockdown #1, supermarkets actually had their own staff wiping down baskets/trolleys, while wearing PPE, and making a point of handing you a newly cleaned one?
Now, you the customer are expected to hand-sanitise, then clean the basket, then hand-sanitise again, then use your own hand sanitiser because let's face it, all those cleaning stations at the entrances to supermarkets are absolutely disgusting...
I wonder what proportion of customers actually bother?
I sanitise on the way in and again on the way out. Too many things to touch in the supermarket to worry about the trolley or basket handle. Unknown if any items have been touched, need to touch the vegetable scales and the self pay till.
Remember not to touch face or phone until after santising hands.
But that's a perfect example of what I'm saying, tennis balls may well be very difficult to sterilise,fine dont play with other peoples balls is advice we can all get behind, but why is that a problem if the two people using their own tennis balls came from the same household.
Ah but if you created an exception to handle that theyd say people would abuse it,so we create a rule to stop people abusing the rules we didnt create because we couldnt trust them to follow them anyway, hence its near impossible to apply any reasoned logic to most of them.
This isn't about risk, DC's Barnard Castle visit was probably a negligible risk, same as a 100 mile solo bike ride. But rightly there was an outcry, one rule for us etc. It's about perception, were all in this together - let's not give the haters another reason to hate.
Apart from his own (bullshitish) admission that his wife and child were in the car and his eyesight wasn't up to much, being quite affected by the Covid.
(motorvehicles not ever being responsible for the death or injury of the occupants or innocent bystander, cars being big and heavy and capable of high speed)
So not really anything like a bicycle ride.
So affected that he couldn't drive home back to London.
Or that's the best this so called genius could come up with to explain a daytrip out to somewhere nice to mark his wife's birthday, because unfortunately someone had managed to recognise him and had the good sense to take a note of the numberplate.
Then he lied about predicting the pandemic in his blog, forgetting that someone would be able to check if any alterations might have been made later.
This is all about risk. It's not a PR opportunity to win non-cyclists hearts and minds. It's to stop the spread of the virus whilst staying healthy.
I'd far rather do my usual quiet rural road loop than laps of the local park (which is now rammed with people). As far as I can see it's within the law and the spirit of the guidance.
This is so true. The local parks and paths are rammed again. The usual back lanes I use to cycle are as empty as they usually are so far easier to keep to myself.
The Barnard Castle visit wasn't, despite the publicity and derision it attracted (rightly), the most heinous offence, that was driving all the way from London to Durham whilst he and his family were displaying Covid symptoms (a journey he couldn't have made without at least one service stop). Yes, the Barnard Catle trip could be seen as equivalent to a long ride, but nobody who's symptomatic or tested positive should leave the house for any reason whatsoever (unless it's on fire, I suppose).
Why did this need clarification? I think British Cycling must be illiterate if they cannot understand the sentence "but you can travel a short distance within your area to do so if necessary (for example, to access an open space)" . This obviously means travelling to start your exercise, i.e. using a vehicle to get to an open space and run about in that open space. The Government are trying to prevent idiots from getting in their car and driving 100 miles to the coast for a swim, or the Lake District for a brisk walk. Cyclists setting off from their house and heading off on a 3hr cycle to the middle of nowhere present no greater risk than someone riding 3hrs around their local streets. In fact, given that there is likely to be more people walking, jogging etc. on local roads I'd say they present a greater risk doing it local.
Rose tinted bollocks.
You breakdown within say 5 miles you can walk home. Breakdown over 5 miles and you create an unneeded journey for someone to collect you.
Stop the wishful thinking. It's selfish.
You can conjure up any "what if?" you want in order to prohibit whichever activity you choose. Accidents happen, even in the home - should we therefore all sleep downstairs lest we trip on the upstairs landing? And so on.
So you need a sense of how likely something is to actually happen, and the consequence if it does. In all my years of cycling I have never needed assistance getting home. Never.
That's not to say that tomorrow it doesn't happen. And if it does the consequence is almost insignificant, a family member collects me. The probability multiplied by the consequence, it's nearly zero. I don't believe it is worth the cost to my quality of life and mental health just doing circuits round my postcode.
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