Tier 4 exercise limits

[gbnz]

Since Scotland is going to a tier system I will only be able to travel a couple of miles north or west. The sea limits my travelling very far east. So it’s south or south west only.

And there's that "hard" gap between Berwick and Budle Bay . Don't know why, but whilst Berwick is superb, somehow that 15 mile gap always seems to defeat me! (Nb. Nothing to do with the distance or terrain, merely seems to be little in it!)

[wjhall]

Where do we stand regarding longer rides? ... ....

Cheers James

The regulations set no limits, other than not being away from your dwelling overnight, the secretary of state,who made the regulations, has said long cycle rides are allowed, cycling UK have received government advice, quoted in someone else's earlier post, which says the government does not wish to set limits to exercise, and also allows driving to the start of exercise. The answer is perfectly clear and has always been so, apart from the fact that even the reply to Cycling UK implies limits that are not in the regulations.

I can only surmise that the reason discussion continues is that someone described the answer to Cycling UK as being to use your common sense, and common sense is either unpopular or felt to be uncommon. The latter may be true , this is the country of the 52 %, so it is possible that the approach of writing very restrictive advice for very permissive regulations may be a sensible way to deal with the matter.

A recent Guardian article by the recently resigned senior government legal adviser criticising most aspects of the government's approach to law and parliament also mentioned that the original advice had apparently been written by someone who had not seen the regulations, which is consistent with the fact that the advice appeared several days before the regulations.

[thirdcrank]

I think this is what prompted this latest discussion. It's certainly what I've been addressing in my posts.

Clear as mud. I'm still not leaving the house. I can't rely on the police having the same common sense as me. Cycling around my area of the city would be very restrictive, endless junctions, more dangerous, more air pollution, more people around. I think I've left the house twice since doing the last school run before Christmas, once for a bike ride with the family, but too many other people around not really caring about distancing, and once to Aldi for a small shop for a few things, late at night when it was quiet. I don't really understand how the infection rates are still so high and haven't plummeted during lockdown.
(My emphasis.)

As well as the impression that in some areas the police have been enforcing the advice rather than the law.

[Jamesh]

Just say that you usually ride 100+miles and that anywhere in your county is local to you.

I really don't think police are interested in how far your cycling.

If your in a large group or if you stop for a picnic then perhaps they might suggest your taking the mick....

Cheers James
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[doffcocker]

Hi all,

For those that don't know the origins of my username, I'm from the Bolton area and generally like to cycle over to other neighbouring areas like Chorley, Bury, Salford, Wigan, Blackburn etc as part of my usual routine however obviously I've recently been staying within the Bolton borough to avoid breaking any rules.

I was just wondering how others are approaching those guidelines regarding exercising within local areas, because it would be nice to venture a little further without causing a problem. It's not such a big issue for me as Bolton is large area on its own, but for people living in small villages who are used to cycling 20+ miles a day, it's a different situation altogether.

P.S. I realise this has probably come up in other threads, so apologies if this causes any duplication.

[De Sisti]

Everything you need to know to answer your question is in the following thread:
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=142983

[thirdcrank]

Everything you need to know to answer your question is in the following thread:
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=142983

To save anybody else from following that link like I did, it's the OP on this thread.

[doffcocker]

Thanks for that.

Just a further question on this, on my days off I do like to pull over for picture taking. Believe it or not we do have some "beauty spots" round here, and I would tend to maybe jump off the bike for 5 minutes by the side of the road to get a picture of local reservoirs, buildings, whatever.

For example it's my day off tomorrow and the forecast is good, it would be a nice day for a ride to Darwen Tower which is 10 miles from my home, it's within the county of Lancashire (Bolton is in Greater Manchester but still very much Lancashire in the minds of some), my intention would be to ride straight up there, stop for 5-10 minutes to get pictures from the hill and ride straight back.

Am I potentially on the wrong side of the Bill?

[thirdcrank]

In my interpretation of the regs - ie not common sense - the prohibition is on leaving home and there are exceptions, of which getting exercise is one.

If exercise is the reason for leaving home that's it. Photography is not a specified exception, but I'd make a case that in your example it's ok because it's not the reason for being out. Others might argue that taking a camera was evidence of a different reason for being out.

[nirakaro]

I think it would be unreasonable/implausible for any exercise regulation to include a 'You May Not Stop' clause. One of my regular rides is about ten miles down the canal, stop for a sandwich/can of pop, and home again. If it were to be queried, I've stopped to catch my breath. And I might take a picture or two.

[RickH]

Hi all,

For those that don't know the origins of my username, I'm from the Bolton area and generally like to cycle over to other neighbouring areas like Chorley, Bury, Salford, Wigan, Blackburn etc as part of my usual routine however obviously I've recently been staying within the Bolton borough to avoid breaking any rules.

I was just wondering how others are approaching those guidelines regarding exercising within local areas, because it would be nice to venture a little further without causing a problem. It's not such a big issue for me as Bolton is large area on its own, but for people living in small villages who are used to cycling 20+ miles a day, it's a different situation altogether.

P.S. I realise this has probably come up in other threads, so apologies if this causes any duplication.

I had wondered, when I saw your username, if you were a local.

I'm at the far end of Horwich & closer to the Bolton boundary than the centre of Horwich. So I've largely ignored the border & chosen local quiet routes, usually mixed on & off road. Especially as the border is not visible off road, you have to study maps that show its location to determine where it is. I've considered the Rivington reservoirs area "fair game" throughout. I generally only cycle towards Bolton for utility purposes.

It did amuse me slightly when there was a fuss in the local news about people swarming to Rivington one fine, snowy day in lockdown. The report included the statement the some folk had travelled from "Greater Manchester" (as well as other places). The village green at Rivington is about 15 minutes away by bike from us "in Greater Manchester", maybe 20 when it's snowy.

[mjr]

I think it would be unreasonable/implausible for any exercise regulation to include a 'You May Not Stop' clause.

There is no such clause in the regulation. I agree that it is reasonable to believe that reasonable pauses are allowed, similar to how motorists are not being fined in huge numbers for stopping to use their phones or refuel their engine as part of a permitted trip out, despite that not being explicitly permitted either.

[doffcocker]

I'm at the far end of Horwich & closer to the Bolton boundary than the centre of Horwich. So I've largely ignored the border & chosen local quiet routes, usually mixed on & off road. Especially as the border is not visible off road, you have to study maps that show its location to determine where it is. I've considered the Rivington reservoirs area "fair game" throughout. I generally only cycle towards Bolton for utility purposes.

Nice to know there's somebody local on here Rick.

I'm in the Smithills area and more often than not head in the Horwich direction up Chorley Old Road and take my daily circular route from there. Like you I do ride around the reservoirs at Rivington too. I suppose my Darwen idea is similar in principle in that just by entering Rivington I'm going into a Preston postcode and with Darwen it's a Blackburn postcode, yet in both cases I'm travelling less than 10 miles.

Another thing is I do like to show off my scenery pictures on social media, but with the amount of rule break shaming that's going on I obviously don't want to be the guy who broke the rules only to parade it online later on, even if I'm quite satisfied in my own mind that I haven't done any harm.

[thirdcrank]

IIRC, early in the first lockdown, it was reported that the police would not be investigating reports after the event. Indeed, when there were queries about whether eyesight tests were ok, there was no police action on that basis.

The logistical point is this: if the police witness an offence being committed, whether as the result of a report from the public or not, the issue of a fixed penalty is entirely under their control. If they act only on the strength of a report, then they depend on the evidence of the person(s) reporting it. That involves statement taking, possible complications over identification, and the possibility that a witness may be less enthusiastic over time about going to court if necessary. ie it's only really worth it for a specific serious offence; for anything less serious, a police officer might detect any number of offenders in the time it takes to investigate one report. Having to observe social distancing while taking statements etc just puts the brass knobs on this.

I don't know the extent of that policy then or now, but in general I suspect anybody who isn't spoken to when out cycling won't get a later knock on the door.

[doffcocker]

IIRC, early in the first lockdown, it was reported that the police would not be investigating reports after the event. Indeed, when there were queries about whether eyesight tests were ok, there was no police action on that basis.

That's what I was thinking too pretty much, I just want to avoid creating a negative impression from a social point of view.

Personally if I saw somebody had rode 10 miles one way, taken a few photos then gone straight back, I would thing great for them but that doesn't feel like the general mood of a lot of people right now.