Superb interview by Chris Boardman on BBC Breakfast

[Richard D]

Hopefully lots of people caught this morning's interview on BBC Breakfast with Chris Boardman. He made all his points clearly, calmly and coherently, despite one interviewer trying to bait Chris into condemning people who cycle for more than an hour (allowed) or for long distances (also allowed).

[Oldjohnw]

If long distance includes going to the Lake District forget it.

https://www.nwemail.co.uk/news/18393460 ... reopening/

[colin54]

Available here until 9a.m. tomorrow, @2h 44min 50seconds into the programme.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m ... t-22042020

[Phil Fouracre]

Succinct and to the point as usual!!

[roubaixtuesday]

Available here until 9a.m. tomorrow, @2h 44min 50seconds into the programme.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m ... t-22042020

Thanks for the link.

Really excellent from Chris B, a model of how to deal really positively with well meaning but ultimately ill informed questioning.

[Paulatic]

Chris Boardman ... He’s good at it isn’t he. Perfectly deflected the criticism of cyclists to people and pointed out the real danger from motorists. Ful marks.

[colin54]

In the lead up to Chris.Boardman's piece, there were a couple of interesting interviews with researchers about potential viral spread from the breath of runners and cyclists and safe distancing advice, also the beneficial effects of exercise on the immune system, starts at about 2 hours 40 minutes in , part of the same piece as C.B's interview really.

[backnotes]

Someone with those skills could be ideal as the leader/figurehead/spokesperson for a major national cycling charity, but I expect opportunities like that will only come up once in a blue moon.

[al_yrpal]

Chris carefully avoided commenting on the idiots taking very long rides and then boasting about it on line thus feeding amunition to the anti cyclist brigade. You may know that if they carefully social distance it does no harm, I appreciate that too but to the average member of the the non cycling public even a 10 mile ride will be seen as breaking the rules.

Talking to a London flat dweller yesterday and he told me its very difficult to exercise and keep your distance up there because of the number of people exercising in the streets and parks.

Al

[Cyril Haearn]

Someone with those skills could be ideal as the leader/figurehead/spokesperson for a major national cycling charity, but I expect opportunities like that will only come up once in a blue moon.

No, he should bypass that and cycle straight to Number 10 Downing Street

[Oldjohnw]

Chris carefully avoided commenting on the idiots taking very long rides and then boasting about it on line thus feeding amunition to the anti cyclist brigade. You may know that if they carefully social distance it does no harm, I appreciate that too but to the average member of the the non cycling public even a 10 mile ride will be seen as breaking the rules.

Talking to a London flat dweller yesterday and he told me its very difficult to exercise and keep your distance up there because of the number of people exercising in the streets and parks.

Al

He also said he supported what the government were doing in relation to exercise. A claim it seems few on these pages would agree with judging by the posts elsewhere.

[mjr]

Available here until 9a.m. tomorrow, @2h 44min 50seconds into the programme.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m ... t-22042020

So that we can keep discussing it, here's a transcript, extracted from the subtitles and I've added the names. The presenters are Dan Walker and Louise Minchin:

For many of us at the moment, our one exercise each day is a much needed chance to clear the cobwebs and get outdoors. But it can be difficult to keep our social distance and ensure everyone stays safe. Now, a US study suggests that coughs and sneezes can travel much more than the two metres we're recommended to stay apart from others while we're out. Michael Cowan reports.

Michael: Much of our world is lockdown. Our movements severely restricted. We are allowed out for one form of exercise a day. Across the globe, countries are taking different approaches to exercise.

In Paris, authorities have stopped exercise outdoors, apart from walking, between 10am and 7pm.

In Spain, all exercise outside the home is banned, unless you have a dog, in which case you can take it for a walk.

Japan's Prime Minister says it's OK to exercise outdoors, as long as you're alone.

And in Australia, exercise is permitted in your neighbourhood, and you're allowed to work out with one person.

Scientists agree that the virus is spread through droplets expelled when an infected person coughs or sneezes. What they still don't know is how easily the virus can spread through breathing. When we exercise, we inhale and exhale much more, so could you be putting yourself and others at risk from exercising outdoors?

To help answer that question is Professor Bert Blocken.

He's been researching how droplets from your nose and mouth travel during exercise. His research hasn't been officially published in a journal yet, meaning other scientists haven't evaluated it.

Can you tell us, Professor, what your research found?

Bert: Yes, our research actually looked into the social distance, the distance that you need to keep when you are running fast or cycling behind another person. And found that two metres is plenty if you are cycling and running next to each other, or in staggered formation,more than enough. But if you want to directly run behind each other or cycle behind each other in the slipstream, then two metres is not enough.

Michael: Professor Blocken's research assumes there is no wind in the air and suggests when you exhale while exercising, you emit droplets of breath that form what is known as a slipstream. It typically forms behind you. If you came into contact with droplets from an infected person, you could catch the virus. Professor Blocken says exercise side by side or in formation is safer than walking behind someone.

new speaker: Chronic or regular exercise is an immune booster. It protects you against a whole load of chronic diseases, associated with chronic inflammation. It's also thought to help reduce the ageing of your immune system as well, it all makes a lot of sense now with the epidemiological evidence that's out there It's a risk-benefit analysis. So if you don't exercise, you are increasing your risk of getting lots of diseases long term. If you go outside, obviously, you have the potential to be exposed to the virus. But at the same time,you are boosting your immune system,so that is helping to protect you against the virus.

Academics we have spoken to say there is no convincing evidence you are at a heightened risk from exercising outdoors. But research into this pandemic is still in its infancy. If you're going to exercise outdoors, you shouldn't do so if you have a cough,or a fever. And you must observe the World Health Organization guidance of keeping at least two metres from others. Michael Cowan, BBC News.

Dan: Exercise etiquette is an interesting one. I got sweated on by a jogger
last week who came far too close.

Louise: You keep reminding me of it as well!

Dan: Sorry!

Louise: We're joined now by Olympic gold medalist and policy advisor for British Cycling, Chris Boardman. I can see you listening to that. It's important, isn't it, that we try and do exercise but we have to take all of this into consideration.

Chris: Yeah, and I think context is absolutely everything. I'd just like to read you a quick quote from Professor John Edmonds for the London School of infectious diseases and tropical medicine. "Banning exercise outdoors will have a negative -- negligible impact on spending the virus and a marked impact on people's well-being". That has been peer-reviewed. Many cities have recognised that and are actively making more space, reclaiming road space so people can exercise more. Running the hypothesis of one scientist is how you get people a bit stressed doing things the wrong way, such as villages trying to ban people ride through. As long as you follow the same guidance that's been laid down for all of us, keep that distance, it is a good thing, it helps people stay isolated -- who are going to be from months and during a crisis, it protects the NHS.

Dan: The vast majority of people, whatever they are doing, doing it responsibly, it is a tiny minority who are causing issues.

Chris: We're not even sure it's causing issues, we think it will, but ultimately we keep apart from each other. I have changed my running route, I am mostly running at the moment because I live on the beach, I'm looking at it out the window now. There are some narrow paths but I had to think, if someone came the other way, what would I do? And I watched over the course of a week how we change the culture,not overly dramatic to say, the planet. And it is really quite heartening to see that everyone has got behind it. A lot of people, we have to remember, don't have gardens or space at home, they have kids,you cannot keep people locked in for months without giving them a way to get a mental break.

Louise: We have seen some parks have been closed, which for people who need them, is pretty difficult.

Chris: Yes, and I think that is an understandable reaction to "lots of people are coming here, we need to stop it," but now is the time when we are settling into this crisis, if you like, where you started to think, that was going too far, back it off. Let's make some rules, make it clockwise, give people some guidance on how to use the space. That also helps the police in placing it as well for anyone not following the guidance. so it's taking time to settle in but we have done it quickly. I am really supportive of the government advice from the start which has been really simple but very consistent. Take exercise once a day, stay apart from other people, and I think that is the way to go.

Dan: I should have been a bit clearer earlier, when I was talking about a tiny minority, I was talking about some of those cyclists particularly who have come under criticism going on really long rides posting on social media saying, I have done 70 miles, which does stretch those guidelines and cause issues.

Chris: Well, first of all, being in a group, it doesn't matter how you travel, if you play football on a field, or gathering in a group for a party, it's just irresponsible people so the mode of transport is irrelevant, people doing bad things should not, they should follow the guidance that has been laid down. I think that is key, we are all people and following the guidelines. I'm getting asked an awful lot, what is a reasonable amount of time? And I really pushed hard to try and not get into speculating or giving my opinion. Having said that, what I would say for me, if I'm going out on a bike, I had only done it twice in five weeks, I will go home to home, so I don't stop anywhere, I make sure I have supplies, and I know that if I had a problem, I don't have a car any more, my wife does, she could come and get me, so that's OK. But I think that's why the government have not put time limits on it, they have said, be reasonable, once a day, don't put anybody at risk.

Louise: You have only been out on your bike a couple of times,there are clearly people out on their bikes really enjoying it, and perhaps not accustomed to being on their backs that much. There is an advantage in some ways that there are not so many cars on the road.

Chris: You have 1950s levels of traffic at the moment, so we are seeing people automatically saying, I have bored kids here, they can't go go to the park or play with their mates, they always hated going for a walk, what shall I do? I have all the space, why don't we go out on the road and ride up and down? That's got to be a good thing. That's something we are starting to think about now. Other cities are as well, about when we emerge from lockdown, when we start to recover, do we want to go back to the normal that we had before, or do we actually want to use this space a little bit differently? They are starting to put measures in place,and that's pretty exciting because that's how you protect your NHS long term. Give people an option to travel in a different way and go out and exercise, and enjoy it.

Louise: Another thing we talked about in the papers, you might not have seen it, there are reports of drivers going well over the speed limit, 140 miles an hour. So there is caution, that is obviously against the law for starters but there is caution to be taken as well, I suppose.

Chris: The evidence there is, that's where the danger really comes from. You are never going to be driving a car at the moment, once I have been out to deliver a bike to somebody so they can get to work. I have been out in the car once. I saw the majority of people behaving excellently. But it only takes one person. You are never going to be more likely to come around a corner and see someone walking on the road, it happened to me running yesterday, there was a couple on the pavement so I went into the road to give them distance and a car came the other way and the driver was really annoyed at me for being there. The speeding part of it, we really need to get on top of it. We are looking at that in greater Manchester and London, well on top of it and penalising behaviour like that which is not just dangerous, but selfish.

Louise: Chris Boardman, thank you for your time this morning.

Dan: Really interesting, and to pick up on what Chris said, maybe at the end of all this when we are looking back, the impact that physical activity has on your mental health, and how mentally as a nation we come out of the other side of this will be really interesting, a big topic of discussion.

Louise: He makes a good point about people walking on the pavements, someone goes past them, with a car, we all have to be thoughtful.

Dan: Just think of other people, one of those simple life things!

[reohn2]

Succinct and to the point as usual!!

Quite!

[Pete Owens]

He also said he supported what the government were doing in relation to exercise. A claim it seems few on these pages would agree with judging by the posts elsewhere.

I think you will find most of us support the governments position of encouraging exercise.

Where we disagree is with some of the numpties in charge of various police forces round the country (such as the link you posted above) who are trying to stop us - or at least force us to do it in more the more crowded places where most of us live.

[Oldjohnw]

He also said he supported what the government were doing in relation to exercise. A claim it seems few on these pages would agree with judging by the posts elsewhere.

I think you will find most of us support the governments position of encouraging exercise.

Where we disagree is with some of the numpties in charge of various police forces round the country (such as the link you posted above) who are trying to stop us - or at least force us to do it in more the more crowded places where most of us live.

Well many complained they were so unclear as to be useless whilst others called Johnson a dictator and anyone who tried to follow the rules a Johnson follower without a mind of their own.