Cycling UK Forum

I can see the restrictions tightening here. There is already mention that some Mairies are imposing a limit of half Km maximum from the house.
The Mairie has quite a lot of power and can do this.
It's not happened here, yet, and until it does we're continuing as we are.
Overall I'm satisfied with the actions Macron has taken to slow the spread to give the hospitals a chance to cope.
As said before, until a vaccine can be found most of us will get it and obeying the rules whilst keeping fit is the best was to get through it.

I was surprised to discover that Sweden has fewer IC beds than the UK (lowest two). The country with the highest is Germany.
During the austerity years the UK won't have had the money but Sweden?

Just seen a couple of things on BBC World.

Re pwa comment about mixing clientele in designated time slots. Sainsburys are now separating the time slots for elderly and NHS workers. I imagine others will follow.

They also had a Scots bloke moaning about how all the city folk had come into his bit of the country to enjoy themselves and by virtue, congregate. The footage they showed was lots of people walking around a cafe or something and lots of bikes. Unfortunately it's shots like that which could get cycling banned as an easy target.

francovendee wrote:…..I was surprised to discover that Sweden has fewer IC beds than the UK (lowest two). The country with the highest is Germany.
During the austerity years the UK won't have had the money but Sweden?

It could be the case that in recent decades the Swedes spent their money on large underground facilities to protect some of their population from the consequences of the cold war suddenly going hot, rather than IC beds.

In general terms having a lot of infrastructure on hand (which is far from cost-free to maintain) is 'worth it' if you rate the chances of a sudden and catastrophic event as being high enough to worry about and in addition to that, if the said infrastructure will make a difference.

Otherwise if the threat is less sudden then provided the required infrastructure can be put in place in a timely fashion then this is probably a better policy. Hence within a few weeks, if necessary, I expect there to be tens of thousands of respirators etc in hospitals (and hotels converted into hospitals etc) and many lives will be saved.

Similar arguments apply to whether or not you should have a large standing army.

Note that the ability to put infrastructure in place in a timely fashion is reliant on either global trade or having a good manufacturing base in your economy. Since global trade in the required commodities is one of the first things to get hit in times of global crisis, it is prudent to retain a good manufacturing base.

I have not checked but I would imagine that the global price of (say) liquid/bottled oxygen is going through the roof right now, and availability is likely to be limited; you could have all the IC beds you like and they are going to be about as much use a chocolate teapot without the oxygen to go with them. I think we'll be OK in this respect, but in less well developed economies folk are likely to die in increased numbers for want of it.

cheers

Given all the crowds that went walking on NT land (now shut) and yesterday all Welsh hillsides crammed I expect a ban on walking away from home, and as cyclists are so detested it follows cycling will be banned except for reserved occupations.

wirral_cyclist wrote:Given all the crowds that went walking on NT land (now shut) and yesterday all Welsh hillsides crammed I expect a ban on walking away from home, and as cyclists are so detested it follows cycling will be banned except for reserved occupations.

The NT and RSPB made all their car parks and land free and advertised the fact. This weekend's scenes were obviously going to happen from that point. What were they thinking?

simonhill wrote:Just seen a couple of things on BBC World.

Re pwa comment about mixing clientele in designated time slots. Sainsburys are now separating the time slots for elderly and NHS workers. I imagine others will follow.

They also had a Scots bloke moaning about how all the city folk had come into his bit of the country to enjoy themselves and by virtue, congregate. The footage they showed was lots of people walking around a cafe or something and lots of bikes. Unfortunately it's shots like that which could get cycling banned as an easy target.

Is this what you are referring to?

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-51990534

I do not see how you can describe this advice as moaning - and your use of "Scots bloke" is quite derogatory.

Health infrastructure up in the north of Scotland is fragile, and in primary care many GP practices are supported by locums the supply of which is likely to dry up fast. And if the resident GP gets sick? I think it’s very appropriate advice from the Scottish Government.

I’ve already seem campervans parked up in car parks in my own off-the-tourist-trail part of the North.

Same problem for Wales
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-51994504

Ditto for East Anglian coast resorts.

jaydm wrote:

simonhill wrote:Just seen a couple of things on BBC World.

Re pwa comment about mixing clientele in designated time slots. Sainsburys are now separating the time slots for elderly and NHS workers. I imagine others will follow.

They also had a Scots bloke moaning about how all the city folk had come into his bit of the country to enjoy themselves and by virtue, congregate. The footage they showed was lots of people walking around a cafe or something and lots of bikes. Unfortunately it's shots like that which could get cycling banned as an easy target.

Is this what you are referring to?

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-51990534

I do not see how you can describe this advice as moaning - and your use of "Scots bloke" is quite derogatory.

No it was BBC World News which is an international TV channel. It was one of a number of interviews with people in the area. Please advise what is derogatory was it Scots or bloke? If I'd been interviewed I wouldn't be worried about being called an English bloke.

Sorry if I offended, but not sure how.

mjr wrote:

wirral_cyclist wrote:Given all the crowds that went walking on NT land (now shut) and yesterday all Welsh hillsides crammed I expect a ban on walking away from home, and as cyclists are so detested it follows cycling will be banned except for reserved occupations.

The NT and RSPB made all their car parks and land free and advertised the fact. This weekend's scenes were obviously going to happen from that point. What were they thinking?

I didn't know that. What the hell did they expect to happen?

We enjoyed our regular cycle ride with two friends out in the countryside and probably met as many cyclists as motorists.
Thankfully the roads around here are fairly quiet, so we could keep two metres apart when cycling two abreast and even employed the same practice when we stopped for a picnic, miles from anyone.
It was a glorious sunny day for a change though!

pete75 wrote:

mjr wrote:

wirral_cyclist wrote:Given all the crowds that went walking on NT land (now shut) and yesterday all Welsh hillsides crammed I expect a ban on walking away from home, and as cyclists are so detested it follows cycling will be banned except for reserved occupations.

The NT and RSPB made all their car parks and land free and advertised the fact. This weekend's scenes were obviously going to happen from that point. What were they thinking?

I didn't know that. What the hell did they expect to happen?

Being generous, I hope they thought a few people would use their local nearby estate or reserve for exercise and hadn't thought that it would attract "panic visiting" of people half-expecting military rule next week. Some of the other possible reasons are criminal or sinister.

mjr wrote:

pete75 wrote:

mjr wrote:The NT and RSPB made all their car parks and land free and advertised the fact. This weekend's scenes were obviously going to happen from that point. What were they thinking?

I didn't know that. What the hell did they expect to happen?

Being generous, I hope they thought a few people would use their local nearby estate or reserve for exercise and hadn't thought that it would attract "panic visiting" of people half-expecting military rule next week. Some of the other possible reasons are criminal or sinister.

The emergency powers bill hasn’t been passed officially yet. A couple of pubs I’ve seen have given the finger to the ‘advice’ to stay shut. As soon as it is passed ( next week) the merde really will hit the fan.

Marcus Aurelius wrote:The emergency powers bill hasn’t been passed officially yet. A couple of pubs I’ve seen have given the finger to the ‘advice’ to stay shut. As soon as it is passed ( next week) the merde really will hit the fan.

The business closures regs affecting pubs were passed at 2pm yesterday (it need not wait for full powers, as it uses licensing controls). Any pubs and so on now open will probably see consequences once enforcement catches up. It does not affect many NT/RSPB and similar, which will need a new bill.

mjr wrote:

pete75 wrote:

mjr wrote:The NT and RSPB made all their car parks and land free and advertised the fact. This weekend's scenes were obviously going to happen from that point. What were they thinking?

I didn't know that. What the hell did they expect to happen?

Being generous, I hope they thought a few people would use their local nearby estate or reserve for exercise and hadn't thought that it would attract "panic visiting" of people half-expecting military rule next week. Some of the other possible reasons are criminal or sinister.

Also, I saw their "offer" some time ago and maybe before the Gov. had gone for a stricter distancing regime?

Ian