Social Distancing is getting forgotten

rwoofer

Too my dismay, I saw a lot of group rides this weekend in Surrey. Not big groups, but typically 2-4 males all of similar age. I know in my area a lot of people complain about cyclists flouting rules and this kind of behaviour really doesn't help our cause.

So the question is, why have some people stopped social distancing??

imposter2.0

Because they're self-absorbed idiots and couldnt give a sh11t...

Dorset_Boy

imposter2.0 said:

Because they're self-absorbed idiots and couldnt give a sh11t...

Spot on, stereo-typical Londoners!

Mad_Malx

Absolutely agree that things are breaking down, but I wouldn’t presume to make assumptions about any specific group.

I’ve even heard (lowers voice) that sometimes guys live together.....

fenix

And if you're riding behind someone you need to leave (I think) 10m to be safe. 2m ain't enough.

paul_the_pedaller

A few of my friends have been "bumping into" each other and strangely enough followed exactly the same route for the next two hours. Stupid in my opinion.

adammarlow85

What if one of your cycling buddies is someone you work with?

You go to work and yes you social distance at the workplace but your with that person for 8 hours but you can’t go out on your bike together and keep the social distancing!!!

fenix

You shouldn't be out cycling with your workmates.

adammarlow85

fenix said:

You shouldn't be out cycling with your workmates.

I’m not!!

coopster_the_1st

rwoofer said:

Too my dismay, I saw a lot of group rides this weekend in Surrey. Not big groups, but typically 2-4 males all of similar age. I know in my area a lot of people complain about cyclists flouting rules and this kind of behaviour really doesn't help our cause.

So the question is, why have some people stopped social distancing??

Because they are able to see what the real risk is rather than the extreme paranoia that is way out of whack with the facts of the situation.

topsey_turvey

Round here it seems to be gangs of 6-8 youfs on mountain bikes just razzing about,
(I believe that's what they say), or small groups of 2 or 3 mates in a mini chain gang. Easy to find out who they are from Strava Flyby!

Two of my buddies keep going out for 50/60 mile rides together, and they keep taking selfies of themselves doing it???

thistle_

topsey_turvey said:

Two of my buddies keep going out for 50/60 mile rides together, and they keep taking selfies of themselves doing it???

Maybe they're a couple but it's not official yet and cycling is just a cover story?

There's 2 guys I've seen every Sunday for the last couple of weeks going for a ride together, they meet up just down the road and then social distance the whole way (i.e. one on each side of the main road) which makes overtaking difficult, or entertaining depending on how you look at it.

ugo.santalucia

While the risk is low, the message they give out is wrong. Disobeying the law is always wrong, more so when a minority of people are working their socks off and risking their life to mend the shortcomings of others.
If we all practised social distancing to the letter, we wouldn't have 4-5,000 new cases a day and in turn we would have fewer NHS and care workers getting sick and fewer dying.
Anyone not following the guidelines to the letter is partly responsible for the massacre of innocent workers. One day they will look back at the all thing and regret having being an axxehole... but they won't be able to fix it

redvision

Of course it's not right if cyclists are riding in groups as it is (has been) against the lockdown rules, but at least they are not in a confined space.

We haven't been able to get a home delivery slot from any of the supermarkets since lockdown began, so having to go every fortnight for supplies. Right from the start of the restrictions and the 2m rule, I have been staggered at the lack of enforcement in stores. They seem organised controlling customers when queuing outside, but once in store customers are not staying 2m apart and staff seem reluctant to enforce the message.

This is more of a concern for me than a couple of cyclists riding outside together.

joe_totale-2

I did a solo ride round North Kent on Saturday. Plenty of couples and pairs out who could live in the same household (Giving them the benefit of the doubt).

What was striking was a group of 6, 40 something year old men riding together near Crowhurst. I was pretty close to shouting something at them as I went past them but decided to bite my tongue.

Later on near Biggin Hill I came across another group of 6 or so riders who were clearly all from Ecuador, again roughly all in the 40's.

Maybe large house shares of divorced, 40 something year old men are on the rise?

Darius_Jedburgh

The general opinion seems to be that 2 metres is way over the top. Even the bell end who thought it up didn't believe it, or he wouldn't have been s*hagging another man's wife. So how come this virus is still being spread?

What are people doing to be in close enough contact to spread it? Everyone I come across is fastidious on keeping their distance.

Ben6899

joe_totale-2 said:

Later on near Biggin Hill I came across another group of 6 or so riders who were clearly all from Ecuador...

How do you know this? Were they keeping a careful eye out for Colombian road blocks?

kingstongraham

FrankYates said:

The general opinion seems to be that 2 metres is way over the top. Even the bell end who thought it up didn't believe it, or he wouldn't have been s*hagging another man's wife. So how come this virus is still being spread?

What are people doing to be in close enough contact to spread it? Everyone I come across is fastidious on keeping their distance.

He's already had the virus. Probably caught it from being in close contact with someone else who had it.

joe_totale-2

Ben6899 said:

joe_totale-2 said:

Later on near Biggin Hill I came across another group of 6 or so riders who were clearly all from Ecuador...

How do you know this? Were they keeping a careful eye out for Colombian road blocks?

The fact they were all wearing jerseys with the Ecuadorian flag on, their skin complexion and the fact that they were speaking Spanish.

ugo.santalucia

In Ecuador they are quite relaxed about the all pandemic thing... dead are left to rot at the side of the road...

thistle_

ugo.santalucia said:

One day they will look back at the all thing and regret having being an axxehole... but they won't be able to fix it

Most of them probably won't. It wasn't anything that they did

thistle_

joe_totale-2 said:

Maybe large house shares of divorced, 40 something year old men are on the rise?

Maybe some cycling club members all moved in together so they could keep going out on their weekly rides.

Ben6899

ugo.santalucia said:

In Ecuador they are quite relaxed about the all pandemic thing... dead are left to rot at the side of the road...

It's one day at a time in Ecuador.

rwoofer

coopster_the_1st said:

rwoofer said:

Too my dismay, I saw a lot of group rides this weekend in Surrey. Not big groups, but typically 2-4 males all of similar age. I know in my area a lot of people complain about cyclists flouting rules and this kind of behaviour really doesn't help our cause.

So the question is, why have some people stopped social distancing??

Because they are able to see what the real risk is rather than the extreme paranoia that is way out of whack with the facts of the situation.

Actually my point was nothing to do with the real risk, which I also perceive to be low, but the perception it creates among members of the general public. We are just giving them ammunition to target cyclists as law breakers. I'm already finding an increasing amount of quite aggressive behaviour from car drivers, who are clearly getting aggravated by what they see.

I would like to see more people embrace cycling as the future and this is an opportunity to bring more people into the fold, but not if we alienate them.

slowmart

OP your thread title is wrong, social distancing isn't being forgotten, it's worse than that. People are choosing to ignore the request to social distance or only go out for essential journeys.

fenix

redvision said:

Of course it's not right if cyclists are riding in groups as it is (has been) against the lockdown rules, but at least they are not in a confined space.

We haven't been able to get a home delivery slot from any of the supermarkets since lockdown began, so having to go every fortnight for supplies. Right from the start of the restrictions and the 2m rule, I have been staggered at the lack of enforcement in stores. They seem organised controlling customers when queuing outside, but once in store customers are not staying 2m apart and staff seem reluctant to enforce the message.

This is more of a concern for me than a couple of cyclists riding outside together.

If I'm in a shop I'd be wearing a mask or buff as a basic barrier and out of the shop and home to wash my hands.
To me that's a lot less risk than riding behind or alongside someone puffing on a bike.

And you do need food after all. You don't have to ride with a mate.

fenix

coopster_the_1st said:

rwoofer said:

Too my dismay, I saw a lot of group rides this weekend in Surrey. Not big groups, but typically 2-4 males all of similar age. I know in my area a lot of people complain about cyclists flouting rules and this kind of behaviour really doesn't help our cause.

So the question is, why have some people stopped social distancing??

Because they are able to see what the real risk is rather than the extreme paranoia that is way out of whack with the facts of the situation.

The situation of there being double the average number of deaths than normal you mean ?

And why would they need to ride with their pals to hold their hand anyway ? Utterly stupid.

pblakeney

I'd do some personal research into the effectiveness of masks and buffs first.
The Buff company specifically state that they are useless on their webpage.

DeVlaeminck

I've been out a lot and only seen a few small groups I'd be fairly certain weren't families. They are very visible of course but I guess it just reflects a wider loosening of respect for the social distancing laws - the vast majority still adhere but the minority is a growing one.

fenix

pblakeney said:

I'd do some personal research into the effectiveness of masks and buffs first.
The Buff company specifically state that they are useless on their webpage.

That's interesting. Just had a look and it does say they aren't intended for that purpose - but for shopping I'm not going to use a medical mask that even NHS staff are struggling to get. Their need is clearly far greater than shoppers.

coopster_the_1st

rwoofer said:

coopster_the_1st said:

rwoofer said:

Too my dismay, I saw a lot of group rides this weekend in Surrey. Not big groups, but typically 2-4 males all of similar age. I know in my area a lot of people complain about cyclists flouting rules and this kind of behaviour really doesn't help our cause.

So the question is, why have some people stopped social distancing??

Because they are able to see what the real risk is rather than the extreme paranoia that is way out of whack with the facts of the situation.

Actually my point was nothing to do with the real risk, which I also perceive to be low, but the perception it creates among members of the general public. We are just giving them ammunition to target cyclists as law breakers. I'm already finding an increasing amount of quite aggressive behaviour from car drivers, who are clearly getting aggravated by what they see.

I would like to see more people embrace cycling as the future and this is an opportunity to bring more people into the fold, but not if we alienate them.

The aggressiveness from car drivers is because many of these drivers are just out for a jolly on what should be quiet roads(look at the cars that are being driven in relation to the aggressiveness you see) but are finding many more cyclists because they have reclaimed the roads for exercise. As traffic increases driving speed is being controlled by cyclists more than it has have ever been.