Bunch Riding or going Solo during corona virus risk

[Alex Simmons/RST]

For team events I didn't mean about requiring approval. I meant because it was ridden as a team, not as individuals.

I must have been dreaming when I last looked at Audax calendar I thought there were stacks of such events. But maybe I was looking at the wrong site?
https://www.audax.org.au/public/ridecalendar

I notice since I last looked that a number of rides on the calendar are getting cancelled.

In my defence on the Alpine classic, it is listed as an event on the Audax Australia website with its own menu link and webpage, and the About Us page on the Alpine Classic website provides a link straight back to Audax Australia, with no mention of O2 Events. You have to navigate to the page footer to see reference to an O2 Events link and email.

[Mububban]

I've canned my weekly social group ride for the time being Anything faster than tootling around with my kids is on hold for now.

[queequeg]

Audax Australia has now cancelled all rides. I managed to get in my March YRR Yesterday (which I planned a few weeks ago). Glad to know I don't have to fret about the awards. That will just pick up again once this all over.

https://audax.org.au/covid-19-update-23-mar-2020/

Our daily lives are changing rapidly due to the COVID-19 virus.
Over the weekend the Australian government and a number of State governments have directed that all non-essential travel should be avoided.

As a result, with immediate effect, Audax Australia has:

Cancelled all calendar rides until further notice
Cancelled all permanent rides until further notice
Suspended the Year Round Randoneur and Petit Year Round Randoneur awards

These decisions were made after considerable deliberation by your National Committee.
Our prime concern is for the well being of all.

We hope that you, your family and friends remain healthy and safe throughout these uncertain times.

National Committee
Audax Australia

[Abby]

I must have been dreaming when I last looked at Audax calendar I thought there were stacks of such events. But maybe I was looking at the wrong site?
https://www.audax.org.au/public/ridecalendar

I notice since I last looked that a number of rides on the calendar are getting cancelled.

In my defence on the Alpine classic, it is listed as an event on the Audax Australia website with its own menu link and webpage, and the About Us page on the Alpine Classic website provides a link straight back to Audax Australia, with no mention of O2 Events. You have to navigate to the page footer to see reference to an O2 Events link and email.

Updated Audax website address (it changed late last year, the whole website was moved & updated): https://www.audax.org.au/portal/rides/calendar

Almost certain that the only 'team' events we have (in QLD at least) are the Oppy each year - that was supposed to be on last weekend but was cancelled.

[queequeg]

For team events I didn't mean about requiring approval. I meant because it was ridden as a team, not as individuals.

I must have been dreaming when I last looked at Audax calendar I thought there were stacks of such events. But maybe I was looking at the wrong site?
https://www.audax.org.au/public/ridecalendar

I notice since I last looked that a number of rides on the calendar are getting cancelled.

In my defence on the Alpine classic, it is listed as an event on the Audax Australia website with its own menu link and webpage, and the About Us page on the Alpine Classic website provides a link straight back to Audax Australia, with no mention of O2 Events. You have to navigate to the page footer to see reference to an O2 Events link and email.

I am not sure what ended up happening for the Oppy last week. There were very few teams registered in NSW. I think Victoria was the biggest.

The Alpine Classic is a funny one. The reason it was sold by Audax is that it was becoming too difficult to run because of the lack of volunteers and expertise as people moved on. A number of options were looked at, including just cancelling it. In the end they managed to sell the rights to it, which I think happened for the 2018 ride and it was no longer an Audax run event, and Audax was dropped from the name. The events company it was sold to was SME360 I believe, and they ran it for 2018/2019. For 2020, the event was bought by O2events, which ironically includes some of the original organisers of the Audax Alpine Classic, but now they have their own Events company.

This was the announcement in late November 2019...then of course the ride was cancelled in January due to Bushfires

I'd say with all the changes, the volunteers who maintain the websites just haven't gotten around to updating it. Audax still lists the Alpine Classic as they encourage riders to do it simply because of the history. On the Rides Calendar it does state that it's not an Audax Event and sends you off to the Alpine Classic Site to register for it. I'm planning to do in January. I have the accommodation booked. Let's just hope this is all over by then, or it will have been a pretty horrid year. We have really had it all in 2020 now. Only thing missing is Alien invasion.

WE'VE GOT THE BAND BACK TOGETHER
Some great news for the ride -
We're under new... old management

After a succession of corporate buyouts, The Alpine Classic had wound up being owned by Nine Entertainment and was in danger of becoming just another corporatised event.

But now a new team of old hands has stepped up and bought the event. The legendary Phil Bellette - one of the founding fathers of the event - has teamed up with former ride director Dan Shannon, and Kane Osler and Jordan O'Neill of new events management company O2 Events. Together the team will be looking to make sure that the ride stays true to its roots as the best supported, friendliest - and still the most challenging - ride on the Australian calendar.

Please show your support for the ride by joining us on Australia Day weekend in January 2020. We can't make this a success without you, our riders, and our amazing volunteers.

Cheers,
Phil, Jordan, Dan and Kane

[Tim]

My question is simply whether recreational cycling (on my own or in a pair) is either acceptable or responsible at the moment?
I really don't know.

[Alex Simmons/RST]

My question is simply whether recreational cycling (on my own or in a pair) is either acceptable or responsible at the moment?
I really don't know.

Keeping fit and healthy in a responsible way is to be encouraged. Cycling by yourself is certainly fine, just take suitable precautions to avoid the need for close proximity contact with others. e.g. have sufficient spares, tools, food, drink etc such that you won't be reliant on anyone else during a ride should you have a problem. Also choose routes and times carefully to absolutely minimise the potential hazards one faces when cycling, as well as ensure your bike its in tip top mechanical condition as these further minimise the very low chance of crashing and needing hospitalisation. It also reduces the likelihood of coming within close proximity to others. Perhaps take some sanitiser with you if you do need to touch things (e.g. traffic light control buttons).

As for riding with another, I think really that should be confined to those you are already sharing a home with and are themselves also practicing good social distancing and hygiene practices.

[Tim]

Thanks Alex. That is very reassuring and comes from a level head.
I ride solo most of the time anyway, on quiet roads on a well maintained bike.
I shall continue to do so.

[Arbuckle23]

My riding social group will be taking a break for a while.
I am very lucky to be able to go out and not have to interact with traffic lights or other humans and still get a good ride in.

And there is always Zwift

[Alex Simmons/RST]

Yes, indoor cycling is obviously a good option.

[g-boaf]

My question is simply whether recreational cycling (on my own or in a pair) is either acceptable or responsible at the moment?
I really don't know.

Keeping fit and healthy in a responsible way is to be encouraged. Cycling by yourself is certainly fine, just take suitable precautions to avoid the need for close proximity contact with others. e.g. have sufficient spares, tools, food, drink etc such that you won't be reliant on anyone else during a ride should you have a problem. Also choose routes and times carefully to absolutely minimise the potential hazards one faces when cycling, as well as ensure your bike its in tip top mechanical condition as these further minimise the very low chance of crashing and needing hospitalisation. It also reduces the likelihood of coming within close proximity to others. Perhaps take some sanitiser with you if you do need to touch things (e.g. traffic light control buttons).

As for riding with another, I think really that should be confined to those you are already sharing a home with and are themselves also practicing good social distancing and hygiene practices.

I would suggest that riding with at least one other person is still a good idea for safety, perhaps not very closely, but with a suitable distance.

Two guys riding together got taken out this evening on the M7 cycleway by a pair of trail bike riders who it is suggested deliberately kicked one of the riders over (and caused the crash). Both had concussion, one guy was really out of it. I looked at his helmet and it was pretty badly cracked and you could clearly see the evidence on his head where the impact happened.

The trail bike riders nearly took me out, I encountered them about maybe 500-800m after the accident on a blind corner. Only my caution on that corner saved me from also getting hit head on. I was just on my commute home from work.

Fortunately enough people were about to assist these two poor riders. The ambulance turned up very quickly.

Indoor trainers are one solution, but then someone could injure themselves on those, ie, muscle injury or even having a heart attack or something else like that. There is always going to be some sort of risk.

My thoughts are that we can do what is reasonable to minimise risk but not totally eliminate it. We can't be confined inside our houses for months. We still have to get about and do various things. I do.

If you are feeling unwell, don't ride at all. Even just mildly unwell, do not ride. Avoid it. And be more considerate on rides, clearing your nose, etc. You have to be a lot more cautious about that now. For the sake of us all. And maybe take it a bit easier as well. Don't attack corners quite as much, go a bit easier on descents. Hopefully we'll all get through this.

[Alex Simmons/RST]

I would suggest that riding with at least one other person is still a good idea for safety, perhaps not very closely, but with a suitable distance.

This is why I suggest careful choice of route and time. If you are at risk due to health condition, then perhaps it's better to find an alternative.

If you do ride with another who is not part of your household, then what's a suitable distance?

If following another rider, I would suggest that it's at least 100 metres and probably >200m. Why?

Because even at distances like 10 metres there is still a substantial and measurable drafting effect, which means there is plenty of shared air.

[RobertL]

Indoor trainers are one solution, but then someone could injure themselves on those, ie, muscle injury or even having a heart attack or something else like that. There is always going to be some sort of risk.

I just read this morning about Messr Uderzo - the second of the guys who co-wrote the Asterix comics - dying at age 92.

Goscinny died in 1977 while doing a heart stress test on a treadmill as part of a medical check up!

[find_bruce]

I would suggest that riding with at least one other person is still a good idea for safety, perhaps not very closely, but with a suitable distance.

This is why I suggest careful choice of route and time. If you are at risk due to health condition, then perhaps it's better to find an alternative.

That's a very sensible suggestion Alex. No one ever wants to end up in hospital, but now is a really bad time to do so - not just because of hospital beds being needed, but also the risk of infection is higher when you are in a hospital full of sick people

[g-boaf]

The Parramatta park bunches are done and dusted now. They'll be fined if they get together now (I think more than 10 people is the rule).

I generally don't get involved in their groups, I just overtake them or if they are on their big downhill sprint I wave them past (and then go back past them later).

[Alex Simmons/RST]

That's a very sensible suggestion Alex. No one ever wants to end up in hospital, but now is a really bad time to do so - not just because of hospital beds being needed, but also the risk of infection is higher when you are in a hospital full of sick people

Well my nephew had a fall this morning (not cycling related) and broke his knee cap. He was turned away from the hospital. Even though the tide of COVID cases has yet to commence, it's having an effect of the treatment of regular patients.

My Amputee Clinic (at the regional hospital) has been cancelled indefinitely. I was there today as I'm in the middle of getting a leg update (old one is causing me grief). It's unclear now how I'm to get my prosthetic. But it's OK, I can get a beer, a hamburger and a haircut as they are essential while prosthetics are not.

[find_bruce]

That's got to be tough Alex, wish there was something we could do to help

[Machoman121]

are you sure we can cycle at all in this lockdown stage - i thought it's basically Stay at home message from the premier Daniel Andrews. And basic exercise - around your backyard outdoors and walks around the block. We're not meant to drive to anywhere for exercise.

But did he also meant we are not allowed to do anything more than around the block?

[Arbuckle23]

I can go out solo on my local roads and have not get within metres of another human.
I have more infection risk at work or going food shopping than riding

[warthog1]

are you sure we can cycle at all in this lockdown stage - i thought it's basically Stay at home message from the premier Daniel Andrews. And basic exercise - around your backyard outdoors and walks around the block. We're not meant to drive to anywhere for exercise.

But did he also meant we are not allowed to do anything more than around the block?

Victoria
Victoria has adopted a similar system.

Residents can only leave the house for one of five essential reasons. These are:

Shopping for food or other essential goods and services
Work and education
Care and compassionate reasons
Exercise
Other extenuating circumstances.

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-n ... two-person

[Machoman121]

haven't been riding on my road bike ever since the covid19 saga started - was distracted by some other life issues. i've been itching to get back to riding. I was thinking with so few cars on the road these days it must be a dream ride to be on the roads during the lockdown. Perhaps you'll never get the traffic levels as low as this again so enjoy it while you can?