Covid and travelling to trail centre

[Ashley M]

I did go yesterday , don't know why I worried , I've never seen it so busy , and I've been there alot ! It was mental , que to pay , que for the loos and cafe outsales was rediculous .

What were the ground conditions like?

 

[Steve G H]

Only real downside with pines is catching the casuals going around, some of whom don't even have a helmet on!

Lol , I just squeezed my brakes , could hear me a mile off

 

[Steve G H]

What were the ground conditions like?

What were the ground conditions like?

Much as Rahr85 said , not too bad apart from diversion which is thick gloop , was impressed how the ebike dealt with that , it was like a tractor lol

 

[Steve G H]

Hi
im in Derbyshire but ride Pines there are no restrictions on how far to travel
keen to meet up with other Emtb riders as I’m fairly new to this

Happy to meet up if you want some company , social distancing of course lol . I'm not new to riding but am new to ebikes .

 

[Rahr85]

Much as Rahr85 said , not too bad apart from diversion which is thick gloop , was impressed how the ebike dealt with that , it was like a tractor lol

i know exactly which bit you mean. I think until further work is completed that counts as part of the official red route after they swapped the previously connected red into blue going in the opposite direction. There is no way at all my normal bike would have made it through the gloop.

 

[Steve G H]

i know exactly which bit you mean. I think until further work is completed that counts as part of the official red route after they swapped the previously connected red into blue going in the opposite direction. There is no way at all my normal bike would have made it through the gloop.

I thought about avoiding it second lap but was so amazed I had to do it again lol

 

[Bontee]

It is a very difficult call ,however,there are several ,shall we call them....defences.
The government website still states that one can take exercise (and this is where it is open to some interpretation) provided the duration of the exercise exceeds the time it takes to travel to the said exercise then it can be done.So a 45 minute drive there and a 45 minute drive back =90 minutes,if you ride for 2 to 3 hours then that should be ok .
secondly ,the advice is “to avoid” travelling ”if possible”.
There is no restriction ( that I can find) that prevents you travelling to an adjacent county if the exercise is
a) outdoors
B) either solo or with one other person
c) involves no contact with other individuals
I would suggest ,be careful,drive sensibly,do not put your bike on a rack ( makes it a bit obvious !) put it in the car if you can .
I would like other opinions on this
all the best

 

[MrPeaski]

OK this might not be what people are wanting, but this is a screen grab from MBWales Facebook page (I know some of you don't have FB)

So basically if you can RIDE to a trail centre that's fine, but don't drive there.

Of course this might be different for England and Scotland, but this is the situation for Wales

PS don't shoot the messenger, just giving advice not opinion

 

[Bontee]

Mr Peaski,agreed and I take your point about it being Wales,I think most folks are probably going to stay within the national boundaries.
I travel around 30 to 45 minutes to ride in the next county,both in the same tier and not at trail centres but on bridleways,rupps,boats etc and very rarely come in contact with anyone at all.
I think this is reasonable and whilst it may not follow the letter of the law it carries no risk to me or others .
Whether Mr Plod would see it that way........well ????

 

[Steve G H]

Mr Peaski,agreed and I take your point about it being Wales,I think most folks are probably going to stay within the national boundaries.
I travel around 30 to 45 minutes to ride in the next county,both in the same tier and not at trail centres but on bridleways,rupps,boats etc and very rarely come in contact with anyone at all.
I think this is reasonable and whilst it may not follow the letter of the law it carries no risk to me or others .
Whether Mr Plod would see it that way........well ????

To be honest I was quite shocked at both the amount of people and the way they were acting at trail centre . Big groups with no distancing going on , and groups of cyclists of 10 or more , including what looked like a shop or club ride from a van . It took away from the ride really , you catch up a big group and have to just sit back and wait in the hope they pull out of the way at a convenient point , felt more of an issue on an ebike because your travelling faster .
I think to be honest your better off going to an area where you can ride the bridleways , within a reasonable distance , away from anyone . Just ride within your limits and sensibly obviously .

 

[Bontee]

Steve GH,completely agree.I have been riding for 40 years ( god,thats a long time !) First trail centre I ever rode was coed-y-brenin when it was no more than a scratch on the ground and not actually a trail centre as we know them now.Eventually Sian and Dafyd started running the cafe and then it evolved into what it is now,but I haven’t ridden C-y-B for maybe 15 years it has become crowded and unpleasant even before Covid,( apologies to anyone who loves it,this is only my personal opinion)
I ride natural trails now and to be honest they are invariably bigger ,more technical and far more extreme than the centres, and far more enjoyable.
Bonus is that there are far fewer people and sometimes a whole ride passes and the number of people met on a day ride could be counted on two hands.

 

[Steve G H]

Steve GH,completely agree.I have been riding for 40 years ( god,thats a long time !) First trail centre I ever rode was coed-y-brenin when it was no more than a scratch on the ground and not actually a trail centre as we know them now.Eventually Sian and Dafyd started running the cafe and then it evolved into what it is now,but I haven’t ridden C-y-B for maybe 15 years it has become crowded and unpleasant even before Covid,( apologies to anyone who loves it,this is only my personal opinion)
I ride natural trails now and to be honest they are invariably bigger ,more technical and far more extreme than the centres, and far more enjoyable.
Bonus is that there are far fewer people and sometimes a whole ride passes and the number of people met on a day ride could be counted on two hands.

Same here , rode CyB in early days , fully rigid , before it was popular . You could ride all way around the long route and hardly see a sole lol . Gwydr Marin trail was same . I still like a trail centre for its ease of navigation and facilities but agree you can't beat getting out in the hills , I'm dying to get out in the Peak District but it's too far to do responsibly really

 

[steve_sordy]

I have missed off Pines for several weeks now, because the last time I went it was really, really, wet and muddy, with lots of grinding paste slurry in the drivetrain (I can still hear and feel the scraping noise). Yet the above reports do not reflect that. In which case the off-piste stuff, where I ride mostly, will be fine.
I was about to write I will be going to Pines soon, but I have just heard that both Lincolnshire (me) and Nottinghamshire (Pines)are both changing from Tier 3 to Tier 4 at midnight tonight. I need to think about the consequences of that. Also, I have just heard yesterday's Covid scores for the UK; 981 deaths and 50,023 new cases. Ouch, that is the worst yet.

 

[Bontee]

Yes Steve ,this discussion has suddenly become totally pointless ? The only slight consolation is that with the appalling weather and the acres of mud I don’t feel quite so dissappointed at missing my biking.Probably wouldn;t be going out anyway which is quite sad.

 

[Steve G H]

I have missed off Pines for several weeks now, because the last time I went it was really, really, wet and muddy, with lots of grinding paste slurry in the drivetrain (I can still hear and feel the scraping noise). Yet the above reports do not reflect that. In which case the off-piste stuff, where I ride mostly, will be fine.
I was about to write I will be going to Pines soon, but I have just heard that both Lincolnshire (me) and Nottinghamshire (Pines)are both changing from Tier 3 to Tier 4 at midnight tonight. I need to think about the consequences of that. Also, I have just heard yesterday's Covid scores for the UK; 981 deaths and 50,023 new cases. Ouch, that is the worst yet.

It's still like grinding paste on the Kitchener trail . Tier 4 changes things , we are stuck local now .

 

[steve_sordy]

It's still like grinding paste on the Kitchener trail . Tier 4 changes things , we are stuck local now .

Ah well, that's that then!
Looks like I will be spending more time with bike porn.

 

[apac]

Went to Cwmcarn yesterday and the car park was full like on a normal weekend.

 

[R120]

I was in Peaslake today and it was a rammed like a summers Sunday , all the car parks full, people parked up on the sides of the road, and lots of groups out riding - I was riding solo, and due to the nature o the Surrey Hills its easy to maintain social distancing when out on the trails, but I was surprised at how many fairly big groups where out.

 

[apac]

I guess everyone just wants to get out and work off a week of pigging out and drinking too much. I know I do! ?

 

[R120]

It was the best weather today we have had round here for a while, so I was expecting it to be busy, but was still suprised quite how.

 

[St4nley]

But are we stuck Local? as you are still allowed to travel a short distance to open spacers for exercise, but what equates to a short distance?

My very local riding can get absolutely rammed with walkers and cyclists.

 

[The Hodge]

I thought I had one more day of isolation to go after today ..but a nice gentleman from the NHS rang a little earlier to say that I was "clear" tomorrow ..
Iwould have loved to have gone out this evening as living in one of Europe's largest "Dark Skies" areas ..tonight would have been perfect..

 

[billwarwick]

I thought I had one more day of isolation to go after today ..but a nice gentleman from the NHS rang a little earlier to say that I was "clear" tomorrow ..
Iwould have loved to have gone out this evening as living in one of Europe's largest "Dark Skies" areas ..tonight would have been perfect.. View attachment 48617

Looks like you got away quite lightly then Hodge? Any dodgy moments and are you feeling ok now?

 

[The Hodge]

The second day was the worst ..having had flu once in my lifetime this was the closest it has come to that ..but nowhere near as bad .
Other than that aches , pains and a bit of a temperature ..and tiredness.
I wouldn't necessarily say that I'm 100% ..but its nice to know I can venture out again .

 

[Banktramp]

But are we stuck Local? as you are still allowed to travel a short distance to open spacers for exercise, but what equates to a short distance?

My very local riding can get absolutely rammed with walkers and cyclists.

i have three places I could go all within 30 mins traveling, as people have said it doesn’t state a limit unlike Wales so as long as you are sensible and don’t travel hundreds of miles sticking to 10-15 miles from home should be acceptable, it’s exercise after all ?

 

[cozzy]

All the bikeparks are shut, so everyone and their bloody dog crams into anywhere that's still open, Surrey hills, qecp etc.
Probably the opposite of what's intended, unless the gov have thought about it and are hoping for herd immunity by stealth, but I wouldn't give them that much credit.

 

[Ashley M]

All the bikeparks are shut, so everyone and their bloody dog crams into anywhere that's still open, Surrey hills, qecp etc.
Probably the opposite of what's intended, unless the gov have thought about it and are hoping for herd immunity by stealth, but I wouldn't give them that much credit.

I wouldn’t give the Government any credit for anything especially the Eton Trump esq buffoon

 

[Bontee]

Mass disobedience on the horizon guys and galls,People are not going to do this for much longer.

 

[steve_sordy]

Mass disobedience on the horizon guys and galls,People are not going to do this for much longer.

The illness and death of those they know will modify their views I'm sure.

Until a month ago I didn't know anyone who had had Covid. I didn't even know anyone that knew anyone that had had Covid! Then my daughter and her partner caught it. She caught it from him and he has no idea who he caught it from. They are both very fit in their early to mid 40's and for them it was no more than a bit of a cold/cough whilst also having a bit of a hangover. Despite their easy ride, it changed their views about Covid and have become a lot more protective of their aged parents. Being an aged parent, and knowing now two people that have had Covid, I still feel very relaxed about it. I take precautions of course, the usual stuff, but I don't cut myself off from everyone like some of my friends have done.

But it is very easy to be complacent. My 90-year old Mother died a month ago (not from Covid) and we had to wait 4 weeks for the funeral service in her home City in the north of England. Apparently there are so many people dying there that they cannot deal with them fast enough. Even those whose religion requires burial within 24 hours are having to wait much longer. That is when it comes home to you just how many are dying over and above what is normal.

The day before my Mother's funeral service my brother got a phone call from the NHS telling him that despite masks, visors, rubber gloves and sanitisers, his barber had caught it from one of his customers. He was told that he had to go into lockdown for 10 days, so he would have missed his Mother's funeral! He decided to go anyway, but told everyone, sat alone during the service, then only spoke to people from a good distance. Turned out that he didn't have it, but he was genuinely concerned at the time that he might give it to his 83-year old mother-in-law and every other old person at the funeral. It was a real worry. Experience makes you consider your views.

 

[Steve G H]

The illness and death of those they know will modify their views I'm sure.

Until a month ago I didn't know anyone who had had Covid. I didn't even know anyone that knew anyone that had had Covid! Then my daughter and her partner caught it. She caught it from him and he has no idea who he caught it from. They are both very fit in their early to mid 40's and for them it was no more than a bit of a cold/cough whilst also having a bit of a hangover. Despite their easy ride, it changed their views about Covid and have become a lot more protective of their aged parents. Being an aged parent, and knowing now two people that have had Covid, I still feel very relaxed about it. I take precautions of course, the usual stuff, but I don't cut myself off from everyone like some of my friends have done.

But it is very easy to be complacent. My 90-year old Mother died a month ago (not from Covid) and we had to wait 4 weeks for the funeral service in her home City in the north of England. Apparently there are so many people dying there that they cannot deal with them fast enough. Even those whose religion requires burial within 24 hours are having to wait much longer. That is when it comes home to you just how many are dying over and above what is normal.

The day before my Mother's funeral service my brother got a phone call from the NHS telling him that despite masks, visors, rubber gloves and sanitisers, his barber had caught it from one of his customers. He was told that he had to go into lockdown for 10 days, so he would have missed his Mother's funeral! He decided to go anyway, but told everyone, sat alone during the service, then only spoke to people from a good distance. Turned out that he didn't have it, but he was genuinely concerned at the time that he might give it to his 83-year old mother-in-law and every other old person at the funeral. It was a real worry. Experience makes you consider your views.

I feel your pain , I lost my dad end of March this year through a stroke , but the funeral was not a pleasant experience . We basically sat in our cars at the crematorium and watched him arrive , a few of us went in for a short goodbye .
We had to do it that way because a good few of us were still working and we just couldn't risk mingling with the older family members .
This time around it feels much closer , l didn't know of anyone that had covid back then , but I do now , couple at work and it's spread around certain areas of RAF base I work on , it definitely makes you more aware .