Cyclry

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British Cycling Suspends All Cycling Activites

Well, if ever there was a time to do it, it was November, as the season ended. Oh yeah, and a national COVID-19 lockdown. It’s probably more to do with the latter.

New restrictions recently came into force in England, limiting movement, closing gyms and bars, and generally confining people to their homes. Oh, but schools and universities are still open, for some reason. Just to make the entire lockdown futile, probably.

British Cycling attempted to appeal the restrictions, but failed. In response, the UK governing body has suspended all cycling activities and events in England. The suspension will last until Thursday 3 December, when the lockdown is due to end.

With no real events going on, the only big hit is to the velodromes. Friday night track league at Manchester, we’ll pour one out for you. Hey Zwift, add a fucking velodrome, you roadie dorks.

The Great Britain Cycling Team is still permitted to train and race during the suspension. So don’t worry about those gold medals.

As for you? Well, you can:

  • Ride alone, with those in your household, or with one person from another household.
  • If you are riding with a person from another household, you must only ever ride as a pair. For example, two riders from the same household cannot ride in a group of three with a person from another household.
  • Self-isolate if you have COVID-19 or its symptoms (duh).
  • Ride as far and as often as you like.
  • The government encourages cycling or walking for essential journeys.

So basically, ride your bike a lot, but do it alone. We’re about to become a nation of time-triallers again. Normally we’d call them testers, but that might be confusing in the COVID age.

Here’s what British Cycling has to say:

‘We are currently providing support to event organisers and volunteers who have events and activities planned during the suspension period, and our full guidance for the sport can be found online. All suspension dates are subject to change, and we will continue to monitor the situation closely over the coming weeks.

‘While activity is suspended, British Cycling will continue to offer ways and encouragement for people to keep cycling – both outdoors and virtually – to ensure that as many people as possible can continue to stay healthy and active over the challenging weeks ahead.’