Finding excuses for a ride?

[jackronner]

I just went 250 miles round-trip to buy a pair of used soft bags that I didn't really need at the moment.  I told the seller that he was in luck:  the weather had turned nice and I was jonesing for a decent ride.  Didn't bargain on the price, and talked bikes with the guy for over an hour, and took the twisty route back.  Ahhhhh, any excuse will do.

[Rider1260]

Sweet !!!!
Mine is in getting new rubber
Wife keeps saying why don't you go for a ride !!!

[beemerboy9]

My cousin lives in a fairly remote part of Cornwall.
Their local hospital has 12 acute beds. The police seem to be "guarding" the main roads and turning back holidaymakers who are coming into the area to surf as all the beds are reserved for possible virus patients.

[jackronner]

The supreme and maddening irony of all this is that the enforced idleness would normally be such a great time for a tour.  I'm missing petting other people's dogs and our, literal, national pastime of the baseball season.  Arrrggggghhhhhh!  My plan to buy a bike in southern France, attend a friend's big 70th birthday bash in Bilbao, Spain and a tour of that peninsula has probably gone tits up.

[PeteM]

One of my mates has just become a blood biker just so he can get out on his bike occasionally.


I considered it as well but my health means I may not always be able to do my stint on call.

[MEM62]

My cousin lives in a fairly remote part of Cornwall.
Their local hospital has 12 acute beds. The police seem to be "guarding" the main roads and turning back holidaymakers who are coming into the area to surf as all the beds are reserved for possible virus patients.

That's fair enough.  Cornwall's NHS resources are sufficient to cope with the resident population.  They are not sufficient to deal with a high level of tourists during a pandemic such as this.   

[Beagle]

We are about to have a minutes silence for those in the health service that have lost their lives caring for us. We can not do anything less than to observe the lockdown not only in practice but in its spirit in memory of them.

[jackronner]

Hear, hear Beagle.

[Sprintgull]

We come out of lock-down too early at our peril I reckon.  It has taken long enough to get to a place where, in UK at least, we can see the light at the end of the tunnel so we'd be daft to chuck it away (imho).  We got stopped in the car a few days back on the A31 in Dorset.  They seemed to be stopping anyone not in an obvious commercial vehicle.  I opened the window a little to be asked by the obviously tired plod 'where are you going, is this an essential journey?'. 'Yes' I replied 'I'm on the way to my mum's funeral in Torquay (about 120 miles west in Devon)'.  He seemed sceptical so I showed him the letter from the undertaker, at about that point he clocked what my wife and I were wearing gave us his sympathies and let us go.  Got no problem with this, they are doing a valuable job.  I was pleased that they are clearly taking a tougher line with the idiots who think that the lockdown thing does not apply to them.  They are quite easy to spot as they smell of Dettol

[simbo]

I take the A roads home on Friday's as a bit of a treat.

[jackronner]

Condolences, Springtull.

[hammo]

Not worth a ticket my friend , i was out on the first day of lock down and was stopped by the police we exchanged our views but i new he was right fortunately he just said get away home and i will not give you a ticket , he followed me a few a miles to note i was going in the right direction  !!!!

[David.]

C&DSO Police Motorcyclists are out there.

[David.]

North Yorkshire's finest are at it too.

"Bikers travelled 200 miles round trip to Whitby for fish & chips" - despite lockdown.

"The pair had come from Rochdale, near Manchester."

[jackronner]

I've not even heard of instances where police stopped vehicles or pedestrians during the California lockdown.  I must say that our infection and mortality rates are much lower her than in Britain, so it's not so much a priority. Tho' the incidence of vehicles ticketed for going 100 mph on the significantly emptier roads has skyrocketed.  On my old V65 Magna with its claimed 177 mph top speed, I realized that on a clear stretch of freeway I could have bested the Highway Patrol cars, and even outrun the cops' aircraft even with a tail wind!  Never put it to the test, however, just a 30 second stretch (unpursued) at 140 mph.  Gotta say, a twist of the throttle in 6th gear convinced me that 177 was a distinct possibility.