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Survey: Rider attitudes to pandemic restrictions

Virus meme pandemic coronavirus Covid-19

Travel restrictions during the pandemic have riders confused, angry and frustrated, based on rider attitudes from comments on our articles about the issue.

So we decided to conduct a survey on attitudes to the pandemic. See the survey at the end of this article.

It consists of two multiple-choice questions and 23 yes/no simple questions that should take you less than three minutes to complete.

It’s totally anonymous with no login or registration required.

We just want to know more about how you feel over these travel restrictions.

Are you in agreement? Are you confused? Do you think it’s some Machiavellian plan to steal our freedoms!

Results will be published later this week.

Attitudes to restrictions

attitudes
If you must go for a ride, go solo and take a thermos of coffee!

It follows our recent laboured efforts to seek clarification for riders on the travel restrictions in each state and territory of Australia.

They say travel is limited to: Shopping; medical care or compassionate needs; exercise; and for work and education.

Some states allow compassionate visits and some say exercise includes riding a motorcycle for leisure, although some stipulate it’s only in your neighbourhood.

So we contacted the PM’s office, each Premier’s office, state health departments, the national coronavirus hotline and police for clarification.

We were meet with obfuscation, silence, buck passing, delayed callbacks, deliberation and more confusion.

Plus, the rules seem to change every couple of days, meaning we have to start the whole process over again.

Pretty soon we believe riding may be totally banned unless the curve starts to flatten.

Many riders are expressing confusion and frustration about the rules.

It’s similarly confusing in some other countries, such as the USA where much of the nation has a shelter-in-place order but the National Park Service is waiving entrance fees to encourage people get fresh air while maintaining social distancing!

So we want to know what you think about riding in the pandemic. If you live outside Australia, just skip the irrelevant questions.

  1. I am woried that if I ride my classic bike it is classed as recreation and I will be fined.

  2. Home Confinement requirements in Queensland
    A person who resides in Queensland must not leave their principal place of residence except for, and only to the extent reasonably necessary to accomplish, the following permitted purposes:
    to obtain food or other essential goods or services;
    to obtain medical treatment or other health care services;
    to engage in physical exercise;
    to perform work or volunteering, or carry out or conduct an essential business, activity or undertaking, and the work, business activity or undertaking to be performed is of a nature that cannot reasonably be performed from the person’s principal place of residence;
    to visit another person’s residence in accordance with paragraph 9;
    education and early childhood workers may travel to and from their home centre over the term 1 break;
    to visit a terminally ill relative or to attend a funeral or wedding, subject to any applicable restrictions under other relevant Public Health Directions;
    to provide assistance, care or support to an immediate family member;
    to attend any court or tribunal of Australia or to comply with or give effect to orders of the court or tribunal of Australia;
    to attend a childcare facility, school, university, or other educational institution, to the extent care or instruction cannot reasonably be obtained in the person’s principal place of residence;
    to assist with or participate in an investigation or other action by a law enforcement authority, whether voluntarily or not;
    for children under 18 years who do not live in the same household as their biological parents or siblings or one of their parents or siblings, continuing existing arrangements for access to, and contact between, parents and children and siblings, but not allowing access or contact with vulnerable groups or persons;
    Example of a vulnerable group or person – a person over 70 years or a person with a medical condition that makes them vulnerable to COVID-19

    avoiding injury or illness or to escape a risk of harm;
    Example – escaping a risk of harm related to domestic and family violence

    to comply with or give effect to the exercise of a power or function of a government agency or entity under a law.

    1. And motorcycle riding in QLD is classed as exercise.

      “Going on a solo motorcycle ride counts as exercise, according to the Queensland Health Minster’s office”.

  3. This article is a good example of why the motorcycle press and is so disconnected from so many people who actually ride bikes that I know.

    Are you aware that some of us aren’t city yupsters wanking their way round the twisties at weekends just to annoy rural dwellers? This may be an astonishing concept to you, but some of us ride for TRANSPORT. You know. To commute. Even (& I know this might be a new concept for you) to SHOP! Yes, we besmirch our non-gleaming real motorcycles with top boxes and panniers.

    We’re not going to ‘stop riding’ because it’s how we get around. And not just at weekends.

    No wonder the motorcycle industry is in such a bad way when it’s represented as merely the domain of overgrown boyz doing their thing with expensive toyz at weekends.

    1. Bob Bobbings – yes the article / survey seems to be relevant to weekend warriors only so proves nothing; its not for people who use bike as their main means of transport. “Did you ride your bike last weekend” yes because I went to the shops; “Will you ride next weekend?” – maybe if I need to go to shops or doctor. What do such questions prove.

      People should STAY HOME unless they need to leave as per the legal valid reasons. Riding your bike to work or to the shops as examples are valid reasons – riding around “just to clear your head” is not a legally / socially valid reason.

  4. The problem with this virus is it is just the common cold but with the fast forward button being held down.
    The people who should fear this bug are the same ones who should fear any bug.
    It is not going to kill any more people than any other bug probably less than the number the flu kills every year. The issue is that because it is a novel strain of the common cold virus/s most of us don’t have the tool kit to fight it off immediately so it can take a stronger hold before the immune system kills it. Much of the harm that is caused to the lungs is actually done by the immune system. If you smoker and or live in a high pollution area have a poor diet consisting of mostly carbs polyunsaturated vegetable oils and other highly processed foods and it’s winter you need to fear the virus more than someone on a natural diet free of Vegan BS sugar and all the crap they claim is good for you.
    Zinc vitamin D and up to 5 grams of vitamin C are proven immunity boosters that help prevent any adverse effects of most viral infections especially the flu and cold.
    You can also cleanse public areas with negative ion generators , they have a dual effect of causing airborne particles to fall out of suspension and stick to surfaces where they can be cleaned off, and they produce a small amount of ozone that kills viruses and bacteria.
    Ozone can burn the lungs on high doses so ventilate any closed rooms.

    1. Al, you can’t ‘boost’ your immune system, that’s not how it works. If your healthy your immune system is working optimally, if your immune compromised then it’s working sub optimally, if your immune system is in overdrive that is also sub optimal as your body is attacking itself.
      Just being healthy as you can, is best you can do.

      1. Actually you can boost your immune system.
        Proven by university and hospital clinical trials vitamin C in high doses actively kills viruses and toxins due to its antioxidant effect, most of it goes down the drain as claimed but it’s what it does on the way down that’s important.
        Zinc has been proven to improve immunity etc.
        Vitamin D does so many things that I cannot recall them all but here are the main points that are significant to the corona viruses.
        Much of the extensive harm and death from the virus is caused by inflammation and inflammatory fluids building up in the lung tissue causing the victims to suffocate.
        Vitamin D has been proven to reduce the inflammatory response and protect tissues from damage due to inflammation. Vitamin D is safe even if you exceed the RDA significantly and it is proven to provide significant benefits to even those not deficient .
        Being trapped indoors during the pandemic will reduce the amount of natural vitamin D production and make people more susceptible to any illness not just covid19.

  5. Whilst riding my motorcycle I couldn’t be more isolated if I was locked up in a room , there is no reason to say that you should not ride your motorcycle as long as you are careful , it’s a good stress relief , good exercise and breaks up the monotony.

    1. Exactly what I thought, on my own surrounded by no one, safest place for me to be under all my protective gear

    2. Totally agree i ride approx 15000k a year just for leisure and it is deffinately the best stress relief money can buy, its going to be very hard to live life without riding

  6. I understand that one of the concerns about riders is the need to provide (waste) resources when something goes wrong on a ride. All medical allied fields are under a ton of pressure and have been for a month. It’s not fair on anyone when a ride turns to mud, and you sure as heck don’t want to be anywhere near a hospital or need help over the next few months. While riding is good for mental health, it can be risky as most of us know. Ride to work, the shops, whatever, but now isn’t the time to belt around the mountains to make some noise.

  7. Mark is providing a valuable service in keeping riders informed of what’s happening in a confusing and changing situation. Since the demise of the MRAQ he provides the only source of info on this and many other issues. So, please let’s give him some leeway. The survey adequately provided for those who ride for shopping, visits to doctors etc. In Qld riding IS considered exercise and as an apartment dweller, I know how important that is. Keep the rides short and stay on the beaten track and make the most of it while you can.

  8. The main issue about staying home and not riding the bike particularly in regional areas is that you may crash and need a hospital, this may be problematic because regional medical services are limited and if the hospital is full of other gravely I’ll people you choices could cost a life, perhaps you own, so as an adult and motorcyclist I choose to not contribute to the troubles, swallow my arrogance and just stay home. The nurses have enough to deal with now so I can wait till this is over , I ask that you do too. Paul

  9. If we can’t ride can we have a rebate or freeze on registration that’s wasting away whilst in effect ?

  10. bob bobbings, I’v got a few bikes old and new, I’m in the building industry and can’t tow a tool trailer around with a motor bike. good on you being able to ride daily, unlike you weekends are the only time we get to ride and when we get to go on an adventure ride to camerons corner or such, thats about the size of it. regards andrew

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