DrIsotope

...and they're gonna ruin it for everyone, in terms of both infections and closures. They state is going to start clamping down harder on anything done outdoors, while I use bike rides to get away from people. As I've said several times, on a typical two hour ride, I don't come within 20 feet of another person. I also don't stop, or touch anything other than the bike. I guess what it comes down to is that surviving an epidemic isn't that difficult, provided you're not an idiot. Sadly, California appears to be over-encumbered with idiots.

trailangel

I think it's time to leave the car and just ride local. I have always done this.. I never put bike in car or on a rack.

DiabloScott

The good news is the streets are practically EMPTY and you can ride on all the roads you usually don't dare to.

Joe Bikerider

True that. But in my neighborhood the speed on the local street has really increased. And stop signs are now totally ignored. I was amazed the other day at watching a roofing truck going at least 50 and even swerving to scare (kill) some turkeys. Some things never change.

gregf83 

Really? Braking to walking speed and then accelerating back up to cruising speed is a 'challenge'? Presumably you're doing this for exercise. I slow down for little kids and dogs as they are unpredictable.

caloso

I saw that Gavin was closing state park parking lots but leaving the parks themselves open. I like it.

cccorlew

Tricia and I thought it was a good time to try gravel so we rode to Black Diamond mines. The parking area was very full and people were parking illegally. We saw too many groups that were obviously not family members. I felt silly, but I actually tried to be exhaling whenever we got closer than 10 feet passing them.

But once we got a little ways from the entrance it was beautiful.

DiabloScott

Not only are the parking lots closed - they took away the bike rack!
Also the bench in front of the ranger entrance door, although the one next to the stairs is still there.



There were quite a few riders this afternoon, all but two of them were in groups of one.
Also, there appears to be a lot more horse activity... judging by the mass of manure on the road.

eja_ bottecchia

I agree with you about taking precautions. But honestly, there are idiots everywhere. Have you seen the pics from London?

squirtdad

+1 way of live on MUP's I just roll with it.....excuse to work to accelerate

cthenn

Wait, so the parking lots on Diablo are closed? Which ones? I was there Wed morning and I saw a few cars parked at Rock City and no closures as far as I could tell

DiabloScott

now it says MDSP is closed to vehicular traffic. Probably means motor vehicles.
​​​​​https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=30355

cthenn

There are Strava entries for Diablo today, so it seems it must just be cars, unless it goes into effect tomorrow. The statement on the MDSP webpage seems to encourage walking, hiking, and biking to parks, so I would be surprised if cycling isn't allowed. Again... Until some large group ride goes up there and ruins it for everyone else.

Edit: the Mt Diablo Cyclists Facebook page indicates riding is still allowed. But again, everything seems to be happening in phases, and as the pandemic gets inevitably worse, the closures will almost assuredly get more strict. I assume at some point we might be totally locked down from leaving the house at all, for any reason, other than to buy food or medicine.

cthenn

Normally, I'd be very annoyed that we're getting yet another rain filled weekend, starting before dawn Saturday and ending Sunday evening, but in this case it's good news. This should keep the congregating idiots from causing even more strict rules from being enforced. San Mateo County has officially closed all parks and beaches to anyone due to these clowns gathering in large groups, ruining it for the responsible ones. It really is only a matter of time before more parks and open spaces are closed to everyone, as people just cannot help themselves from being selfish. We might squeeze another week out before full closures go into effect...

2cam16

All parks in San Mateo county closed last night until an indefinite date.

DiabloScott

Update... both benches gone now.

2cam16

Hunker down, boys and girls. Shelter is now until at least April 30th.

cthenn

Question is, can we keep the Parks open that long, or will the selfish ruin it for everyone?

rtalain

The next dagger in the back. In San Mateo County, all outdoor activities are limited to 5-miles from your house beginning tomorrow. First thing I did was draw a 5-mile circle to see what climbs there are, and fortunately, there's one: King's Mountain for those of you that know it. So no more rides to the Coast for a while.

2cam16

Do you have a link? I can't find anything on this.

rseeker

This looks like it: https://www.smcgov.org/shelter-place-faqs

I'm not in your area, I just happened to look for it earlier because I wanted to see what else it said.

rtalain

Here's the link: https://www.smcgov.org/shelter-place-faqs
Scroll down to "What Activities Are Allowed", then click on "Is Recreational Biking Okay".

And here's a link to a website where you can draw a 5-mile radius around your house.
https://www.mapdevelopers.com/draw-circle-tool.php

Bryan C. 

Only a matter of time before the other bay area counties follow suit.

I heard rain was forecast for this weekend, maybe it will once again help keep the crowds away from the local parks.

Pavol Stromcek

Yikes! I hope they don't implement this in Alameda County.

But if they do, it looks like I'd still be able to do my shorter ~20-mile routes, according to https://www.mapdevelopers.com/draw-circle-tool.php. I'd have to get creative in coming up with longer rides that stay within the five-mile radius, as venturing into Contra Costa County would no longer be an option.

cthenn

This is dumb. Is a cop gonna pull over a cyclist, ask for your license (which is not a requirement to ride), then bust out a protractor and a map to see if you're outside of 5 miles? Is it 5 miles in a direct radius, or 5 miles by road? I really doubt this will happen and I wouldn't worry about it. The deal breaker will only happen when they completely disallow any kind of recreation period, including dog walking. But police have much more to worry about than a cyclist riding a bike 5.2 miles from their house...

Also, San Mateo has been the one county which seems to be the most strict. Does SF or Santa Clara County even have these same severe restrictions?