San Mateo restrictions
 

Hey all,

Yesterday they had a traffic display up along rt 92, just after the intersection with (lower) Skyline. I'm paraphrasing, but it was something to the effect of "Are you more than 5 miles from home? If so turn around and go home, county health code being enforced." Probably in that spot to specifically discourage Sunday drivers from cruising over to HMB on a sunny day.

I... know a guy who lives in San Mateo county. He's generally being very vigilant about staying home and social distancing, but sometimes his rides might take him a wee bit further than five miles from the garage. This... friend... has been operating under the assumption that at least for now, this would be a pretty bendable rule and not one that is likely to be enforced against solo riders who are keeping good distances and avoiding the most congested areas.

Anyone hearing about or experiencing any actual enforcement of the rule? As far as I'm aware, San Mateo is the only local county that has adopted it so far. I've also seen chatter on Nextdoor to the effect of "San Mateo police are saying they are going to have to get more serious if people keep up the high level of activity/cars driving everywhere/etc that they are seeing right now."

Thanks, and hope you're all safe and well out there.

Happy trails,
Friend of some guy.

Yup. This was mentioned here on another thread a couple of weeks ago. That's why I don't even go ride out. I just suck it up on the trainer.

As I don't live in SM county, I can't answer the question, but tell your "friend" he's probably ok, he seems to be one of a handful who are trying to do the right thing. Apparently there's a big problem in SF with large groups riding around, especially in areas now closed to cars. I would be curious to see or hear of enforcement of this rule with regards to cycling...I don't know if I'd want to ride OLH or other really narrow roads, drivers already generally dislike cyclists, so if they get held up on some narrow winding road, especially a steep, slow climb, and doubly especially in a group, that could lead to a citation. Keep it low profile, ride solo, don't take the lane, be courteous, don't blow stop signs, etc, and I have to believe the police will have better things to do. Like I said, there's still way too many groups, so there's enough bait for the police, if they want to make a show of it.

I don't think there's much risk of getting pulled over and being asked if you live within 5-miles of that point; however, if you get caught running a stop sign, there may be an additional fine added if you've strayed too far from home. I would see what's within 5 miles from your house and maximize that. A small group of friends and I practiced good social distancing and managed to ride a century yesterday within our 5-mile radius of Redwood City and still found 7k of climbing without repeating any climbs. What's nice is we were able to have feed zones and bathroom breaks at our own houses a couple of times during the ride, and if anybody felt they needed to bail, they were never too far from home. That being said, I also have a "friend" that has been know to exceed that 5-mile radius every now and again ;-)

Yeah, thanks, my buddy has pretty much come to the same conclusions after a few more rides. It would be helpful to know if anyone ends up having a different experience, but it doesn't seem like anything that's getting proactively enforced at this stage.

Way to not let this leash stop you from a good century, that's awesome. From a starting point in downtown San Mateo, I don't quite have the same great hills right in my back yard. But I've enjoyed hammering out my local hills in new combinations, and there's always more weird nooks and crannies of hillsborough to explore.

You can always go up Chateau Drive to Skyline a few times ;-)

Chateau is for maniacal downhill bombing ONLY, and I would support full enforcement of any new ordinance to that effect. Although last week, in a burst of uncreativity, I did climb Ralston three times in an hour...

Here you go. This is what's going to get everyone in trouble.

https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/artic...s-15216038.php

Thanks! So seems like the enforcement is generally focused on people driving out to the coast to hang out at beaches. Makes sense that the traffic display I saw was set up for traffic heading west towards HMB on 92. Though the last line of that article also mentions some enforcement against cyclists:

"Exceeding the five-mile radius from your home in order to go to the beach is not the only way to attract police attention in San Mateo County. Bicyclists riding on Route 1 and other highways have been stopped and issued warnings."

Looks like my friend had better avoid the coast, though I think common sense would have kept him from wandering that far anyway. Everybody feel free to report here if you see enforcement elsewhere.

Happy trails all, and stay the hell away from each other.

I think that article actually proves the point about being a lone "stealthy" cyclist. They are looking for BIG gatherings, like at the beach, where people are packing in an entire dining room's worth of stuff. Cars parked back to back to back along scenic roads, etc. Even where I live, people are parking outside of closed East Bay Regional Park parking lots in big groups, which I could see leading to total closure of parks/beaches/etc. But as a solo cyclist, you're constantly on the move, you aren't leaving a car anywhere, things like that. I still see groups of riders where I live, but TBF, I have not seen anything more than maybe 4 or 5, and rarely that many. So, I think cyclists who keep moving, aren't on huge group rides that take up the entire road, etc. should be fine.

Is that your goal, to get away with it? Or to get this thing over? I would suggest that getting away with it might be fun for you, the rest of us would be better off if you just stayed home. Thanks.

I don’t see how that 5mile limit is enforceable.
They need probable cause In order to stop or question you. “Well your honor, I saw him sweating on his bike” ain’t going to fly in court!
Let’s be honest, “If” You pass the attitude test, you’ll likely be told to go home and don’t let me see you out here again.

I would ask what I’d Visibly done wrong to cause the stop, and assuming I was not seen Running a stop sign, would politely decline to answer any questions, decline to ID myself, and politely ask to be on my way.
I certainly don’t carry a driving license on me when biking, only a credit card. A CCard will be enough for them to notify the family, before the wife files a missing persons.

I am in an at risk group, but California really does over reach most of the time, and Covid has made that even more obvious.

Barry

In addition to Highway 1, I would probably stay off Highway 35 and 84; otherwise, your "friend" should be just fine.

Good news: San Mateo has now removed all mileage restrictions in its latest order:
https://www.smchealth.org/sites/main...pdf?1589577658

Nice, thanks for the tip! Maybe I'll celebrate with a proper ride up and over to the coast tomorrow.
https://www.smdailyjournal.com/news/...6592a16aa.html