Cycling in California
 

Is it banned?

NPR has quoted the governor as saying in regard to the stay at home order:

"We're going to keep the grocery stores open," he said. "We're going to make sure that you're getting critical medical supplies. You can still take your kids outside, practicing common sense and social distancing. You can still walk your dog."

Sounds like cycling would be okay.

It's a grey area,IMO.

It's fine. Any outdoor exercise is OK as long as you maintain the social distancing suggestions.

This is when it pays to live out in the sticks-- cyclists are invisible. I'm heading out in an hour or so, anxious to see if there are actually less cars on the road-- as up to now, it has absolutely been business as usual. Parking lots yesterday were still jammed.

That's interesting. There is definitely significantly less traffic going on in DFW, TX burbs...even without a stay home order. It looks like Christmas day out there.

Of course not.

It looks OK for now, but please ride safe & keep your distance.

Health care systems in countries that are most impacted by this virus are completely overwhelmed right now. It is only a matter of time until yours (and mine) starts being very busy as well. Last thing our hospitals need is injured people coming in during that time.
:thumb:

The only issue I could see from cycling is that if you crash and are taken to the hospital you become a burden on the healthcare system, when they are trying to deal with COVID-19 cases. Otherwise, as long as you maintain social distancing it's probably a good idea to get out and exercise.

It is not banned and you must adhere to the 6 foot social distancing requirement. Travelling outside your local community is not recommended but if you must, you should try not to "impact" other communities.

Bring everything you need (food and water) so you don't have to stop.

I will ride (isolated) for recreation/exercise until a police person tells me not to.

Are you sure? I haven't managed to get a straight answer from anyone in authority (I understand they have bigger problems on their hands, so I haven't really pursued this).

If the police were to stop/talk/ticket a lone rider - that seems counterproductive. We (everyone in the world) need to apply rational thinking to minimize the damage.

https://twitter.com/lapublichealth/s...977985/photo/1

https://covid19.ca.gov/stay-home-exc...sential-needs/

Yes, unless your local health agency has explicitly banned cycling.

State rules < County rules < Local city rules

If there is a contradiction (ie County says cycling permitted but Gavin Newsome bans cycling) then the state rules shall apply.

If walking is ok, why would biking not be? Unless you are blowing rockets as you pass people, it has 6' clearance built in.

Yes, it is allowed. They've even explicitly stated that you can walk your dog, go for a hike, go ride your bike, etc.

Additionally, bicycle repair shops were added to the list is 'essential businesses' to remain open (along-side auto repair shops) during the term of the order.

Go for a ride.. Just don't fire any snot rockets.

I solo bike-commute legally to an essential job, and I live in a very rural area, so I have no worries about whether I can personally "get away" with it.

I also understand that our previous county shelter-in-place order allowed it.

I also understand why it "should be reasonable", but that doesn't make it legal if it isn't.

The state order supersedes the previous county shelter-in-place order, and it is shorter and more stringent. (See second link in @Big_John 's post.)

It would be good to know if anyone has something definitive.

Wrong Big_John :speedy: I'm even on the other coast. LOL!

Do you really think a cop wants to interact with a nasty cyclist? Snot everywhere. SoCal news says ride your bike.

This article specifically mentions that outdoor exercise (including cycling) is allowed: https://www.kqed.org/news/11806988/s...u-need-to-know

In SoCal here, my bigger concern would be to have a cycling accident that does require an ER visit then getting exposed and infected by the coronavirus. Kind of like getting an outpatient surgery and acquiring a staph infection.

Did my usual no-touch 50k route, and can say that the traffic level is not reduced at all. When you take into account that scores of businesses are closed, and there are no kids in school whatsoever, I would say the number of cars on the road has actually increased. It should be like "holiday light" out there, but instead it looks like any other Friday. Saw four other cyclists, but only 3 bikes-- there was a tandem out there, definitely not observing the 6' rule. :roflmao:

Very sorry. I even saw it was filling in the wrong case and I corrected it, but I guess it changed it back.