Will bike shops remain open?

[Pat "5mph"]

Mod Note:
I have toned down some responses on the thread.
While I totally agree with the sentiments about avoiding unnecessary journeys in this crisis, CC rules against personal insults still apply.
CC rules on trolling will also be strictly enforced on the forum:
Trolling, flaming of any kind will result in lengthy forum bans.
Posting that it was a joke or just to test the audience's intelligence is not an excuse for trolling.
Thread reopened, thank you for your patience.

 

[Skibird]

Why can people not be left with a half finished extension, this is life and death.

Really? Not every building project is the same, there will be people still living in their houses whilst extensions are going on, with exposed roofs, walls etc, which is obviously why Builders are still, at the moment, able to go to work
I'm not talking about someone having a bit of decorating done!!

 

[vickster]

Sidiq Khan was on the London news last night saying that construction work should be halted unless there’s a potential safety issue (presumably
a missing roof or wall would qualify). This could be one way to reduce the use of public transport in London

 

[Drago]

Of course, when Mayor Khan opens his big yap no one Iistens.

If Ant and Dec, or Phlip Schofield told us to do something the nation would leap to obey.

 

[Dogtrousers]

Why can people not be left with a half finished extension, this is life and death.

My builder certainly never needed any excuse to leave my extension half finished. virus or no virus, half finished work was his speciality

 

[wafter]

I agree. We should look at the ACTUAL gov advice, then look at WHAT IS THE PURPOSE?*, and then ask ourselves what is reasonable WITHIN those aims,

*In this case, it's about minimisng spread of the virus. Everything else is a distant 2nd place.

I disagree! We need to clamp down on the infection rate NOW. This will pay us back later.

The time for stockpiling (if there ever was one!) was when China had infections, but we had none. That window has closed. Unfortunately.

Thanks - I appreciate your argument for self-determinism and common sense.

I guess it's all subjective to a point but I guess we'll have to agree to disagree about the shopping. Granted the ideal time to have stockpiled was before it all hit the fan; which to an extent I've done.. but again personally I'd rather venture to the shop now than risk running out when the virus is near its peak.

Looking at the Italy model we appear to be lagging them by a couple of weeks but have also been slower off the mark. Their rate of infection seems to be noticeably slowing now but it'll probably be another 5-7 days until it nears a plateau, then another 7-14 days after that until the bulk of those infected / suspected can be cleared as recovered or uninfected. This suggests around 4-5wks ballpark until going out can be considered lower-risk than it is now; pretty certain I don't have the supplies to last me that long.

 

[Dogtrousers]

A friend of mine has a bike shop situated near a hospital. Last time I was in touch (last week some time, and things have moved very fast since) there were tons of hospital workers and others getting their old clunkers roadworthy and they were rushed off their feet. Also, unsurprisingly, there has been a run on Turbo trainers. But I guess that was to be expected. I'm glad I stockpiled my Turbo last year.

 

[snorri]

l these new measures are even making me paranoid about / second-guess going to the shops if I'm not physically starving / running out of food; but surely better to buy now to bolster existing stores while the infection rate remains fairly low than wait 2-3 weeks until the cupboards are bare and the infection has spread significantly further within the population...?

I'm in a similar situation re food stocks in my home, but have no wish to go out to bolster up my stock, which action would clearly involve the risk of spreading/picking up infection. I'm living in hope of a ban on shopping trips and would be happier to rely on food being delivered by whoever, food shop delivery staff or the military.

 

[roubaixtuesday]

I'd rather venture to the shop now than risk running out when the virus is near its peak.

The counterintuitive thing about pandemics is you cause the same increase in numbers by shopping now, or later. It makes no difference.

 

[MichaelW2]

According to R4 news, bike shops are on the list of shops that can remain open. The other bits of forceful suggestion regarding social mixing apply. Don't be daft, be sensible.

 

[C R]

The counterintuitive thing about pandemics is you cause the same increase in numbers by shopping now, or later. It makes no difference.

It is true that one given infected individual will cause the same number of cases regardless of how many cases there are, with a couple of observations:

1. The probability of an individual getting infected in the first place increases as the number of cases increases

2. Due to how immunity develops, a saturation level will eventually be reached, where an infected individual can not pass on the infection, as all their contacts are already immune

 

[matticus]

Summary:
It DOES make a difference.

 

[C R]

Summary:
It DOES make a difference.

It does make a difference to the probability of you catching it, but it doesn't make a difference, at this point, to the probability of you passing it on to others.

 

[Ridgeway]

View attachment 510111

Wow you guys are lucky, here only the first 3 plus pet shops are open here and in all cases you can only buy FOOD, nothing else. At Lidl for example all the middle isles are blocked off so you can't buy their bargain basement stuff, at pet shops all items are behind barriers except foods and bedding materials. On-line here is about 10yrs behind the UK so often things aren't available although for bike stuff i tend to use Bikester which seems active across Europe, prices are pretty good and the range is excellent. All LBS have been closed since early last week.

 

[winjim]

LBS taking all necessary precautions...