June 2021 update

It's been a while since our previous blog post, so I thought this would be a good time for an update.

Until recently, we had been hoping that we could resume our rides - albeit on a limited basis - in July or August. As you probably know, Edinburgh was expected to move to Level 0 this month, which would have allowed up to 15 of us to meet for a ride. But that didn't happen.

Right now, we are still in Level 2, which only allows eight people to meet out of doors. Given that our rides typically attract 20 to 30 riders, and that we have 140 names on our mailing list, it would clearly not be feasible to organise a ride on that basis. Nor is there any indication of when we might move down to a lower level. For that reason, I'm afraid I can't hold out much hope of getting back to normal in the next month or so.

I know that some of you are getting together for informal rides in small groups, in line with the regulations. That's good to know.

Be assured that we are watching the situation, and that we will resume our rides as soon as we can safely and legally do so.

Covid-19 update

This post is to explain why we feel that we are still not ready to resume our rides. I am posting this after discussing the matter with several of our regular riders.

The current government guidelines impose a maximum of 15 people from up to five households when meeting out of doors. Since almost all our riders join us as individuals (rather than as married couples or in family groups), in practice that means a limit of five people on a ride, which means four riders plus the leader.

Clearly it would not be feasible to organise anything like our usual 20-Milers outings on that basis.

The guidelines do permit organised "sports" to take place out of doors in groups of up to 30 people from an unlimited number of households. This applies to events organised as part of a "club activity", delivered by a "qualified coach or leader" and overseen by a Covid-19 coordinator.  There are requirements for collecting contact details and preparing a risk assessment.

We have considered running a ride on that basis, but decided against it, partly because of the time and effort involved in setting it all up, and partly because we felt it would go against the ethos of the 20-Milers, which is to meet up for friendly rides without any formalities.

Some of you have asked why we don't set up a booking system for our rides. The reason is that we have around 140 names on our mailing list. Even if half of these are inactive or have gone away, that still leaves around 70 people to be circulated each month, 70 emails to send out, potentially 70 replies to deal with, not to mention having to deal with waiting lists, last-minute changes or cancellations, and so on. That is simply too much effort for no clear benefit.

In view of all of the above, I'm afraid I can't hold out too much hope of our rides resuming in the near future. I know how much we all enjoy the rides, and I miss them as much as everyone else. I can only hope that you are still managing to get out on your bike, either on your own or in small groups of family or friends.

IMPORTANT NOTICE: 20-Milers and Covid-19

Because of the Covid-19 pandemic, we have been obliged to cancel all 20-Milers bike rides until further notice. We are sorry that this has become necessary, but we are sure you will understand the reasons. 

We will of course resume the rides as soon as it is appropriate to do so. Please keep an eye on this blog for further news. In the meantime, if you have any questions or comments, please use the email address shown on this page or the comment feature below this post.