Cycling Australia has released a statement regarding the Coronavirus, racing and training activities. The full statement can be found here: https://cycling.org.au/…/cycling-australia-statement-regard…
Vikings Cycling Club and the Canberra Cycling Club supports this statement and jointly believe that this is the right course of action for cyclists to reduce the risk presented by the COVID-19 virus, and in particular to do our part to “flatten the curve” of COVID-19 infection rates.
Both clubs have therefore made the difficult decision to cancel all racing and suspend all organised club events until April 13 2020 when the position will be reviewed (if not before).
This includes the upcoming Criterium Championships, 2020 road races, and the Vikings social rides like the Norman, PROD and Wednesday Wasabi and all track sessions.
If individual club members choose to ride as a group outside of club run events, we recommend adopting the following guidance:
- Do not ride 2 abreast (you are unable to keep the recommended 1.5 metre gap between riders and stay within the road rules)
- Maintain a gap of at least 1.5m to the rider in front of you, including while stopped at intersections
- Limit groups or bunches to 10 or fewer riders
- Ensuring all riders are self-sufficient in case of mechanical issues
- At cafes, maintain appropriate social distancing and keep helmets, gloves and sunglasses away from tables.
- The virus and potential implications are changing constantly, will be monitored and acted upon accordingly, and we will keep you updated as new information comes to hand.
The clubs are keen to ride and race, however, given the current evolving situation, this is a responsible direction to play our part in this crisis.
It is important to remember that the insurances and other benefits of your Cycling Australia membership/licence still apply to individual training sessions and rides outside of club organised activities.
We encourage all members to remember the following behaviours to help maintain good hygiene:
- Wash hands regularly with hand soap for more than 20 seconds and use fresh paper towels or air blowers to dry hands;
- Use sanitising alcohol-based (at least 60% alcohol) hand rub in-between hand washing;
- When coughing or sneezing, ensure that you do so into the fold of your elbow.
- When using a tissue to blow your nose, dispose of the tissue immediately and refrain from placing tissues back into pockets or bags;
- Maintain a safe buffer distance between (1.5 m suggested) to minimise transmission and provide reassurance to others by respecting their space;
- Avoid touching your face with your hands; and
- Do not touch surfaces that may be at risk of being contaminated.
Please note these recommendations may be updated frequently over the coming weeks and months, and we encourage people to keep abreast of these expert recommendations – click HERE to access the link.