The time has come to park our motorcycles, act responsibly and safeguard the health and livelihoods of ourselves and others as the pandemic closes borders in three states and the NT.

The PM’s office has issued simple advice on travel: “The Prime Minister has recommend against all non-essential travel in Australia.”

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk goes even further: “Stay in your suburb.”

While those are only recommendations at the moment, we imagine that if people do not curtail unnecessary travel, they will become enforceable bans.

Are riders really a threat?

This meme is no longer relevant

We have previously argued that solo riders who wear a helmet and gloves and don’t stop anywhere except for fuel are no threat.

However, that is not correct.

Queensland Health point out that a helmet is not an effective surgical mask and gloves are really no barrier as the coronavirus can survive for up to a day on your gloves.

In the meantime, if you touch your face, put your gloved hands anywhere that other people might touch (fuel pump, table, credit card machine) or take your gloves off with a bare hand, then you could transmit a live virus.

Scientists say Covid-19 can survive in the air up to three hours, up to four hours on copper, 24 hours on cardboard, 48 hours on stainless steel and up to 72 hours on plastic surfaces.

So it’s time for riders to act responsibly and park our bikes or limit use to commuting and other necessary duties.

Riding brotherhood

Riders are part of a brother/sisterhood where we look out for each other, so let’s look out for the health and job security of our riding buddies!

Time to stop being selfish about our leisure activity and put the greater good first. The sooner we do, the sooner people get their jobs and health security back and we can ride again.

What image of riders would it display to the public if you are seen riding in a pack with others this weekend while the rest of society is locked down?

If you don’t believe the virus is spreading rapidly, click here to check all the latest Covid-19 stats in Australia and around the world.

For all health alerts across the nation related to this pandemic, click here.

Now click here for details on how to hibernate your bike for the coming months of inactivity.

Source: MotorbikeWriter.com

Your Sunday ride may have been your last for some time.

Australian governments at all levels seem set to recommend that “any sort of travel that is not part of someone’s normal life” be avoided to stop the spread of coronavirus.

The official decision and precise wording has not yet been released.

We are expecting that could happen later tonight or tomorrow morning after the “war cabinet” meet this evening over the pandemic crisis.

Meanwhile, we live in confusion!

We could argue that riding a motorcycle is essential to us and definitely part of our normal life.

We could argue that riding solo and not mixing with anyone nor stopping anywhere for a coffee is self-isolating.

We could also argue that our only stop would be for fuel and we could keep our gloves on while we pump fuel and pay with a credit card at the pump (if that is available).

But that might be disingenuous and perhaps not in the community’s best interests.

We have asked the Prime Minister’s office and all state premiers for clarification on travel advice regarding motorcyclists and will update if/when we receive a response.

However, given the disparity between states and the federal government over whether schools should close, we don’t expect a clear answer.

This is no laughing matter.

This meme is no longer relevant

This is now serious.

Our leaders are talking about curtailing interstate and long-distance travel, which very much sounds to us like our weekend ride is in jeopardy.

If the government bans non-essential travel, then we will effectively be house-bound.

If they just recommend avoiding non-essential travel, we may still be able to ride if we act responsibly and “exercise judgement” as the PM says.

That probably means riding solo, no cafes or restaurants along the way and keeping our gloves on when fuelling up.

However, the PM also says “travel needs to be reduced to stop the spread of the virus across the country”.

It’s a baffling message for motorcyclists.

However, we need to share the responsibility of not contributing to the virus spread, so we suggest limiting your rides until the issue is clearly spelt out by our leaders.

Maybe just commuting to work.

If they do not ban non-essential travel tomorrow, it may only be a matter of days before they do. We hope you got in a good last ride!

How to survive

No matter what happens overnight, the coming months look like being a long period of boring home detention if we are not allowed to ride.

To satisfy our motorcycling habit, we will need to watch old races, motorcycle movies and documentaries on streaming services.

We can also spend time giving our bike a thorough clean and maintenance update.

You can also wade through the more than 6000 articles on Motorbike Writer, especially those timeless self-help articles in the Tips/Training section!

Meanwhile, we will continue to publish relevant articles and keep you updated on the motorcycling world.

Stay safe and sane.

The Australian Government Department of Health advises that the only people who will be tested for COVID-19 are those with symptoms who have either returned from overseas in the past 14 days or been in close contact with a confirmed COVID-19 case in the past 14 days.

If you are sick and believe you have symptoms of COVID-19, call your GP ahead of time to book an appointment. Or call the national Coronavirus Health Information Line for advice on 1800 020 080. If you are experiencing a medical emergency, call 000.

To keep up to date with the latest information, please visit the Department of Health website.

Source: MotorbikeWriter.com