IOM Covid removing restrictions

[Neil Down]

3 hours ago, Boris Johnson said:

I really don't get this push for everyone to take to bicycles on the island. Yes, in places in the UK it is a very popular method of transport but everywhere I have been in the UK that is full of cycles has one thing in common...……………………………………..The town/ city where there are hundreds of bicycles is flat, as a pancake, not like the island and especially not like Douglas that has hills in every direction. Did the gov not think this may be a problem before they went down this cycle path?

Strangely enough, the fitter you become, the less of a problem the hills are

[Out of the blue]

26 minutes ago, Neil Down said:

Strangely enough, the fitter you become, the less of a problem the hills are

I am guessing that you are a keen cyclist, good for you, however appreciate that however waterproof my skin is, and although I am sure that there are fitness benefits, not everyone wants to be a mamil, trudging into work, sweaty, knackered and unkempt. I think everyone should ride a motorbike instead 

[Non-Believer]

46 minutes ago, Neil Down said:

Strangely enough, the fitter you become, the less of a problem the hills are

Has Howard said that...?

[Neil Down]

1 hour ago, Non-Believer said:

Has Howard said that...?

Not unless the UK told him to

[Derek Flint]

I love cycling but don’t do it in the rain. 

The hills are indeed a commuter issue,  but ebikes offer a way forward on that. Government does however miss a lot of good opportunities for routes. Even ‘it’s a nice day I’ll cycle to work’ is a win for active travel.

[Roger Mexico]

17 hours ago, Boris Johnson said:

I really don't get this push for everyone to take to bicycles on the island. Yes, in places in the UK it is a very popular method of transport but everywhere I have been in the UK that is full of cycles has one thing in common...……………………………………..The town/ city where there are hundreds of bicycles is flat, as a pancake, not like the island and especially not like Douglas that has hills in every direction. Did the gov not think this may be a problem before they went down this cycle path?

Actually a lot of cities and towns have hills as well.  Very few of them are flat as pancakes, because most cities are built around rivers and very flat parts would get flooded all the time.  Even somewhere like Amsterdam is higher than its surroundings.  Here's a fun topographic interactive site where you can play about to prove this to your heart's content:

https://en-gb.topographic-map.com/maps/lpj5/London/

It's centred on London there, but you can move it to anywhere in the world and zoom to street level.  The nice thing is that it adjusts the altitude colours to the locality and level of zoom.  So that's your afternoon wasted.

[Golfer]

Didn't harmer say yesterday that he was considering keeping promenade at 20mph permanently along with closing walkway to cars and also a one way system. This should finally kill of some shops by making it harder to park etc but plenty of room etc for Mamils on bikes.

[Happier diner]

19 hours ago, Andy Onchan said:

Steady on that man... in fact whoa there!

Easy Bess! I won't be tugging my forelock to this. It's a mare

[Southfork]

2 hours ago, Golfer said:

Didn't harmer say yesterday that he was considering keeping promenade at 20mph permanently along with closing walkway to cars and also a one way system. This should finally kill of some shops by making it harder to park etc but plenty of room etc for Mamils on bikes.

They’re like the cycling Taliban. They won’t be happy until we abandon all forms of progress and go back to using all forms of dead transport including the trams. 

[Manxberry]

2 minutes ago, Southfork said:

They’re like the cycling Taliban. They won’t be happy until we abandon all forms of progress and go back to using all forms of dead transport including the trams. 

It's fine for them to drive though with their paid for parking spots

[piebaps]

3 hours ago, Golfer said:

Didn't harmer say yesterday that he was considering keeping promenade at 20mph permanently along with closing walkway to cars and also a one way system. This should finally kill of some shops by making it harder to park etc but plenty of room etc for Mamils on bikes.

I don't get you. Its 2.3 miles from the Sea Terminal to the Termy (according to google maps).

@ 30mph which was the previous speed limit and assuming a constant speed would be around 4'30"

@ 20mph it would take around 6'55"

Is this a genuine concern that these lost minutes are vital or just the irrational frustration of an average car driver. You should really cycle. At the speeds they're reported at, you'd do the whole thing quicker in any case.

[WTF]

on the assumption that some eateries will get the green light to open but with social distancing which is obviously going to limit capacity, how many will even cover their costs if they open ?

 

[Neil Down]

1 hour ago, piebaps said:

I don't get you. Its 2.3 miles from the Sea Terminal to the Termy (according to google maps).

@ 30mph which was the previous speed limit and assuming a constant speed would be around 4'30"

@ 20mph it would take around 6'55"

Is this a genuine concern that these lost minutes are vital or just the irrational frustration of an average car driver. You should really cycle. At the speeds they're reported at, you'd do the whole thing quicker in any case.

the sooner the eejit is back at school the better...

[The Dog's Dangly Bits]

35 minutes ago, WTF said:

on the assumption that some eateries will get the green light to open but with social distancing which is obviously going to limit capacity, how many will even cover their costs if they open ?

 

The answer is that they probably wont.  You can't invoke social distancing in bars, clubs, restaurants, cafes etc.  Won't work for the business and given the whole idea is to socialise it won't work for the punters either.

It's also an utter shambles to expect school kids to do the same thing too.

[Southfork]

1 hour ago, WTF said:

on the assumption that some eateries will get the green light to open but with social distancing which is obviously going to limit capacity, how many will even cover their costs if they open ?

 

Many retail and hospitality businesses will be unviable as their whole financial model has been built around x number of covers, or x rooms available, or x numbers of customers in an average night. They’ll have to rebalance overheads to meet lower yields until things pick up again.