Like any organisation Bicycle NSW has been called to respond to the challenges presented by COVID-19. We have been on the ‘front foot’ in responding to protect people by:
- Changing how we work: closing our office to visitors, practicing social distancing, deferring courses, communicating event changes and setting up measures and practices to ensure business continuity
- Supporting people to stay healthy by: publishing on healthy riding, the ways people can help and by setting up a resource page to help everyone with the resources they may need to keep riding or return to the bike
- Ensuring our communication and advice is consistent with NSW Health and the Federal Government.
As a business we are not required to close yet, but we will keep abreast of current measures. Our staff have implemented social distancing within the office, and we are reducing exposure opportunities by switching to private transport. We are also self isolating whenever we either feel unwell, or have been exposed to people who are unwell.
Bicycle NSW has already advised Bicycle User Groups to avoid group riding, except for rides with immediate family members who live in your home. We no longer support group riding as a safe activity given the current controls in place. We ask that all members switch to solo riding, or family riding, or take their efforts to be social online with digital tools and challenges.
We appreciate the State and Federal Governments must urgently focus on health, education, economic, logistic and social issues. Bike riding provides a way to travel that contributes to community health, reduces congestion on roads and public transport and conforms with social distancing measures.
“Your GP, local hospital staff or workers urgently needed to keep essential businesses open may now be travelling by bike to avoid getting sick,” said General Manager of public Affairs, Bastien Wallace.
“We will also depend more heavily on bike deliveries of food and goods, so we are asking everyone to take extra care on the roads,” said Bastien.
Bicycle riding can be a huge help to get us through COVID-19 and Bicycle NSW will continue to support riders by basing our advice on the latest health messages by the government. Together we can #BikeThroughCorona
