Rural groups say ‘Get orf our land’ for your exercise; Monster Zwift rides keeping Brailsford fit in lockdown; Bikes "the new toilet paper”; UCI signs up to save planet; Govt accused of "gaslighting" over car-free street claims; + more on the live blog

Perhaps unwittingly channelling the Viz comic character Farmer Palmer - catchphrase 'Get orf moi land' - a coalition of countryside campaign groups are urging the government not to allow anyone who doesn't live there to travel to rural areas for their exercise.

While not aimed directly at cyclists – which is nice, given that people in some villages around the country have been erecting unauthorised signs telling people on bikes to stay away – the National Rural Crime Network says it has received "hundreds of concerned messages a day" from rural residents about people travelling to the country to undertake their permitted exercise during the lockdown.

In the letter to Justice Secretary Robert Buckland, the National Rural Crime Network, the Countryside Alliance, the National Farmers' Union, and the Country Land and Business Association, say that current guidance allowing people to drive to a place of exercise will "encourage even more people to carry out unnecessarily long journeys".

Last week, the Crown Prosecution Service outlined what was considered a “reasonable excuse” to leave the home, including, in terms of outdoor exercise, “driving to countryside and walking (where far more time is spent walking than driving).”

You can read the letter in full here.

Untrue. The Government, @grantshapps, and @transportgovuk want the public to think that road closures aren't happening because of councils. We have no more powers to deliver safer, healthier streets than we did last week, and they were precious few. https://t.co/D22TLGBKK5

— Cllr Jon Burke (@jonburkeUK) April 22, 2020

Councillor Jon Burke referred to a BBC article with the headline "Coronavirus: Banning cars made easier to aid social distancing"... and according to Councillor Burke, something clearly doesn't add up. 

He says that the Department for Transport's claims that councils can cut 'red tape' governing temporary road closures - allowing them to implement car-free streets in a matter of days rather than months or years - are essentially untrue. Councillor Burke continued in his thread: 

"I'm both embarrassed and apologetic that I've had Hackney Council officers waste precious time exploring this when the DfT is clearly gaslighting us. We live in a completely car-dominated society and are led by a Government that wants to keep it that way. Absolutely infuriating.

"This in no way diminishes Hackney Council's desire to humanise our streets and reallocate road space for the benefit of all, but it does mean the Gov't won't let us implement temporary filters to improve road safety & social distancing during a public health and speeding crisis."

The cycling apparel brand want your 30 second videos showing creative use of their products indoors, such as the examples in the video above such as 'cycling to work' and using gloves to stick icing on cakes. 

The comp runs until 1st May and the winner gets a Shower's Pass shopping spree - more details on how to enter here. 

Zwift have announced a four-week long series to raise funds for Médecins Sans   Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) and their COVID-19 Crisis Fund.

Cyclists, runners and triathletes are all invited to join in the fun from the 4th to 30th May, and Zwift themselves will also be making a $125,000 donation to MSF. They say that once 250,000 people from Zwift’s global community have completed at least one Tour For All event, they will donate another $125,000. 

Zwift CEO Eric Min said: “Over recent months, the world has been turned upside down and I think we are all adjusting to a new normal.

“We’re in a unique position to bring together a global community and unite behind one cause, raising money for those who are helping to keep us safe. MSF is responding to the COVID-19 emergency in multiple ways - caring for patients, offering health education and mental health support, and providing training for vital infection control measures in health facilities around the world. I invite our global community to join us in supporting these lifesaving efforts. Of course, let’s have some fun along the way!”

More info on joining the rides here. ​

99-year-old Captain Moore has raised over £28 million for NHS Charities Together, and inspired by the feat 5-year-old Rudy Price from Solihull is cycling ten miles a day to raise more funds for the NHS. He's raised over £2,000 in less than a week, you can donate to the cause here. 

Speaking to BBC Radio 4, the Team Ineos manager said that for cycling to move forward it must modernise and not be so reliant on one race, something that the coronavirus pandemic has brutally exposed: 

"Everyone would see the benefits of having a more robust structure", said Brailsford.

"It would allow people to plan medium-to-long term, rather than planning short-term and, just for some, survival on a short-term basis.

"That would be a very big game changer. Modernising the business model going forward would be wise for everybody."

Brailsford also told Sporza that he would like to see solidarity between teams and mutual support, and says that if the whole 2020 season is cancelled then "everyone would be under pressure."​

Evans has announced it will reopen nine further stores, which means 18 are fully open and a further four in Maidenhead, Brighton, Cardiff and Milton Keynes are doing appointments for collections. 

Evans say they have provided hundreds of free bike MOTs to key workers and will now be able to offer the service across more of their stores:

"As a transport provider, bicycle shops are listed as essential retailers on the Government’s official guidance. Strict safety measures have been introduced to the re-opened stores, including limiting how many customers can enter at any given time, marking out ‘2 metre zones’ throughout the shop floor and eradicating touchpoints within the payment process", say Evans. 

The Evans Cycles stores currently open are:

Kingston 
Cheltenham
Gatwick
Reading
Guildford
Sheffield
Clapham
Notting Hill
Kings Cross
Edinburgh
Nottingham
Sutton Coldfield
Chester
Deansgate
Cambridge
Plymouth
Havant
Bristol

'Bicycles are the new toilet paper': bike sales boom as coronavirus lockdown residents crave exercise https://t.co/q5EBYOK9z3

— The Guardian (@guardian) April 22, 2020

It appears the notion of N+1 is finally reaching the masses, as The Guardian report that in Australia retailers are struggling to keep up with demand... in fact Grant Kaplan, manager of the Giant store in Sydney's central business district, has described bikes as "the new toilet paper" as Australians rush to get a new steed so they can keep fit during the lockdown:

“We can’t keep up with sales. Literally the phone is ringing nonstop", says Kaplan. 

One employee says Saturday takings have gone up from $10,000 to $40,000 in the last two weekends, and if anything the shop is understaffed. 

Similar reports have been made from numerous bike shops in the UK, and there has also been a huge boom in sales of turbo trainers. All this talk of bikes and toilets kind of remind us of this classic from the Viz archive, which the magazine claim may just come in handy during a loo roll shortage... 

Elite say the new Jet bottle is manufactured with a plastic material that is treated with a special additive, making it possible to lower the time it takes for the bottle to decompose. A standard plastic product could take between 100-1000 years to decompose, whereas the Jet bottle can degrade in three months to five years, so they claim. 

All sizes are the standard 74mm diameter to fit any bottle cage, and it's available in four colours - you can get one here. 

Would the 1989 Tour result have been different if Laurent Fignon could have used this prototype?

Le résultat du Tour 1989 aurait-il été différent si Laurent Fignon avait pu utiliser ce prototype ?

📷 MC 1987#TDF1989 #LaurentFignon pic.twitter.com/TFKHjSOp2i

— Miroir du Cyclisme (@Miroir2Cyclisme) April 22, 2020

In answer to the question of whether Fignon would have fared better in that infamous closing time trial at the 1989 Tour on this bike... well it looks like it's only got one gear, so almost certainly no.