Riding Now Officially Classified Non-Essential

Earlier this week, we published an article that posed this question to the government: amid the fast-evolving social restrictions, how is riding a dirt bike ‘classified’, and what social distancing advice and/or regulations apply to it?
Well, information released by the National Cabinet and various government departments over the past 48 hours has clarified the situation, leaving a very narrow window of scenarios within which you can legally ride your dirt bike.

First up, as most of you will already know, the National Cabinet’s Public Health Order has now limited both indoor and outdoor gatherings to a maximum of two people. Then the NSW Office of Sport and NSW Health specifically identified that “motorsport activities” would be classified as non-essential. And finally, the Forestry Corporation made the official point that “Motorised recreation (4WD, motorbikes, etc) does not meet the federal government’s essential criteria and is not permitted until restrictions are lifted”, and that fines apply for failure to comply with state and federal government requirements.

Soooo, as of Tuesday this week, riding your dirt bike legally is now pretty much limited to those who are lucky enough to have their own private property to ride on (that said, please bear in mind our advice to the effect that you should think long and hard about any riding as an injury means you’ll tying up precious healthcare resources that are prioritised elsewhere at the moment). That said, physical exercise (defined as walking, trail running, mountain bike riding) in State Forests and elsewhere is still permitted solo, in pairs, or for families who live together.