Poo Poo the Po Po

June 19, 2022

We only wanted to do some socially-distanced outdoor group HIIT and kickboxing workouts by the riverside to spend time with the community and raise funds for supporting Ukraine.

Instead the Po Po ruined it with constant interruptions

-- "Wear a mask!"

-- "Two meters apart!"

-- "You can't exercise!"

Since this weekend in particular, the authorities appeared to have launched a massive social distancing drive. This timed well with massive throngs of people out enjoying the unexpectedly amazing weather. So that's how it works. If there's fun to be found, Emperor Xi will be sure to put a stop to it.

The response to this bullshit new normal involves buying beer and takeout food then sitting on steps outside with your friends. So the po-po have reacted with a new task: breaking up the crowds and moving us along Their job descriptions appear to be: pace back and forth then find out which groups are largest and have been congregating the longest. We expats of course stand out and are easy targets.

This must have happened a half-dozen times on Friday and Saturday nights while drinking with friends I hadn't seen all lockdown. It continued in the park the next day.

The HIIT class I was leading. We got broken up by the po-po about three times but continued to move locations and finish the workout.

For some reason the popo didn't go after the kickboxing class as much. They chose wisely to leave that group alone.

So I get that they're just doing their job, but it's annoying as hell. We just want to socialize and work out in the park because all the gyms are still closed along with the bars. The good thing is that none of the expats take this covid nonsense seriously anymore, and this new normal isn't fooling anybody. It looks all nice on the surface, but these petty rules are driving the expats out of the country.

Today's ride: 19 km (12 miles)
Total: 211 km (131 miles)

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