GOING THE DISTANCE

The seasonal question is returning – which is more of a factor in battery life: the miles you travel, or the time your engine runs?

This year, although people have been commuting far less than usual, they’re also warier of public transport. There are fewer people on buses, and far more in individual vehicles (often badly driven, because the drivers used to take the train). So, traffic is, if anything, heavier than usual. How much does the battery charge when idling, really?

We’ve been locked down again, so winter rides have not included the prospect of a hot coffee or pub lunch, which has made them little more than an exercise in going far enough to keep the battery happy (or long enough – this is the eternal question) and keeping them short enough (in all senses) that I still have all fingers and toes when I get back home.

An unseasonably cold snap has not helped in either endeavour, especially with its accompanying rain and fog further limiting effective riding time.

I long for the days I can once again plan my rides around a hot coffee, good lunch and, ideally, a log fire. Oh. And lighter traffic.

PLEASANT SEASON

It’s funny how much you don’t notice in a car, compared to on a bike. At the moment, in October, all the leaves are turning, and the fields are either harvested or about to be. The colours on either side are rich and varied, and if I wasn’t on a bike, I probably wouldn’t notice them nearly so vividly. But the trees are the colours of a log fire – red, orange, yellow, brown – interspersed with green. And the frequent rain means everything almost glistens, as if polished. Of course, this is a bit of a problem when it comes to traction on wet leaves in the road, but it’s a worth it. And some of those leaves will become part of the road from the constant pressure of wheels over-running them and pressing them into the asphalt. So by winter, the branches above will be bare, but the ghosts of the leaves will still be stencilled on the road, looking almost copper on the grey when the light is right. 

There’s a sculpture in St James Park which no doubt required a lot of effort and skill to achieve the same effect in bronze and concrete.

LAST OF THE SUMMER RIDES

The weather has been doing that beautiful last hurrah of summer heat before autumn sets in. I can tell autumn is setting in not only because there are occasional treacherous drifts of slippery leaves (they’re not wet, just too smooth for my tires to grip), but because the air pockets are unmissable. This is one of the things about which car drivers know nothing. As you ride along, and the road goes up and down and twists and turns, there are noticeable changes in the air – hot to cold, dry to dew-laced. Autumn air is not always crisp. It’s not always anything, and that’s what makes it so special – every mile can feel different, and there’s still enough light to make the most of that.

MISE EN SEASON

One of the great things about riding is how aware you are of the landscape you're riding through. All the senses are engaged - you can hear and see everything you can in a car, but you can also smell the fields and plants (a problem in spring and summer, when the pollen count is high).

The A303 is a frustrating road, but currently less so that the M4 for anyone traveling between the South East and South West of England. The A303 specialises in random bottlenecks, when for no obvious reason, the road goes from three lanes to one.

This means one has plenty of time, while weaving through the tailbacks, to observe the scenery (largely fields) and any wildlife immune through custom to the noise and pollution of road traffic.

In early harvest season, like late summer, when the wheat crop has been gathered and the fields are all stubble and haystacks, this means crows. The crow family, of course, is well known to be intelligent for birds. They learn, they problem solve, and lately, they’ve been learning from humans. They were all over the harvested fields, but neatly socially distanced. So: if a group of crows is a murder, what do I call what I saw? A Corvid-19?

FREE RIDE

Lockdown is finally sufficiently eased that I could go for a proper ride again, with an actual destination, rather than the scenic loops I’ve been doing for battery health. Apart from keeping the bike running, they’ve chiefly been good for developing an iron butt. Which was just as well, given that I haven’t done any non-stop rides over 100 miles for months. First it was winter, and then it was pandemic lockdown.

It was amazing to have to take a lock with me, and plan to park up and have a cup of coffee in the sun, which I didn’t make myself.

The lighter traffic has encouraged the agencies that be to do all their upgrades and repairs all at the same time, so the lack of vehicles hasn’t really made the roads any clearer, but it still feels freer than usual. People are still in a mentally more relaxed space, prepared to enjoy the ability to travel again, and therefore are happy to chill and make space for bikes to filter past, and wave as they go by.

The sense of freedom to go back to riding for pure pleasure, to wherever, with a vague destination and plan in mind, without having to have a reason acceptable to authority, is a welcome one, which I never appreciated in the past.

ESSENTIALLY

Most of the world, it seems, is in some kind of lockdown. Citizens are allowed out under specific circumstances, for essentials of life. Only, where I am, those circumstances don’t seem all that specific. After all, what constitutes a ‘reasonable explanation’ is in the eye of the beholder, isn’t it?
Now, generally, I’ve been good about social-distancing and self-isolation. I am not one of those idiots ruining it for the rest of us by sunbathing en masse in the park at the first sign a clear blue sky (the park is now closed as a result. It was the only park in the area).
My bike, on the other hand, needs regular runs or the battery will die. I don’t have the option to keep it on a trickle charger. So, what I want to know is this: is a battery-health ride a reasonable explanation for venturing outdoors? After all, between the helmet, gloves and lack of places that are open these days to stop, this isn’t a social or contact activity.
Actually, what I really want to know is: would the cops think a battery-run is a reasonable explanation for being outside… It is, after all, essential to the health of the bike, as the bike is to the mental health of this rider.

GOING THE DISTANCE

Currently, in the Year of the Nurse, we have a pandemic. The irony is delicious, which is just as well, as almost all restaurants are closed, and the supermarket shelves are bare.

The more responsible among us are practising social distancing and self-isolation. According to those issuing the guidelines for this, we should stay at least two metres from anyone we don’t already live with (and three steps from those we do). So, it’s worth noting that a bike is pretty effective social distancing in any case. By the time you have gloves and a helmet (buff optional), and you’re practising safe following distance, you’re a good 2m from anyone who could infect you.

Which is just as well, because if I couldn’t ride, I’d probably go nuts.