The UK has been on the receiving end of some Siberian weather. This happens every few years and brings the UK grinding to a halt because we’re really not used to those kinds of temperatures, or that much snow.
Vehicle batteries definitely aren’t equipped for it. My bike went from fine to flat. My car driving friends reported similar problems (not least because nobody can go anywhere, so they’re driving less than usual). Between various cases of self-isolating, it was a few weeks before I could coordinate a socially distanced jump start (I’m so glad I sprang for the extra-long cables, suddenly).
Oh, but it felt good to be back in the saddle again. The engine settled from a growl into a purr in fairly short order. The weather was obligingly spring like and mild, the crocuses and snowdrops were nodding approval from the verges.
After all the strange constrictions of this past winter, the freedom of doing something normal, of the wind in my face, the lean of the corners, the various scents of the road – from optimistic barbecues all the way through to heated metal laced with petrol, was sheer bliss.
I can’t wait to get back in the saddle again.
No comments:
Post a Comment