It’s tough to put a positive spin on the prospect of another national lockdown, but as a fully paid up member of the glass-half-full club, I’m going to give it a go.
- It’s only 4 weeks. Yes, the government has left the door open for extending it if necessary, if only so we can be sure of a more normal Christmas. It’s not ideal, but those 4 weeks will pass quickly.
- There are already some early signs that the existing measures were starting to have an effect even before lockdown, so there is room to hope that the next 4 weeks will be sufficient to get this thing under control.
- We can continue to ride our bikes outside, with another person. At the moment, we can’t run group rides or the Go-Ride club. British Cycling has appealed to the government to review this and we’ll do an update if this appeal is effective.
- So, we can ride with anyone in our household or ‘bubble’ or we can ride with one other person from another household. There is no distance or time limit on this, though BC has suggested that we stay ‘within your ability level’ (Probably a good idea Covid or no Covid.) You can see British Cyclings’s Coronavirus advice on their website.
Instragram Picture Competition
Lockdown 2.0 feels quite different, though there is no doubt it will be hard for many. To make it a bit more enjoyable, we are going to run a ‘Lockdown 2.0 Picture Competition.’
Go out on your bikes, in pairs or in your bubble, wear your club kit (or at least an item of club kit if you can) and take a photo. Post the photo on the club Facebook page. You can also post it on Instagram and tag it @pengecycleclub. (You may follow our club on Instagram while you’re there.)
At the end of lockdown, we’ll publish a ‘best of’ montage and award a prize to the best photo. We may also have a special prize for the over 50s who can demonstrate a technical competence over multiple social media platforms. Maybe next time we’ll do Tik Tok videos.
Look after yourselves, be thankful you’re not a golfer or tennis player and I hope to see you out there in the lanes or grabbing a post-ride take-away from the best coffee/ bike shop in the land.
Closing Thoughts
Best,
James Hanscomb, Chair of Penge Cycle Club.