‘You forget your woes and worries’
Lighter evenings mean more chances to ride
Eager bikers are making up for lost time in the saddle and planning plenty of mid-week blasts after work, made all the better for the switch to British Summer Time. Members of MCN’s #ride5000miles campaign were forced to sit out the first three months of the year, due to restrictions on travel. However, a change in England’s Covid-19 guidance on Monday, March 29 means many have more freedom to start riding for pleasure, with an extra hour of daylight in the evenings sweetening the deal. “I’ve been biking since I was 17. It’s something I’ve always done and it’s like cutting my right arm off if I can’t ride,” says Kawasaki ZZR1400 owner, Derek Baker. Yet to turn a wheel this year at the time of talking to MCN, the Bridgnorth rider is planning to unwind from a day at his desk with evening rides both on his own and with friends from the Kidderminster Advanced Bikers IAM group. He continued: “You just get on that bike and you forget all your worries and woes. It’s a way of clearing your head and blowing the cobwebs away.” Elsewhere, retired Honda Crossrunner rider, Pete Jones, from Staffordshire, is planning to use the additional sunlight to maximise longer runs as restrictions ease, including a 250-mile route into Wales with his son later this year.
“I always find riding a motorbike relaxing because you’ve got to concentrate,” Pete said. “You block everything out and can forget about Covid and all the other crap that’s going on and focus on your riding.” Another rider making plans to escape the bustle of the city and inhale some fresh air is Honda Super Cub C125 enthusiast, John Casingena.
The 39-year-old keyworker has been commuting throughout the pandemic but is excited by the idea of a change of scenery. “I’m looking forward to getting out more into the countryside and getting some fresh air,” the Leicester rider said.
“I only need to go five miles up the road from where I live to get to the lanes and now you can go, I’m not going to be sitting in the house all day!”