Enjoying A Cut Above
With far-reaching views and easy riding, Greenock Cut is a wonderful short ride in the Central Belt
PING! Ping! Ping! Do I stop to check my phone again or not? On the one hand, it might be my wife, Wendy, who is walking towards me from the other end of the path. I need to know she’s not desperately trying to get in touch.
On the other hand that’s quite unlikely and it’d probably just be the fourth time I’ve stopped to catch up on a Whatsapp conversation that I’m not really a part of.
Expanding mobile coverage has obvious benefits. Historically, my safety record isn’t strong. People have been in touch with mountain rescue on my behalf twice, but both times because I’ve wildly misjudged how long I’d be – notoriously difficult to do on wild rides and a skill that only comes with experience. Thankfully, they’ve never had to come out.
It’s also stressful being the one unable to communicate. I know I’m fine, but I can’t tell anyone that until I find a pocket of reception. If I’m running late or going well after dark, I worry about those who will be worried.
For me, it’s a relief to be able to keep in touch and send tracking beacons, but the rest of life follows you into the hills as well. I do at least 50% of my riding solo – for various reasons including quite enjoying it sometimes – but if you go to escape other people, it’s less effective when they’re still with you electronically.
I saw a ski jacket advertised with a specially warmed pocket designed to keep your phone battery functioning in sub-zero Alpine conditions.
Maybe many of us are just as chuffed to be able to organise a coffee date from the wilds as I am horrified by the relentless invasion of our private time.
But doesn’t it remove the sense of adventure? Where’s the risk and the requirement for self-reliance if your whole contact list is available at the touch of a button? Near-misses and occasional disasters become moments you never forget, but now that you can almost always reach out for help, is it selfish to leave the phone at home?
I wondered recently if the reason cinema is still going so strong is because we’re all second-screening with our tablets in front of the TV. At least at the movies
“It gets easier to hoik the bike gates” over the