Ed’s Letter
Happy New Year! And, frankly, good riddance to 2020. While we don’t yet know how 2021 will pan out, at least there is hope that things may soon return to normal. Whatever that means. We’ve been under the cloud of Covid for so long now that we may find it hard to revert to past habits. Even if the national rollout of vaccines proves to be a success, will we want to go back to hugging friends and shaking hands with colleagues? Will we be happy to stand nose-to-armpit in crowded trains or sit in a packed cinema while the person behind us coughs gently throughout the film? Will we dare to consign our facemasks and empty hand sanitiser bottles to the recycling bin for good?
I suspect we may be wary of mass gatherings for some time to come. I, for one, have reached the point where if I see a crowd scene in a movie I can’t help fretting that everyone is too close together. I’ve spent so long stepping into the road if I have to walk past someone in the street, I wonder how I could I ever go back to standing in the midst of a heaving throng of people shouting, sweating, sneezing and singing at a gig or sports event.
Maybe it will just take time to re-adjust. Perhaps one day soon we’ll be happily sharing a bowl of salsa dip and laughing about those crazy lockdown days as we spray flecks of tortilla around the room.
Until then, I expect the first months of 2021 will be much the same as the last months of 2020 – a regimen of Zoom chats and Zwift sessions, fuelled by excessive amounts of tea and toast.
There will be one significant change, however. For 2021, I am daring to plan a holiday. Yes, a real, proper cycling holiday in a genuine foreign country. Will it be the French Alps, a Mediterranean island or maybe the Dolomites of Italy, as showcased so beautifully in this issue of Cyclist?
I haven’t yet decided and I know it’s dangerous to get my hopes up, but some things are worth the risk. After months of confinement, I’m confident 2021 will be the year we head out onto the world’s roads again. It has to be. It just has to be.