Ed’s Letter

Two years. That’s how long it has been since the message circulated around Cyclist Towers saying that we should all work from home while we ride out this new virus thingy. ‘See you in a couple of weeks!’

Off we trotted, innocently unaware of what was about to unfold. The weeks turned into months, which turned into years, until now our pre-pandemic lifestyles seem like something from a strange, alien world. Do you remember we used to go into an office five days a week? Unthinkable! And can you believe that people used to squash together in trains, buses and bars, unmasked, breathing their foul fumes over each other? Urgh!

We’ve all become used to a new way of living. But now that restrictions are slowly being lifted, the question is: will we simply slip back into our old habits, or will we find that our behaviour has changed permanently?

Personally, I think I will fall somewhere in the middle. I’m happy to be able to join the masses at gigs and sports events again, but I might consider wearing a mask on crowded trains even after the requirement to do so has been scrapped. If it means avoiding someone else’s germs, then why not? And when it comes to travel, I also suspect that I won’t quite return to my old ways.

During the long periods of lockdowns, this

magazine, like everyone else, was forced to limit the amount of foreign travel we undertook. The upshot was that we did a lot more exploring of our own fair island, which reminded us of just how beautiful, remote and challenging riding in Britain can be – see our articles on p86 and p104.

At a time when we are all more conscious of the environmental impact of travel, I will certainly be looking to the UK for my holiday riding destinations this summer. What’s more, if the rest of the country is itching to go abroad, then Britain’s wilder places should hopefully be a lot less busy than they were during last summer’s staycation boom.

This year could be the best time ever to explore the roads and gravel trails that Britain has to offer.