Your letters and cool first bikes

MCN Editor, Rich Newland, talks about how new stimulation stops a feedback loop of demotivation

They say that ‘variety is the spice of life’, and while that always seems to be said with a nudge and wink redolent of a Monty Python sketch, there’s actually a lot to be said for following the mantra.

But before anyone goes off and uses this missive as weak justification to spark up an illicit affair, I’m not talking about extramarital sojourns. I’m talking about riding motorcycles.

There are very few things in life that we can control with near total dominance but – road closures aside – the choice of where we ride is one of them. An unexpected result of lockdowns, working from home, and the general restrictions over the last

16 months is that I’ve become bored with the routes that used to be my special weekend treats.

While it might sound like a daft first-world problem – it has been a bit of a blow.

I looked forward to pulling one of my adored bikes out of the garage and piloting it around one of my top six favourite routes

– and with all of them consigned to the mental file of ‘bored of those’, I was feeling oddly deflated about riding. That’s never happened before. Riding is one of my (very few) major crutches, a prop that holds me up when things get tough. So I’ve made some changes – and it’s been liberating. Instead of trotting around the same loops, I’ve spent time looking at maps, thinking about the places I’d love to see, ridden roads that I’ve always wanted to try, or simply pursued an attractive wiggle on a map. Some days, I even just head off and set ‘Home’ on my satnav, then ride in any direction, taking roads I’ve never been down. When needed, the satnav will always get me home again and, as it constantly recalculates a route, I know how long it’ll take me to get back. The effect on my weekend rides, happiness and motivation has been transformative. Getting stuck in a rut is mentally destructive, but a few small changes can make a big difference.