FROM THE FRONT
Every year at this time the first issue of the new year I generally write some thing about new resolutions, plans for great rides to see great things and to visit greatfriends.and indeed, my thoughts asthe rain slash down against the windows and my riding gear gets more and more and more lathered in mud turn with inevitability to those faraway warm days. day sof sunshine, days spent grumbling genially about how it's too hot to ride and other lies like that. It's never too hot to ride unless you' re stuck aboard a three wheeler in yet another Ms traffic jam, unableto move and baking only a lot in the heat.
Which happened a lot last year. a three wheeler? yes indeed, we have one such in The shed. it's perfect for weather too foul to be enjoyable on two wheels, and for those trips where we need an improbable amount of baggage.and for fun, unsurprisingly. As generations of side carr is ta shave always known, three wheelers have a charm all their own. So i'm told. I've never got along with motorcycle out fits, but I totally enjoy riding our own tricycle which is something entirely different.
What a third wheel hasd one for me is return riding pleasure to a rather wider range of weather and lighting conditions.as I've aged, I've pretty much stopped enjoying riding far in the dark, even along familiar roads, which is a shame, as back then I always enjoyed riding the night section of the annual a cu national rally. Even on my ancient Ajs with its equally ancient Lucas lights. a fairly recent norton ride on the main road to Hereford found me hitting what I thought was just a shadow or a patch of rough road surface hard enough to flatten the front tyre. i suspect it was a plank of wood or similar whatever it was, I simply didn't recognise it as a threat .thisis not entirelya good thing.
But I digress. I was intending to talk about plansfor next year I'mdone with resolutions; plansare better and lessintimidating. How often havewe resolvedto eat less,drink less, exercise more... only to achievenoneof those?i shallsay no more.
It'sdifficult in the presenttimesto plan anything involving an event,and I'm not a great fan of endlessly postponing trips if it pours down, so what? If it 's cold, so what? Modern gear isgreat,i tell myself,and I ride anyway,evenif my intended evening meal pal criesoff I'd not be a solo motorcyclistif I didn't enjoy my own company. But if an event is cancelled,that's a different matter,mostly becausei usuallylook forward to the event itself,ratherthan the ride to it. Wheneventshavebeen cancelledthis lastyear and they have,in droves,asyou know I find myselfincreasinglydisinclinedto book the time and a lodge for any more in the nearfuture... but my not resolutionisthat I shallboost my new year opt imismand book someeventsanyway!
The reasonfor this?it soundsbonkers,even to me,but it's all about not surrenderingto circumstancesbeyond my control.ratherthan gloomily decidingthat it's not worth bothering becauseit might be cancelledanyway, I shall assumethe opposite.smilewidely and start planning the world's most eccentricroute from Cornwallto Stafford.
Here'shoping that you havea great new year,too!
Ride safely