It was nice while it lasted, but it didn't take long for the "my cars bigger than yours" brigade to retake the roads as soon as the travel restrictions were slightly eased did it. Those few weeks when everything was closed were a real eye opener for what could be; The constant drone of traffic noise had disappeared, the air was cleaner and there were families with young children out cycling and walking on the roads, safe in the knowledge that they weren't going to be mowed down by someone in a mad rush to get to Tesco or KFC. How back to normal things are was bought into stark relief when I came across traffic mayhem on a small country road whilst out on my bike at the weekend. There were a good 30 cars abandoned on the verge, effectively blocking the road to traffic and causing chaos in the middle of nowhere. I don't think I've ever seen a car parked there before let alone 30 of them. So what was so important that half of Basingstoke had made the journey and dumped their monster transporters in the middle of the road? Well, it would appear that people are so short of things to do that a field full of poppies is now cause for an outing. I suppose if Costa is shut you've got to do something, but come on people, have we all had lobotomies whilst we've been at home? Taking your car out for a drive to take photos and mill around in a large group in a field gate in the middle of nowhere is hardly sensible is it? Not only is it another unnecessary car journey, adding to the pollution we seem intent on creating, but you've blocked the road and now you're stood around in a large group in clear breach of the social distancing guidelines. I'll grant you it's nice to get out in the sunshine and a field full of poppies is quite a sight. It didn't seem to be quite such an interesting sight in 2018 and 19 though did it? In fact the poppies have been there for the last few years and I've never seen a single person there before. But then again shopping centers and pubs have been open for the last few years, all normally far more interesting than fresh air and the countryside! It's not surprising that we had to be made to stay at home and couldn't be trusted to just do the sensible things is it. I'm just hoping that all the stupidity doesn't create even more problems and result in us being locked down even harder in the future! Whilst I'm on a rant, how about the difference between Footpaths and Bridleways and while we're at it lets throw Byways (BOAT's) into the mix too. I'll think you'll find Mountain Biking fraternity, that a foot path is exactly that; In England and Wales a path on which the public have a legally protected right to travel on foot. Therefore Mr Mountain biker (and I'll use that in the plural) there's no point in getting a shitty on when I don't get out of your way whilst running or walking on a foot path, your the one in the wrong and you shouldn't even be there in the first place. If you want to go mountain biking, find a mountain! I'll give you a helping hand here and tell you that the highest hill in Hampshire is Pilot Hill. Which, at 286m is still only a hill and not a mountain (the giveaways in the name). Or if you can't find a handy mountain how about using your bike on the tracks that your allowed on, all of which tend to be a bit wider than a footpath and will allow you to get past unobstructed! If you haven't already guessed, its been a bit of a dull weekend here, with nothing much happening worthy of note. I've made some good progress on the van, finishing off the under-sealing and treating some areas of rust around the drivers wheel arch which will hopefully put a stop to that before it gets too bad and needs major work. Other than that it's been more of the same old stuff, a few bike miles Saturday, a bit of running Sunday, lots of watering and pottering around on the allotment and the odd few minutes sat in the sun. The sooner the world gets back to normal and we can start having a few adventures the better, at least I'll have something to write about then!
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Paul PerrattOld enough to know better, young enough to still feel invincible, stupid enough to keep on trying the same thing again and again. Cyclist, Gardener, Runner, Hiker, Cook, Woodworker, Engineer, Jack of all trades and master of none, Anti social old git and all round miserable bugger. Archives
March 2024
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