A curious thought occurred to me the other day; I’ve had lots of time for curious thoughts lately, with all the lack of bike riding due to the extremes of snow and ice in our corner of the country. My curious thought was that we’re turning into a nation of “virtual bikers”. I know lots of people who have bike licences, most of whom still own a bike, of which some actually ride their bike – occasionally!
On the plus side, this makes it a very affordable pastime. If you spend many hours talking, reading and thinking about bikes, but not actually riding them, that works out to a running cost of about £0.00 per mile! I knew one lad who used to drop into my local pub in full bike kit; never ridden a real bike but liked the image of being a biker…
The down side to this very affordable non riding is just that – fewer people riding. Attendances to bike shows and events are down, around 20% last year. We saw a similar drop in new bike sales and an even bigger drop in new riders taking their bike tests. Are we turning into a nation of virtual bikers? I hope not, there are some very good organisations out there doing their best to promote our right to ride, like the BMF, MAG, the new Get On campaign and many others. Why not make a (belated) new year’s resolution to do at least one or two new things this year, like a group ride or bike tour? We’ll be arranging a series of bike rides, meetings and tours throughout the year so why not join us – you might actually enjoy it! Further details will appear on our new improved website and on a new forum
www.southeastbikerforum.co.uk, where you can check out the latest bike news, chat to other riders in the south east and see what rides are being planned.
In this month’s issue, we introduce the new No Budget Cup UK race series which kicks off at Lydden on April 17th. Readers of our previous issues may recall our heroic, but pathetic, entry to the No Budget Cup in Belgium. The series is now being run in the UK and we’ll be there to support them. Make a note in your diary to join us for a day out at this great little circuit in Kent.
Pot holes have been the highlight of this winter’s Highways Enduro. If the ice and snow didn’t get you, these lurking wheel killers have been erupting across the south east as quickly and suddenly as a teenager’s acne, and they are just as nasty! In this month’s article, Debbie tried to do her civic duty and report some to the local authority and gives some useful advice for dealing with these threats to our road safety.
Right, I’m done with thinking about riding. Take care, dodge the potholes and see you out there in the real world of biking!
I want to go faster, I want to go faster..
