A Quiet Ride on Easter Monday

What a day for a bike ride

Easter Monday was always a busy time as folk visited the countryside on the first public holiday of springtime, whatever the weather. This year was a very different proposition: the roads were empty, the weather was perfect and visibility even better. I took the bike out for my daily exercise and only five cars and a bus passed me as I cycled a loop around Flanders Moss taking in the Lake of Menteith. I stopped briefly by the Lake to take some photos, took a long dead end track to check its suitability for a long distance cycle route, and met some old friends who were cycling on the car empty roads, we kept a good 4 metres away as we reprised life in lockdown and what we were missing most.

The distant views of locked down hills were tantalising, especially at this best time of the year for escaping to the mountains but the garden will have to be my gymnasium for the next couple of months. Even the smaller hills that are well within an hour's walk are now taped off. I managed 30 kilometre of pedalling, there were a few short hills but it was mainly pleasurable at an easy cadence.  There were a dozen or so cyclists all enjoying the empty roads and the cycle friendly conditions: sun, a cool gentle breeze and no exhaust fumes. As a restorative against lockdown, a bike ride in this part of the country eclipses any of the alternative options being advanced on social media.

It made me think of the traumas being suffered by all the children, families and single people trapped in flats and houses in our towns and cities. Overcrowding and lack of privacy for some, loneliness and desolation for others. The lockdown has, if anything, further exacerbated the inequalities that are endemic in the UK. Those in poor or overcrowded housing, dependent on universal credit, minimum wage jobs or zero hours contracts are suffering the most with risks to mental health escalating through the uncertainty, reduced incomes and minimal opportunities for physical exercise. The damage will be long term and recent talk by some government ministers of bouncing back with a rapid return to economic growth  smacks of the lazy optimism that defines their modus operandi. It is in marked contrast to the stoical altruism of the essential workers from care assistants, bus drivers, cleaners, refuse collectors, shop staff and health workers who are displaying both kindness and fortitude as they perform their duties.

We will live in a different era after the pandemic subsides. Home-working has been fast tracked and established in many businesses, many jobs in the service sector will have disappeared along with the small businesses and restaurants that are wiped out, there will be fears about both work and holiday travel. There will be a greater desire to eliminate the noise and air pollution to levels that we have enjoyed during the lockdown.

Many of the attractions of the cities will be less enticing with restrictions on many forms of social interaction from events to crowded bars and clubs. Will these factors reverse the centuries long flight to the towns and cities as people begin to value the simpler, less hectic, and less hedonistic lifestyles? Communities in smaller towns and villages could be re-energised as commuters jettison the unloved jobs in offices and call centres and the casual acquaintances of city life. There will be a lingering fear of more future events like this and a desire by many to escape the less dubious benefits of city living.

Overlooking Flanders Moss at Ruskie

Not a person or vehicle

Lake of Menteith

Ben Lomond if you look closely

A track into Flanders Moss

River Forth from Cardross Bridge

Ben Ledi from Arnprior

The Carse of Stirling

Jim's cottage