Is Spring Around The Corner?

Blog Date - 10 March 2014

It's March. Officially it's not spring until the 22nd of March but the weather doesn't follow human preconceptions.

This winter has been very very wet and very mild. The previous couple of years have seen me freezing my fingers off on the ride to work, having to use the car due to snow and ice on the roads and the odd week where riding a motorcycle was, in my opinion, too risky considering the road conditions. This winter we have had but a mere handful of frosty nights and no snow that stuck for any length of time. We have however enjoyed rain by the bucket load.

British weather, and bikers manking the most of it.

Rain is unpleasant. Cold rain is really unpleasant. However I can ride in rain, even cold rain. I never learned how to ride on snow or ice and at this age I have no intentions of learning. What I do know is that riding on snow or ice involves a lot of falling off which is something I really don't like doing. Although I prefer light warm sunshine, a gentle breeze, dry roads and good visibility I can still ride in the rain. I reckon this winter I've done around 4 or 5 thousand miles because it's been so mild. Wet, but mild.

And now at the start of March I feel hope, I sense a light at the end of the tunnel.

The first thing is daylight. Daylight is a much underrated substance because we think we as humans are so clever with our bulbs and our tubes. No matter how bright and illuminating man made light is it is still no substitute for the real thing. Waking in the morning in the dark is at best a shock, at worst just plain depressing. To open my eyes before the alarm has chance to scream at me and see daylight pouring through my cheap paper thin curtains makes waking up an almost tolerable experience. To ride home from work in the daylight is so much safer too. Daylight is very under appreciated.

Secondly is the weather. March, April or any other month of the year here in the UK does not guarantee good weather of that there is no doubt. Yet if we are fortunate enough to enjoy a dry day at least in spring there's a chance the roads will dry out and we two wheelers can have a little play. The inspiration for this missive is the pleasure these last 2 days have brought me with a combination of rain free skies, dry roads and a weekend. The sheer joy of combining these three things makes me smile. I do not expect it to last, 42 years of soggy Springs, squidgy Summers and aquatic Autumns has left me bereft of hope. I shall enjoy those rare dry days if they come again.

On those rare warm dry sunny days...

Finally it's the start of life again. January and February are miserable. No-one goes out of a weekend, having spent up over Christmas. Only the brave and stupid ride their motorcycles through the cold, wind, rain and frost. There's no camping trips to look forward to. Holidays are merely plans that seem so far off. Everything is dark, wet, cold and full of salt. This last week has seen that change. The bikes have been out in abundance, smiles are back on people's faces, the ladies have dug out their pretty dresses and even Bolton town centre looked like a nice place to be in the sunshine.

The only problem with Spring, Summer and Autumn is that Winter is still coming back.

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