Photo of the day - 31: Scary stuff in the time of coronavirus

Well, for Halloween if we wanted to hear scary stuff all we needed to do was switch on the TV today! After a full lock-down in the Spring of this year, and a very gradual re-opening of businesses and schools over the summer - including indulging in the restaurants doing "eat out to help out" things are now making a downturn again. 

There had been a lot of speculation as places in the Northwest and parts of the Midlands were undergoing a lock-down. So finally, rather than put up with kids turning up at our houses doing Trick or Treat, we had to suffer a worse fate of seeing Prime Minister Boris Johnson making his televised address to the nation. So as of next Thursday we will be in lockdown again. It won't be quite as strict as "Lockdown 1.0" since people will still be travelling to and from their place of work, schools will be open, and people like plumbers and electricians can still attend your home if need be. However, gyms, sport centres, beauty salons, bars, restaurants and all shops selling non-essential items will be closed, and we have been told to avoid non-essential travel. 

It wasn't quite the announcement that we were wanting. So instead of celebrating Halloween and Bonfire Night, which is around the corner we are looking forward to another period of staying at home, not seeing friends and family as a group. We can only meet with one other person in an outdoor setting and maintain a social distance. Apparently this lockdown will last until 2nd December, but people are sceptical and believe this period could be extended. We may not even be able to see family at Christmas at this rate. All this is leaving people scared and anxious. I was meant to do a cyclocross race today, but didn't go because I was not feeling on form to race. That's a shame now as I don't know when next there will be another one. Same for all other races and competitions, plus yoga classes. Personally, I have managed to keep busy and keep the cheques coming in to pay my bills. But it is very scary seeing what is happening to other businesses, and with all these extended closures there is a worry that some of my favourite places my end up going out of business. 

It would have been good to end the month on an upbeat tone, but with the news that was delivered this evening it does look like we are living in scary times. 

Photo of the day - 15: A good read

I am very interested to know this guy's story

Don't tell me the coronavirus pandemic and lockdown have meant you have more time! That's not been true for me at all! Yes, the year has been extraordinary with something one thousandth the size of a pinhead managing to topple economies and bring chaos and consternation to people's lives. I have done my best to keep my head above the water, and keep the plates spinning. This has led to work being busier than ever. Also, setting myself new goals and challenges has meant that preparing for those has also led to things being busy. So I haven't had the chance to order in more beer or gin and do a Netflix box set binge, or spend the day on House Party or Zoom - tempting as they might be! But I have tried to get in a bit of reading - an important thing to do as a writer. These days I enjoy reading biographies, especially those of athletes and high profile people in sport. I always find their stories inspirational, and in many cases the athletes will have had to overcome hurdles and setbacks on their route to achieving great things. They don't always have to be professional bike riders, but stories about all types of sport stars interest me. As a Londoner living in Crystal Palace it would seem remiss of me to not read the autobiography of Ian Wright. Having heard his emotional reflections on his life earlier this year on BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs I have been even keener to read his story. I am only at the beginning of the book, where he talks about his early pre-Arsene Wenger days at Arsenal. Talking of Wenger, his autobiography has just been released too. For me, Wenger is a football manager for whom I have great admiration. He was one of the first managers to change the style of football management in English football. It is hard to ignore the work he did to give Arsenal the nickname "the invincibles" during the 2000s. So knowing that book is out actually gives me more incentive to hurry up through Ian Wright's book - not that it won't be an interesting read though. 

Photo of the day - 9: Skipping rope sessions and hula hooping

 

I always like to find a way of keeping my health and fitness regime interesting. One of the ways is by skipping and and doing hula hoop. I especially like skipping, which is something I have done since I was a teenager. It's the most efficient way of keeping fit as I don't have to do much of it before I am out of breath. It is also the exercise that has kept my legs in trim over my 50+ years! The hula hoop is also a very useful tool. It is great for the waistline and mid-riff in general. The thing about both of these activities is that they are fun, and for me when I do them they don't feel like real sport or exercise - just playing around really. Interestingly, many people have taken up these exercises too since lockdown. So I must be doing something right! While out skipping in my local park today I had a bit of an audience from some young kids, who were quite fascinated by what I was doing. It looked as though they would have abandoned their bikes to have a go at what I was doing! That actually makes me think I must be cool - that's weird! And I always thought it's we oldies that want to do what the young'uns are doing!

Photo of the day - 2: Playing the clarinet (at least trying)!

I first played the clarinet about 30 years ago, as something to do when I first moved to Paris. Although I got to a decent level, I didn't take any of the exams. As this seems to be the year when people are taking up/revisiting hobbies during lockdown I have decided to get back into clarinet playing and do the grades.  The deadline for applying for the exam is next week, so I just need to decide whether to go with the Royal Society of Music or London College of Music. As the exams are identical, it will come down to the one with the nearest exam centre to where I live. I practice around 45 minutes per day. Hopefully my neighbours don't mind the noise, and I do try at least to make that noise tuneful! I must say, clarinet playing is more physically taxing than I realised. As a youngster I'd play for hours without thinking about it. Nowadays, I have to balance that carefully with the sport I do! Oooh, I'm getting old!

Cyclists battle through the lockdown

I recently worked on an article for Cycling Weekly about cycling during lockdown, and how professional cycle racers are managing to stay fit and healthy during this period.

Opening pages of the Cycling Weekly feature I co-wrote with Rebecca Charlton

There's nothing more frustrating than not being able to do the sport you love. But spare a thought for those who cycle train and race for a living - those whose lives are dominated by a timetable of races, and a training schedule plus lifestyle based on being on top form for your next race.

Imaging you are all set to thrash it out on the roads of Belgium or Italy at the Spring Classics races, then suddenly you are told that you have to stop everything and staying indoors for the foreseeable future. That has been the case for those professional cycle racers living in Italy, Spain and France. Strictly speaking, it's possible to cycle outdoors in France but given the rules only one hour of exercise within a 1km-radius of home, biking options outdoors are quite limited.

Attilo Viviani, the younger brother of World Track Cycling Champion Elia Viviani had endured a 10-day lockdown in Abu Dhabi when the United Arab Emirates Tour was abruptly ended after some team members tested positive for Coronavirus. He then returned to his home in Verona, only to be enter into another lockdown throughout Italy the following week.


"This is my first season as a pro so it is strange for me, but also for guys aged 35 as well - no one has ever lived through a season like this. To stay motivated, I speak to our Italian Director Sportive, Roberto Damiani every couple of days."


Then Elisa Longo Borghini didn't even get to race at all. After overcoming an early-season flu which precluded her from competing in the Omloop Het Niewsblad race, she was all set to do the Strade Bianche a race where she has previously performed well. But the computer said no, and she has had to stay at home.


"I had been really in shape for the Spring Classics. So now it's like starting winter training again; I have space in my house to do gym work and the rollers. Using Zwift helps, as the time passes faster than with just music. [....] I just have to believe things will come good. I need to do what my trainer says and what my country says, to protect the weakest. My motivation to train is knowing that once I am able to wear an Italian jersey, I will wear it with pride." 


For new rider, Teniel Campbell she has had a lot to process. In this, her first year as professional, after arriving from Trinidad and Tobago and completing the UCI training course in Switzerland, Campbell was all set to make her mark. She became the first woman from Trinidad and Tobago to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics cycle road race, and with her Valcar-Travel & Service Team she had finished in the top five in a few races.

Based in Bergamo, the epicentre of the pandemic in Italy, and for a time in Europe, Campbell has had to deal not just with being unable to ride as normal, but also living alone through the angst, anxiety and ambulance sirens far away from her family.


"Initially professional riders could train on the roads, and my coach told me I must always cycling in the company of another rider, which was safer because some drivers got angry at us when they saw us on the roads and would honk their horns a lot more. But now under complete quarantine, the only time I go outdoors is to the supermarket or to take out the garbage.

"It has become a mental challenge. I am alone in the house and I am also now training alone indoors. However, I have the necessary support both in Trinidad and Tobago and from my team here in Italy. I have realised I do not know how not to be an athlete. For two years, I have been a full-time elite athlete 24 hours a day - training, stressing my body, coming home tired, eating, sleeping.[....] Now there is more free time, I must find a way to make the most of my time and be productive. It's not easy, but this too shall pass." 


No doubt turbo trainers and Zwift apps are getting used to the maximum right now, and I guess there's a lot of discipline and self-control needed to avoid the biscuit tin or the wine rack.
In addition, team support has become ever more important, with sports directors, coaches, and other team mates having to look out for one another, as the mental health is just important, if not more important than the physical health of the riders.

It is not clear how long the lockdown will continue for, or when this dreaded disease will subside, but we can only hope that riders and teams will come out on the other side of this scourge without long-lasting scars.

Here is the full article on the Cycling Weekly website


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52 Cycling Voices: Rebecca Charlton

Coronavirus Lockdown!

So, after all this talk of coronavirus firstly hitting Asia, then coming over and ravaging Northern Italy the thing just got all the more real, now that it has arrived in the UK and has claimed the first few victims.

Breeze Yoga, like other leisure places, sadly had to close

After what appeared to be a smug insouciance by many, including the UK Prime Minister, we have been forced to face the harsh reality that Coronavirus disease, Covid-19 (offically known as SARS-CoV-2) is taking hold of the country. In short, we are in deep s***.

Folks thought that it might be the capricious behaviour of certain world leaders, or even Brexit that might cause a socioeconomic meltdown. But no, all it has taken to bring the country into disarray is a tiny monster. And it is tiny. This organism of just one thousandth the size of a pinhead is causing havoc to countries across the world.

I was saddened to hear about what was happening in Asia, when the disease intially struck China, South Korea and parts of Japan.

However, I must admit I felt a certain complacency about the situation knowing they had overcome the first SARS outbreak 17 years ago, and so they would have the means to overcome this not dissimilar situation. I also perceived it has a problem that could potentially affect people in the UK, but not to any life-changing extent.

But then when I heard about the number of people killed there, it became more of a talking point. While I was in Milan, and then skiing in Courmayeur and Chamonix at the start of February coronavirus was a prominent talking point on the Italian news programmes. At that time a couple of people with the disease had been identified in Rome. But in a way people weren't so alarmed because they were folks who had returned from China, and as they were in isolation everything seemed under control.

But then one Sunday evening in late February when I was looking at the figures showing the number of coronavirus cases around the world, I was shocked to see how many people in Milan and the Lombardy region had been affected.

Once the disease had come to Italy everyone instantly knew it would be a matter of time before the scourge would arrive on UK shores.

My friend Silvia, who lives in Milan, spoke to me from her flat where she was holed up due to the government-imposed isolation measures. The thing that struck me was when she said that she did not mind being stuck there if it would help protect people, notably her elderly parents, from succumbing to the disease.

You need this when you go out in Italy during Lockdown

It was then that I first heard about the horror of people who die being left with no loved ones around them. Such is the contagious nature of the disease that sufferers can't make contact with anyone other than the hospital physicians and nurses.

Apparently some seriously patients, on realising that their days were numbered would ask to see their daughter or their husband, only to be told this wasn't allowed. I couldn't think of anything more heartbreaking and ruthless.

The other measures in place in Italy seemed equally alarming. No one in Italy is allowed to go outdoors at all unless it is to see a doctor or pharmacist, or to go to the supermarket. Even then, only one member of the family is allowed to go out and do the shopping and you can only go once a week. Furthermore, you have to go to the nearest supermarket to your home.

No outdoor exercises are permitted including cycling, but dog-walking within 200m of your home is okay.

All this was underpinned by a special form, known as an "autocertificazione". The form has your name, address, date of birth, ID number, reason you're going out and address of the place you're going to. You take the form with you every time you go outdoors, and be ready to show it to the police if you are stopped. Failure to have the form, or a breach of the rules leads to a heavy fine and potentially a prison sentence.

Italy had suddenly become a police state.

And now, given that there are over 8,000 who have tested positive with 422 deaths, including 87 in the last 24 hours the government has decreed the same measures in the UK as in other major European countries - well almost the same. We are allowed to go out and do one form of exercise - cycling or running; there is no time or distance limit, though we just have to make sure we maintain a social distance of at least 2m from others. We can do the activity alone, or just with members of our own household, but we can't do group activities.

So there you have it. We are offially in lockdown.

My first inkling that things were going wrong for us was last Tuesday when the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson announced that schools would be closing at the end of the week, and then on Friday he suddenly announced that sports centres and bars should close with immediate effect.

At that point I rushed out to get in my final class at Breeze Yoga. When I parted company with the instructors and other regulars some were optimistically seeing it as a couple of months' pause to catch up on other things. But now, given the extent of the disease I suspect that I won't be seeing the guys from Breeze at the end of May. In fact, given that so many businesses are now in trouble as a result of the enforced closure I really hope Breeze Yoga stays afloat through this difficult period.

As for me, I am just going to hope that I can stay in employment as well as remaining healthy. We have a physical and mental health lifeline in the shape of being able to go out and be active, as well as cycling. So I intend to make the most of that opportunity. Here's hoping that the Covid-19 reaches its peak soon so that we can then return to some semblance of normality as sooner rather than later. (Though sadly, it could be later.)