Up until a few years ago, I used to be a pretty hardcore motorcyclist. A long journey in foul weather in the midst of winter was no problem at all. Freezing cold, rain, sleet, snow, no problem: just wrap up well, wear waterproofs and check your oil and petrol before you leave. Failure to make the necessary precautions results in unnecessary hardship. This is an important thing to learn.
Another useful lesson was that everyone has the capacity to do completely idiotic things at unexpected moments and that includes both me and you. I was once almost knocked off on a roundabout by a yuppie in a BMW yapping away into his mobile and drifting outwards into me, completely oblivious: he missed me by about a millimetre . I was only saved by an emergency stop and it was pure luck that there was no-one behind me. And for me, there was the time I tried to do a U-turn on the way up a very steep hill. And at the peak of the turn I tried to put my right foot down but of course there was no ground there: crunch, slide, scrape.
When conditions are good, take advantage. If it’s March and it’s been cold, grey and rainy for a month and then suddenly it’s warm, the sun is shining and the road is dry: go for a ride! Don’t hesitate, get your leathers on and just get out there.
I followed this latter lesson when taking the above picture (which gets bigger if you click on it). The sun was dipping redly into the sea and I was going to just nip onto the balcony to take a few snaps. But instead I leaped up, walked briskly across the road and up onto the sea wall and the result was a far better picture.
And this reminds me of the most important lesson: don’t forget the lessons you’ve learned!
Cheers, Tom.