Motorcycling with Social Distancing

Hooray, the government have given us permission to ride or drive to where we want to exercise. So on Tuesday a friend and I decided to interpret the rules and get our bikes out.

We met at a local pub car park in Fareham and set off, just the two of us. I had planned the route previously to take in all the scenic roads avoiding motorways and busy "A" roads. So the route took us into Wickham and then along the A32 to West Meon. In better times we would have stopped at a motorcycle cafe called "Loomies". On warm and sunny days you can find up to 200 bikes there at any one time and as some leave others arrive. Today though, it was deserted as they have had to close until this is all over.

Straight across the junction, still on the A32 heading for Alton. Just outside Alton there's a lovely big layby where we were able to stop and have a coffee, brought with us in our flasks. Then it was on to Alresford, with a ride by the Memorial Park, although we didn't stop. I remembered from my Co-op days that there was a big house just outside the town and a large pull off that we could use to stop for lunch and so that's what we did. Ham sandwiches and a coffee, all brought from home.

 A lovely place as you can see, green fields and a blue sky. I must confess to slightly breaking social distancing rules to take a selfie but we kept our gear on so no risk of contamination. Gary has just had a test anyway and he came back negative and I have no symptons.

Then it was off again to Temple Valley, some lovely roads, just made for biking. Clear and winding, not too fast, just enough for you to appreciate the speed. As we both ride cruisers, there's no throwing the machine around corners, we tend to take a more sedate 60mph. Fast enough for us oldies. There was a few pedal cyclists out also but we gave them plenty of room and as there was little other traffic we were all able to enjoy the roads.

So this is the route we took. About 100 miles which took us just over 3 hours, what with stops etc. On the way to Temple Valley I switched on my camera and managed to take a short video of the ride. Apologies for the video editing and music as I am just getting used to doing it. (You might want to turn your volume down slightly) 

Shoreline Walk

With all this lovely weather and the fact that we can now get out and about as often as we would like, the wife and I decided to start varying our walking routes.
We have walked these before but not for a number of weeks. So today it was a very short drive up to the football and recreation ground which borders the estuary. Unfortunately the tide was out but it didn't stop people trying out their paddle boards and canoes/kayaks as well as a number of other walkers. Good thing about it was that it's a huge open space so social distancing is not a problem, Plus, people around here have got quite used to it and step aside for you to pass or simply wait until you have gone by.

 

We started off by a local boatyard which is where some youngsters were practising their paddle board skills. Not with a huge amount of success I must admit, however they were doing better than I would have. As I say, the tide was out so lots of smelly seaweed on view.

Then it was turn right and meander up the shoreline, The Spinnaker tower was well outlined across the water and looked pretty good.

Further up there were a number of boats/yachts tied up, maybe their owners were awaiting the tide to turn. It was a beautiful day and a lovely walk. Only about an hour but it gets us out for some exercise. 

Daily Walk

Today we decided to vary our walk. Normally it's out of our road, through the park around the estate and back home. This is because the pavements are wide and you can easily pass others without invading their space. However, we needed to clear the heads and wanted different scenery, so we took a chance for a walk along the shoreline and around the castle.








We started off with a walk down the aptly named Castle Street but branched off through a little lane which follows the shoreline. On the way, stopping to admire a lovely little daisy.


There's a lot of industry down the one side of the estuary but it's quite interesting and the views are quite good. Shame the tide wasn't fully in but it didn't matter too much.







It's quite a long walk, or rather stroll, a few miles and fortunately we didn't meet too many people coming the other way. Lots of passing places though so no problems. Wasn't long before the castle came into view and obviuosly we had to stop for the obligatory photos. Must have hundreds by now but never tire of taking them.

Still it was a pleasant day and although it wasn't that warm, neither was it cold. Once past the castle the track gets quite narrow but everyone we met along the way was quite happy to wait for us, or we waited for them. Lots of dogs and little children but everyone doing thier very best to conform to social distancing.

 Finally, it was right down to the waters edge past a field of crows and on our way home. A lovely afternoon stroll of about 3 or 4 miles. Just what we needed