It’s an unfortunate fact of life at the moment, and potentially for the forseeable, that unless you’re commuting to work or going to the shops you can’t head out on your motorbike. Combine that with some glorious April sun and some exceptionally quiet roads and the itch to be on two wheels can be depressingly overwhelming. Some bikers have attempted to get around the lockdown by claiming riding a bike is ‘exercise’, but let’s be honest we don’t ride bikes on the road to get fit do we!
What to do then? Well, there are a great many things that can go some way to scratch the itch, and while none of these will ever emulate going for a ride, they’re a strong second place.
First up, one that’s probably already been occurring – watch some movies! There are a great many movies and documentaries featuring and about motorcycles, with some documentaries even nearing movie quality. My favourite is TT: Closer to the Edge; a docu-film about Guy Martin’s attempts at the Isle of Man TT in 2010, but it features interviews with several other racers. You realise just how committed these people are their goal with the risks they take brought to life with heart-wrenching impact on screen. A close second is the trilogy of documentaries by Mark Neale – Faster, Fastest and Hitting the Apex. Hitting the Apex is sublime, with modern cameras capturing the bikes in incredible detail showing just what the riders are up against throwing their mad machines around a track at breakneck speeds. As always, Long Way Down and Long Way Round by Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman come highly recommended – you can tell they were made a while ago now but they’re still a fantastic watch (or rewatch).
In a similar vein, there’s a newer medium of motorcycle videos that might not have crossed your path, the moto-vlog (motorbike video log). These used to be a scattered bunch of bikers from around the world who strapped cameras to their helmets, or inside them, and rode around their local area chatting about anything and everything, although generally about bikes. As the genre developed and action cameras improved the scene completely changed with some extremely professional videos being pushed out by the best motovloggers. YouTube is generally the home of these videos so they’re free to watch and suffice to say there are plenty of them! BaronVonGrumble was one of the first of a new generation of motovloggers that added a selection of tasty motorcycles and much needed humour to the genre, and he’s now part of 44Teeth which push out some exceptional videos that rival anything the big press outlets manage – their Budget Bike Battles are something to behold. Be warned they’re not afraid to swear so get the headphones out if the kids are around! If you’re looking for some pure riding action then my favourite YouTuber has to be Schaaf, an Austrian guy who showcases some of Central Europe’s finest riding roads with some amazing video and audio quality, along with some superb riding - he also has some great touring videos that are well worth watching. Bike Stop also has its own YouTube channel including the latest on brand new gear and upcoming events.
Keeping with the tech-based answer to motorcycle yearnings, and one that a great many older bikers would consider anathema to the biking experience – video games! We all know the benefit of bikes; huge acceleration, great manoeuvrability and able to squeeze through tiny gaps, along with a superb soundtrack. Video games, in their emulation of real life, have been making huge strides in recent years to bring this to your TV screens. The biggest franchise at the moment just for bikes are the Ride games (now on Ride 3) which has a wide selection of road-going motorcycles and a multitude of locations to rag them around – great fun. One notable mention goes to Grand Theft Auto V; while it’s not a bike game it does include a great many of them, and for sheer escapism it’s a very hard game to beat. The other notable mention is sadly only for those in possession of a Playstation 4; Driveclub Bikes. The only reason it’s not top of this list is because it’s no longer getting updates and its online mode is gone, because otherwise it is a sublime game. Driveclub at its heart is a car racer with some incredible visuals, amazing sound and satisfying handling, but the bike expansion they introduced is truly phenomenal in terms of sound, look and enjoyment. Sadly the virtual reality version of the car part never leaped to the bike expansion.
You’re fed up of staring at screens now? Fair enough. Let’s return to the real world, but let’s not grow up just yet. A new fad has been appearing in recent years – adults playing with Lego. It might sound crackpot but there’s a logic to it, they are in effect three-dimensional jigsaws after all. New models that Lego have been producing have been geared specifically to be trickier so an adult gets a challenge like you used to when you were a kid. At present you can buy a Harley-Davidson Fat Boy, with a Ducati Panigale V4 R kit coming in just over a month’s time. Fed up with the boring jigsaw? This could be right up your street.
Still a bit too silly and escapist for you? Okay, let’s talk actual motorcycles then. You can’t ride your bike, but there’s nothing stopping you working on it. Online deliveries are still working just fine (Bike Stop is still delivering by the way!) so getting parts, tools and fluids is still pretty simple. Hoping for a lift of lockdown before summer is out? So are we, so how about getting your bike fighting fit in preparation for that day! Last week we went through how to get your bike and kit ready for coming out of winter hibernation – check the blog out for pointers here.
If your head is still up in the clouds then perhaps it’s time to get planning that next trip, whenever it might be. Start budgeting for it, getting ideas for sights to see and roads to ride and who to take with you. Now could be a great time to get your touring gear in order so you can shoot out of the gates when the time comes with top box and panniers accompanying you wherever you end up going. Do please bear in mind that international travel might be a while coming yet, but that doesn’t stop you from exploring the United Kingdom and all it has to offer the biker, whether that be amazing roads, pubs aplenty (let’s hope they’ve reopened eh?) and hopefully the kind of sunny weather we enjoyed in the summer last year.
The Bike Stop shop in Stevenage is currently temporarily closed, but our online shop is still alive and well and taking orders (and calls Monday to Friday!) We’re even doing a 10% off promotion – just enter the code ‘TOGETHER’ at checkout. You can check out our full range on our website with free delivery for any order over £25 on the UK mainland, and delivery possible to almost anywhere else. Not only that but our ‘No Quibble’ returns policy allows for returns within a 365 day period – see our returns page for more details.
