Life is like riding a bicycle (if you know how to ride)

To keep your balance you must keep moving. Albert Einstein (champion cyclist)

There’s something both magical and dystopian about London at this time, free of cars, that makes me want to jump on a bike and take advantage of the empty streets (while still observing the one hour of exercise rule).

The last time I cycled, family holidays aside, was a decade ago. I gave up when I came to the conclusion that I was fighting a losing battle while attempting to avoid being pushed onto the pavement by a double-decker bus/boy racer/taxi. London no longer felt safe enough for a middle-aged woman with poor hand to eye coordination to navigate on two, slim wheels and a wobbly handlebar.

Then lockdown happened and my blue Falcon bike, dusty, brakes seized, rusty, beyond repair (or so I thought) was beckoning to me to be serviced, demanding to be set free like some cooped up child who spies a park across the road.

I called up Josie, a neighbour, who runs a community cycling project called Cycletastic. We met while I was interviewing people who share their homes to discover whether the idea that became Silver Sharers had any legs and she came forward as someone who has a room in her place she rents out. I discovered that when she’s not mending/selling bikes she makes and teaches ceramics at her studio based in Kingsgate Workshops. We immediately hit it off, both women with ‘portfolio careers,’ a posh way of saying we all gotta do what we gotta do to get by.

I suspect after we’ve been released (whenever that is) that juggling will be a way of life for many more of us and not just of the type you only see from afar while meandering around Covent Garden piazza (BL - Before Lockdown).

Observing social distancing, I took my bike up the road for Josie to fix, all masked and gloved up. If you’d told me in my twenties that touching a rusted old bike could lead to a life-threatening virus, I’d have told you to stop reading so much Ray Bradbury. But that’s where we are now. Bikes, boats, buses. They’re all potentially lethal. It’s a sad f***ing time to be a person who likes to travel.

Josie has now fixed my bike but not before telling me that I could use a few lessons when she saw me getting on without gripping the brake and pulling the pedal up to meet my knee. Thankfully it looks like I’ve got all the time in the world to relearn what I was always told one never forgets. Just like life.

On trying to give away/sell a sofa during the lockdown

Seven years ago, when I moved to the flat I currently occupy, I took a sofabed with me and put it in a room for which it was much too large. Then my partner moved in over lockdown to occupy the room and the subject came up of replacing it with a bed. At the time it seemed a good idea, creating more space in the room and providing a greater level of comfort. Neither of us really gave much thought to the consequence of trying to sell or dispose of the old sofa right now, which in retrospect, says a lot about the impulsive way I often go about things.

I found a buyer via NextDoor and, to prevent her and her dad (who was coming along to assist), from entering the flat, my partner Bob and I moved the sofabed to outside my front door. We both thought we were doing her a favour, saving her having to heave the thing up the stairs. Then she emailed to say her dad had pulled his back and they weren’t going to be able to collect it. I was distraught, which is how I behave when things don’t go according to plan, completely out of proportion to the reality of what has just occurred.

I suspect the sofa buyer’s dad didn’t actually fancy travelling from Twickenham to Northwest London. Whatever. The result was my sofabed was now outside, subject to the elements. First world pandemic problems, I know.

This is standard behaviour, in my experience, when you’re giving something away to avoid having to pay for it to be removed. The likelihood of being let down always lingers in the background but, in my usual, naively optimistic way, I refuse to even consider that as an option. As my youngest son once told me, while reflecting on my parenting style, “Mum, it’s great to tell your kids that they’re going to achieve whatever they aim for, but it’s helpful to let them know that there’s also the possibility of failure too. That way they won’t be quite so disappointed when things don’t turn out as expected.” No comment.

Freecycle said they weren’t accepting requests from anyone offering free furniture at this time. Gumtree and NextDoor were equally useless. Camden Council said they weren’t collecting until after the lockdown. Same for the local charities. I finally managed to get rid of it through Anyjunk, which may be useful info for anyone who is thinking of getting rid of a large item of furniture at this time. Then again, why not wait until after lockdown and save yourself a lot of grief.

Aside from that, I took a socially distanced walk with one of my favourite people, my friend Rita, a trans performance artist who also produces amazing sculptures out of wires and knives, bolted into the walls of her apartment (they’re amazing, click on the link). We talked about how not to freak out about what’s happening in the world right now, housing benefits and group therapy.

Other stuff I’m doing this week:

Buying a handsewn facemask from a neighbour via NextDoor.com - £7 each and she’ll let me choose a pretty pattern! Bargain. Anyone else noticing the appetite for out-of-the-ordinary face masks has resulted in lots of makers turning up on NextDoor and elsewhere, each with their own unique spin (filter pockets, elastic or tie-backs, cotton or jersey)?

Transferring old demo tapes onto MP3. It’s the best walk down memory lane and a chance to reconnect with very, very old friends who form a part of my musical history, even if one of them was a really bad boyfriend (just kidding, not really)

Learning how to ride a bike (again)

Looking for people over 50 to run some ideas past about Silver Sharers - criteria - they need to have an empty room, a lodger or list a room where they live on Airbnb. If you know of anyone, send them my way and I’ll pay £25 for 30 minutes of their time

Creating videos (sporadically) for Startup School for Seniors - launching soon(ish) especially if the London Community Fund gives me a grant! If you’re interested in signing up, finding out more or contributing your expertise, let me know

Social Distancing

Taking it easy on the jogging front

What I’m watching/listening to this week:

Circus of Books on Netflix - A documentary about a nice Jewish couple who ran a porn shop in the gay district of LA for decades, as told by their daughter.

What Artists Listen To - a podcast

Open Mic from the Green Note with Rob Thom

Stay well and safe,

Suzanne