Blink and it’s gone

[middleagedmadness]

Picked up my phone when the alarm went off and for some reason started throwing up photos from past trips, so flicking through them I realised that none were from this year , strange I thought but then realised it’s now the last month and I’ve not had a single night out this year be it due to excessive amounts of work (caused by the restrictions) or due to the restrictions we’ve had this year , thinking I’m not far off my half century so next year I need to spend my time better than this year because I’m finding out it has literally been a year of blink and it’s passed by , is it just me or has anyone else found things have passed by them this year without realising (and yes I realise it may be a age thing )

[Bearbonesnorm]

You're not alone Stu. Although I don't feel like I've actually stopped this year, I look back and think WTF happened there. All the usual 'markers' that help me define and shape the year weren't there, so any sense of time has largely gone. Each day seems a continuation of the last and a week just feels like a very long day ... if that makes sense.

[middleagedmadness]

Total sense mate , apart from the couple of times I’ve tipped down to see you it’s been ground hog day , work home sleep repeat 7 days a week think that’s how I’ve lost the last 11 months, having nothing in my memories apart from work ,
I’ve already informed the powers that be come new year I shall not be working every Saturday and definitely not any Sundays , think the broken road has covered 125 mile since I had it in September

[Chicken Legs]

Yep, thinking the same, us middleaged boys haven't got time to waste

Look out 2021 we've got places to go !

[fatbikephil]

The years do pass quicker as you get older don't they?
Occasional things have really caught me out this year - clocks going back, suddenly being cold, everyone taking about xmas etc. What really made me think the year had gone past super quick was the snow fall yesterday - it seems only a short time ago I was skiing round my local hills back in Feb / March and its back again

[RIP]

Similar-ish note, I noticed that because one's not been able to 'just go' (anywhere, at random, whatever) my brain has gradually lost some of its mindset that makes it 'just go'. It's not become more soft (well not much..) but there's a sort of mental barrier there which wasn't there before. I'm mildly concerned that barrier won't disappear when the political/movement/restrictions ones are lifted. Made more difficult to spot because 'freedoms' will presumably come back gradually rather than suddenly all at once.
Hmm.

The main thing I've missed this year from your lack of presence matey is any 'grimey' bivvy experiences . A night in a toilet block for example is uplifting and life-affirming .

[middleagedmadness]

Similar-ish note, I noticed that because one's not been able to 'just go' (anywhere, at random, whatever) my brain has gradually lost some of its mindset that makes it 'just go'. It's not become more soft (well not much..) but there's a sort of mental barrier there which wasn't there before. I'm mildly concerned that barrier won't disappear when the political/movement/restrictions ones are lifted. Made more difficult to spot because 'freedoms' will presumably come back gradually rather than suddenly all at once.
Hmm.

The main thing I've missed this year from your lack of presence matey is any 'grimey' bivvy experiences . A night in a toilet block for example is uplifting and life-affirming .

Don’t worry Reg , we’ll soon get out and after a few hours with me it’s your mind that’ll be gone never mind that mental barrier, but I understand what you mean it wasn’t until yesterday working in the p1ssing Ice cold rain that I thought to myself I should be out riding in this not working, funnily enough it was pics of you Peter and pickers on our slightly damp September outing last year that popped up and got me thinking

[Dave Barter]

Yep, thinking the same, us middleaged boys haven't got time to waste

Look out 2021 we've got places to go !

middleaged You'll have that bus pass soon

[whitestone]

Yep, thinking the same, us middleaged boys haven't got time to waste

Look out 2021 we've got places to go !

middleaged You'll have that bus pass soon

Yeah, I can get one and look what happened!

[woodsmith]

This guy expresses it better than I ever could

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usb2435 ... e=emb_logo

[PaulB2]

"Routine is the enemy of time."

That's a good summary of where this year has gone awry.

[Cheeky Monkey]

Make the most of your half century. I had mine this year and me and mates had all sorts of plans for May/June 2020. Getting together as a group (who've known each other since Uni was goign to be pretty kewl as we're spread over the globe (HK, S,Africa, Spain, UK etc).

In reality we spent an evening drinking together on Zoom (who would have thought that would ever have been anything other than sad )and playing online bridge .

2020 can just do one.

[FLV]

2020 can just do one.

agreed, it bloody can

[RIP]

our slightly damp September outing last year that popped up and got me thinking

Sometimes it's best to blink and let things go .

2020 pretty obviously was poo, but you somehow have to extract something from it. One positive thing I've made myself extract is an even greater pleasure from little things, and to savour those things more. Corny but there you go. Maybe it'll cause people to reassess some of their habits (people walking down the road clutching a bucket of dodgy coffee would be top of my list to ban ) - again corny but maybe become more 'sustainable' (arg) and less wasteful. Ah, so naive Reg.

[PaulB2]

Pre-COVID the coffee chains had made a big push towards the use of re-useable cups. Annoyingly at the moment they will only serve you in a disposable one

[thenorthwind]

All the usual 'markers' that help me define and shape the year weren't there, so any sense of time has largely gone.

This rings true for me.

[frogatthefarriers]

All the usual 'markers' that help me define and shape the year weren't there, so any sense of time has largely gone. Each day seems a continuation of the last and a week just feels like a very long day ... if that makes sense.

On a shorter timescale, I’ve been sitting at home since lockdown and my routine has gone ATH (all to hell). I only work two days in eight, but those two days form an anchor to my life. I have my routine jobs to do around the house/yard that have to be done in my rest days, ie “I must get this done before I’m in work again”. Now that I haven’t been going in, without that impetus, I find I don’t get anything done. My weelatters* become whenyas** before I know it.

* As in “We’ll have to eg. get the leaves out of the gutters”
** As in “When ya goin' to do the gutters then?”