With the enhanced community quarantine imposed in the entire Luzon and several other cities and provinces throughout the Philippines imposing a similar lockdown, much of the populace is stuck at home. Of course, only authorized government personnel, medical frontliners, as well as those who work in the industries that support the basic necessities of the citizenry will be allowed to leave their homes and pass through some of the more stringent checkpoints in the country.
Many other countries throughout the world have enacted similar measures. In a bid to combat the spread of the virus, you've probably heard by now that many of the year's major motorsports events have been cancelled or postponed.
As motorcycle riders, we are so used to being outside and everywhere. I, for example, had a calendar full of riding activities since the start of the year. From adventure rides in Tirad Pass and Mt. Pulag, to enduro bike expeditions to General Nakar and Mt. Tapulao in Zambales and in between, I thought I already had a whole year's worth of motorcycle riding and adventure in just the first three months of 2020. I even told myself “maybe it's good not to ride for the time being.” I take that back.
It's been just a couple of days since the lockdown started and, man! Being in "house arrest” is already making me crazy!
I'm sure you're feeling the same way. Good thing is, it is not isolated to me, as thousands of motorcycle riders have turned to social media to express their boredom. Some of them, have turned that boredom into something “creative” and began producing videos of “riding” despite the lockdown.
Trials at home
Trials Bike champion, Toni Bou, has uploaded a video of himself cooperating with a government-imposed lockdown. That doesn't mean he can't play with his bike anymore. In the video, he uses his trials bike to go about his morning routine from brushing his teeth, to getting fresh clothes from the closet and drinking his morning joe.
Those without Toni Bou's exceptional skills hav opted to use their imagination to enjoy riding their motorcycles (and bicycles) amid this lockdown.
Vitrual traveling
Our friend here put his bike in front of his TV and played Point of View (POV) videos to simulate riding his dream mountain bike trails in New Zealand. Other motorcycle riders turned to TikTok to show what they're doing while in quarantine.
New adventures
There are also others taking President Duterte's advice quite literally. During his speech last week, he encouraged people to just travel within their homes/ "Baka may madiskubre kayo (You just might discover something)." Some have actually ridden their motorcycles inside their homes.
Living vicariously
As for me, I got dressed in full off-road attire, complete with helmets, boots, etc., and rode along with Mario Roman's POV of last year's Erzberg Rodeo Hare Scramble via RedBull TV.
It is safe to say that much of these were conceived out of boredom, and there are tons of new videos in social media alone confirming this. It looks stupid, yes, but it only shows that even in these trying times, motorcycle riders always look for the bright side of things.
