Back in the Dark Again

A few weeks ago everything in Victoria seemed to be heading in the right direction. So much so that our state was the envy of much of Australia. After the long period of lockdown and social isolation it felt amazing to be able to share time with our families again. Small group bike rides became possible and we were even able to sit down for a meal in our favourite cafes. It was going so well that we all began to believe that the worst was finally behind us. For that reason I thought that there was no longer any huge reason to keep up this daily diary.

That was then.

Then it all started to go pear shaped. Horror stories started to emerge of botched quarantine operations at various Melbourne hotels. Instead of using police or military personell to ensure an enforced lockdown, for some unknown reason the state government gave the job to completely untrained and inept private security operators. Within days the viral genie had escaped confinement and was running unchecked in the community.

Each day the number of detected infections grew rapidly. Firstly 25, then 50, then 75, 127 and so on. A few days ago several Melbourne suburbs were placed in lockdown again. But it was all too little, too late. Today we were told the horrifying latest figure of 191 new infections. This afternoon the premier made the announcement that we had all been fearing - the entire Melbourne greater metropolitan area would go back into lockdown. If that was not bad enough, it was to be in place for at least the next SIX WEEKS.

That now means that Victoria's borders are closed, as are cafes, libraries, theatres, gyms, etc. You name it, it's almost certainly closed. It will be a further disaster for an already struggling retail sector. For the Ghostriders it will mean that no resumption of rides can occur until late August at the earliest. Schools will shut down again. We now face the gloomy reaility of enduring a wet and cold Melbourne in shutdown. It will not be easy.

On a personal note, I do have some good news. The back pain that has been tormenting me for the past few weeks has greatly subsided. I have regained a lot of movement in my back and I can even put on my socks and shoes without help. The extreme irony is that, just when I could resume my cycling, it has been taken away from us by the reimposition of strict level 3 restrictions. We have even been told that everyone must stay at their principal place of residence. That means we cannot even break the monotony by spending some time at Inverloch.

If 2020 had gone according to plan, I would be leaving for Europe in 4 weeks time for our 2020 rides. That trip has now been postponed till next year and any sort of travel, even interstate travel, seems a distant dream.Read more