Upper Thomson Road, 16 km. More than a year has passed since I hit the road (not literally of course, whew). More has changed in multiple realms in the past three months, than in the past three years!
Religion: places of worship that remained open during war time are closed
Military: it might be more deadly, or at least more sickly, to be among civilians than to remain on base. Even on an aircraft carrier, crew are scared though not a shot has been fired.
Industry: many factories have fallen silent. Worldwide, air is cleaner.
Agriculture: people are going hungry because they lost their jobs, but crops are rotting, livestock killed and milk poured away because the big buyers (restaurants, hotels, convention centres) are closed
Energy: demand has fallen as factories and workplaces are closed
Workplace: those who wanted flex-time and flex-place couldn't get it, but now, it's mandatory
Health: everyone is at risk, everyone is a risk.
What a strange, novel (coronavirus) world.
Fortunately, it's legal for me to ride my bike (solo, of course, as group rides are banned). I thought that traffic would be light, which is why I'm on the road. But no, traffic seems normal. Since 7 April, the neighbourhood has been quiet. So quiet, like a graveyard. I suppose that as "circuit breaker" draws to a close, people are rehearsing for the new normal, as the economy slowly opens up.
Well, I'm glad that traffic is keeping a social distance from me!
