Our lockdown stories

[Rob Rides EMTB]

Hi, I made this vid with some friends and thought I’d share


This is us....

 

[Tonybro]

Interesting, Rob..

As someone who has been in the fortunate position (in some ways) to not having been laid off or furloughed and in IT Services and Solutions, things went mentally busy for me.

Also I don't do social media so I am generally amazed by people spending the time they do on those apps. I have never had Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat. Deleted Twitter not long after I changed jobs back in 2011 (used it for some work stuff). Only retain LinkedIn for professional purposes and never post and rarely read.

When I say I never had, I saw the 'dangers' from the start and also the loss of privacy was a big thing for me. If organisations want my data, they can bloody well pay for it!

I used lockdown as a way to increase my time out on the bike and ended up here after swapping to an e-bike after 30-odd years of pain and suffering!

It definitely gave my mind a rest from the work pressures and had other benefits - I've lost 18lbs in weight and am generally fitter.

 

[Beekeeper]

Great video, I only have one social media account and that is EMTB forums. I don’t need anything else ??

 

[dobbyhasfriends]

been and done that a long time ago when I realised how poisonous a lot of social media is. then when I came back I was more selective, still no where near as selective as some but twitter... twitter is without doubt the sewer of the cosmos and I wont go near it.

As a bloke that generated a lot of business on social media, much like yourself @Rob Rides EMTB, I think its beneficial in many ways but like you say, you have to be careful and dont do the 'doomscrolling'

 

[Zimmerframe]

Top video, Top crew.

I like Laura's glasses .. they're almost goggles .. but still glasses ..

I think the funniest bit is that you linked to their Instagrams

Really nicely put together and excellent cinematography from @TheBikePilot as usual !

Gives us all that kick up the arse we need on a regular basis !

 

[steve_sordy]

Like @Tonybro I am not a user of Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, in fact none of them! When I was a wage slave I used to use LinkedIn for professional reasons but I log on now maybe twice a year, if that! I only keep it live so that people I used to know can find me if they need to do so. I use EMTB and Bike Radar and that's it, but don't access them from my mobile. I don't play games on my mobile and I rarely surf the net on it either. I check the news occasionally while I'm queuing for something (like outside the fish & chip shop). Most of my screen time is on my laptop.
I suspect that my mobile is an underused resource. But my grown up kids live their lives on their mobiles.

 

[B1rdie]

Its all about keeping the focus on the trails and following the birds advise to maintain distance from people. NIce job!

 

[Mr_Price]

Great video, you do a really great job on the edits. (I'd probably prefer a 3 minute cut.)

And you have 100% inspired me to delete Instagram tonight. Did FB 5 years ago and slowly used Insta more.

 

[Wheelie_King]

I bailed out of almost all social media 3-4 years ago. I wasn’t an excessive user by any means but am pleased I realised the negative impact social media can have.

A minor gripe is that some clubs and local businesses only provide updates that I’m interested in via social media, so I have to maintain base accounts on FB/Insta for these.

Having just checked my screen time I’m pleased to see it’s camera, messaging apps and mapping apps making up most of my screen time lately, which must mean I’m either playing out, or planning to play out.

 

[JetSetDemo]

Great Video, a bit like some of the others I don’t have Insta or Twitter, I do have Facebook but not a ton of friends and very rarely do I add anyone new. I do have a bad You tube habit, but I had that before Covid, we cancelled our TV package 4 years ago and have only internet TV services, would never go back.

The whole last year has been insane for me professionally, The pandemic has changed peoples habits accelerating demand for my industry about 5 years in the UK market. Where others have had the worry of no work I and my colleagues have had the pressure of too much work, equally as challenging from a mental health perspective.

Ridding has been a release, an escape from the ever increasing demands of the week & mire than ever a way to find myself and let go.

Good luck with shutting off, the weather is turning and I think we are starting to see a way out of the tightest restrictions and we can all get back to new adventures.

 

[Wheelie_King]

I do have a bad You tube habit

I believe that’s called, “Disappearing down the rabbit hole” and is completely healthy ?

 

[EebStrider]

Nice video Rob. Other than a couple of Internet forums and YouTube I’ve stayed well clear of social media.

I’m very fortunate that my work hasn’t been affected by the pandemic, but have had the opportunity this last year to spend more time outside than I ever have. I bought a handlebar mount for the phone, and take the office with me, so some days I could be out for 3+ hours and still able to check work emails while out and about.

Now that the gyms are open again, my daily routine will change, as I do a lot of swimming, but with warmer lighter evenings, I want to get into evening rides with my wife more.

The only apps I’ve deleted are Just Eat and Deliveroo, as I was spending far too much time on those over the last year!

 

[MrSimmo]

Great video and completely agree. This pandemic has affected so many people in different ways, some good and some not so good.

I binned Facebook, Instagram, Twitter in 2019 and have never looked back. Ref YouTube, I set aside an hour each evening when the kids are asleep to catch up on subscriptions, but the content (present company excluded Rob) has become dry and lackluster due to lockdown - may be a good thing to help reduce screen time.

This video from Professor Cal Newport is a fantastic watch to compliment Robs. It explains the mechanics behind social media and why they are so toxic - www.ted.com/talks/cal_newport_why_you_should_quit_social_media

We as humans suffer from Cognitive Fragmentation when ingesting mass amounts of information sources (social media, news, emails, calls etc etc). Regardless of gender, we operate better when we focus on one job/task in hand rather than many. Mountain biking helps us focus, dedicate time to ourselves and also spend time with others we love (friends, family etc).

I run a semi large European & UK business and recently have implemented quite a few methods across the organisation to help get our people away from endless Teams/Zoom video meetings as well as the social media overload; helping our people to embrace conference calls (without video) whilst out for a walk etc. Won't work for everyone (especially those in manufacturing!) but its a start. We're seeing a significant increase in mental health, productivity is increasing and creativity (which people often overlook) is also increasing.