Here's a question. Would you sacrifice an hour of summer daylight, to have an extra hour of light in the winter?
My friend Hugh of Bos Surfboards asked me this the other day and it’s actually a really great question. In fact I can't stop thinking about the benefits if such a sacrifice were made. Like 99.9% of people on this planet I would argue that we all look forward to the summer evenings. Those light nights where you don’t have to feel rushed. You get home from work, have some tea, walk the dog and you’ve still got three hours to go and have some fun. This is the UK by the way, and to pinpoint this further I live in West Cornwall, so at the height of summer, it gets dark around 10pm, maybe a bit later. I love it, those sunset surfs, where the vibe seems to be relaxed as the madding crowds of the day have gone home for tea, usually just the locals come out to play and the odd straggler from out of town. Those summer sessions riding on our local hill when the fern is at full height and the trails can barely be seen, the winter browns replaced by the most vibrant green, and purple of the foxgloves scattered around. The ocean a mile away, and the sun setting to the West. Wednesday nights up at ‘The Track’ at Portreath, jumping our bikes with other Dads that should know better, mid forties, mid fifties, kids in tow and having a whale of a time until dusk. Summer is the best, but do the late evenings make us a little lazy as well? Do we take those evenings for granted and not use them to their max? Don't get me wrong, I love the seasons here in the UK. I hate wind and rain when I'm working, but as a rule relish putting my jackets on and my winter wooleys hats, my favourite boots, but I also hate enduring 6mm of rubber, hoods and wetsuit boots when I go surfing. So here's that question again. Would you give up an hour or so of that summer light so you could have a little after work fun in the depths of Winter? One hour post work to do as you will. Personally, a quick surf, or a few laps of the hill, sounds great to me. Although I do love putting the lights on and riding at night and cruising the quiet lanes of West Cornwall on a still, clear night. Or a ride to the pub for pint during the Christmas Holidays, that extra hour of light could be amazing. Imagine it gets dark at 6pm, not at 4,30pm. I'm already heading straight to the beach or the hill and have enough time to get my fill of adrenaline, endorphins and stoke. Think of the benefits that you would gain. I’m sure our mental wellbeing would be far greater. We’d feel more positive, more upbeat. We wouldn’t be driving home in the dark, or worse still walking home in the dark, feeling like we haven’t seen daylight either side of work, probably because you haven’t. But wouldn’t it be nice if we could have a stroll around the urban parks, or a quick kick about with your kids and their mates. Wash the car, clean the bikes, clean the windows. All those chores that sadly then eat into your weekend. I reckon that one hour would be a game changer and I would personally sacrifice that summer hour because much of winter sucks. I don’t want to be a weekend warrior riding bikes or surfing, I want to do it every day if I can, although sometimes work takes it out of me and all I’m fit for is a shower, dinner, sofa, TV and bed. But here’s my main reasoning for supporting a transfer of an hour. I find the weekends during winter stressful sometimes and hear me out on this one. We work all week, commuting in darkness, and is it just me or does coming home seem even darker, and as winter progresses, it seems to get even darker still. When the weekend comes I want to do everything. Priorities include mostly surfing and riding bikes, then dog walks, then firmly down on the list are household chores. Weekends seem ‘time precious’ and I hate that. Everything seems like a rush, I’m almost counting the hours of light left from the moment I get up, and believe me I make the most of it. Summer is more relaxed because we have more time. Winter weekends are crammed into lets say 8am to 4.30pm, and that's never enough time to fit it all in. I honestly get anxious. I’ve got no time to wait for those family members who can’t get out of bed or are not ready to go when I am and whilst I’m impatiently waiting in the van, gripping the steering wheel, my mind is telling me 'I want to get gone’! My weekends often include my wife telling me to chill out. ‘Give me an extra hour of light in the winter my love, and I just might!’ Most of the winter I’m waiting for that one hour of light after work when I can go straight to the hill, or to the beach on my way home. A few laps on the MTB or have a surf, I’m so much happier. That hour tells me spring is on the way and the evenings are about to get better. Life is about to get busier again. Trouble is we don't have that extra hour, we have to endure four months of darkness, months of blackout, and I’m not a bear, hamster or hedgehog that has to hibernate, I want to be outside clocking up hours with my toys, not holed up in the lounge with the TV on watching another Netflix season, waiting for daylight saving, waiting for the clocks to go back or forward, whatever it is. Imagine the benefits to everyone's mental health. That little extra moment of post work fun. One hour, it’s not much, but it could make a huge difference. Think of those people who are doing stressful jobs and their release requires daylight. Just imagine walking out of the office and having an hour to run 5 or 10K in the light, not having to dress up in HiViz and lights, or riding a few miles on the road bike before tea. How about getting on that motorbike for a quick spin before dark, real stress busters, time when we can let go and not take that stress home to the family. I think you get the picture, and if you need to really appreciate the benefits to our mental well-being? What do you think? Would you sacrifice an hour of summer daylight, to have an extra hour of light in the winter? If you could, what would you do with it? Please Note: This is totally hypothetical. It’s never going to happen!! But It might be nice.
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AuthorHi, I'm Russ Pierre, a Cyclist, Surfer and outdoor enthusiast. Please join me as I have some fun on my adventures and write about all the stuff that makes me tick. Archives
October 2023
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