COVID-19: How to entertain yourself during lockdown

If you find yourself in lockdown during the COVID-19 crisis, here is how to stay sane while you're at home

As the ongoing COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic continuing to escalate, the people of Australia are progressively being confined to their own homes.

Non-essential services have been forced to close down, and people have been told to stay home wherever possible. Overseas travel will be banned and states are already closing borders to the rest of the country.

The nation is just short of a total lockdown, where staying home will be mandatory, not just encouraged. The restrictions are severely affecting the livelihoods of many Australians, with unemployment rates skyrocketing in recent days.

But the message from the Government, and health experts, is clear; in order to stop the spread of the pesky virus, we must stay home and avoid contact with the outside world where possible.

So it begs the questions – what the hell do we do with all this time on our hands? Fortunately, we are here to help. Here are some ideas to keep yourself sane during lockdown.

Finish your project bike

Remember when you excitedly started restoring that 1989 KX500, before you got side-tracked and left the bike to gather dust in the shed? Well now is the time to finish that project. Break out the tools and get to work. Maybe the engine needs work, or maybe all the parts are in boxes on the shelf – it doesn’t matter. You’ve got time now, so use it! It might be hard to source parts in these difficult times, but it’s not impossible. The internet is still running, and dealerships are still open.

We're betting your Kawasaki KX500 doesn't look like this...

Plan your dream bike trip

Now is not the time to be going on a holiday, even if you’re legally allowed to. But that doesn’t mean you can’t plan ahead. We all need something to look forward to once this whole mess disappears, so why not plan your ultimate bike trip? Get online and research locations, routes and accommodation. Make a list of all the essential items, and start prepping your bike. Maybe you’ve always dreamed of doing an overseas bike tour, so get on YouTube and watch videos of past trips. It might seem like torture at first, but just imagine how good it will be when it finally happens.

New Zealand's South Island is a motorcycling heaven

Play video games

Go and dust off the Nintendo 64 or PlayStation One and chuck on your favourite motorcycle game. Whether it’s a classic like ExciteBike, or something more recent like Ride or the MotoGP series, riding virtually is the next best thing to actually riding. If you’re not into consoles, then your smartphone has plenty of options as well.

Get some vintage video game action with ExciteBike

Watch a film

This is the part where we tell you to watch On Any Sunday. If you haven’t heard of the classic Bruce Brown documentary starring Steve McQueen, then it’s probably time to upgrade that rock you’ve been living under. Of course, there are plenty of other great bike films. Easy Rider, The Wild One and Wild Hogs are good narrative options, while Closer to the Edge, Wayne and The Doctor, The Tornado and The Kentucky Kid are great docos.

The most famous motorcycling documentary, On Any Sunday

Clean up the shed

One of my great skills is procrastination, so I totally understand why you keep putting off cleaning up the garage. But now is your time to shine, my friend! Get out there and don’t hold back. Chuck out what you don’t need and organise things into designated spots. This pandemic will bring out the Marie Kondo in each of us.

Marie Kondo is famous for tyding up. Do what she says...

Learn a new skill

Who needs to go to school when you can learn pretty much anything on the internet? Websites like YouTube are an abundant resource of tutorials and walkthroughs. Maybe it’s time to learn how to service your own bike? Or maybe you are a little more adventurous and want to strip down and rebuild an engine? The internet is your friend, so use it wisely. There are better ways to spend time online than watching funny cat videos.

If you don't know how to maintain your bike, then holding a can of chain lube is a good start

Work on your fitness

It’s impossible to stay bike-fit when you’re not riding, but that doesn’t mean you can’t get a killer set of abs or drop a few kilo’s while you’re stuck at home. If you’ve got equipment, like weights, a stationary bike or an indoor rower, then great. But don’t fret if you don’t; there are plenty of apps, websites and online training programs that rely solely on bodyweight exercises.