The 7.30am. start on a very chilly morning saw only 8 hardy men, including the return of Dave and Bruce, ready to commence the ride, the lady riders must have stayed rugged up in their beds. The group cycled north up the old highway and warmed up with a swift climb up Perry’s Hill then continued on for only a short distance when big Steve’s bike suffered a broken gear control cable. Big Steve in company with the “other” Steve headed off to carry out repairs. The remaining six riders continued on to and along Butlers Rd. where Alan was overjoyed to see that the short gravel section of the road had been sealed, this soon changed to disappointment when it became obvious he had mistaken the correct location of the unsealed section which was still gravel.
Although the conditions were still quite cool, the ride was very easy with a pleasant views of rural farmlands that stretched along both sides of Butlers and Gleniffer roads and out to Crossmaglen. The return ride along Crossmaglen Rd. was doubly enjoyable as it was predominantly on a slight downhill grade almost all the way back to Bonville which allowed and encouraged a rapid trip to Garden Mania at Boambee for the usual coffee and hot scones. It was not much of a surprise to find Big Steve already there determined not to miss the vital refreshments.
The ride back to Urunga was reasonably brisk along the highway with the only incident being a flat tyre suffered by Tim who expertly repaired in quick time, overall the ride pleasant and easy it covered 60 kms under light traffic conditions even on the main highway.