Ride Report
Colleen Henry
Even after wholeheartedly assuring George S. that I LIKED doing the ride report and no, I wasn’t missing Sunday rides just so I wouldn’t have to write it…
Even after spending two hours cleaning my bike of all the dirt, sand and cow manure that I had accumulated on today’s ride…
Even after reflecting once again on Sunday afternoon that it had been such a great day for a cycle….
I still forgot to do the ride report. I forgot to do the ride report right up until the moment my eyes flew open at 12.46am and then I couldn’t stop thinking about the bloody thing, so here it is….
George S and Betty Anne looked like the only starters this morning, under the grey skies and falling rain at Urunga BP, until Mike and Colleen showed up a few minutes late and Dave rocked up while they were getting their bikes off the car. George S. and Dave were both on their mountain bikes, as there had been an off-road ride planned for that morning, as well as the alternate South Bank/North Arm road ride to Bellingen. But seeing there were so few of us for either ride, George and Dave did it tough and pushed their heavy lumps of metal to Bello. The knobby tyres perhaps felt a bit safer in the rain and on the downhills as the road was muddy and rocky in places.
The rain eased once the Fearless Five left Urunga, but didn’t stop entirely until we got to the ever-welcoming Butter Factory, where scones and macadamia nut bread were inhaled (they disappeared so fast). It was a shortish stop – riders were keen to get back on the bikes before we got too cold, even though the café proprietors had a stack of blankets handy for those hardy outside diners. I gingerly put one on my legs, trying not to think of the wet, sweaty, road grime traces I was no doubt leaving behind.
The weather fined up on the way back and the hills provided a welcome way to warm up. The ride was as gentle as the rain had been – no one seemed to want to go very fast (apart from George who wished he wasn’t on his mountain bike) and we were happy tootling along, which made the ride very enjoyable.
Next week’s ride begins at 8am from Urunga BP. I’ve been asked to emphasise that because there was a bit of confusion about today’s ride starting at 7.30. The ride next week, according to my ride roster, is up to Coffs and beyond to Bruxner Park to Bucca T and return to Coffs Surf Club for coffee and back to Urunga. And the usual 8am rides on Wednesday and Friday from Urunga BP. Some of us will be going to Armidale to do some rides around there, so see you when we get back.