Firstly, this week Wednesday saw a drop in temperature to just below freezing with black ice around and a corresponding drop in Easy Riders numbers with only 14 hardy and well wrapped up Riders on show. Noticeably we were short on ladies with Dee the only representative of the fairer sex. This could be the weather or the fact that Compo is still in shorts! After a quick reminder to watch out for black ice and leave a gap between riders, the two rides set off to The Castle with Bill leading the short and Adrian the long. The long ride headed towards Cressing, round to Black Notley and then on to Fairstead. Spookily the two rides met at Fuller Street and and we rode the final mile or so to t
It was a cold morning with a light frost when Alan, Brian, Cathy, Paul and Peter met outside the Con Club for an impromptu Friday 40 miler. We pedalled off north through Bocking, left at the college, left at the almshouses and up the long incline to Beazley End. Here Paul and I saw a pair of kites flying together. Graceful power – quite uplifting to watch as they soared on the air currents. Heading towards Blackmore End, Peter and I were discussing average speeds and he said he struggled to ride his bike at the speed of top marathon runners – who can complete a marathon at 13mph – when running!!! He found it quite awe-inspiring that runners could achieve that average. I found it astonishing
Five Easy Riders elected to go out on a bike ride to from Drury Lane to Osea – Alan, Brian, Cathy, Paul and Ron. It was grey and damp, with a bit of wind from the north west, making it feel colder than it was. We pedalled off along Millennium Way, down Long Green to Cressing and through Silver End. We turned left at Park Gate Road that meanders down to Kelvedon. As we approached the railway line, the gates came down and we had to wait for a train to pass. While waiting, Ron and I noticed a smell of gas (Ed - you did have Compo with you!). I decided to report it once we got to our tea stop. We rode due south through Kelvedon, over the bridge over the River Blackwater, and crossed the A12. We
The first Wednesday ride was upon us and the weather took a dip in temperature - it was at least 6 degrees colder this morning compared to the day before, but the sun was shining at Easy Riders were out in force - 33 I counted. We split in to 3 groups and big thanks to Gifford and Steve for stepping in as ride leaders and to Ian who sorted out venue - wish you a speedy recovery. I led the longer ride and we headed out to Dagnets Lane and it was great to see it still firm and not muddy (phew). We essentially followed route 16 to Witham and arrived first at Cannon BMW dealers. Such great service and foder (sausage roll is delicious). I think the wind was behind us as we cover the 11.5 miles pr
Four Easy Riders took to the road for the first spin of the year. Helen, Peter and I met at midday at the Prince Louis at Great Notley, and pedalled on to meet Ann at the Green Dragon. We decided to head down to Paper Mill Lock. We were keen to be back home before it started getting dark so were having a bit of a debate about when it got dark. Today, 1 Jan, was the latest sunrise at 0806, and days have been getting longer, with sunset today at 1557. I thought about Mick in Adelaide. His longest day was on 22 December, with 14 hours 30 minutes of sunlight. The earliest sunrise was on 4 December, at 0554, but their latest sunset won’t be until 7 January at 2035. We pedalled down to Ranks Green
