January Origami Ride

After several very wet days, we were remarkably lucky to have a lovely day for the Origami Ride on 12th January. Although a few regulars were missing, there were 15 of us at The Tearooms in Meriden for the start of the ride. The variety of bikes was less than normal, with an unusually large number of Moultons, several Bromptons, no less than 3 Airnimal Rhinos and just one Bike Friday. We set of generally northwards, and once we got onto the narrower lanes the roads were quite wet and sometimes muddy - at one stage it felt rather as though we were cycling along the bed of a stream! The outward journey was interrupted when Hazel Hanson suffered an exploded rear tube on her Brompton (again!). As we were a bit behind schedule, we left Dick and Hazel to carry out their repairs, with a map to help them get to the lunch stop. They rejoined us while we were enjoying drinks and food at The Admiral Nelson in Ansley, which proved to be an excellent choice for the lunch stop. Three of our group left us after lunch, as they were now nearer home, while the rest of us set out on the return ride, via a slightly different route. Meriden was reached without any further mishaps, but as the light was beginning to fail by then, the riders separated for their homeward journey quite soon. This was a most enjoyable ride, as usual, and our thanks go to leader Howard Easton (who also provided the photo) for a well-planned and well-lead ride. Next month's ride on 9th February will be from Stourbridge - please watch this space for more details nearer the time.