Ride Leader: ADM

Spring was definitely not sprung. In fact, it was tipping it down with rain. The original plan was to meet in the Ladymead car park, do a 72 mile loop of some of the nicest roads around the South Downs and then end up at Tilford for the Spring Festival at the Rural Life Centre in Tilford who were beguiling me with offers of artisan food and drink stalls.
My back markers were Laurence Tyrrell and Dave O’Brien. We were all there at 0930 for the meet, but nobody else turned up. I can’t say I blame them as the weather was pretty foul and the clock had also just gone forward, so most members were probably still in bed.
So we sat in Costa Coffee for a bit drinking coffee and looking out the window at the rain. At the planned departure time of 1000, still with a total of zero riders waiting with bated breath for this wonderful ride, we called it a day, abandoned my amazing route and the fantastic Spring Festival (maybe next year) and decided to nip up the road to Alex’s cafe for a bit of breakfast instead.
Three breakfasts later, we all departed for our respective abodes. I have also discovered a cunning way carry a (furled) umbrella on my motorcycle. This is not normally part of my riding kit, but was worth its weight in gold this morning.
Total riders (apart from the Road Crew): 0
Total distance: approx 0.5 miles
Ride time: About 2 minutes, including red traffic lights

View the Gallery: https://hogsbackchapteruk.smugmug.com/2023/Spring-is-Out-26-Mar-2023