Ronnie's 50th birthday

First task of the day was to attach a large balloon to Ronnie's seatpost, proudly proclaiming that he was 50 yesterday. I know, I can't believe it either, he must have had an easy paper round.

Chris said the weather forecaster had promised it would brighten up later, but he didn't say where exactly! With improving weather allegedly promised, 5 of us (Big Al, Robbo, Chris, Dave and Ron) decided to tackle the back lanes between Ellesmere and Baschurch. Over the years this ride has become known as the tour of Flanders, due to it's rolling and windswept terrain, but by the time we reached Maesbury cafe at the 30 mile mark we looked as if we'd done Paris Roubaix as the rain and mud increased along the way. Ronnie's balloon had also shrunk to about half it's size and was looking a bit sorry for itself after a cold, wet morning on the bike, a symptom many male cyclists will recognise I'm sure. Ronnie managed to get a pew pics and I'll upload one or two later. In the meantime, the map profile of the ride is below