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welcome. It was also a photographic occasion. You may remember that I spent many happy years teasing Chris Reed by taking every possible opportunity to photograph him when eating.. When he became ill I felt that this was in poor taste and so promised to take no more until he was recovered.. That lunchtime he was looking so much better that I decided that a celebratory 'scoff snap' was in order. It was, of course, all in the best possible taste but I hope that his health continues to improve so that the normal disservice can be resumed as soon as possible. The roads on the return became increasingly familiar. There was a pit stop at Flint, at which point I departed to get the usual quicker route home. It was a very enjoyable day and with Phil Reader and Louise acting as very recognisable back markers, free from that uncertainty you can feel when dropped as a marker. It was also a very brisk run back on occasion and there were times when I had the throttle fully open to hold the pace, something which I very seldom do. One consequence of this was that my rear tyre, which I had thought was good for a further 600 miles, was shredded when I returned home. Cue for a trip to my favourite Catford tyre shop for a replacement before any further runs. Mary & I then went off on 'holiday' to her house in the South of France, and the next run I could attend was on 22nd July. I had a choice of two, Richard's run to Attleborough or Mick's (actually Alan's on this occasion) which was probably to Red Lodge. The choice was immaterial in the event because at 07:45 when I went to get the bike out the new rear tyre was flat. I hastily pumped it up and sprayed the tyre and wheel with soapy water. Bubbles from the spokes. Despite my warnings they had damaged the inner sealing belt on the rim when they changed the tyre. Pumping the tyre up to 60psi reduced the rate of air loss dramatically, but I was not prepared to ride it like that. The bike was booked in to the dreaded In Moto Croydon for belt replacement on the 30th. I did ask on the forum for an account of Richard's run, but none has been forthcoming although I have a FaceBook picture taken by Colin Digby from the Route 11 Cafe, and another which seems to show 8 bikes. I have seldom mentioned Bob Cowl's Mid-Week Rides, which I do not attend because it would mean very unpredictable rush hour traffic for me (the only time I tried I missed the start because it took me nearly two hours to get to Chelmsford). However he does hold them every month and they seem to have at least half-a-dozen participants. This is his account of a run on the 15th May:
Essex Advanced Motorcyclist Group Promoting Excellence in Motorcycling Since 1982