It seems that the general consensus has been that the Ythan Picnic Ride should be considered a success! The sun shone and the rain stayed somewhere else, although the wind did it’s usual best to stay in our faces. Having ridden in a (much) smaller group from the Community Campus, I rode back to Methlick with the QL group. Riding near the front with our juniors was, I think, the most stressful thing I’ve done on a bike since actually racing and (briefly) riding in the bunch… When we were riding, I could swear there were about 60 kids riding with us; attempting to keep track of who was riding in front, on either side or behind; who was on the wrong side of the road, falling behind or finding hidden potholes in roadside puddles had my head spinning. Strangely, when we stopped to regroup, there only seemed to be eight of the kids with us – I have no idea where the rest went at those moments… And anyone finding the pace to slow, could easily have participated in the very unofficial who-can-push-a-sprog-uphill-the-fastest contest. I like to think I did rather well in that, though the uphill segment into a headwind was the hardest I’ve ever worked for a measly 20kph 🙂 Despite the wind and the threat of rain, spirits remained high all the way back to Methlick. Huge credit due to all our grown-ups for managing such a large group on the road to and from Aden, especially to Sean who remained at the front and (mostly) in control of what the junior riders were up to – chapeaux!
Rather than wait for next year, it’s been suggested that a similarly family oriented ride could be repeated as soon as July! Lets hope the weather is good enough to make sunscreen and ice cream the order of the day for that adventure!
I was really disappointed that I couldn’t make this, thanks to Isabella’s participation in the NADA dance show, so thoroughly enjoyed reading your highly entertaining account of the day Donald! Thanks everyone for chaperoning the QLs – sounds like a fabulous day was had by all! 🙂