Enjoying the Apricity! 05/02/2025

It was a sunny but deceptively cold and damp day when the Easy Riders set off this week.

Ann and Bill B led the Medium group off, starting along the traffic-free route along the River Blackwater, then north towards Stisted. I was talking to Peter Sk and it turns out he retires at the end of March, and is much looking forward to it. He is going to start with several holidays! He’s off riding with the Easy Riders in May, then goes on to Orkney on a walking holiday, and finishes with a trip later in the year to see his brother and family in Australia to meet his nephew’s new baby. He has other trips planned, but I can’t remember them! I think a series of trips is a great idea – when I retired, I went to Australia for a year’s Study Abroad as a university placement (and I thoroughly recommend it!).

We made steady progress through Greenstead Green and across to Gosfield. The weather was so sunny by this stage, that we were able to sit outside the south facing café and enjoy the apricity (ie the warmth of the sun). I love this word, partly because it comes from the same root as apricot, and the apricot is a fruit that only ripens properly when sun-warmed on the tree.

Ann led our group back via Beazley End. When we were nearly home, we had to pass a road closure just past Coldnailhurst Avenue (we were meant to push our bikes along the walkway). Dave decided to join the pavement before dismounting and managed to clip the dropped kerb at just the wrong angle and fell off. He immediately had all the following riders around him, getting him up. As first aider, I gave him a quick once-over to check injuries and was pleasantly surprised that he seemed virtually uninjured! Dave said he had taken the fall on his right elbow but no obvious damage, and he had a tiny graze to his knee. I suspect he may blossom into some spectacular elbow bruises once home and soaking in a bath, but we rode back to Braintree station, and he felt well enough to drive home.

From messages on WhatsApp, it sounded as if there were punctures in both the Long and Short rides, both of which were resolved by sound teamwork. But that’s the nature of Easy Riders – we pull together.

21 miles, average 9mph.

Cathy MacTaggart