There go the girls!

Agent Alex is still out of action with a poorly knee. He has had an MRI scan this week and awaits results with some trepidation, hoping that the consultant kneeologist doesn't ban him from 1000mile rides. As do we all. He is much missed on our rides. I kinda got used to seeing a flash of red way ahead in the distance. It gave me something to aim for! He, meanwhile, is fretting that a) he is losing fitness and us girlies will make mincemeat of him when he returns (as if) and b) the fashion sense of the White Horse Riders is going to go down the drain completely without our beloved style guru. On the latter point I have to say I worry too. Yesterday the only slight hint of colour I had one was the grey stripe round the top of my sports socks. Tut tut.
So after a few days just disappearing since our last ride and despite my best efforts to put it off I finally got out again on Tuesday. Don't know where the time goes...but lots going on. What with imminent move (again), Alex-the-son coming and going, Chris and Roxanne coming and not quite going yet - though they are off cycling to Norway tommoro. Well they are starting tommoro but probably won't get there for a few weeks. John going to play golf with the White Horse Golfers etc etc. And then it rained yesterday morning! And then DHL didn't come to pick up my sickly computer by lunchtime. So the upshot was that John kindly offered to hang around and do bike things and wait for DHL and us girls got out on our own for once.
We admitted (loudly) to anyone within earshot that neither of us particularly felt like cycling.....especially as we were waved off by Alex, Deirdre, Simon and John from the pub garden. Grrr! Still, we are determined so off we went.
Quite an eventful first 7 miles for Beth with her chain coming off (usually my problem not hers!), her clippyon shoes giving her the heebie jeebies and her back light leaping off the bike on a particularly bumpy downhill section. Then we settled in with heavy legs but increasing levels of endorphin assistance and completed a very pleasant 36.6m in 2hr55m at about 12.1mph average speed.