Café at The Hayes playing fields, West Heath

A very cold start, but no ice, and sun and blue sky later.  A short ride, and our first visit to the café at The Hayes playing fields, West Heath.

Eight riders.

The route is here.

The Exchange, city centre

Bright and sunny, with a frosty start to our coldest ride of the winter so far.   

Nine riders.

The route is here.

Desco Lounge, Shirley

Richard led a group of eleven riders to the Desco Lounge in Shirley.  

A chilly cloudy morning, with puddles in the lanes.

The route is here.

Waseley Hills

A mild damp morning with occasional slight drizzle.  

We were all shocked but fortunately unhurt when a car pulling out to overtake near a bend in Frankley Hill Lane crashed head-on into a car coming the other way.  The road was blocked and both cars looked like write offs.  There were no serious injuries among the occupants.  We continued our somewhat subdued ride home after the police arrived.

Eleven riders.

The route is here.

Beckett's Farm

Our planned destination was Shirley, which was changed when Richard went home after puncture in Wychall Lane and the rest of us weren't confident that our navigational skills would get us there.  Richard joined us later by car at Beckett's Farm.

The other excitement of the day was a view of a buzzard standing in a field, which took off after a few minutes to reveal a sizeable rabbit clutched in its claws.

Bright, sunny, chilly, with a stiff breeze.  

Twelve riders.

Morso café, Alvechurch

A chilly sunny morning for a ride to Alvechurch.  Richard had a back wheel puncture in West Heath park, which he managed to fix before catching us up at the café for the ride home.

Fourteen riders.

The route is here.

More bad weather

Despite the weather forecasters saying the rain would stop after 10,00, it got even worse and we were forced to abandon our ride to Alvechurch.

Seven of us decided to have a coffee in West Heath on the way back.  Ten riders started out.

Rained off

A very wet morning, so no ride.

Lickey Hills visitor centre

A dry blustery morning for a hilly ride to the visitor centre at Lickey Hills country park, where, we were surprised to discover, payments must be made in cash.

Ten riders.

The route is here.