So on a ride with the Pied Piper of Iverley last Wednesday, we saw the first lambs of spring gambolling merrily in a Staffordshire field in the sunshine, and on a short walk this morning, I saw my first snowdrops, so it's official...Spring is coming, it won't be long, give your month's notice to Zwift and buff up your new bike, we'll all be in summer kit before the month is out!
Too optimistic? Probably, but just as I went round to Alan Weaver's house to ensure he wasn't nicking stuff from the AA stock warehouse, all the signs are there

Great to see 18 riders at the Black Horse on Sunday morning all raring to ride despite a pretty poor afternoon forecast, but sharp planning, shorter routes and rapid eating at the cafe saw most of the riders home before the heavy rain set in...great work all, excellent commitment and a welcome disdain for a bit of winter weather - and thanks to Stuart Jones and Mick Stanford for leading.
You may also have noticed a few new routes being published on the RidewithGPS club account, and we've also had a bit of a sort out of rides, putting them into homogenous 'collections' such that longer audax rides now have their own collection for example. Why not take a look and use the database of rides to help you plan a route for your next lead.
Finally, it's less than 4 weeks till the first Beacon first 'event' of 2025, the Sunrise and Snowdrop Audaxes...I have asked a few cycling YouTubers along, so we might get some additional coverage, you never know, but you, my friends are the heartbeat of the event, so why not enter and ride. We have well over 200 entrants now, and it's the perfect early season event for both newcomers to the distance (120kms) as well as grizzled old veterans of the Audax world, so get your entries in sooner rather than later please, so we can plan accordingly. the HQ at Whitlenge are ready to welcome us again on Saturday 22nd February for a feast of cycling and bacon sandwiches!
That's it...please let me have any stories, or ideas, or comments, or things you want me to publicise, I don't want to just trawl Strava or Facebook for nuggets of comedy, tell it to me straight.
Have a good week and may you see your first lamb soon, in a real green field, where the graphics are sublime....
Phil