Today's ride,[Friday January 15, 2016] was well attended despite the cloudy and light drizzle conditions. This despite the weather forecaster's prediction of sunny breaks with rain starting only in the late afternoon. Five riders left from the Mann Construction site and six set out at 10 am from Michell's Farm. After only a kilometer or so Tom A’s rear tire went flat forcing him to return to hs car at Michell's from where he proceeded to Melinda’s in comfort. We all met at around 10:45 and enjoyed our usual coffees, tea and hi-cal goodies.

The conversation (at one end) centered mainly on tires and when to change them. Norm T. and Tom both had the similar experiences after recent visits to a dealer and were both assured that there was plenty of life left in them. Norm, however, had the good sense to insist that his be changed while Tom went along with the technician’s advice and did nothing......leading he is convinced to today's problem. Doug also commented on the problems with Kevlar beads on the tires which makes their removal from the rim almost impossible (Tom can attest to that). Apparently it is important to remove the tire the moment that the puncture occurs, while it is still reasonably pliable. Perhaps the Simson Tyre Mate should be investigated? David A. stated that he has put 12,000 km on his tires without any problems while Tom estimates 5-6k kilometers on his. No other mishaps were noted, although Norm L. did pass Doug, Jack and Jeff as he drove to the airport to take in the Tour Down Under