In 2023, the Pari Souplesse Club run by Schwalbe and Paul Ripke again invites you to go on trips together, next to the Stahlhaufen Café in Unna, the Kandie-Gang in Hamburg, the Cyclyng Cafe in Bremen, 8bar in Berlin and many others, we are in with the hat this year twice.

On July 16th our first ride was on the agenda. In contrast to last year's Pari-Ride, this time we divided the 48 participants into two groups, which worked without any problems thanks to the active support of some guides from the women's movement Rennrad and ThankGodItsFriday.

Our route took us from the cap in the arc around Neuss along the Langen Foundation / rocket station to tackle the predetermined competition on the way back near Kaarst. Before the start of the exit, all participants were allowed to estimate the added sprint times of two drivers who set them up for the world-famous Pari-Mützen mile over the farm roads between the fields, which has been highly competitive since last week.

After this competition, both groups rolled into the Park of the Senses on the outskirts of Kaarst at a short distance. Art could be enjoyed during a short break with cool drinks, a brief look at the sculptures by the Culture Without Borders crew by Helge Achenbach and Rainer Wengenroth will hopefully encourage some to visit the exciting location for a second time.

Both groups then rolled into the city from the north at a short distance before the unexpected parade of all the rifle clubs in the world on Cecilienallee required slight route adjustments and improvisations. The disbelieving, astonished looks between those involved spoke volumes, the culture clash between a proud uniform and hunter green on the one hand and a body-hugging rainbow neon look on the other hand showed slight advantages for the sports fraction on wheels on the open-ended style scale , although we are certainly somewhat biased in our judgement.

In the cap, the delicious buffet with bulgur salad and lentil fricos was plundered in the best of moods, the trip was discussed, prizes were raffled, the afternoon was enjoyed and the all-round successful day was celebrated.

Our thanks go to Jakob, Rafa, Frank and everyone else from the Schwalbe/Pari crew. Working with you is always a celebration, it comes together really well. And we are already looking forward to our second story together this year, on September 22nd we are planning a gravel round as a special edition of our #thankgoditsfriday issue. More on this from the beginning of September.

Here you can find photos of Björn Merz