Tony jumps on his bike and goes back to where we started the ride, wondering if Richy got stuck in the mud there. Jason and I use a bus stop for shelter from the steady drizzle.

"I used to be hot-tempered, an excitable bloke," Jason tells me. His red hair damp with sweat and rain. "But I had cancer a few years ago. Spent months in the hospital. It changed me. I'm more calm now, quieter."

I ask timidly if the cancer is gone.

"Yup. Completely."

After what seems like a long time, Tony returns. No sign of Richy. I marvel at what great shape Tony's in. He just completed a road ride back to where we started and then returned here, and he hardly seems winded.

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