Routes and Rides – Page 5 – Frank Kinlan's Blog

Easter Rides

Good Friday: Had no fixed plans on the ride out to the Eureka went out via the Missing Link so it was 11 miles before breakfast. Four of Merseyside CTC were off for a 4 day cycling holiday. I ended heading out to the Ice Cream Farm on my own. For a bank holiday the roads were really quiet, now I try to avoid busy roads but this was eerie.

That was untill I got to Backford and Church Lane the traffic was allready backed up all the way from the Zoo. I filtered down the inside of a few of them and that was pretty much the last traffic that I saw for most of the day. The weather was brilliant and I was cruising at my own pace. Going to the lanes at Picton I managed to ride over that pothole that catches you unaware and lost the rear light again. I\’ve got my new Giro Atmos helmet on and I\’ve got to admit it\’s the business you hardly know you are wearing it. Waverton came and went and the Crocky Trail was busy but after that I maybe got passed by two cars on the way to the Ice Cream Farm.

There\’s a varied cross section of soceiety going to the Ice Cream farm and I\’d say about half of them need to be doing something about their lifestyle. Walking from the carpark to the ice cream parlour doesn\’t constitute exercise in my new book. Enough of the people watching, it was a pot of tea and a tuna and mayo bagguette. I spoke to the Cafe manageress about this being my first solo ride out there. With Beeston Castle in the background I decided that was where I wanted to ride to.

It was eerie how little traffic there was but I headed off to Beeston the plan was to go to the Lock Gates Cafe but I got the turning wrong and ended up going by the pub with the hump backed bridge over the canal, it was getting busy with people driving out to it.

Beeston Castle

Whartons Lock instead of Tiverton as I was heading back to Waverton it didn\’t really matter. Looking at the map I’ll know next time. It was busy by the Castle gates but it was only cars looking to get in the car park. Now heading back to Waverton I started to follow the Chester signs. This was a mistake, I should have jumped on the canal towpath at Waverton and just rode along it to Chester. As it was I joined further up the path after trying to get off the main road as quickly as possible.

I ended up following the path to the canal basin and then further on to around the Blacon area then jumping off and taking the road back to the Eureka. At the cafe I met up with Pinarello Kev and he told me about his lost deposit for his Colnago that Deeside took the day before they folded. It leaves a nasty taste in the mouth when you hear the circumstances. I try to spread my cash around but it\’s off the list now. Heading out from the Eureka it was down through Puddington and left down to Denhall lane. Up the hill and then the next stop at Ness Gardens for a Fairtrade Orange juice. Sat outside on the benches in the sun as it was a fine day.

One call of nature later it’s back on the bike to Neston and then onto Parkgate. Stopped to take a picture as it was chaotic, looks like the Post Office sold a lot of Ice Cream.

Parkgate, Good Friday.JPG

apart from the traffic jam going to Chester Zoo this was the busiest place I saw all day.Back on with the ride just after I joined the Chester High Road I got passed by a lad on a time trial bike I was doing about 16mph into a headwind, nothing for it but to keep up with him. Now he’s in the tuck but is all over the place lacking a bit of machine control into the wind. Now I’ve just done 65 miles and I feel stable compared to this lad and not too far off his wheel. I shouldn’t be too critical as I do stretch,s in the tuck when I’m spinning. It’s a good position to play around with as it allows you to concentrate on your pedalling action in a tuck.

Tea at Fred,s and then it’s through Heswall and on to Thurstaton down the cutting and on to Caldy village. I’m going well at the moment and stop at the front at West Kirby. Not too busy here so I head on to the front at Hoylake, from here on it is really quiet. the Coastal cycle path is all but deserted. Now I come off the coastal path just past Leasowe lightouse. This is the opposite end of the fitness scale there is an Ice Cream Van and a fair few partaking.

A bit further one on I call in at Lidl for some flapjacks, this week the gods shine on me or at least the woman in front of me took a shine to me and let me through with a packet of flapjacks. Pleasantaries are exchanged, this was a far cry from the previous visit where I was 20 minutes behind this chap who proceeded to pay in slummy from his fares.

Heading out to Harrison Drive it was business as usual the cycle route largely deserted, this was a sunny easter bank holiday and everywhere is largely deserted. Anyway it’s back throught New Brighton, Seacombe and Woodside and then home. 90 Miles.

Sunday: Rode out to The Eureka at a fast pace, going through Willaston I clock Caroline waiting for Annabell to turn up for the Sunday Impromptu ride. On the A540 and wanting my breakfast It’s time to see what I’m made of. 24 Mph to be exact and seeing as it’s a glorious day I opt to take Frank,s Beakfast outside in the sunshine.

Five of us head out to Chester Rugby club for ellevenses Annabel Peter Barry Caroline (on her first ride out with us) and moi. It was through the gates past Capenhurst towards the traffic jam at Backford trying to get in the Zoo. Here we went on the towpath exiting at the bridleway that goes through Chester Zoo. The turn off the canal catches everybody out at times. I end up unclipping and Caroline ends up toppling over after coming to a dead stop. Luckily no damage. At the Rugby club they were all training, and the bar wasn’t open so we had to think again. We headed off to the Plough at Christleton and we were too early there too. It was a 15 minute wait on the benches outside, in that time we could have made it to the Ice Cream Farm.

It’s a strange place The Plough. If you dont want a Sunday Dinner the menu is a bit short of choice. If your looking for something lighter it doesn’t seem value for money, It’s all very well presented and the service is good but there are times when you just want something middle of the road. In this case I haven’t had a hard enough ride to justify a meal.

There is going to be a picture here of the cakestop we had that is well worth waiting for.So it should be for what it cost me…… more later.

The diet.jpg

Now I’d ordered a slice of cake and a diet coke without enquiring about the price. It came to over £6 but I thought I’d treat myself. I wasn’t quite expecting the above to turn up.
I just had to take the picture after Caroline said “He’s on a diet”. Now it did taste nice but I felt I had to do another 20 miles after the ride back to burn it off.

CTC 50 Mile Tourist Trial

What a day this turned out to be it was a bit chilly when I went down for the paper but the forecast looked good and the sky was blue. Having never driven to Kinnerton it was time to consult the Google map to see which was the best route out, I’d been there a few times but it was always through the lanes on the bike which gives you a totally different perspective on things. I’d arrived in good time as I wasn’t due of until 10:25.

Start of 50 Mile Tourist Trial

There was plenty of time for a chat with the people that I knew and I was a bit nervous about the route I had programmed into the Garmin the night before. Janet had put me down for the 4 hour group along with Cliff who was complaining about getting a free upgrade!

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Georges group

Jill was busy marshalling riders into their allotted start times with 5 minutes between each group.

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This was the back of my allotted group with Cliff in the red riding around in circles to get his mileage up. Once we hit 10:25 Jill sent us on our way and we proceeded up the road through Kinnerton. Now I’d heard the term “It’s not a race” bandied around but thats not the impression I got after about 200 yards. The climb through and out of Kinnerton soon had us strung out and soon got past and dropped Cliff.

A group of six of us formed at the front comprising of three carbon fibre “Bling” bikes a chap on a fixed wheel and two others. If you turn up on a Trek Madone, Scott CR1 or a Kuota Kharma your taking your riding seriously I’d say. Now I’ve never ridden with anybody this fast before and it soon became apparent it was important to still keep up with the group. The stretch from Fiveways down the straight mile was quick and the hill a bit further on saw us just short of 40mph that includes the chap on the fixed wheel whose legs were a blur. You’d have to see it to believe it. He left us at Marford hill where we turned off to Borras.

Borras Control Point

The first control point at Borras highlighted the need to get into the checkpoint at least in the first couple of the group. If it takes 30 seconds to process a riders timesheet the rider in fifth place is 2 minutes behind the first rider. Thats what the above picture is showing, the others haring off into the distance and I’m last in the queue taking a picture. These guys are fast, I mention this to Barbara and John as they sign my sheet and John says “And your not?”. Thanks John but I’m still finding my limits, with that I’m back chasing them down again.

It was on the Borras Road that we started to pass other groups of riders including Roy and Joan. Before you know it we are at the lights waiting to cross the bridge at Holt. Just as well we resisted the temptation to jump the lights as there was a police car tucked down the sideroad. The green light was the signal to sprint across the bridge and try to carry as much momentum up the other side. It was still a fairly fast pace around these lanes until we came across a group of riders including Bob and Bryan dismounted by a pony that was being walked by it’s rider. Something had happened but I don’t know what.

It was then another case of catching the group as they rode through the trouble spot. After this I had another setback as the LED rear light bounced off the saddlebag on a rough piece of road outside a farm. Nothing for it but collect the bits. Fortunately the parts were close together and they were soon in the back pocket.

Now for me this was where the loyalty of the group was tested and I found out that there wasn’t any. The others might have had an aquaintance in the past and two were friends but it didn’t seem to matter today. I took a lot of hard riding to make any indent in to the gap that the stop had caused. At one stage I saw 29 mph on the speedo and it was only slowly starting to come back. The next control which had only just opened up saw us all come back together but only just, the signing in starting to create a new gap for those at the back, mainly me.

On the final leg to Overton lunch stop there was a rolling climb, now those that ridden with me before know that I don’t sit on someones wheel going up a climb anymore. Things go wrong when a group start to bunch so I took my turn on the front and had a good go. I’d told two of the group a bit about my history so it was fairly reasonable to expect that they wouldn’t let an ex 21 stone bloke who has only been riding 2 years drop them. Anyway I’m having a ball and next minute I’m being half wheeled by the guy in the red. This continues untill we are near the lunch stop when I surrender the lead as I don’t know where the stop is as it doesn’t appear on a Google map.

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We were the first to arrive, there is a wry smile on Janet,s face as I sign. I’m pleased too as we have come from the back to the front of the field and gained 25 minutes in thirty odd miles. Janet still managed to beat me up Moel Famau some moons ago, on that occasion my bike broke but I know I was beaten, broken bike or not. Anyway it was an excellent spread and a credit to all involved.

I’ve learn’t a hell of a lot from Ray over the course of the last year riding with the CTC and the Audax,s. One of them is don’t waste time in control points. On other rides the group will stop to help someone in need, but not on this one. I didn’t eat my full share of sandwiches, but I’m not looking for value for money more a fit with my eating plan (diet). Now seeing as the stop has been spent mostly in silence I don’t see much point in hanging around. A trip to the toilet has me heading for the exit. There is plenty for Janet and the others to do signing in a stream of riders.

I took a picture of the hall and then headed off on my own, I’d had my fill, cleared my plates and thanked the staff, not much more to do but head back Imho. On the ride back to Kinnerton I started to see groups of riders heading out towards Overton on the road we had ridden in on, including Roy and Joan and Bryan. Now I’m setting my own pace now but into a headwind. Jill had warned me about Bangor on Dee Races but the traffic was light and there were no problems. It was a really nice stretch of the ride here and I even had chance to admire some of the scenery rather than someones back wheel in front.

I’ve started to change my pedalling style over the last couple of rides, borrowing some of Ray,s technique. It’s sort of half way between the styles of Lance Armstrong (high cadence) and Jan Ullrich (power). Ray turns a high gear for most of the rides from what I have observed and this would seem to conserve energy. I’ve got the energy to spin up most hills at 80 rpm no problem but if I leave it in the middle ring when it flattens out I’m still spinning at 80rpm and not getting anywhere fast. It’s easy on the legs but wasting effort that you need at the end of the longer rides.

Into a headwind technique goes out the window and it’s back in the middle ring. and a headwind it was on the return leg. There was remarkably little traffic on the roads and lanes and the weather was glorious, I’m having the time of my life with the Garmin keeping me company with only the occasional bleep when coming up to a junction. I’m still wondering when the others are going to catch me up as it looks like I’m in front of everybody.

After crossing the main road outside Fardon I make a mistake, I keep riding straight on down the road and don’t turn left where I should have. Slowly the compass needle on the Edge starts to turn east and I’ve got to take the decision to double back or ride on to the next junction. Ride on it was and you can see the extra mile that I rode on the map link below. Back in Fardon things looked a bit more familiar and it was back down the hill to the river crossing. The sun has brought out all the softtop cars but when the light goes green it is a repeat performance of the morning. Sprint across the bridge and get enough momentum for the run up to the square in Holt.

On the road out of Holt I’d misplaced my waypoint and the turn it signaled wasn’t there, no option but to ride onto the next right turn, it was about half a mile up the road, signed Rossett. Along this road was a convoy of Austin 7,s coming the other way. I wish I’d stopped and took a picture it was one of those sights that you don’t see very often if ever. Looking at the Garmin map I was back on course as the road converged with the compass pointing to the next waypoint at Lavister. At BroadOak I cross the level crossing and up over the A483 looking back to see if there is anybody in sight.

Once I turn at Burton Green it is a straight run into Kinnerton with a waypoint at the tee to stop me going the wrong way near the finnish. Riding into the scout hut carpark I’m expecting to see the odd bike parked up but there are none. In fact the timing is perfect as the control point is just opening up an I get a time of 13:45. Five minutes later another 3 from the morning group turn up, some looking a bit hot and bothered. They had been taking turns on the front into the headwind. Alan on his Scott CR1 has suffered a double puncture and had been left. He rolls in a bit later with two flat tubes hanging like spaghetti.

The rides over and it’s still early, the Garmin says 51.33 miles in 3hrs 20 with a 14:40 minute stop at Overton. 03:04 riding time and 1842ft of climbing.

The End

It was then a ride back to the Eureka with Allan and here I met another Allan from last years rides to the Ice Cream Farm and Pinarello Kev who has a new carbon toy. It was then back home via the missing link. Thornton Hall deserted from the previous evenings party.
It was back up RestHill a great days riding over.

I might post a link to the Motionbased map player, this gives 5 and 10 mile split times and a host of other information overlaid on the map.

I don’t think there is much more to add apart from spell and grammer check the post

Link to Google Map of ride

Audax Poynton to Chirk 200 km

Where do you start to write up a day like this, it was extreme in virtually every sense. The ride was the longest I have done by 25%, the weather was unbelievable hail, snow, rain, thunder lightning more hail but bigger and to cap it all a wind that was 25 mph with a max of 32.2 mph.

The ride took 11 hours and we were cycling for 9 hrs 22 minutes a lot of what happened probably won’t make it into the article but I’ll try my best. I haven’t seen the pictures on the phone yet they are not normally much cop but you never know.

First requirement is making the start, made it this time thanks to a chap jetwashing a McDonalds a couple of miles down the road. None of the signs I read said Poynton never mind Hazel Grove. I won\’t make the same mistake again, I ended up signing in a couple of minutes before Ray and Craig.

Four of us are riding together setting out just before eight o’clock. It seems straight forward to start with, the weather was fine and if you read the routesheet you’d think there was only one hill near Chirk. Well thats how I read it. I should have known better.
Bob passes us fairly early on and is soon off into the distance.

We are soon climbing and pass Redes Mere the climbs aren’t steep or that long but they are mounting up. On one of them we get our first dose of hailstones, they sting the face and I think that I’ve never been out in worse conditions. They crunch under the tyres but there is still enough grip to climb. Descending is a different matter and I\’m nervous about another fall. But it was all OK we all stayed upright but it was grim. Then the sun comes out!. We are atleast six strong by this time, there is a chap on a trike that seems to know his way around and a couple of others, safety in numbers in these conditions.

At Middlewhich (26miles out)Bob and crew come past us again, I think they had headed off to Holmes Chapel by mistake anyway it’s not the first time this has happened. The tortoise and the hare has struck again. I’m highly amused to say the least as they head off in to the distance doing a good 3mph more than us.

The first control point comes up with Ray shouting to a rider who was going the wrong way at a T junction

The first checkpoint.jpg

The card gets stamped and the drink ticket gets handed in, a cup of tea and a flapjack later we are back on the road. The camera/phone is proving to be a bit of a problem, the button to take the picture is too small and I’ve managed to delete some pictures rather than take more. This has happened a lot recently as removing gloves is awkward and cold fingers make it a bit hit and miss with the pictures.

The next section of the ride I’m not going to forget in a hurry for one thing we are going straight into a head wind of 25 mph. A group of 9 riders form and allthough nothing is said pairs form on the front to sheild the others. while at the back I start chatting to one of the other riders, it turns out he has done over 100 Audaxes while this is my 3rd. I tell him about the weightloss and the diet and he seemed pretty amazed as a lot of people are these days.

I’ve had a few turns on the front with others and solo but on one stretch I’m on the front and we go over a hump back bridge well when you reached the top the force of the wind nearly stops you in your tracks. I’m thinking I can’t stop as I’ll cause a pile up. There is no cover now just open countryside and a 25mph headwind. I keep the pace up to around 12-13 mph which seemed reasonable to me, I was in fine form. I must have done a few miles at this pace untill we came to a crossroad. Ray comes to the front, slightly breathless, “Frank, you’ll have to slow down your dropping us”. With that it was someone elses turn on the front.

For those that don’t know getting dropped is where you can’t maintain the pace of the group. You drift slowly off the back and once off the back you loose the wind protection and any chance of making it back up to the group. The difference in speed might be less than 1mph but you won’t be able to do anything about it. It’s happened to me and that was why I was a solo rider for so long. Afraid that I couldn’t maintain the pace of the group and get “dropped”. Dropped doesn’t apply to hills, here it is everyman for himself. There is a danger of bunching and accidents if a group ride up a climb together. These days I like a bit of space and it usually means I am off the front.

Now past Overton there is a 10% descent which crosses a bridge over a stream called shell brook and up Shellbrook Hill on the other side. I take a climb like this in 40×25 as it’s about 10% and I can do these in the middle ring. The gradient is fairly constant and provides no let up. Once at the top where it had flattened out I look back, there is no-one to be seen. Time to take a picture or two.

There was enough time to get the gloves off and the phone out its just a pity I unwittingly stopped in front of the car as I was looking for a bit of protection from traffic that may have come up behind me. Quality is iffy but there are so many buttons that you musn’t touch along with a touch sensitive screen that I’m thankfull I got anything.

Craig struggled on this one, as you can see from the sequence we are all well strung out.
The main group take some catching and Craig thanks me for pacing him back up to the bunch, no problem. There is another climb to Chirk that I wasn’t expecting and then it was time to have a break at the control point.

I was fairly obvious where the control point was all the bikes littering the place and fairly full inside. Luckily we were served before they starting telling customers about a half hour delay. As it was we were going to spend an hour and a half in control points and allthough it was relaxing we would pay for it later. It may be as simple as only sending one up for the food and drink. Getting served all takes time and times it by four in our case and it all adds up.

There was a nature call down the road and then convieniently back on the route. As we dropped down a hill past a farm following the natural run of the road there was a road past the side of one of the farm buildings. We should have took this road. It didn’t matter in the end as the Garmin in map mode put us back on course. I don’t know if the planned course was any steeper but the road we took had a spike in it at 20% and rear wheels were spinning on the loose surface/mud.

Once back on the common part of the route back we were greeted by another hailstorm and the hills behind us are now white but at least the wind is now on our backs. It’s wet going down the road where the pictures above were taken so there was no momentum for the 1:10 climb the other side. Here I pass a chap on a Thorn spinning away on a Rohlhoff hub. He doesn’t hang around once back on the flat and is in sight most of the way back to Poynton. Ray mistakes him for a girl as he has flowing locks. I’m unsure but it all gets sorted out at the next control point, the Lock Gate cafe at Beeston. The “girl” has a days growth on him.

Getting to the cafe we pass within 100 yards of Craigs home. Craing say it was going to get a bit lumpy. Well it did, one of the climbs although short hit 17% gradient on the Garmin and once past Beeston Castle there was a fast descent to the control point.
Tea and a slice of chocolate cake at this one. We were probably there about 30 minutes all told but it all added up as as we would see would mean a finish in the dark.

Once we managed to get across the road it was a hike up the hill and we were back on the route having seemed to have made good progress. My previous maximum of 100 miles came out and now I’m into new territory. I have chance to chat with the chap on the Thorn and it turns out he navigates with an Garmin Etrex Legend and gets 24 hours out of a set of batteries. Later on I learn about another feature of the Edge from Ray, the backlight. Once you use it once, it comes on automatically once the waypoints come up. This proves to be an extemely usefull feature towads the end of the ride.

As we cross the Cheshire plain and its getting around dusk, diagonally on the left of us an ominous black cloud hangs over somewhere near Manchester airport. The next thing is there is a flash of lightning lighting up the cloud. Then there is another one and we are counting the seconds to the thunder clap which is muffled and far enough away at the moment. I’m thinking I’ll be OK on “The Toy”, not too much metal on my bike.

I don’t know if we rode into it or it blew our way or both but the next thing we know its dark and we are getting battered by large hailstones. These are the size of my little fingernail some of them and I would say 6-7 mm in diameter. I don’t think I’ve been out in anything as bad as this. The LED front light is on and proves pathetic even though the road is a white carpet of crunchy hailstones. Cars are trying to get past us too and the pace slows to match the conditions.

The hail stops but we have lost the light by now and headlamps are fitted by the others. We are nearing the end and starting to compare tripmeter accuracy. Now as we are nearing the finish either the others are getting their second wind or I am slowing. The others are slowly dropping me, only 25 to 50 yards but its still dropped. There have been two distinct styles of pedaling today, Ray,s Ullrich style which is slow cadence and a big ring and my Armstrong style which is a higher cadence but usually in the middle ring.

It’s a style I’ve picked up riding with the CTC and needs to be modified for events like this. The middle ring slows me down on the flat otherwise I’m off the front. On a long event it wastes energy, most of the return leg was 17mph plus and I was in the big ring the same as the others. I’d slipped into the middle ring and hadn’t got out of it probably out of habit. It’s OK when you are on your own, you just go slower, when your with a group you can find yourself drifting off the back. They slowed at one point and it was back together and it all came back again when we finally reached the traffic lights at the finish.

The final control was a Coop late shop opposite the start. Going in in pairs the valuble receipt was obtained. Soreen malt loaf on a buy one get one free offer hear. Just over elleven hours, what an unbeleivable day. You couldn’t write a script that described the weather and the emotions that went with it. It would have been a bit less if we had spent less time in the cafes but it may have detracted from the experience and boy was this event an experience.

The stop button on the Garmin got pressed in the carpark, 126.34 miles. It was more but I didnt start the Garmin untill we were on the road out of Poynton. The weather turned to snow and before you know it there is nearly an inch of snow on the cars as we load our bikes. There are still riders out there and they must really be suffering. I manage to get lost in Stockport on the drive home and take an extra half hour on the journey but at least the heater was on full blast.

Link to Google Map Poynton Chirk Poynton Audax

Thanks everyone, it turned out to be a memorable day.

Some ride Stats will appear here.

CTC Ride to Waterfalls Garden Centre (Merseyside Section)

Ride to WaterFalls Garden Centre by Wrexham. Ride write up, route and pictures to follow.
It was a brilliant sunny day, it looked that good that I chanced it by going out in the new Discovery channel bibshorts that I bought on Ebay. An early start means I am at the Eureka for 9 am. The customary breakfast was polished off and then it was a wait for the others to turn up. Chester and Northwales were off to a pub at Great Barrow I didn’t know where Merseyside where off to.

Just as I’m about to leave with Chester Wednesday section Alan from Merseyside CTC turns up. They are off to Wales, so Wales it is and I’m back in the cafe for a 10:30 start. Now if Allans leading a ride I know there is going to be at least one ball breaker of a climb in the route. Today was no exception.
While I am sunning myself outside Steve Cummings turns up on what I assume is his training bike. It,s fitted with the SRM power meter chainset but what surprised me was the wheels he was using Bontrager Select by the look of it. A £90 set of wheels thats standard on a Trek 1000. I feel spoilt by going out on Bontrager Race Lites.

The A5117 roadworks are starting to take their toll on rides out from the Eureka. Allan takes us along the A540 and through Upton to get us back on the old routes that we are used to. At the bridge over the Dee at Saltney we have a short stop for a mechanical repair. Once Allan gets his internet connection sorted you may even get to see a picture of me on the site.

The route took us over the footbridge at Saltney and once across the lights it was a case of enduring the calls of “Tour de France” from the local residents at the one stop shop.

Somewhere outside Chester.

Some where around Borras on the way to the Waterfalls Garden Centre . We’ve had two small climbd to get to this point and the views over the Cheshire plain are good.

Once we reached Waterfalls garden centre I was a trip through the shop to reach the Cafe.. The hot baguette was good and better value than some of the other places we have ridden out to lately.

I think Mike had the allday breakfast which was a monster of a thing, not something I would have these days.

On the way back we had a stop at the pond at Gresford to lookat the birdlife and there would have been more pictures if the memory card wasn’t full.

After this we had a drop down a long hill and then turned off for a climb up towards Llay.
Deceptive at the start it steeps after a bend and rears up to over 20%. I saw 20% It could have been near 25% but I was too busy trying to push 30×25 getting up the damn thing. The garmin logged my heartrate at 173 BPM on this climb and it felt like it. Teenagers were walking a dog as I came panting past them. 30×25 on a tripple is granny ring stuff. We had a stop at the top to recover and chat about gear ratios.

Further on we go through an opening in a hedge and take a trip through a park ending up at Cefn-y-Bedd. Through Hope but not up it, along lower Mountain Road and across the footbridge over the A55. Dropping down from there it’s another short climb up towards Harwaden. It’s a 30 mph descent towards Queensferry over the blue bridge to Garden City through the industrial estate and before you know it your back at the Eureka.

And thats about it a good day out, brilliant weather had the shorts on for the first time this year. Met Roy and Joan back at the cafe and then it was back home and up RestHill again.

Link to Google Map of Ride

55 miles.

CTC Wednesday Section ride to Christleton

Wednesdays first ride of the year that wasn’t a Make Your Own Way brought about 30 of us out for the ride. It was a chance to see a few people I haven’t seen for a while, not being able to get out on wednesdays for a while. Seventeen of us set off from the Eureka heading out to Capenhurst as we all seem to do these Newt Bypass Construction days. The group heading out towards Little Stanney Lane which soon gets you away from the traffic.

Once you’ve done Picton Lane a few times you know where you are going to end up and are first stop was a couple of miles down the road at the Windsurfing Centre. It’s recently been refurbished and looks like it had had the interior designer treatment. Fancy wicker chairs and leather sofa,s abound along with a log (gas) fire feature that we sat around. There is a chandalier in there but there is enough natural light around that its probably never ever going to get turned on.

Ellevenses at the Winsurfing Centre

The lunch stop was at the Plough at Christleton. Not a bad place but there wasn’t much food on offer . Sandwiches, baked potatoes or chips. I’ve been better fed for less, it was more expensive than the Blue Moon Cafe. It doesn’t bother me but nearly all the others are on a budget. Service was good but I think the place seem geared up for the weekend and not an invasion of cyclists midweek. The run was not without the odd diversion, in fact there was one after the the Windsurfing Centre. There was bridgework and a road closure where I know not. I volunteered to see if it was passable and fortunatley it was with the group being beckoned on.

Further on the road was flooded for about 25 yards so in true Singing in the Rain style I coasted through with both feet out of the clips. The problem with going through water is that you don’t know what lies beneath.

Lunch over it’s time to head back.

After the trip along the canal we assemble at Backford before we ride up the hill and drop down the road to Mollington where the pictures of the toughest climb of the day were taken. I ended up sprinting up the hill to get in position for the pictures. I’ve got to get enough time to take my cloves off, there has been more than one occasion where I have bressed the button and nothing has happend.

I thought we had a few stragglers with this shot but it proved to be Meseyside CTC taking the same route back to the Eureka.
They manage to hitch a free ride throught the gates by the railway line. As I’m now at the back I end up riding with them back to the cafe.

On the larger group rides it is important to have someone at the back who knows what they are doing. John has being doing this on all the rides he’s been on, the run leader is largely isolated from what is going on behind him. It’s relies on the person at the back shouting warnings of approaching cars etc to the group. It is so easy to get taken in with leading and not realise it is all happeingat the back.

Link to Google map of ride Opens in new window

CTC Ride Eureka Cafe to Blue Moon Cafe and a Wirral loop.

This was supposed to be Barbara,s run to the Candle Factory but things change. I’d set out from Resthill trying to set a good time, I’ve programmed a course into the Garmin with turns etc to the Cafe. The Cafe had a food icon bleep at you when you reach it.
It started off OK with me doing fine, passing three guys on mountain bikes at Brimstage. From there it went downhill. There was a strong headwind for the best part of the route, it was that bad that where I was doing 27 mph last week , I was struggling to do 11 mph. Chris owned up to doing 10 mph in places.

If anyone cares to look at the map you can see I’ve done a bit more than ride to the Cafe and back. I’ll explain later a lot happened that may or may not make it into the post.
For the second week in a row the weather was bad when we set off, this week it was raining harder and longer. The route out to the Candle Factory had us going along the railway line through all the gates. Shortly after this Barbara asked about going to the Ice Cream Farm instead. This seemed like a wise move as we were already soaked. A little further on it was ammended to the Blue Moon Cafe. I’ve never been to the Blue Moon or the Candle Factory so it was all new to me. Now at Backford we dropped down onto the canal, I was first but took the wrong turn at the junction and went under the road. At least it was dry. A shout had me doing a U turn. I was heading off to Waverton instead of Chester.

As we head towards Chester along the towpath there are two swans in the canal and a canalboat chugging towards us. As we go past each other there is an owl and another bird of prey on a rail on the boat. I’d swear it’s the same chap we’d seen at Delamere visitor centre last week. Looks like he leads a good lifestyle. We progress along the path until we reach the canal basin at Chester, here we have to dismount to cross the bridge. It’s not a bit like last summer when I took the picture of Charlie, Bob and Kev. Once out of the basin we head down the hill towards the race course. The weather is still bleak as we take the path around the perimitter. Past the Crown Court and across the road at Bridge street we see canoeists doing whatever they do at the weir. The thought crosses my mind which of the two groups is maddest, us for venturing out in the conditions or them.

Once we are past the footbridge over the Dee we are at The Blue Moon Cafe. Never been here before but I see it cropping up regulary in the runs lists. Now we are all dripping wet, which raises a laughwith one of the customers as we go in. After a bit of musical chairs we are all seated in the warm room. We needed it.
It was a tuna and sweetcorn jacket potato for me with a pot of tea.

I’ve uploaded a thumbnail of it to see how it comes out on the page.

It wasn’t bad came on an interesting themed plate, if your on a budget you’d have to watch yourself as it’s not the cheapest of cafes. I had to step ouside to wring my gloves out as the fabled waterproofing wasn’t much cop as water had seeped in at the cuff. The rain hasn’t let up but eased off a bit. It’s not a bad climb up to the centre of Chester past the bottom of the park with the minature railway. Along the canal and across the bridge to a mini roundabout. Bob has a run in with white van driver. We allways seem to have at least one when we get into built up areas. It was out towards Upton and the Zoo. Down the hill at Backford and taking the same route to the Eureka as we did last week. Regrouping by The Wirral 100 pub it was back to Capenhurst where I felt like having a go up the rise to the railway station. That was about it, Chris and Janet peel off at Capenhurst for the missing link and I end up in the Eureka on my own. It’s still early so I ponderer about riding back home.

There are two young cycling families in the cafe with toddlers. Now I’m sat with my back to Chris Boardmans jerseys on my own. One of the kids is getting beans on toast for lunch but next minute the high chair is turned away from their table towards me. This boy with blonde curly hair is tucking into his beans on toast and not dropping any of it on his plastic bib. The kid is as happy as Larry. As I’m leaving Anne and Linda come across to the lad and he stops eating. It was a bit surreal.

The traffic light grand prix at Two Mills had me across the lights in no time still thinking about what to do with the rest of the day. As Craxton Wood came up the decision was made, Puddington, Burton Marsh, Parkgate and I’ll take another decision there.

Parkgate wirral 4 mar07 001.jpg

It’s left a Burton to the marsh and then climb up to the bus turn around at Ness Gardens. No stop this week, I’ve already eaten twice and had a few cups of tea. Down Church Lane brings you out onto the road to Parkgate avoiding Neston Cross. The rain has eased off and the cloves are starting to get a bit dryer. I took some pictures at Parkgate the place was deserted for a Sunday, turns out pretty much everywhere was.

From Pasrkgate it was up to the Chester High Road along it to Gayton and then up through Heswall. Just to check on the progress of the Marks and Spencer store they are building. Straight up Thurstaton Road and onto the cycle path by the side of it. It wasn’t too bad a bit gritty but the Trek rolled well on it and it might bee a faster surface than the road but doesn’t look it. The bottom of Thurstaton cutting still had me doing over 30 mphand the roundabout came up in no time. Through Caldy Village and Banks Road to the next stop at the beach at West Kirby.

WestKirby wirral4mar07 006.jpg

Everywhere is very quiet. I’ve already made my mind up to cycle around the coast. At Hoylake it’s down the front and and along to the sea defences. The place is deserted, it’s time to come off the path at Leasowe lighthouse, the Toy doesn’t like the sand at Mockbeggar wharf. Going down Leasowe Road I decide to have a break and go into Lidyl where the Twenty Row Inn used to be.

This proved to be an event in itself. The Toy was chained to the trolley railing, and I clip clop inside with the Look Keo cleats making me sound like Fred Astaire which I’m not. A pack of eight muesli bars for 99p look okay so I’m off to the till with them. This is where I pick the wrong queue. If I was morbidly obese with a BMI of 41.9 the chap infront must be approaching 50. He has a trolley full of crap apart from a tray of diet cokes! pays 80p for 8 plastic bags and has a fat dog by the look of things. I’ve got a box of 99p muesli bars with a pound coin in my hand. Queue ettiquette isn’t part of this guys vocabulary. Now I watch him prat around trying to pack stuff into the 10p a bag bags. He has half his paracetamol and Ibruproffen taken off him because he had exceeded the suicide guidlines.They weren’t for him apparently.

As if things wern’t bad enough the prat proceeds to pay in cash. Shouldn’t be a problem you say. Problem it was, because he was paying about £6.71 in small change plus the notes he had on him. Has all the signs of a Taxi driver, manages to get into the biggest 4X4 from Toyota and I still beat him out of the carpark. Unless he sorts himself out I can’t see him lasting another 5 years. You are like your dog so I don’t hold much sway for that either. I wouldn’t presume to offer this chap advice but he does need to get a grip.

It’s then off down the road to Harrison drive and the coastal path. It’s a bit bleak but the rain has held off and everwhere is deserted again. New Brighton shows some signs of life but only the sort that doesn’t want to walk an extra yard if they don’t have too. The usual log jams with drivers wanting a parking space but the leaving driver having trouble getting out. The front at Seacombe was deserted so it was another stop for a picture at the town hall.

Seacombe wirral4mar07 012.jpg

At the replacement for Borough Road College I see the worlds smallest tramride getting put away with the driver having to lock the gates behind him. Dropping down the hill past the Tunnel entrance a green Ford Mondeo pass with a yob hanging out the rear window spitting at me. He gets the finger in return and his card has been marked for a future meeting.

The gloves feel fine now although they are still wet. The construction of them seems to wick moisture away from the skin and once past the Porelle membrane it doesn’t get back in. It’s a pity the membrane doesn’t go all the way up the cuff so water couldn’t get in the first place. Back to the ride, which is nearing the end it was up Dacre Hill onto Broadway and along Mount Road with the Edge getting stopped where it started, Resthill.

Link to Google Map of Ride

62 miles, average speed 12.5 mph, 3700 calories, Average heartrate 122 BPM Max 163, 2240 ft of climbing. It turned out to be an interesting day.

CTC Ride Eureka Cafe to Delamere Forest

I’d like to say I’ve pre ridden the route but after a GPS programming error I’ve ridden everything but the route. Friday had me riding 70 miles when I should have rode 50. I know where I went wrong but it went all went pear shaped at Backford. On the route out I’d only programmed 4 way points into the Garmin out of the 27 Ray sent me.
I’d got lost twice following waypoints left in the Garmin.

I ended up doing Ray’s Lady Heyes route to get to Delamere and I didn’t get there till 2 pm. Cajun chicken baguette and a cup of tea at £1 a cup and I was on the way back. That proved difficult too, the lane from the visitor centre was bad enough but it got worse past a barrier, mud and puddles had me off the bike in places after nearly falling off. The Yeld is cancelled as getting there is too dangerous. I’ve got something much tougher lined up.

I’ve been down this hill but now it’s time to go up it. It’s Heath Lane off Fishpool Road after crossing the A54. This is eventually going to take us down a 1:10 to Willington Corner and it’s all downhill from there.

18 miles out 21 miles back. More later, got to clean the bike.

Sunday: Up early, but I’m soon back in as the windshell isn’t going to be up to the weather today. Taking it easy along Route 56 throught Thourton Hough and Willaston. I hit the lights at Hadlow road. As it’s flat to the Cafe I decide to have a little go as some of the Northend are stuck at another set of lights. Next thing I know I’ve been passed by one of them. I’m doing 27 mph !!! and just about to get dropped . The rest are nowhere to be seen . At this pace I had time for my breakfast as always. I set my maximum heartrate for the day staying with this chap. 158 BPM

Now this is the first time I’ve led a ride, there was me thinking I’d a get out of jail card having only joined the CTC last August. Doesn’t time fly when your having fun. Various CTCers are drifting into the Cafe and I’m thinking there were going to be about six of us doing the ride. Janet says there are two new faces doing the ride and for one, Catherine it’s her first ride with the CTC, Andrew rode out for his first time last Sunday.

As we start to assemble outside the heavens open, not a good sign. The overtrousers are donned. Across the road Chris and Cliff are hiding in the bus shelter, not a bad idea but they’ve got their bikes in their with them !. 10:10 and ten of us set off towards Capenhurst, Chris, John, Janet, Bob, Jill, Steve, Cliff, Andrew, Catherine and moi. The Garmin bleeps before the station signaling a right turn. At the end of the lane it was left onto the cyclepath on the A5117. The Newt bypass road construction is really starting limit the route options out of the Eureka.

Single file down Liverpool Road turning off at Backford and down Church Lane which has had the hedge cut. This was as far as I got on Friday before loosing the route. Once over the canal its the climb up the hill at Caughall Manor. Two years ago this was a granny ring on a mountain bike job for me probably stopping at the top for breath. It’s down Fox Covert Lane and over the M53. Ashhey Lane to Picton and onto Mickle Trafford and the A56. Heading out towards Moldsworth some of the troops are a bit restless and Moldworth Motor Museum is nominated as a water stop.

Moldsworth Motor Museum.jpg
Ray informs me the cars are Jowett Javelin,s

We’ve made good time and the Museum isn’t open yet. Next minute one of the above cars turns up. Bob told me what it was but I’ve forgotten. Then like busses another two turn up. Out of the Museum Rays route has us going up Well Lane followed by Moss Lane, it turns out nobody has ridden this route and it went down quite well.
Further on at Dark Ark Lane Andrew passes me going downhill like he knows where he is going. Which he does, it’s me that doesn’t know where I’m going. A short stop to regroup after the climb to the junction and it is a rolling climb up through the forest along Ashton Road. Right at the junction with Station road and we are at the lunch stop. Some are partaking in the all day breakfast on a baguette at the Station Cafe, the rest of us cycle down to the visitor centre.

As luck would have it I had the last Cajun Chicken baguette which wasn’t bad, comes with a small salad and a cup of tea. If this is what it’s like in winter I can see it being mayhem in the summer. Plenty of mountain bikes around and there is a chap with an owl under the covered seating outside.

Chap with an Owl.jpg The group after lunch.jpg

Now the original plan was to go down the track past the above and ride up The Yeld, I actually managed to ride The Yeld on Friday and this time it didn’t seem too hard and yes I did do it in the middle ring. Friday was dry and the path was muddy after a night of rain and showers in the morning only Catherine on mountain bike tyres would have stood a chance.
Plan B which was scouted on Saturday was to carry on, on Station Road past the Abbey Arms towards CoteBrooke but turn up Heaths Lane which is a fairly long climb.
Oh before I forget Barbara and John joined us at the visitor centre, it’s Barbara,s ride to the Candle factory next week.

Now it has to be said some people don’t like hills and I was one of them so I was a bit wary of including this one. It’s the only part of the ride that I’ve put in myself (no Yeld)so you can’t blame Ray if you find it a struggle.

It wasn’t too bad, Andrew kept me company up the first section so would get bonus points if I had been keeping a tally. It turns out that these are his local roads it wasn’t a bad ride up the hill for only his second time out. Stopping part way up so the back of the group can still see the front it was then on again towards the summit. Then the heavens opened, it was time for me to don the overtrousers that had been ditched at Delamere. There is a cafe at the top of the hill that Bob and Jill told me about, I hadn’t noticed it on the recce. It would be a tough climb if you did it from Willington Corner as it’s 1:10.

The descent to Willington Corner had me loosing the light off the back of my bike. Robust little thing as thats twice its dropped off with no damage.Thanks to the woman walking the dog that picked up the pieces. Two left us at Willinton Corner and the rest of us headed of towards Duddon. Across the road and heading towards the Crocky Trail.
No time for the Crocky trail this time Bob, maybe have it down for one of your Wednesday runs. We have a water stop at Waverton admiring the traffic chaos due to poor parking. Its a fairly straight forward run back to Mickle Trafford.

Around Picton Gorse I’m asked what route I’m going back to the Eureka, the plan was to go down the dip at Mollington but I’m told that Catherine was starting to struggle on the hills so it was back up Church Lane. It doesn’t seem as long when you are going up it for some reason. Liverpool Road was busy with the usual fast traffic that it attracts. Stopping at lights and the Old Wirral Hundred pub I have a thought, this pub isn’t old it’s relatively new, the original one is actually in the Wirral, this one is more Cheshire than Wirral. When I was younger I was a member of the Wirral 100 Motorcycle club so seeing this place grates.

The pace has slowed a bit but we are nearly home Janet and Chris peel off at Capenhurst to take the Missing Link home, Bob and Jill peel off for their car. So John, Cliff, Catherine and moi make it back to the Eureka for a well earned drink. If I was dishing out prizes one would have to go to Catherine for completing what I would call a Medium Difficulty ride on her first outing. We all know what it is like to ride with mountain bike tyres, a bit like riding through treacle.

If you get to read this Catherine a pair of slick tyres will reduce your effort by about 50% on the flat, you may find the gearing too low eventually. The other thing is you really do need a helmet. I had a fall on Christmas Eve were if I hadn’t been wearing a helmet I think I’d still be in a coma now.

Link to Goggle Map of Ride

Link fixed and I’ve spent the last five days trying to edit it. Learnt a lot.

My thanks go out to those that turned up, and Ray for the route. I’ve got to admit it was an experience leading a ride, so thanks to Janet for nominating me. I had a great day despite the patchy weather. I’d only joined the CTC in August following the three rides rule. Before that I’d been doing my own thing not thinking I was fast enough to ride with a group let alone lead one.

The ride home from the Eureka was much the same as it normally is but past Thornton Hough the road and fields down to Brimstage were bathed in a low sunshine. It was a fitting end to a grand day out. There are another 10 months left in this year it promises to be another fantastic year.

Stats: 46.4 miles. 2400ft of climbing, 2500 calories burnt Average speed 11.2 mph.

Wait till I program the Steve Cummings training route into the Garmin, it followed parts of this ride and is listed at 63 miles.

Weekending 25 Feb 2007

Monday: I’ve had better days but managed to get a spinning class at the Oval. Work on the car didn’t go to plan and had to be abandoned. Had 20 minutes on the cross trainer before Louise,s class and a couple of weights then it was time to grab a bike as people had turned up early. The Precor crosstrainer reads significantly more calories than the Crane Sports HRM.
Louise is a regular reader of the spinning section now, so all the posts were not in vain.
It was a full class with a couple of new starters, the attrition rate of new starters is nearly as bad as the Lifestyle and Weight Management Course I am still on. Many do one class and are never seen again.
Any way it was a good class with a sprint at the end we weren’t expecting. This was an opportunity to bury myself again, I’d had a maximum effort on the previous hill section.
The stats: 815 Calories burnt. 65 of these were in the warmup while the newcomers were being shown the ropes. So the net result is Louise,s Monday class 750 calories burnt. Max heart rate 187 bpm.
Now a google search has a 42g Mars Bar at 190 calories, so thats 4 Mars bars worth.

The Mars bar scale is a bit tricky as there are a number of different sizes of bar and the size has come down over the years, a 60 odd gramme bar is 290 calories on some of the searches I’ve done. It looks like i’ll have to get to the bottom of this one as I’ve been using the Mars bar scale for a while. I used to snack on these out of the vending machine at work. There is a worse example, a Cadburys Double Decker.

284 Calories in a 62.5g Mars bar. A normal size Mars bar is now 62.5g so 42g must be a funsize or multipack size. A bit of a let down knowing a good spinning class is only 2 and a bit Mars bars.

Tuesday: An hour in the gym after work, weights logged plus a session on the rowing machine 500 metre intervals with 1 minute rest. 1:56, 2:06, 2:01.4, 2:01.4, 2:00.9 2885 metres rowed in around 15 minutes including the rests.
Wednesday: Lifestyle and Weight Management course followup class.
Thursday: Gym after work, weights, crosstrainer 250 cals, Rowing routine as above. 500m/1:00r 1:57.5 1:56.6 1:55.6 1:55.6 1:53.8 3152 metres rowed. Started to do 2 sets on some weight machines with a reduced weight.
Friday: Ride Sundays route to Delamere. An absolute disaster of a day The route was corruted and I ended up riding The Lady Hayes ride, worthy of a post on its own.
Sunday: CTC ride to Delamere led by moi. Ray has prepared this route for me, thanks Ray I owe you another one. Includes The Yeld after lunch just to liven things up. Bonus points awarded for getting up in the middle ring(road not MTB). Double bonus points for beating me up. Ad hoc points awarded awarded throughout the ride. Points for turning up, points deducted for punctures.The run leaders decision is final.

Stop Press: Yeld removed from ride!!!. The track from the visitor centre is too muddy so I’m looking at another route.Shame I know, I’m sure you were looking forward to it.

Mini NorthWest Passage Audax

Friday had me preping the bike for todays ride. What I thought was a faulty wheel bearing wasn’t which is just as well as I would have had trouble sorting it. energy drink was prepared too as I didn’t want a last minute rush.

I’d set off in good time for the start and made the home of the co-op, Rochdale in good time. Finding the start proved to be a bit more problamaticle. I’d stopped at a garage for directions and the chap I showed the map to said it looked nothing like the route to the start. Another two people were stopped and I made the signing on with less than ten minutes to spare. Ray and Craig were there and Ray had found me a spot to park, thanks Ray.

Mini Northwest passage start .jpg

With the Edge set to Navigate route it was right at the mini roundabout just down the hill from the pub. After a while we took the Todmorden Road and passed through Calderbrook and summit. Todmorden had barely woken up when we went through. The route was mainly A roads but traffic was reasonable and before you know it we are in Burnley. Around here we have our first stop for food and water.

Our next stop after this is Gisburn where we have to note what is behind the toilets. There has been a fair bit of climbing and a fast descent to get to Gisburn.

The first control point.jpg

Once on Mill lane we are on a different ride, off A roads it’s a lot quieter, It’s a sunny day and the views are great. Further on it’s Bolton by Bowland heading towards the next stop at Waddington.

The original cafe checkpoint has closed so it is a couple of K’s further on we stop at at Bashall Town shop/ cafe/brewery. Here Ray and I decide to have an ice cream. It is the middle of Febuary after all. Ray asks for the one with two scoops, so I’ve got to have the same. Now I wasn’t expecting what came , Ray certainly wasn’t these things were monsters. We were laughing like kids trying to eat them.

Febuary and were eating Icecream!.jpg

In the village before this picture the signs were telling us to go in one direction and the Edges in another. We followed the Edge which is always proving to be the right thing to do these days. Late in the ride when we are hooked up with some local riders we come to a roundabout with multiple exits . The locals take the second exit and stop as we go past the first exit the Edge is saying we should have took the first. Two of the group later pass us on a climb and say we are on the right route.

Rays been on fine form today there were a few times when I was in danger of getting dropped. On one of the climbs back to Rochdale Ray was leading out Rochdale Triathlon Club members. Craig and I were down the road wondering if they where going to give him an honary membership. Lots of the climbs were at a 5% gradient the steepest gradient on the day comes out at nearly 15%. If you look at the route profile in Motionbased it has us climbing 5,454 ft, the Edge had it coming out at 4754. Either way it’s a fair bit of climbing when you’re used to a flat Wirral and the Cheshire plains.

On the descent int Rochdale we pick up a local rider while waiting at a set of roadwork traffic lights. The descents have proved to be good as the Edge has me clocking 39 mph on one of them. The cycle lanes have curb stone lane separators every couple of hundred yards to force the cars out of the gutter. Cycles pass straight through, they seem to work. Anyway as I’ve got through a set of light near Rochdale Town hall I have to wait for the others, the Edge is saying left at the next set of lights. Our newly aquired riding buddy tells Ray he knows a short cut back to the start.

So right at the lights it was, now I’d been this way in the morning when I got lost. It was up the hill to the set of lights at Drake Street, along Drake Street right at MFI and a couple more turns and we end up in Mattalan car park dodging Saturday afternoon shoppers. It gets better, as we go down Oldham road under the rail bridge the traffic becomes gridlocked by roadworks further on. Now some of us are filtering down the outside of the traffic, our new guide is doing 20 mph down the pavement past rows of shops.

This stops at the next set of lights when we are in the same boat as the traffic. A bus picking up at every stop is our next hold up but it’s soon past and we veer of down a one way street marked on the route and back to the start. The pub is busy with customers and wedding parties but we find the control point in one of the rooms at the front. Once signed in it was a well deserved pie and peas to finnish what had been another great day.
It had been sunny throughout the day, blue skies and very little wind. The scenery has been good with rolling hills dotted with sheep. I’d say Cheshire is more cows as there is a lot more slurry on the roads, Yorkshire seemed free of it.

Link to Google Map of route

Stats: 75 miles, averageing 13.6 mph, max 39mph, 4726 calories burnt, Gaining 5454 ft and losing 5448 ft. Average heartrate 128/9 bpm for 5 hours 28 minutes. Max 167 bpm.

CTC Ride Eureka Cafe to Lady Heyes, Frodsham

A wet start had me donning Altura waterproof overtrousers for the ride to the Eureka Cafe for Breakfast. The Iceni was put into service as it has better mudguards than the Trek, well it has a front one as I haven’t got around to fitting the front Raceblade yet.

Plenty of Northender,s in the Cafe, the Sunlight were thin on the ground and approaching the magic hour CTCers started to appear. Elleven of us set out to the Lady Heyes craft centre. This place has links going back a long time to the place I now work. It was formally a farm.

Anyway we set off through Capenhurst as the normal route out across the A5117 is closed for the forseeable future. The weather is now nice and bright with a clear sky, a far cry from when I set out. We head out towards Little Stanney (Cheshire Oaks) on the cycle path, if you zoom in on the link deep enough you can even see where we went around the roundabouts. Once we are on Little Stanney lane things are a lot quieter. Then it was on to Picton lane which gives you a chance to chat amongst the group. I haven’t seen some since last year, one from last September.

We join the A56 which is quiet and divert through Dunham Hill only to rejoin further down the A56. Turning towards Helsby we take a right up Primrose Lane, before it starts to get steep we divert around a golf course down Towers Lane. We have a short break on top of the disused railway bridge and then it on towards Alvanley.

At Alvanley we pass what was once Dugdales, a Yamaha dealer that people (me) used to travel miles to visit. It looks like it has been a sports car showroom after that, and is now on the verge of dereliction. These days it means it’s a prime spot to redevelop and build houses on.We head out towards the summit of the trip out Newton. There are fantastic views of Cheshire from here and John reckons he can see Joderall Bank.

From here it is all downhill and its one where you make sure your brakes are in good order or at least clear the crud off them. Once you’ve made it to the bottom Lady Heyes is just a couple of hundred yards along the road.

I’ve never been here before and at first glance it’s a bit of a mixed bag, any place with a pet crematorium is bound to be a bit quirky. There is a chap at work that used to work there when it was a farm, I’ll have to ask him about it. I ended up having a chicken an bacon baguette at the cafe. Ray bought the tea , thanks Ray.

There was another small group at the cafe when we got there and we ended picking up another rider for the return to the Eureka. Once we had sorted ourselves out we were heading back along the road we came on but picking up the next right turn in the direction of Delamere. The Yeld is going to feature in my ride at the end of the month and I heard mutterings about it on this one, “We’re not going up the Yeld are we?” not this time but pretty soon.

Anyway Ray leads us past the start of the Yeld and on to one that gives it a run for it’s money. Maybe not quite as brutal as the Yeld but still a fair test and they all meet up in the same neck of the woods..

More later, no pictures this week as the memory card on the phone was full.

Link to Google Map of route

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