A route to Ellesmere was offered and duly taken up by Tom, Ray and John W. My rationale for proposing and leading the ride being I could control the pace; but, as we headed out past Russia Hall to cross the A41 into Bruera, Ray went off like a bullet quickly followed byTom and John, so much for my strategy. We detoured through Aldford village to miss the main road and again at Farndon as road closures dictated another detour via a small lane past St Chad's church.
Heading out to Cross Lanes, we took the back road to Sutton Green which was quiet but very wet which thankfully led to the the pace easing slightly. Cross Lanes lead us into Bangor-on-Dee where we stopped for John to refill his water bottle and me to catch my breath.
A rather unusual topic of conversation (for CER’s) about mattress selection and testing preoccupied us as we head out towards Lightwood Green where we were met by another road closure sign. Decision time, do we detour or carry on regardless? We opted to carry on which proved to be a good choice as we easily skirted around the road workings that were on the main road and not on our route. At Dudleston Heath we joined the B5068 for the final quick sprint on a lovely smooth road surface into Ellesmere.
The Red Lion was quiet, so food and drink were quickly ordered and consumed over a conversation about varying ailments and bikes. Ray’s new Colnago is having its electronic gearing investigated by SRAM while his 2nd bike is waiting for a new wheel after an incident in Pulford. John’s new bike sounded like it was in pieces after it fell apart on an Audax and one of his Boardman bikes was having drive chain issues. Modern engineering at its best!!!! Fortunately there was not problem with the Pensioners Specials; 2 course’s for £7.50 and Lime and soda for £1.00, which topped up our fuel tanks.
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| Comfort break with a view |
The return journey was easier as a helpful tailwind pushed us past Ellesmere Lake with it’s manmade island - this was later named Moscow Island as Napoleon was forced to retreat from Moscow that same year. Carrying on through Breadon Heath and into Hamner, a comfort break was taken at Tallarn Green allowing time for us to enjoy the views over to N Wales which were spectacular thanks to the clear skies.
The rest of the ride passed very quickly on a fairly standard route through Chorlton, Bickerton and Burwardsley where we all parted company and headed home. A total of 87 km were covered in perfect cycling conditions, a good day out.
Thanks to Tom, John and Ray for your company and entertaining conversation.
KP
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