A somewhat strange day for our meeting at Rose Farm for several reasons, not least of which was the very dull & foggy outlook from our start venue. At least a dozen of us turned up at the start, with Andy arriving later, looking slightly bedraggled, which meant he had to leave his cuppa half full- Lol. I think there were 4 fast lads, who did their usual thing. Our new E-man, Ray was also there, along with most of the usual Mod suspects and of course DM, who did his own thing as well. Notably missing was DH, as he is such a stalwart of the club, that it is very obvious when he is not there, not unlike Steve T to be fair, who was busy on the phone, trying to find out if our illustrious leader was on his way or not. The irony was that Steve T wasn’t riding with the Mod’s anyway, as he had to get back to sort his car out-Lol.
So, with the back bone of the club either not riding or with no route, it fell on me to lead the Mod’s, which I didn’t mind at all. I think Steve Ha simply fancied following for a change, as we were in his patch and he wouldn’t have to think about it. However, I did warn the group that it would be a bit hillier than usual, which later hit home, once the heavy breathing started-Lol. Fortunately I had a local route that would keep us within a 10 mile radius, hence, a hilly prospect, on my favourite Sandstone Ridge. This would allow us to short cut back to Rose Farm, if the forecasted rain prevailed. My destination was the lovely Blue Bell café (BB) with an alternative option of Walk Mill, because I had not booked the BB. The BB wouldn’t be a problem for my usual small group, but now I had inherited the main Mod group, a back up plan was needed, although Steve Ha did have a pub up his sleeve- Lol.
It wasn’t long after our group of 7 set off, when we lost our first rider, as Steve Hu wimped! out. He steamed up the first rise through Utkinton, with me giving chase and he clearly burnt himself out, as eye witness accounts saw him turn for home with his tongue hanging out, apparently! He didn’t even say goodbye can you believe- Lol- Lol. I found out just a mile or so down the road at the junction of Willington Hall, when we regrouped. Allan informed me that Steve had struggled a little riding over to Rose Farm in the first place, so it wasn’t a surprise that he bailed after a few miles with us and to be fair to him, he slipped to the back, after his first effort up the hill hence, I didn’t realise he had left the group until the next junction (perhaps a bit of long covid or the likes). Allan pointed out that we should have all noticed that Steve was out of sorts, as he wasn’t his usual chatter box self- Lol.
Now the group was 5 + one slightly guilty cyclist, who should have probably escorted his bestest, life long buddy, home, instead of leaving him to find his own way, in drizzly weather, feeling weak, drained and struggling to turn a pedal- Lol - Lol- Lol. To be fair to Allan, he did later confirm that Steve had made it home, just as we were about to leave the BB. Whether or not this redeeming feature will save his friendship, I’m not sure, but at least he tried- Lol. Steve actually completed 53 miles in total, which was more than we would do and not bad for somebody who was struggling- Lol.
We continued to meander around the Sandstone Ridge, which to 1 or 2 of our little group, seemed to always be on an upward trend- Lol. They obviously forgot the lengthy downhill of ‘New Pale Road’ and ‘Old Lane’- Lol. Of course, not much of an issue for Ray on his E-bike, which caused Allan to wish he hadn’t chased him on the longest upward drag, between Kingsley and Newton. That particular drag is at least a mile+ and a bit of a leg teaser- Lol. George was now making apologies, as he was starting to suffer on the slopes, which was as much a surprise to me as it was to him. After I had promised him that the hills were over, for about the 4th time- Lol, we were now coming off the ridge via Old Lane., which was a bit different. A somewhat leafy, gravelly descent, that needed respect, but perfectly rideable in the dry (yes, it still wasn’t raining, but only just). After a few lovely flat miles, there was just one more little hill to lead us into the BB, although George assured me there were 2 more climbs -Lol.
We struck it lucky on arrival at BB, even though full up, as the outside tables were free, as expected. They are under cover and as it was mild- “Perfeck”, in the words of Pa Larkin- Lol. As we sat down the rain really got going. Somebody remarked that it had in fact been raining for at least a couple of miles before we got to BB, which I had barely noticed- Lol. As usual, we got a very warm welcome and soft cushions quickly provided, which made everybody far too comfortable. Conversation seemed to bounce back and forth between the now heavier rain and the demise of Liz Truss- Lol. Everybody was well pleased with their lunch and some were suggesting cake, although I think this had more to do with delaying our inevitable remounting of the bikes as opposed to needing more food- Lol.
We got going, after a few discussions about what was the shortest ‘cop out’ back to Rose Farm, due to the rain. However, it didn’t really need me to point it out, as Steve Ha was well aware that the shortest route was probably only 7 miles max, via Oscroft & Willington. Steve decided he would lead Ray and George back, while Allan, Andy & I were continuing my planned route, as we all live to the West of the county.
We all set off as a group, but a puncture for Allan provided a natural split in the group, just as we crossed over the A51. I suddenly realised that there were 2 missing, which was Andy and Allan. I decided to go back, which left Steve and his splinter group to head off back to Rose Farm. I only had to go 100 mtrs in order to find Allan getting stuck into his puncture. My trusty needle nose pliers managed to pull out the offending microscopic thorn. It was at this point I suddenly realised we had not taken a group ride photo hence, the pic attached is only of Andy and Allan.
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| Photo by CER |
As we set off again, the rain had not eased off at all, but wasn’t that bad in the grand scheme of things. We rode into Oscroft, where Andy suddenly decided to head off toward Willington. This left me and Allan wondering why he had gone that way, as staying with us was the more direct way to Mold. He did say, originally, that he intended to go back to Rose Farm, so maybe he did? It wasn’t long before we were passing Walk Mill and I was taking my leave of Allan, leaving him to push on towards Flint. 7 miles later, I am home and the rain was just starting to abate- Lol.
I had a mere 45 miles on the clock. I imagine Allan had at least 70 miles on his clock (well done mate). As I was stripping off my wet gear, l realised that my rain jacket had not come out, in earnest, since last winter- Lol. All things considered, we had a good day & a few laughs, most of them at somebody else’s expense - Lol- Lol. Cheers guys- good fun, just a shame Steve had to bail on the ride (hopefully feeling strong by next week- tart! - Lol)
NT
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