This week’s ride venue was Cleopatra’s, on a day that looked
to be potentially awful, from a weather perspective that is, however not a drop
fell on our group all day or at least not from the sky that is- Lol. More about
that later.
Firstly, there were 14 of us in total, by my head count,
which included Dave & Liz P (on the tandem), Jim, who was doing a
prescription ride to the chemist? And 4 or 5 fast boys. For the second week in
a row, yours truly, got to lead the moderate group of 8 (2 on the tandem) My
promise of an interesting meander to the Boat Inn at Erbistock, clearly
appealed to the majority, although some probably lived to regret that decision
for several reasons that I will endeavour to expand on later- Lol. Notably
missing this week was Steve Hu (the wimp from last week- Lol) Turns out, bless
him, that he really wasn’t well last week and still isn’t. Unbeknown to him, he
was coming down with a bug that has made him very weak/ tired (including his
wife, I later found out- their symptoms sound like the Noro virus to me, which
is doing the rounds apparently).
Time for the off for what I intended to be a very
interesting and scenic route (hopefully confirmed by the group) although I
didn’t expect quite so many mucky lanes- seriously- Lol. We head out of Holt
via the main road in order to allow us to quickly head south on the B5130 (the
first bit is no longer potholed and narly- this would be the 1st of 3 lovely
stretches of resurfaced lane, which didn’t go amiss by some).
It wasn’t long before we were at Cross Lanes, followed by
Cock Bank, where we would turn off into, let’s say, “adventurous lanes”. These
lanes were later stated as being worthy of a ‘Clive ride’ (what did they mean
Clive? - Lol). Not only that, Steve T, after our our lunch stop, even
threatened to have words with me if we came across anymore mucky lanes on the
return leg. I guess this was because I
promised a lovely dry clean 20 miles back, which I believe it was - Lol. The
mucky lanes were a consequence of my scenic detour through Erddig Park. Unfortunately,
EP was unusually busy with cars, there must have been an event on, as I have
never known it like that. So it wasn’t quite the peaceful scenic meander, as we
had to stop a few times. I did feel a
little sorry for the tandem, as it’s not so easy to keep stopping &
starting, even with an electric motor.
Once we were through EP we turn left and head towards the Boat Inn by way of Sontley Lane, which was a rather slippery muddy affair. It was shortly after this that we had to make a U turn, as I missed our left turn down to Park Eynton. “Oh no, we haven’t got to go back through that lane have we” was somebody’s cry. Fortunately, I had only over shot our turning by 100 meters or so, “no was my cry”- Lol. We had a half mile on the A539, before we head right up hill into Chapel Lane. This is a lovely steady uphill bit (nice views heading the other way - Lol) leading to a nice descent into Erbistock Vale & a final short steep descent into the Boat Inn, which lies, just 50 feet above the river Dee (somewhat idyllic spot, right next to St Hilary church).
After briefly admiring the river view and considering sitting outside, we find our reserved table inside, which didn’t seem warranted at first. However, by the time we left the place was virtually full. Once the prices on the menu had been digested- Lol, everybody set about their choice for lunch. The Korean roasted cauliflower was the most popular dish. Both Andy and I were quite taken by this. I also got the impression everybody else were just as satisfied with their choices. That said I think DH made a mental note to not come back- Lol. I believe I heard him mutter something about needing a mortgage to eat there. And he wasn’t the only one- Lol. I was so taken by the setting and food that I can only remember a brief conversation about my choice and the ensuing story I told of how I discovered a Korean vegetarian restaurant in the back streets of London, some 35 years earlier.
Lunch done and the temp getting even warmer, we set off to
the comment of “we haven’t got to climb up that hill have we?” “There is only
one way in and out”, was my response- Lol- Lol. No sooner said and we were at
the Cross Keys pub, on the bridge of the river Dee. We turn right up a slightly
longer and the only real climb of the ride. After a regroup at the top we turn
left onto another lovely stretch of resurfaced lane that allowed us to detour
Overton. It wasn’t long before we were
swinging downhill into Threapwood, after crossing Wych Brook, another favourite
little stretch of mine and I think our 3rd river crossing, which is often a
feature of my rides- Lol. The wet, muddy lanes before lunch were now becoming a
distant memory as we settle into the promised dry lanes.
With Threapwood behind us and Tilston not far away, I canvassed everybody for a cafe stop at the Lost Barn, which seemed a popular choice, despite only being 3 miles from Holt. By this time DH had found his top gear and was now leading the charge. He was clearly feeling the need for a good coffee, even jumping the road works traffic lights at Tilston- Lol. We all decide to stop at the red! light- Lol and then chase after him, which was only a few hundred metres to the cafe. After a bit of shuffling of bikes, akin to musical chairs, we all finally settle on an outside table with the sun beating down on us all.
What a lovely finish to our ride, as this was effectively the point where some of us departed for home. Both Steve Ha & I leave the others at the top of Wetreins Lane (only 300 meters up from the cafe) and set off for Tattenhall and in Steve’s case, Kelsall beyond. I got home with 52 miles on the clock and a surprising 570 metres of assent (I thought it was a flat ride- Lol). The likes of Steve Ha, Allan and Andy must have got a Grand Fondo in at least, as they all rode in further than I did - well done guys.
So, from what looked to be foolish to set off cycling at
9am, a great day out was born, if a bit mucky and slippery in places, made much
better by the company- Lol- Lol- Lol. Thoroughly enjoyed the route, with some
great scenery & even architecture (added an extra picture just for DH-Lol).
The route is even better in a clockwise direction, as the up & down bits work better with the views, in my opinion. Great to see you all as usual and look forward to the next ride.
NT
Photos by NT
No comments:
Post a Comment