CER riders were out in abundance at Alison’s today taking over the whole of the outside decking area. While everyone was consuming their drinks, the conversation was focussed on how to avoid the flooded roads and the route options for the day.
The brisk group options were either Ivan’s route to Wetherspoons at Market Drayton or my route to Wem. Both virtually identical but Market Drayton offered a greater choice of lunch venues. The group of six brisk riders consisting of Nick, Clive, Matt, Ivan, Ray and myself, selected the Market Drayton option.
We were a little late in setting off due to the time taken to share GPX files but soon enough we were climbing over Harthill and onwards towards Cholmondeley. It was here that Nick’s water bottle made a bid for freedom and landed in a large muddy puddle! So we had to call at the Estate farm shop to get it cleaned.
500yds later we turned right into the aptly named Grotsworth Lane to access the crossroads on the A49. This road was the worst flooded road of the whole day. Five large areas of this road were totally underwater, some deep enough to give our feet a good soaking, and what wasn’t underwater, was covered in mud and debris which slowed our progress considerably.
Once over the A49, our southerly progress continued through the villages of Gautons Bank, Wrenbury and Aston, dodging more debris, potholes, and floods. A straight route due south now took us through Wilkesley before easing round the eastern side of Shavington Hall and leading us to the outskirts of Market Drayton.
At this point light drizzle had started to fall but not hard enough to require waterproofs plus we were only a few minutes away from our destination. Our progress up to lunch had felt brisk as Ivan was on the front for most of the time pulling like a train. However, it was still a surprise to see it was only 12:15 when we arrived at “The Hippodrome”.
Lunch selections were quickly made and, while Matt went off to buy Paracetamol for his toothache, the rest of us settled down with a drink. As usual, the service in Wetherspoon’s was speedy with our food arriving promptly; very good value at £10 for a main and a pint. Talk over lunch focussed on the difficulty of accessing NHS dentists and the cost of dental treatment.
Lunch took less than an hour and then we were back on the road on a very direct route back to Tattenhall. We had a short stop at Morton Say for Clive’s weekly history lesson - a visit to St Margaret’s Church (see photo ) where Sir Robert Clive aka "Clive of India" was interred.
Unfortunately the church was locked and a local dog walker confirmed that Clive’s resting place was inside the church and not in the graveyard. His boyhood home was just across the fields. More at Wiki here if you are interested.
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| At Morton Say Church - it was shut! |
Continuing on under brighter skies and still at a good pace, we continued heading north west to pass through the centre of Whitchurch followed by a short dash along the busy A41 before thankfully turning onto quieter roads leading to Malpas and Tilston.
Nick and myself turned off for home in Tilston leaving the rest of the group to continue on to Chester via Barton and Churton. The posted route today was 51 miles. I think most of us rode nearer 70+ miles and at a brisk 16 mph
KP
Photo NH
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