I had a very early hospital appointment, so decided to drive out to Waverton and ride on from there. On the way, I espied Ray S cycling in the outskirts of Guilden Sutton on his way via Waverton to Utkinton. I set off and few miles on from Waverton I only caught up with him as he had stopped to adjust his clothing as it had started to rain (the first of many times today!). I donned my rainwear and we made our way up the ever deteriorating roadways to Rose Farm to find John M already there.
Very soon Alan and Steve Hu arrived, along with Dave M, Trevor, Nick and finally Keith. The weather forecast was not encouraging as we looked out across the Cheshire Plain but six of us decided to take on my ride to Davenham. The route was out via Kelsall in a clockwise direction taking in some roads we haven't been down for a while. The route was very familiar out via Delamere Forest and down to Acton Bridge. There was the odd stop to take off outer layers as the air temperature rose to double figures (at last!). However, this didn’t last as the rain became more persistent as we waited for the Weaver bridge to be re-closed after swinging open for river traffic.
Before Comberbatch, Alan decided to return as he had to get back home for an unplanned appointment so Steve decided to accompany him back to Rose Farm and their cars. We four cycled on in the light rain to Marbury Country Park. We take the old lane through the park towards Northwich diverting off across the salt marsh via Neumann’s Flash to Wincham where we pass through the industrial estate bound for Wincham village proper.
The lunch stop was planned to be either at Riverside Organic cafe or to visit for the first time Oakwood Marina cafe nearby. As John said he had been there before and it was ok, Oakwood it was then. To get there we have to negotiate the A556 at Smoker's Brook traffic lights and then meander through pleasant Plumley and onwards to Lach Dennis. It's a short run then to the marina at 28 miles ridden.
Although quite small, the cafe was welcoming with all facilities to hand. The food was very good and reasonably priced. As we sat there enjoying lunch, the rain came through at 45 degrees as the wind had picked up and thus would be an unwelcome feature of the 12 mile ride back to Rose Farm. We set off as the rain had temporarily abated but not for long. In and out of Davenham I planned to get to Whitegate via the canal path and the golf course.
The old roadway just after the blue bridge, was in a very poor condition and frankly, if I knew what was also in store a little further on, I would have re-planned the route. We carry on finding a tank training ground section of gravel and deep muddy pools followed by a very muddy section before hitting old tarmac again. We all got through unscathed and smooth tarmac welcomed us into the Vale Royal golf club grounds.
The run now is straightforward up Whitegate hill and through Little Budworth and Cotebrook and the final rise up and over to Utkinton with 40 wet miles ridden. Nick and John had driven over so they just had to climb up to the cafe whereas we continued on to Waverton. Here, I loaded a very dirty bike into the car's boot, and Ray cycled on back home with mid-60 miles ridden compared to my mid-50 miles.
I noticed now that the sun was out and the air temp was 15C! Despite the rain and the headwind and the poor roads and that Weaver-side track to the golf club, we all had enjoyed being out and about in wet Cheshire today with some sun and heady double figure temperatures for a change.
So thanks to all for supporting the ride and apologies for the Weaver mountain bike section!
See route map and/or gpx file download
CA
No comments:
Post a Comment