It was going to be another very sunny day as I set off for the 14 mile ride out to Delamere Station cafe. I decided to ride into the Delamere parkland via the Yeld and the 2 mile forest track in preference to riding through the forest to Hatchmere crossroads. As I was ordering coffee Ivan arrived so we sat outside in the sunshine.
Very soon Dave M arrived along with Mike D. Both Ivan and I had overtaken Mike along the way into Delamere and not fully realised it. Apologies Mike! As we waited for more Easy Riders to arrive, Ivan recounted his near-death experience in Spain and how the NHS is now closely looking after him upon his return. Dave M and Ivan then compared their cardiac monitoring hardware and the scars that they now have where the kit was inserted into their chest walls!
Standard departure time of 1030 came and went, and it became clear that no other riders were going to arrive today. Dave mentioned riding to Whitegate, maybe with Mike, as Ivan and I saddled up bound for Runcorn the long way round. I'd planned this route a while ago as I wanted to ride around Runcorn as close to the water as possible and this we did.
It was a classic route out to the edge of Northwich with the mega-surprise that part of the road up to Hatchmere crossroads was now baby's bottom smooth! Not so the rest of the Bag Lane or Hodge Lane. Just at the traffic lights at the bridge over the West Coast Line, I noticed that Ivans's rear tubeless tyre had sprung a leak and his dark bike frame was speckled with white tyre sealant. The puncture was found and judged to be self-sealed so we motored on via Winnington and Anderton to Combermere. Skirting Great Budworth we now head towards High Legh.
The next three miles was ideal cycling down lanes anew as we head through the countryside towards Sworton Heath to access Swineyard Lane. It's now a fast burn to Appleton Thorn on smooth roads which was just as well as more white spots appeared on the back stays of Ivans' bike i.e. the tyre hasn't remained sealed. Running parallel with M56, we enter Daresbury village to cross the A56 Chester road. There are mega-road works here all due to the enormous area of house building known as “Daresbury Garden Village”. Crossing the roadworks, narrow Delph lane runs downhill into the back of the Sandymoor edge of Runcorn.
I had now plotted a course to keep as close to the Manchester Ship canal as possible as we access cycle lanes and poorly surfaced roads into the Astmoor Industrial area. Ivan snaps the old Runcorn Bridge from The Decks area where there were several old locks enumerated from Lock 3-8. We arrive at the Spoons “Ferry Boat” pub with punters spilling out onto the pavement in continental fashion. A pint of refreshing lager (one with and one without ethanol) slakes our thirsts after 30 miles from Delamere.
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| To prove we went! |
Time to go, as we now hug the shoreline sliding under the road and rail bridges way above our heads. Riding up to Higher Runcorn is a cinch for Ivan these days but not so for me! We pass Beacon Hill and slide around Weston picking up the cycleways to get us down to the Sutton Weaver swing bridge. As I didn't fancy the two inclines into Frodsham, we hang a right over the river and take the NCR5 to pop out by the Bear's Paw pub. The Thursday market is still just alive with a plethora of white vans as we eschew the route back to Delamere and motor on back to Chester.
The route back to Delamere is straight forwards at about 7 miles but it's preceded by a two mile slog towards Kingsley. All round the route would be 44 mls. Ivan and I had either 60 or 65 miles on the clock. It was remarkable that his rear tyre had kept sealed (and re-sealed itself) and it didn't affect his riding speed at all!
So a truly enjoyable day's ride with no hiccups. I knew that most of the Brisk group were otherwise engaged today but we were all somewhat surprised that other regulars were absent on such a fine cycling day
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