It was a very good turnout at Ness Gardens for Macca’s annual Mersey
Meander, but where were the fast lads? I’ve
heard that riding the Wirral from Ness isn’t always the most popular day, but 1
or 2 of today’s riders could easily have coped with the fast group’s pace. .
A relatively lucky 13 ( Bryan, Dave
H, Garnett, George, new John B, Jim, Mike G, Petar, Steve T, Tandem Pipes,
Trevor et moi) set off to circumnavigate the Mersey Estuary – Bryan suffered
one puncture, not bad considering we cycling a total of 800 odd miles on the
day. A good pace along The Greenway had
us meeting the Mickle Traffford crew spot on 1130. Onwards past Manley Mere, upwards past Alvanley
Hill took us to Frodsham where Garnett’s greenhouse construction called him
home. We were then guided safely through the usual impassable Runcorn jungle by
Dave H. As the tandem was slower
negotiating the street furniture, I split the group at The Bridge to allow the
faster riders to order their lunch sooner at “The Childe of Hale” (L24 4AX, 0151 425 2954). The meal was average; would be interested to see if it
makes Egon Steve’s list.
The usual return route saw us pass
through Speke and Garston to join the Mersey at Grassington. Once on The Esplanade, the way is idiot-proof
all the way to Pier Head. At Dingle, as
some were understandably anxious about my plans to foist 12 bikes on Merseyrail
Underground in the rush-hour, 3 or 4 of us sped ahead to catch an earlier train
under the river. Mike and I were
enjoying afternoon tea at Hamilton Square and were eventually only joined by
Bryan for the simple 12 mile ride back to Ness.
Phone calls made elicited that some stayed at Pier Head to catch a later
ferry, some trained all the way through to Chester and Liz caught a bus home (had
they had a domestic??). A sunny 60+
miles of urban and country riding was covered at 12.5 mph average. Special thanks must go to Steve T for
sticking to his back-marker duties, as 13 riders are a handful to count when
leading.
BM
