23rd March 2023: Great Barrow (mod)

Despite the wind and promise of rain nothing diminished the turnout at the Gallery Cafe. It was quite a poignant visit since this was the last time members of the club would meet the long established owner, Spiro’s widow. Apparently the cafe will change hands shortly and we should soon meet the new owners. 

The group today consisted of Alan (Leader) Dave H, Steve Ha, Every Ready Ray, Clive and Steve Hu. Ken had ridden over and was returning home to pack his bucket and spade in anticipation of his Portugal holiday. Dave M has also ridden over and set off to do his own ride. 

The discussion of rides had centred on two routes , a Welsh route to Afon Wen or a lower level route to Great Barrow to the excellent Bluebell Cafe. The drenching that many riders had experienced just getting to the cafe influenced the decision to go low and avoid the rain. 

A brief plunge down Gladstone Avenue with a certain rider even overtaking a car led us down to the Dee Blue bridge. Then we met the headwind that would haunt us many times during the day. A quick diversion through the “triangle” found us face to face with a group of people planting trees in the area covered by Alan and his Sustrans chapter. The team were replacing fruit trees that had previously been stolen from the triangle despite being planted for the community. 

The route took us on quiet lanes alongside the busy Welsh road. A sharp right took us along a gated road towards Lee by Backford and onto Chorlton. A quick dash across the A41 returned us to quiet lanes towards Picton and then Bridge Trafford. A downpour provided the necessary speed to tackle the short climbs before Little Barrow and our lunch stop at the Bluebell Cafe. 

During a splendid lunch of Eggs Benedict or Welsh Rarebit the weather took a turn for the worse with some heavy showers. 

Replete with pots of tea and lovely food we rode for a short period before Clive peeled off, within 50 metres the heavens opened again. The expression Jacket On—Jacket Off has never been so apt.  Steve Ha routed us through the metropolis that is Oscroft before bidding us farewell to return to Kelsall and hopefully some dry clothes!

With the sun now shining we rode through Waverton and the into Chester City Centre. We had just cycled passed the weir when we had to shelter under the city walls to avoid another deluge. Some new friends and a dog were made in this interregnum between the showers. Once the rain had abated we continued around the Roodee racecourse and onto the river path where we were exposed to the full force of the headwind once again. Ray spurred on by many watts of electricity disappeared into the distance as we boldly plugged away into the headwind. 

Photo by Steve Hu

A quick photo opportunity (apologies to Clive and Steve Ha for my late planning) and we set off towards Airbus. A nasty RTA on the right reminded us the dangers of speed. At this point Alan left Ray Dave H and Steve Hu to complete the final push to Hawarden. 

A nice ride planned by Alan in mixed weather just shy of 40 miles with great company. 

See route map and/or gpx file download

SHu

7th April 2022: Great Barrow (mod)

 Well, another windy wintery day greeted the hardcore group of riders at Ness Gardens. A team of eight consisting of Clive, Roy, Alan, Dave H, Steve T & Hu, Keith & George.

 George, Alan and I had witnessed the brutal nature of the wind en-route to the cafe, as had Roy. Clive arrived looking like a scuba diver, he was that wet. Undaunted however, the group managed to present three different routes for the day.

 Alans option to visit the Bluebell Cafe in Great Barrow was chosen as it combined a new venue with an opportunity for an early dart for a couple of folk.

 So, suitably attired and probably wishing we had invested in a sail, we left the warmth of Ness Gardens towards Ness. We skirted Ness and took the quiet lanes to Raby and on to Willaston Mills. At this time the riders believed they had woken up with “Chris Froome” legs as progress was effortless as we whizzed down to Ledsham & Capenhurst. The tail wind was not ready to show its more challenging side.

 Due to the tail wind we were whizzing past Manley Mere and onto our lunch stop the Blue Bell well ahead of our planned time.

 This is a super venue, part of the Barrowmore Estate. Formerly a TB hospital and nursing home. Since 1983 it now provides supportive accommodation for vulnerable people. Set in 85 acres of parkland it is a super place to visit.

 The staff at the Bluebell welcomed us in, and an excellent array of food was forthcoming.

 Alas, as the teas and coffees cooled in our stomachs the return to rain and wind called. The route now took us north through Little Barrow into the teeth of the wind. Steve T bade farewell at this point to attend a family occasion. The route then wound its way in and out of the wind to the Chester Greenway where Clive set off back home.

 The remaining sextet plodded down the Greenway with a healthy amount of headwind. A brief stop at Bren Bikes revealed that this charity, which receives and repairs bicycles for sale, is very busy. Last year alone they received over 900 bikes as donations and sold over 700.

 By this time the peloton of Dave, Roy, Keith & George had set off and was not in sight. So, raising his game, ride leader Alan turned into a domestique and dragged me all the way to Garden City where we “nearly “ caught up the peloton.

Photo SHu

 A quick series of diversions to avoid the greenway civil projects found the group at Toyota where Steve Hu, Alan and George turned for the motherland and the intrepid three of Keith, Roy & Dave H soldiered on to brave the Burton Marsh Wind tunnel.

 A great 39 mile ride on a day (if not for the club) I would not have ridden.

 Thanks to Alan for the route and Clive and Dave for having back up options as well.

See route map and/or gpx file download 

SHu

4th December 2014: Christmas Lunch Ride

The first Thursday in December is traditionally our Christmas Lunch Ride and this year was no exception. In a moment of madness I volunteered to organise it. However, it did give me the opportunity to choose a venue which would leave me with a fairly short ride home after a large lunch - so maybe not so mad after all! I chose the Stamford Bridge Inn near Great Barrow. Apart from it being close to home it is also a sister pub to the Boathouse at Parkgate where we had enjoyed our Christmas lunch the year before so I anticipated that the food would again be good.  

Photographs by Trevor Coates

Seventeen of us had signed up for the lunch. Unfortunately one of us was taken ill overnight (hope you get well soon, Brian Mac) and with 5 riders choosing to make their own way to the lunch 11 of us set off from the Little Roodee. These were Andy, Bryan, Clive, Dave H, David M, George, Ivan, Ray, Steve H, Tom and myself. We headed out along the banks of the River Dee and skirted round Grosvenor Park to emerge on to Boughton. A short dash along the main road took us past the impressive new Waitrose building before turning left into Hoole Lane, which would take us in the direction of the Stamford Bridge.

Now since the Stamford Bridge is only 6 miles from the Little Roodee a bit of a diversion was called for to avoid arriving at 2 hours too early. So, after crossing the A41 we turned right into Hare Lane and headed past the rugby club and across the A51. Then we headed into Christleton and on into Waverton. From there we took the Martins Lane route towards Tattenhall. After turning on to the Tattenhall road we immediately turned left again and cycled up to Huxley. Here we turned left again and in Hoofield turned right into the aptly named Corkscrew Lane. Back across the A51 here and then it was on to Willington & Kelsall.

From here we followed Hollands Lane towards Mouldsworth and from Mouldsworth we headed towards and past the Windsurfing Centre at Manley Mere. A left and right turn took us into Barnhouse Lane, which is the quieter back road into Great Barrow. A short stint down the B-road brought us to our final destination where we met up with Martin & Liz D, Dave & Liz P and Mike.

Here we tucked into an excellent Christmas Lunch thanks to the Stamford Bridge Inn, washed down with one or two selections from their great range of beers. After lunch we all made our own ways home. Thanks to a fairly flat ride we managed 25 miles before lunch. Anyone making their way back to the Little Roodee would have had a 31-mile round trip.  

TC