3rd April 2025 : Overton (brisk)

I met Ivan at the Blacon Old Station on the Greenway for the ride via Ferry bridge and Aerospace to The Gladstone Library cafe where there were a few EasyRiders already by the time we arrived. Slowly more arrived and welcomed Ivan back into the fold after his Spanish "adventures". Next time we see him on a bike, it may well be an electrifying experience!

I’d cobbled together a ride taking the easterly wind direction into account as fairly strong winds were forecasted for late in the day. I also didn’t fancy a lot of hills as I hadn’t been in the saddle for two weeks or more. With this type of wind-slipping route in mind,  I’d dressed for the part today with a multi-coloured snood thus emulating the Wind Whisperer - Lol, lol !

So Nick, Ray S and Chris followed me out of the Gladstone café and down the A550 road towards Wrexham. The Mods were just turning left off this road to take the rough uphill track to access the A55 footbridge. This is where we also wanted to go but I decided to stay on the main road and then, at the A55 roundabout, cut back up onto this tired old lane to “overtake” the Mods - and this we did as they were arriving at the bike gate, we were through it and on towards the footbridge.

Onwards and upwards we take Lower Mountain Road in glorious, if a bit chilly, sunshine to the Kinnerton Road where a left and right takes us down Sandy Lane - the surface here is really bad so it’ll live up to its name in time. We peel off right down Shordley Lane into the countryside taking a right and crossing Greenford Road then diving down into Caergwrle. 

Heading towards Wrexham, we peel off left and up the hill and turn into the ominously named Blast Lane. This is an excellent example of the state of our country lanes so we travel sedately before diving down Bradley Lane to Barrett’s Hill - a short but sharp uptick into the back of Gwersyllt. Running parallel to Mold Road, we access the back side of Wrexham arriving alongside the football ground for a swift transfer down and out via the hospital grounds.

Following  the old railway track cycle way, it's a shimmy route to arrive at the Wrexham Road running southwest to turn off left towards Erddig to cycle right through the grounds and out into the poor quality lanes towards Cock Bank and the A528 Overton Road.

Chris decides to take the lead here as we motor down to Overton Bridge for the slog up and into Overton passing one of the Seven Wonders of Wales to arrive after 23 miles at The Two Doves cafe at 1230. The rear gates are unlocked and the bikes are parked out back as our table is found “ Reserved” inside.  Always best to phone ahead here as the cafe is often quite full with “Ladies that Lunch”  and “ Laptops on the table and a single coffee all morning” workers. 

Bangor Bridge stop

After the usual lunch banter we head out into full sunshine 1330. The route out has been largely a straight line due south to ride 90 degrees to the wind. However the route back is via Bangor on Dee, the tiny lanes next to the Dee and Holt. So there is a bit of an angle in it to negate the easterly wind. Nick does a sterling job on Rossett Road pulling us along at 20 mph until he turns off to ride back and uphill to his car in Hawarden with 46 miles ridden. 

We three head for Chester via Dodleston and Lache Lane with 55 plus miles ridden at 15 mph average. The sun is still shining on my bare knees today for the first time this year. So thanks to the peloton for being dragged down so many badly surfaced lanes but it was rewarding riding the byways on such a beautiful Spring day.

See route map and/or gpx file download

CA

6th February 2025 : Overton ( brisk)

A very cold but sunny start for today’s ride commencing from Walk Mill over to Overton. Nick, Clive, Ray, Alan and Chris were my companions. We followed dry roads out from Waverton via Hargrave into Tattenhall.

 
Leaving Tattenhall on the Harthill Road, this initiated the usual grumbles about the gradient although I personally felt the icy patches we came across were more of an issue. The road from Harthill through to Malpas was enjoyable as it was dry and clear of debris and allowing us to keep a good pace.

After navigating Malpas’s busy high street, we turned onto Dog Lane and, after negotiating the potholes of Worthenbury, went through Bangor and passed its racecourse to arrive in Overton at 12:30 with 25 miles completed.The  staff at the 2 Doves cafe facilitated secure bike parking at the rear of the cafe and the rest of the service and food was excellent.

For the return, we retraced the road back to Bangor where we stopped by the church for a photo shoot as this coincided with Chris picking up a puncture. It only took ten minutes for the tube to be changed and then we were back on the road  heading out via Cross Lanes to Farndon.

Onward through Aldford and Saighton, we arrived back at Waverton where Clive, Ray, and Chris peeled off back to Chester leaving myself, Nick, and Alan to collect our cars. It was a glorious day, despite being cold, for this 45 mile route on mainly well-surfaced roads with an average speed around 15mph.

See route map and/or gpx file download

KP

30th January 2025: Overton (mod)

 Well today’s ride….woke up and looked out and was surprised -  ice, ice baby ( Vanilla Ice ); anyway just thought let’s go . The gang that showed- me plus my driver, DH, Steve Tan in casual attire due to impending holiday (recovering as well from an introduction to asphalt), Shane, the half Welsh duo SHu and Alan, Clive, Ken, Nick, Ray and a late arrival representing the mob that can shift at a fast pace for ages,whereas me and my partner Dave kept to the script - moderate or as some car drivers liked to say knobs get a move on .

We headed after no discussion at all to Overton via lanes that were extremely muddy and icy so we took care to behave. The route started by passing through Tattenhall to get to Overton via a route made on the fly by Dave, who, as usual, put Garmin and other twenty first century navigation equipment to shame by using a map with more creases than my holiday luggage. We meandered through lots of exotic locations - Duckington, Tilston skirting Malpas to Tallarn Green, then to Holly Bush and into Overton, stopping for food at the Two Doves cafe . The lunch time discussion was…. oh well, time to crack on.

The route back was also cold, even with a good winter sun out, but the ice had mostly thawed. One thing that had been evident was the amount of flooding that has happened, with the lanes muddy and lots of water left, but these where actually helpful identifying the pots. Anyway, the route back went via Bangor on Dee passing the small but very popular horse racing venue, on towards Worthenbury, Shocklach, back through the hood commonly known as Tilston ( Runcorn pubs don’t have tether points for our ponies) then passing Carden Park golf club ( so wanted to shout 'fore!' to a bunch of golfers.. what a game). Anyway we then bumped into the Welsh partnership finishing their cycle meander around Cheshire lanes, whereas me and Dave had crossed the border into Wales, I only have one question concerning this. Why did the sheep all run in the opposite direction when Dave was passing? Just a thought . We finally arrived back at the cafe in Tattenhall Alison’s.  38/ 44 miles in great company putting the world to rights.

KB

10th October 2024 : Overton (Mod+)

Meadow Lea seems to be the “honeypot” destination for the CER crew. Today was another bumper turnout. It was great to welcome a new rider Chris to the club and to see Steve T who was that afternoon undergoing cataract surgery. Good luck Steve and a speedy and vision enhanced recovery. 

Two groups were formed, Clive had two options a 57 and a 51 miler. I had had hastily downloaded off the CER website a 47 ish to the Two Doves. Our initial mod + group of Kevin Alan and myself was soon doubled in size as the fast lads joined us. So Clive, Ray S, Kevin , Alan , John Mills, Chris and myself set off. 

Having only downloaded the ride that morning and having spent at least 30 seconds reviewing the route it was to my chagrin when asked where are we going that I answered with a knowing blank stare. I quickly realised the best way to avoid navigation questions was to go off the front, which I did for most of the ride. 

The route surprisingly circuited Chester and took us down to the Dee and then through Handbridge. Taking some previously unknown lanes to me we quickly cruised into Rossett and then headed out on Rossett road. Here a temporary traffic lights caused a tailback which another group of cyclists took to be an invitation to attack our peloton. However their speed was not matched by their riders visual acuity and one of them mistook a cone for the road and promptly crashed ending their title battle. 

Our sprinter and leadout man Ray was oblivious to the commotion behind and was nearly at Commonwood before he realised he was doing a Pogacar. Alan was despatched to bring him back. By the time we had crested Park lane the group of seven was back in the game. 

The normally pleasant roads around the industrial estate were unfortunately very muddy and at times flooded. However with Chris and Clive on the front we quickly swept into Bangor on Dee for a quick photo opportunity. From here it was a quick two and a half miles to our lunch venue. Ray remembered they can open a secure rear parking area obviating the need to park seven bikes on the pavement outside the front door , nice one Ray. 

Not the Lone Ray-nger!

Replete with a variety of sandwiches and salads we were treated to a local history gem by Clive, who informed us the yews in the church of St Mary the Virgin were one of the seven wonders of Wales. Apparently the yews are between 1000 and 2000 years old. In addition to banishing bad spirits Yew went on to provide Taxol a product in the needles which in turn was used in the treatment of breast and other cancers. Indeed to this day, Taxol is still approved by the FDA. 

Fuelled by a tuna sandwich I made a quick dive off the front only to be stopped rapidly by a pinch puncture after hitting a pothole. A pitstop equal to a formula one team ably assisted by Alan and his magic gas inflator meant we were soon up and away. By now the tail wind we had so enjoyed during the morning took its toll on our group.

Undaunted Worthenbury Shocklach and Farndon slipped under our wheel, helped at times by John Mills placing his “beic trydan” on the front, thanks John. At Farndon Kevin left us for a more direct route home, Clive also left us at Plough Lane. 

Soon Meadow Lea appeared and Steve Hu and Alan decided they needed a coffee to fuel the additional twelve miles or so home. A rather expensive hi tech carbon bike was parked at Meadow Lea , followed by its rider who appeared in a Team GB strip. The rider no other than previous World hour record holder , Olympic medalist and altogether a really nice guy, Dan Bigham. 

This weekend whilst most of us are doing weekend chores Dan is representing Great Britain at the World Championships. In August 24 he, Ethan Hayter, Ethan Vernon and Charlie Tanfield smashed the team time trial at the Paris Olympics coming home with a silver medal. So what a great end to a brilliant ride in the sun with great company . 

See route map and/or gpx file download

SHu

1st August 2024: Overton (mod+)

About nine CER members gathered at The Gladstone Library café in Hawarden on a bright, sunny day that promised to be very warm and a threat of thunderstorms (the Met Office had put out a ‘yellow’ warning).

The mod+ group was Clive, Fiona, Elwyn and myself and the plan was to ride down to the Two Doves café in Overton using a route first conceived by Alan. We set off down the hill past the castle car park, revelling in the new smooth road surface. Then up the steep road/track at the side of Bilberry Wood to reach the footbridge over the A55.

Having climbed some more along Old Hope Road to cross the Mold road near Penymynydd, we were soon flying down Lower Mountain Road, crossing Kinnerton Road and swooping into Golly and Burton. Here we crossed the railway line using the rather awkward (for cyclists) gates. Heading along Chester Road we only had to climb a short way up the hill before peeling off left down Hoseley Lane. Somewhere along here we came across two huge tractors pulling slurry tankers which had met each other head on down the narrow lane. There followed a bit of a shuffle as they manoeuvred around each other, after which we followed one of them along the lane – but not too closely!.

After negotiating the roundabout on the A534 at Llan-y-pwll, we followed some more lovely lanes which skirted around Wrexham Industrial Estate and popped us out on the A525 at Cross Lanes. From there is was a short run down to Bangor-on-Dee and the bridge over the river, where the traditional group photo was taken.

Photo by EJ

From here it was but a short climb into Overton and the Two Doves, where the back gate was open and we found a cool shady spot to sit for lunch. As usual, the menu provided a wide range of offerings, including the all- day breakfast, which Clive took advantage of. Others chose more modest fare.

Now fed and watered, we were soon ready for the off, re-tracing our route  back to Bangor. Here, Clive left us to head off to consult Dave (The Bike Doctor) Matthews to sort out an annoying ‘click’ which he’d had all morning. Fiona led us through a housing estate in Bangor so that we could get back onto the A525 without going the ‘wrong way’ over the old bridge there.

We were soon off the main road and on Creamery Road and then on to the tiny side roads which run roughly parallel to Holt Road, but have almost zero traffic on them. In the winter, these often get flooded or are very muddy.

Emerging from the lanes, we crossed the A534 and headed into Holt. Heading out of there along Borras Road, the north-westerly wind was now quite strong, so Fiona volunteered Elwyn to lead us up the B5102 towards Lavister. ‘Keep it to 17’ she shouted to him. 17 mph!!! I was only able to keep up as long I was no more than two inches from his back wheel.

Fiona and Elwyn live in Lavister, but they offered to come a bit further on with me, so that they could get more than 50 miles in for the day. So, we pressed on through Dodleston to Higher Kinnerton, where we parted company.

That just left the last five miles for me to get back to Hawarden, but what a tough five miles it is, coming at the end of a forty-odd mile ride. The climb from Higher Kinnerton to Chester Road at the top must be at least 150 feet over about two miles and it took all my remaining energy to do it. The short ride past Rough Piece Wood was followed by the plunge down Tinkersdale to complete the ride.

45 miles covered on some fabulous lanes in warm sunshine and excellent company. And no hint of a thunderstorm!

See route map and/or gpx file download

ST

25th January 2024: Overton (mod)

I was running a little late, when I became stuck behind a school minibus and another car following a lone cyclist. Fair enough, the road from Waverton to Aldford has a number of curves, which can make overtaking a risk. When the smartly attired rider waved us through, it happened to be Ivan!  He joined us for coffee at Maggie’s, before doing his own route back. It was great to see his recovery going so well. At Maggie’s it was also a pleasant surprise to meet up with Elwyn and Fiona. Ken had made the effort but had commitments that prevented him joining one of our rides.  Jim and Trevor had ridden out, but it was just Matt, Ray, Andy and myself who made up the day’s moderate group participants.  

Wet weather was forecast for some time around three o’clock, so my plan was for a fair mileage before lunch, followed by a direct return route, hopefully beating the rain. I booked The Two Doves for 12.45 and that is exactly the time we arrived. We had started out through Farndon, and the high water at the Dee bridge was notable considering that the weather had been quite dry recently. It was hard to understand how planning permission had been granted for the impressive new house against the cliffs; did they use cars or canoes to get out when the river flooded? Did Amazon use drones to make deliveries? We had a largely quiet lanes route to Tilston, Duckington and Ashton Cross before heading south west to Malpas via Hampton Heath. We were soon on backwaters again taking in Oldcastle Heath, Threapwood and Mulsford before crossing the A525 at Holly Bush and reaching Overton by way of Cloy and then the B5069. With two strong riders and Ever Ready Ray, I was sometimes in the position of the Jim Dale model of leading from the back. This didn’t always work effectively, with Matt’s experience occasionally presuming that the route in my head was logical. Ray, of course, was often cruising ahead like an unaware geriatric driving a 1952 Lanchester 14. This had been exemplified at Sarn Bridge where I surprised the troops by turning right from behind them. Andy always waits supportively for anyone lagging, but this is partly offset by him regularly pointing out that the leader doesn’t appear to know his derriere from his elbow. Ray Hardman leading would have just turned off and left them to it. If we were a formal CTC group, we could call a meeting and condemn the behaviour, waste my time writing up minutes, send copies to the officers on the local board, and ban Ray until he fitted a mud flap. As it is, we are a very relaxed, tolerant independent club, and we prefer riding and jesting to extra bureaucracy and the imposition of strict rules.

The staff at The Two Doves are very pleasant and the food spot on. Their Full English is always an essential on Andy’s athlete’s diet sheet. Conversation was lively, and a bit loud to be honest, but writing this a few days on, I can’t remember the topics discussed! Life is like that at my age, it just washes over you like water over marble, gradually wearing you down and nothing sinking in.

Photo by CER

The ride back was always intended to be shortish, but perhaps we should have reviewed it over lunch, because with the wind behind us we returned to Holt via Bangor- on-Dee in just over forty minutes, including Matt’s cleverly taken photographs at the bridge where a visiting couple volunteered to do the deed last time. At Holt, Andy and Matt set off for home, hopefully missing any rain. Ray and I were surprised to see Alan and Steve Tan cycling to the car park, but that is another story! We had covered about 44 very enjoyable, dry miles. Matt and Andy had ridden more miles and a lot more respectively.

DH 

21st September 2023 : Overton (mod)

Dave H had emailed us all to say that a Chirk ride was definitely  “on" for Thursday and thus hoping for a crowd to turn up and ride in glorious sunshine (which we did for all but 15 mins). The reality was just five souls, one of which was Dave M who was only out for coffee today. As I had emailed Dave a potential ride, we Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse   (Steve Hu, Alan, Dave H and myself) set off northwards out of Chirk. Just as we set to go the Pike Tandem Duo arrive, but they decided to do their own thing.

I’d put this route together in 10 mins the day beforehand. It featured an unconventional routing to Overton. With 32 miles to lunch and then only 12 or so after lunch, the plan was to ride the hills out before lunch and minimise the very small lanes after lunch.

So we set off bound for Newbridge where the road has been well shut since January 2021. As we roll down towards Dee river bridge, the road now looks like a deep countryside lane with leaves and mud over the once clean surface. Out the other side there is a steep climb up into Cefn Mawr. Out via Acrefair, Delph Road is a pleasant ride up into Pen-y-cae. We saunter through Rhosllanerchrugog, and turning right into Johnson Street, we are surprised by magnificent view across to the Sandstone Trail countryside.

We now take the aptly named Corkscrew Lane off the Wrexham Road to Sontley. Here, we are briefly held up by farm workers shepherding a huge number of sheep by Land Rover down the back lanes. Riding over the inevitable debris, we are on our way to Marchwiel. Up via the King’s Mill estate, we shimmy into the other corkscrew lane, aka Redwither Lane, which winds round the back of the Wrexham Industrail estate arriving via the golf course at the entrance to the industrial estate. 

Shepherding by bike and Land Rover

Time was moving on, so I made an executive decision to cut out 4 miles, hence we rode passed Kelloggs's huge factory (but strangely no cereal-like smell today). El Presidente (Dave M) knows this plant well I believe and then we pass the ginormous blue and white warehouse of the internet business of New World Sports. We are now on the well-worn road to Bangor-on-Dee. After a short sprint along the Wrexham Road, we pass by Bangor taking the little Millbrook Lane. Steve and I wait for some time in vain for Alan and Dave. We surmise they must have gone into Bangor, so knowing that they know the way to Overton, we push on getting to the Two Dove cafe for 1300. 

As ever, the cafe doesn't disappoint, as we four order up off the menu or the specials board. We chat about the potential demise of Chirk as a winter start point, the fuel efficiency of the Yaris Hybrid ( I’d been driving one in Italy for a week and only managed 70 mpg), and the political farce that is the petroleum-powered car and domestic heating boiler cut-off dates.

Up until this point, I hadn’t employed my trade mark "grass up the middle of lanes” routing. This all changed as we turned off the Ellemere road down the deep and dark Red Hall Lane to Rhewl and Pentre-coed. We now cross the Ellemere to St Martins B road where Dave decides he will go straight back to Chirk. So we three dive down more agricultural lanes to Hindford. 

The sky was looking dark and it did rain making these lanes quite muddy with the occasional wheel bath. I hadn’t been down a couple of these before as we circle back to Chirk round the back of the Henle golf club and down to Chicken Run roundabout aka on the A5 roundabout. With a final flourish we take the canal path back into Chirk arriving at about 1515. If we hadn’t sheltered for 5 mins in the downpour, then we would have just seen Dave driving back home.

Chirk was dry! So annoyingly the 10-15 mins of rain was only concentrated on the darkest and now muddiest of lanes at the end of the ride. Were we down-hearted? - No, we weren’t!

We all enjoyed this slightly unconventional route on 95% dry sunny day, only actually riding about 41 of the 44ml route  Once again - where were you all? 

See route map and/or gpx file download

CA

PS: Steve Hu found out via the Daily Post that the police had been carrying out drug raids and arrests in most of the areas that we rode around today!

17th August 2023: Overton (mod)

The Gallery is now called ‘Pursuit Café and Kitchen’ and is being run by a cycling enthusiast, so that bodes well for us. 

The turnout was good, with Dave M and Ray S doing their own thing. That left Dave H, Every Ready Ray, Andy, Neil, George, Trevor, Jim and yours truly for the mod ride for the day. The plan was to ride down to The Two Doves café in Overton using the route pioneered by Alan last October.

We set off down the hill past the car park and up Tinkersdale climb, bearing left to take the steep road/track up to the A55 bridge. Trevor and Jim were at the rear and, going into the track, Trevor had a problem with his gears and came off, bringing Jim down with him. It all happened in a flash at almost no miles and hour, so no major damage was done to man nor bike.

Once over the A55, were set off along Old Hope Road then zoomed down Lower Mountain Road, crossing Kinnerton Road and soon found ourselves in Golly. The lanes around here and down to Rossett were quiet and smooth, but the railway crossing at Rossett was bumpy enough dislodge my rear mudguard, forcing a short stop to put it back on.

We only climbed part way up Marford Hill, before turning left down Hoseley Lane, where Andy complained that there were no apples to scrump this year. Again, the lanes were lovely and quiet down to Borras as were the lanes that skirt Wrexham Industrial Estate. It was here that we missed Trevor and Jim. After waiting five or more minutes, Andy set off back to look for them. After about another 10 minutes, Dave H returned to the junction where Neil, Andy, George and I had been waiting (he’d gone on ahead with Ray), to tell us that Jim and Trevor had told him that they had decided to bail out and go to Holt. A text later from Trevor confirmed that this was because he was feeling the after effects of his tumble earlier.

So, the six of us continued on via Cross Lanes to Bangor-on-Dee, where we took the group photo on the bridge. From here it was only a couple of miles before we reached Overton.

Photo by Steve T

As usual the offerings and service at the Two Doves was excellent and an eye opener for Neil, who had passed the place numerous times, but had never been inside. Suitable fed and watered, we were soon back on the bikes for the return journey. This took us back to Bangor and then up Creamery Road and along a series of lovely lanes to Holt.

From here, we headed for Lavister, but part way along Rossett Road, Ray suffered a flat rear tyre. He was confident that the ‘gloop’ that he’d already put in his tyres would solve the problem and that all he needed was to pump it up a bit. How wrong this turned out to be! After another stop near Trevalyn, where Neil, used a gas cylinder to pump up the tyre, another stop was needed as Ray approached Dodleston.

This turned out to be a very prolonged affair. The idea was to put in a new inner tube, but removing the rear wheel from Ray’s ‘leccy’ bike turned out to be a nightmare and it was over half an hour before we were moving once more. The loss of this time meant that we were unable to indulge DH’s desire for a cake stop in Kinnerton, so we headed directly back to Hawarden via Rough Piece Wood and the roundabouts at Dobshill, before plunging down Tinkersdale back to the car park.

46 miles covered on a day which had started cool, but which had turned out sunny and very warm. A ride not without incident and challenges, but one with great company and some superb lanes. Thanks again to Alan for planning such great route.

See route map and/or gpx file download 

ST

22nd December 2022: Overton (mod)

The weather forecast had been changing almost by the hour, so it was difficult to predict what we would face as Dave and I drove down to Holt. Whatever, it seemed that we’d get wet at some point. However, by the time we got to Cleopatra’s the rain had stopped, so perhaps things were looking up.

I’d planned a ride down to Overton, based on one I’d done with Ken 5 years ago. It would be only about 30 miles, but it was overcast so it would drop dark early. The mod riders would be Dave H, Steves Hu and T, Alan, Andy B and (only to Tilston), Trevor.

I ran into a problem loading up the route onto my bike computer which even our resident Wahoo guru couldn’t solve, so we fell back on Dave’s ‘paper Garmin’ to guide us. Almost as soon as we set off Steve Hu had a mechanical. He’d just fitted a new chain, but there was a mis-match with the cogs on his cassette, which made the chain jump as he pedaled. So he had to use the small chain ring and put the cassette into top gear to stop the chain jumping. He rode the whole route in that gear!

We took the usual route through Farndon and down Wetrains Lane. When we reached the end of the lane we stopped to take a photo at the gates leading to Stretton Hall. As we did so, a Range Rover came speeding towards us from Tilston. As it drew up we thought that we must be blocking access to the hall, but the lady driver wound down her window and offered to take our group photo – but we’d already done it.

Photo by Steve T

Onward then to Tilston, where Trevor left us and thence up the hill to Malpas, where a discussion raged about the elevation of the town (328 ft, according to Google). In Malpas itself, the road out to Worthenbury was closed, so we went a little further before taking Mastiff Lane to Oldcastle Heath and Threapwood where we re-joined the B5069. It has started to drizzle in Malpas and, as we reached Worthenbury it came on harder. By the time we got to Bangor-on-Dee it was, in Andy’s words, ‘proper raining’. But we pressed on past the racecourse and up the hill into Overton which was so steep that ‘top gear’ Steve Hu had to get off and push.

The choice of lunch stop was either the White Horse or the Two Doves café. We decided to see if the Two Doves had room for us - in fact we were welcomed in with open arms. No only did we get a good table, but the larger than life waitress insisted on taking our wet gloves and coats to put them over the radiator!

After polishing off their all-day breakfast, or in the case of Steve Hu, the Christmas Special, we retrieved our gloves and coats for the return journey. By now the rain had pretty much stopped and there was even a glimmer of sunshine, so the short route back through Bangor, Worthenbury and Shocklack was covered easily and quickly. We arrived back in Holt well before dark and just before the rain started again.

A modest ride of 31 miles on a day that promised little, but delivered through the company of the group and the people we met along the way.

See route map and/or gpx file download 

ST

13th October 2022: Overton (mod)

Well, there were more mods in the Gallery Cafe this morning than at a Paul Weller reunion event. It was particularly encouraging to see that our new member Ray was out for a second ride, well done Ray.

Alan had a number of options and the consensus was a revisiting the Two Doves Cafe in Overton.

The mod group consisted of Alan, George, Dave P and Liz on the tandem, Dave H, Steve Hu, Ray and Andy B.

Following a slight “is it left or right?” navigation error by Steve Hu we were on our way up Tinkersdale climb and towards the A55 footbridge. As Dave P approached he was greeted by 5 strapping chaps all prepared to lift the tandem over the five-bar gate. However, Dave had other ideas. He raised the tandem onto its back wheel and demonstrated a tremendous pirouette style.

All back together again we proceeded along Old Hope only stopping to introduce the legendary Dave Heath to Mrs Steve Hu.

 The group swooped down Lower Mountain road crossing Kinnerton road and bowling into Golly. I have always thought what a nice place to live. We then started to experience the first of a number of muddy lanes of the day. Soon we were approaching Rossett and crossing the railway line.

The climb up Chester Road towards Marford sorted out the strong riders. In fact, not content with achieving a KOM, Andy B vaulted the fence by the side of the road only to go scrumping for apples. A team event resulted in a healthy haul of apples all carefully stored in Dave P’s panniers, as if his panniers were not heavy enough already.

Some lovely lanes ensued until we approached Holt road. Similar quiet scenic lanes herald the route towards Bangor on Dee. A quick photo opportunity allowed the curating of the ride to be handed over from Electronic Alan to Paper Garmin Dave H for the last 2 miles to Overton.

Photo: SHu

The sight of the “breakfast” on the menu at the 2 Doves must have been appealing as 7 out of 8 opted for this choice.

Fuelled by bangers and beans we re-traced our route back to Bangor on Dee where the baton was handed back to Alan who became ride leader again. The route along Creamery Road is a lovely series of roads knitted together. So much so ride leader Alan Andy B and George decided they would carry on to Talwrn. Fortunately wing man Steve (Goose) H was reading the map and the team successfully made their way to Holt.

 As we approached Cleopatra’s, Dave H experienced a serious case of wheel wobble as the pull of fresh coffee was strong. However, digging deep Dave moved to the front as we progressed to Lavister. Prior to Lavister, Dave & Liz diverted off to Rossett for a coffee and the remaining group carried on to Pulford.

The pull of caffeine was so strong for Dave H and at one point he was a good five minutes ahead of the group, with Andy B leading the charge to chase him down. The nice flat lanes of Pulford and Dodleston fell away to reveal the climb up to Penymydd.

Reduced by a further two riders as Dave H and Andy B succumbed to caffeine, George, Alan and Steve watched Ray demonstrate the superior performance of his E bike, despatching us easily on the climb. However, always a gent, he waited for us at the top. The group now meandered past Rough Piece Wood before plunging down Tinkersdale to complete the ride.

A fantastic 46 miles in brilliant October sunshine with great company. Thanks for planning the route Al.

Shu

 See route map and/or gpx file download

25th August 2022: Overton - Cafe Hopping (mod)

Whilst the ‘Special Riders’ were away visiting rural Lancashire, six of us turned out at the Gallery Coffee Shop, Hawarden; JohnW, Ken, Richard & Ivan representing the ‘Briskers’ and SteveH and myself the ‘Mods’. Whilst the fast boys were off to seaside places in north Wales; Steve and I discussed the options open to us. I suggested a route I had planned the previous day of visiting all the CER café meeting places (Café Hopping) in one ride. Going anticlockwise from Hawarden to Chirk, Holt etc using as many minor roads. Steve took to it as he could drop of near where he lived.

Through Llay, traffic was relatively light where we were followed and eventually passed by two police cars who had urgent matters to attend. Wrexham was busy and Erddig Country Park soon followed. As we cycled, discussions ensued on such interesting topics of family history, building submarines and metallurgy.

At Newbridge, south of Ruabon, we came across our first ‘Road Closed’. Where the B5605 crosses the River Dee. A supporting retaining wall has collapsed, but you can cycle through with care. We had a quick inspection and concluded the solution is not easy and very expensive.

Photos by Mike G

To keep off the busy roads, we diverted towards Chirk Castle with its splendid gates.

At St Martins we came across another road closure and had to walk the bikes through the surfacing works. The looks we got were not the most welcoming. Our benefit was, almost a traffic free road to Overton for our lunch stop at the ‘Two Doves’ café, having covered about 30 miles.

Having feasted, good progress was made to Holt. In Farndon we experienced a set of traffic lights causing havoc, this was not helped by parked cars. From Churton to Coddington was one of the roughest lengths of road I have cycled for a long time. The damage is generally caused by heavy agricultural traffic and lack of maintenance. It was not helped by the dark shadows cast by the trees from the strong sunlight. We also noticed on a lot of other sections of minor roads we cycled, wide longitudinal cracks randomly occurring that your wheel can drop into, with the potential to either cause damage or throw you off the bike (accident waiting to happen).

Photo by Mike G

Shortly after Clotton we went our separate ways as Steve was so close to home and Rose Farm Garden Centre was not on his ‘hit list’. Overall, a lovely day’s cycling, Steve covering in excess of 80 miles and me a little further because of a minor diversion to Ness Botanic Gardens.

See route map and/or gpx file download (Full Hawarden to Hawarden circuit, 93 miles)

Mike Gilbert

27th January 2022 : Overton (brisk)

Earlier in the week, the Brisk Group, aka Ivan, John W and Ray, joined me to ride from the Old Dee Bridge for a 60+miler to Overton. These days after 10 year's plus of cycling locally with nearly 500 routes available to me, it becomes harder to find a ride with something different in the mix. So I fashioned a route to the Two Doves cafe in Overton involving five crossover sections i.e five opportunities for riding part of the route back at any time. We did this only once due to my error after grinding up the very steep lane out of the Alyn valley along Blast Lane and Bradley Hill in Gwersyllt. 

I enjoyed the Two Doves cafe, so I was minded to cobble together a route to Overton from Hawarden. Today, the Brisk group was Ivan, Ray, John M and myself. From the Gallery cafe, we set off up hill bound for Penyffordd en route to Llay. We turn here at the single route crossover point to take the road towards Wrexham. In and out of Wrexham and over Offa's Dyke, we are close to Bersham Colliery for the second time this week. We continue on the road from Wrexham passing through Johnstown and onwards to Ruabon and the Dee Valley at Cefn Mawr.

Park Road takes us towards Cefn Mawr and also states that it is “Closed” and closed it is at the Dee bridge with massive concrete blocks (see photo). The reason for the closure becomes obvious as part of the road and footpath had slid down into the river valley. We weren't sure when this occurred but the Wrexham Leader article explains that it was over a year ago. Read all about it here.

Blocked!

It just slipped away from me!

We get through OK and motor on into Chirk, where a local ancient rocker on a motorbike doesn't understand why I was gesticulating expressing my concern as he parks his front wheel half across the cycle lane just as we four approach. He was turning onto the Chirk road from a local side street. He obviously has not boned up on the new Highway Code. He did mutter some choice Welsh words though, probably remonstrating with himself no doubt!

We exit Chirk uphill via the housing estate, and out and over the A483 into the badlands of Glynmorlas and Pont-y-blew. It's a bit like Hobbit land down here with deep lanes, brooding hillsides, and muddy roads. We climb out ok though on the only serious climb of the day into the edge of St Martins and now are bound straight for Overton after 30 miles of riding. 

Our usual table (the one I requested after visiting on Tuesday that is!) is ready in the Two Doves and it is yet again a very pleasant atmosphere. Suitable refreshed, we are leaving just after 1300 for a visit to the local churchyard to see the ancient yew trees, one of which is thought to be between 1500-2000 years old. It was very gnarled and well-supported and mainly hollow, but had a vigorous canopy and stood  alongside a lot of youngster yew trees.

We had decided at lunch to peel off back to Chester at around Borras as none of us needed to climb all the way back to Hawarden. So we head out of Overton down the hill passing the Cross Foxes at some  speed eventually sliding around the east side of Wrexham metropolis circling around the massive quarry bound for the Marford Hill descent.

Powering back down the B5445 (aka the old A483), Ivan cuts through the fresh northwest wind as we now separately disperse homewards near Chester. The official route back would take you to edge of Higher Kinnerton via Llay for 50 miles of dry roads.

You can see a long way from Borras Head

We are going this way.

So it is thanks to John M and Ray for their company today and especially to Ivan for often leading the pack on the long "main" road sections. A dry, “warm” sunny day with long views available everywhereunlike Tuesday where it was uniformly grey and crept up to 4C

.

See route map and/or gpx file download

CA

Photos JM and ID

23rd December 2021: Overton (mod)

There was a good turnout at Cleopatra's by both the brisk and moderate riders, considering the closeness to Christmas. It was good to see Ken in fine fettle, and have a brief catch up. The moderates consisted of the three Steves, Alan, Andy, Dave Matthews and myself. Steve Haywood had looked up the White Horse Inn at Overton on tinternet the previous evening, and it appeared to be operating normally. Although most have us have forgotten what used to be 'normal', and where the latest 'normal' has got to. Had Boris or Mark Drakeford intervened since I left Naga and Charlie at breakfast? Can you trust a website to be up- to- date, particularly around Christmas? Are Kwik Fit really open for an oil change the day after Boxing Day? I'd had similar thoughts to Steve around Bangor-on-Dee or Overton with regard to not going too far on a short winter's day, because I'm scared of the dark.

So it was, that we set out on a contrived detour to Overton. It was a conservative detour: no sane person wants to grapple with the pock-marked, lumpen terrain of Malpas, just for the hell of it. There was also little point in doing the hokey cokey with the A49 and its whizzing wagons, just for the sake of a few more miles. The little lanes south of the A525 have little allure in their branch-strewn, slithery, shitty winter state. Many will remember being led by Clive, in his early Farmyard / Exploration Period, into the Bermuda triangle of glutinous mud between Three Fingers, Eglwys Cross and Arowry. Wheels had to be removed, as mudguards jammed and big sticks were used for cleaning. Fiona, Neil and George, to name but a few, know that I exaggerate not. Also, one has to allow time for possible punctures on very short winter days, so the untoward stretching of boundaries was not on our list of essential criteria for our moderate meander on this particular day. From Farndon we headed for Tilston, passing some hedge-cutting, which claimed Andy for our first puncture of the day. Dave Matthews had already made his planned exit for home at this stage. We do usually lose Dave, one way or another, but it is often unintentional! Andy was very efficient in dealing with the puncture, as befits a man who has been known to take very long rides on (sometimes) exceedingly thin tyres. Practice makes perfect. Next up, we passed Nick's house, I think, and headed south through Chorlton Lane to Cuddington Green. From Threapwood, we crossed Sarn Bridge and, unusually, turned right for Mulsford and Holly Bush.  A little challenge was then taken on, by not riding the most direct route into Overton, but choosing to cross the dismantled railway and doing a steep little dive and climb at Cae-Dyah before joining the B5069.

Given my reservations about the veracity of websites, as mentioned earlier, it did not come as a shock to find that whilst the White Horse was still a goer, it was closed on Thursday lunchtimes. Fortunately, The Two Doves Cafe around the corner was excellent: friendly, clean, and with very good quality light bites. A young couple kindly moved so that we could sit together, but be reasonably spaced. Steve Hughes was maintaining his behaviour of not eating inside to ensure the protection of an elderly relative. The cafe did have perspex screens, and he could have sat apart behind a screen. In fact, if the situation vastly improves, it would still be preferable if he sat behind a screen in the corner, so that we could eat in peace. As it was he sat outside on a cold corner. Alan popped out with a drink and stuff to help as much as he could. I appreciate that Steve makes the effort to come out on a Thursday, despite missing our scintillating company over lunch. We all respect the decision he has made, and it would be wrong for us to try and persuade him otherwise.  Unfortunately, Steve Tan's tyre was flat when we returned to our bikes for the ride back to Holt. The offending thorn was soon dug out, and Steve was quite quickly up and running with the help of Andy's impressive pump. The quickest return route was probably via Bangor on Dee and then alongside Wrexham Industrial Estate, but we took the pretty direct, but quieter route through Holly Bush, Worthenbury, Shocklach and Farndon. Somewhere before Shocklach, Andy, Alan and Steve Tan started to wind their speed up and disappeared from site within a couple of miles. Although it doesn't exactly fit the Chester Easy Riders commitment “that no one gets left behind”, the blast by some up to Farndon, where they wait, has become a regular tradition in recent times, and is just a bit of fun. Steve Hughes dropped back to accompany the two “leaders” myself and Steve Haywood. I could imagine some straight-laced CTC stalwarts disapproving, but we are far too tolerant for that, thank goodness! We got back in good time, despite the punctures, and once again we were lucky with the weather. A shortish, but enjoyable ride in relaxing company.       

Photos by AO

See route map and/or gpx file download

DH