12th November 2026: Bunbury (mod+)

 Well, I don’t know if it was the three degree temperatures that put folk off but you could count the Mod+ riders on one finger today!

The senior management team was already in session when Mike and I cycled in, mostly in civvies and clearly hungry looking by the plates of toast being consumed. Due to my lowly position and reputation within the club I was asked to leave the board table and sit with Shane, Ivan, Kevin and Clive. Soon Toby, Last minute Chris, Alvise, Alan, Anthony and Ray S swelled the numbers.

Clive Chris and Ivan decided on a brisk route to Crewe, whilst I used both hands and all my fingers (and one thumb) to marshall together Alan, Alvise, Ray, Anthony, Mike, Shane, Kevin and Toby (replete with new headgear) . Anthony had a forty miler to Tilleys; I had a 35 miler to Tilleys, taking in the Whitegate Way. As it was autumn and cold we opted for my shorter route.

This route is courtesy of our summer rider Neil T. In defence of his absence, yesterday he chose to ride and support Owain Wyn Evans on his Children In Need Charity ride. Owain’s total as of today stands at £1.8 million for his 400 mile four country ride.  An excellent result and I hope he didn’t catch Neil”s lurgy en route. 

The start of the route meanders over the lovely pot holed (did you know one of the myths on the origin of this word pothole comes from the potteries industry. When brigands would surreptitiously dig up clay deposits in the night leaving exposed holes) Station Road. Our route took us through Hatchmere, past Norley and onto the Whitegate Way. The colours were lovely as this photo attests apart from the rears of the pesky cyclists who seemed to be everywhere today.

A quick sprint down Clay Lane (pottery reference???) took us through Little Budworth down to Bunbury. Ten minutes out, the ever-prepared Ray S voiced that with nine riders we should have phoned ahead, but when has forward planning stood in the way of a CER ride. Despite our numbers we were all seated and whilst a little slow the food arrived and was devoured with gusto.

 Replete we set off with Kevin and Alan already warming up for the days attack going down to the Shady Oak. In effort to cool their heels an impromptu photo stop was made and a courteous passer by ensured our full complement was included in the photo see below

Shane peeled off leaving the rest of the group to return to Delamere via Tarporly and Eaton.  Alvise Kev and Ray had another twelve or so miles back to Chester.

 A very chilled in the true meaning of the word 33-35 miles, with the Chester lads over 50 miles. Stunning weather and fantastic company and humour.

 Steve H.

See route map and/or gpx file download

12th November 2026 : Sandbach (brisk)

What a cracking day it was - wall-to-wall sunshine and low wind speeds - but a tad cool at 5C. I set off from home deciding to ride the Greenway to Mickle Trafford thence Mouldsworth way to Delamere station cafe. Quite soon I espied a duo ahead only to find it was Chris and Al. 

We rode on as a trio and up the Greenway and then to the A56 where Ivan snuck up behind us. We then rode as a quad group but approaching Manley Mere it became obvious that Ivan and I were running a little too quickly for Al today, so we forged ahead leaving Chris to support Al. All went well until we two came to the end of Aston Road through Delamere Forest at the Hatchmere turn. Here a driver in a parked car partially opened the door into Ivan’s path only closing again just in time. A lucky escape.

There were a lot of riders in the cafe today (over a dozen I think). A few of us suffer from cold extremities in winter time and I was intrigued to see Anthony’s battery heated gloves. A mere snip at £150+. However, Terratherm and  HotHands sachets were the lower cost effective solution to ice cold toes and fingers.

I’d borrowed a route to Sandbach from yesteryear tweaking it to take in a few less known roads. The peloton today consisted of Chris, Ivan, Ken (who car-assisted to Kelsall) and myself. We set off south crossing the Chester Road and into Abbey Road which was closed to traffic. 

Half way along the closed road there was a barrier across the opposite side of the road that we were riding on. As we got closer to this barrier, a car coming towards us at some speed ignored that we had right of way and squeezed through. On doing so it clipped Chris’s arm knocking off the cover of the driver’s door mirror. Chris was fine but that idiot needs sectioning as he obviously only lived a little further down the road and the few seconds that he might have saved could have had very serious consequences. We laughed it off but it could have been very different.

So we motor on to Cotebrook and Eaton on our way to Wettenhall and Nantwich down one of the worst roads in the county. In and out of Nantwich, we head for Hough via Wybunbury. The next section takes us around Wychwood Park golf club village heading for Barthomley. The earliest ride to here was back in 2009 with several visits since until the White Lion closed depriving us of its famous meat pies. We head off north down a Road Closed narrow lane thankfully finding that, whilst it is closed to traffic, pedestrians are allowed to cross the railway line. 

Ivan counsels a brief wait as he accesses his on-board train timetable database to correctly state that there will be a train soon and then another after that. Sure enough he’s right, so we nip across before the next train rushes by. Ivan also correctly remembers that on 20th Nov 2014, John W had a puncture here on his maiden ride with us just 5 minutes from the White Lion and a pint!

We are now into the delightful lanes around Oakhanger entering Alsager from the west and exiting northwards bound for Hassall Bank (where we go over the M6 twice and under it once), before heading to Malkins Bank and into a very busy Sandbach and The George pub which was rammed nearly full!

This is a favourite of the brisk group as we can be fed and watered all in 30-40 mins. With 33 miles ridden we start the very familiar 20 mile route back towards Cotebrook. For variety, we head north in Church Minshull to ease around Winsford taking narrow Blakeden Lane  (where the photo was taken).

"Tail-end Chris" view

Arriving at Cotebrook, Ivan heads back home via Utkinton as Chris and I accompany Ken back to Waste Lane in Kelsall where he has left his car. Ken cannot resist one more hill, so it is up the steep Heaths Lane we three grind on until the Waste Lane turn. Ken zooms down it to his car as Chris and I zoom down Chapel Lane to Willington and home via Waverton etc.

So great day out with the low sun causing a few issues all day. It was 54 miles around but with riding out and back from our homes it was 70+ for Ivan and 80+ for Chris and I.

This was definitely a BRISK ride! as my legs attested the following day. It was also great to ride with Ken again as he has been away a lot over the summer and, despite two e-bikes and Young Chris, he more than kept up tight with us.

See route map and/or gpx file download 

CA

5th November 2026 : Overton (brisk)

Walk Mill was very busy with cyclists today and most seemingly heading out toward Wrenbury. I decided a quiet solo ride would be a more suitable option for me but Chris, Toby, and Ray decided I needed company and subsequently I unwittingly became the ride leader.  

The early miles through Greenlooms and into Tattenhall allowed me time to mentally plot a route out to the Two Doves at Overton. I chose a very straightforward ride linking Tattenhall to Malpas before then descending into Bangor on Dee. After crossing the A525, we followed Millbrook Lane to Bangor racecourse and turned left onto Bangor Road for the final stretch into Overton.  

The Two Doves café  was very quiet so our group of four were seated easily with  food and drinks orders taken and delivered quickly.

Our return journey involved passing the racecourse and then going into Bangor village via the old bridge . We continued to follow the A525 for about a quarter of a mile before turning off towards Farndon.
At Isycoed, I left the group to make their own way home as I wanted to collect some cycling components from Tweeks Cycles.

I expect most of us covered about 60 miles. Thanks to Chris,Toby and Ray for an uneventful ride and promoting me to the role of ride leader !!. 

See route map and/or gpx file download

KP

5th November 2026: Eaton (mod)

I have been recovering from a recent injury but felt able to get back on my bike as long as the ride wasn't too long or too vertically demanding. The best way of ensuring that was to plan my own route. I was happy to follow someone else if the ride met my criteria but the first thing Dave H asked me when I walked into Walk Mill was ''Have you got a ride?''. So it was that I got the job of leading the moderates on a ride that would take us for lunch at Drays Coffee Shop in Eaton.

Fellow riders will know that it is only about 7 miles from Walk Mill to Eaton so a slight detour would be required. With three other mods in tow (Dave H, George and Mike D) I turned right out of Walk Mill. It was immediately obvious that the cold weather that had been forecast earlier in the week had arrived. We had turned into a cold wind which would be in our faces for the first part of the ride. Not a strong wind but noticeable enough because of the temperature. We were heading straight towards Eaton here but after crossing the Gowy we turned left up towards Tarvin. After crossing the A51 we turned right to pass through Oscroft and then onto Kelsall. We were heading for the delightful road that runs through the middle of Delamere Forest. There is a short climb to reach it (which produced a few mutterings from behind me) but once at the top it was a pleasant run through the forest.

Beyond the forest we headed for Norley opting for the quiet Pytcheleys Hollow to reach the centre before leaving the village down Bag Lane. The latter took us to the A49 at Cuddington where we took a quick left and right onto beautifully smooth, recently resurfaced stretch of road. Nice riding for about a mile before turning south towards Sandiway Park. For the first time the wind wasn't in our faces and we were making good progress as we passed through Whitegate. We hadn’t quite reached the halfway point of our ride so we ignored the Station House Cafe, carried on to Little Budworth and skirted round the edge of Oulton Park to Rushton. Less than a mile now to the lunch stop but I managed to get the final approach wrong, leading them half way up the track to the house next door before realising my mistake.

So we reached Drays having extended a 7-mile cycle to 22 miles. There was a good selection of sandwiches and toasties on offer (as long as you like cheese) and we all soon found something that we liked. The conversation flowed while we waited for our food, the NHS being the main topic. One of our group had recently undergone a cataract operation and it seemed that at our age we all knew several people who had had one.

When we trooped out after lunch we immediately felt the cold again. Probably worse after being in that cosy cafe. We had to work hard to warm up again. Only 7 miles back to Walk Mill? We hadn't done enough in the morning to justify that so another loop was required. Our return was via Alpraham and Bunbury before crossing over to Peckforton and Beeston. Dave preferred the road past the Ice Cream Farm to the drop down to the Shady Oak and the final approach was via Hargrave and Martins Lane. 39 miles completed (and a few more for those who had cycled out to Walk Mill) and not too hilly, which suited me. My companions seemed happy with it too. 

TC  

5th November 2026: Wrenbury (mod+)

 With the winter season upon us Walk Mill becomes the Chirk location for the wetter months. Whether its the ground coffee or the ground flour since Walk Mill is always a busy start point.

With sufficient riders for three groups Ken led the briskers ,  Trevor the mods and Steve T had a cunning route to Berries in Wrenbury. Our group consisted of Steve T, Alan O, Dave Kevin and yours truly.

Steve T must have had three shredded wheat this morning as he set out from the café like a greyhound. If Toby was with us he would have adopted him. The school traffic was completely clear as we passed the high school in Waverton and crossed the A41 on Saighton Lane. Whilst it was cool at ten degrees Celsius the head wind was particularly noticeable on this section , Neil T would be really disappointed in our selection of routes.

As we approached Bruera we took a left and followed Platts lane , crossing the busy Whitchurch rd on Chester Rd. We seemed to have been climbing steadily which did wonders for keeping us all toasty warm. Keeping an eye out for the whisperer we cruised into Tattenhall and followed Bolesworth road out. Just before Brown Knowl we took a right just avoiding some ladies on very large horses. A brief dalliance with 60 mph traffic on Whitchurch road was quickly cut short by a left into Bickleywood, despite Steve H trying to put in a right to No Mans Eaff!

 This anomaly of 180 degree mis direction was explained away by a Formula 1 style pitstop where Steve H discovered he had a slow puncture. The five minute masterclass on tubules plugging impressed all and sundry , but as always Steve T was there to immortalise the event on film.

As we approach the canal by the Dusty Miller swing bridge we caught the aroma of bacon from the Canalside Garden Centre. However our destination was Berries, which unfortunately is closed every Thursday. So Canalside it was , and what a great find. with four small breakfasts and one portion of eggs on toast we were soon refuelled.  Please see our group photo.

The 'half breakfast'

Our return loop took us through Bunbury and past Beeston Castle. Having consumed his eggs at lunchtime (new) Dave was on a mission and kept creeping upto the front. This challenge was quickly defeated as Alan O and Kevin who plunged down to the Shady pub only to stop and catch their breath on the canal bridge. Here Steve H delivered the hammer blow of attacks and managed to complete a large portion of the this blog on his phone whilst waiting for Kevin and Alan to crest the rise 

Remarkably everyone stayed together for the final run into Waverton , as often the top of the Shady hill the group fragments for Chester Utkington etc 

So a lovely 46 mile ride led by Steve T at a spirited 14 mph average which was commendable for nearly 1600 feet of climbing on a November day.

Steve H 

Note by Steve T - no route map or gpx file today as Plotaroute showed an error converting the file on my Wahoo.

29th October 2026: Malpas (mod)

 Because of overriding circumstances this write up will have to be short.

There was a strong turnout at Alison’s, but for the second week running you could count the moderate riders on the fingers of half a hand. So it was that it was just George and me who climbed together in the direction of Broxton Old Hall. An easy speedy ride down the Old Coach Road followed. We crossed the A49 twice at No Man’s Heath passing the pub where we used to have sausages in a large Yorkshire pudding. East of the main road again we joined the quiet lane which is part of the Sandstone Trail. Our last crossing of the A49 took us down nooky Bradley Lane. At the Old Malpas Road my route turned south and then right to the junction at Fox Cottage. We meandered down past Wigland Hall to Lower Wyche and then ascended a familiar climb in the direction of Drury Lane. I managed to miss a right turn, so we finished up at Eglwys Cross on the A525. At this stage, we legged it along the main road before turning north west for Threapwood, cruising then climbing the back lanes to Malpas. 

By the time we sat down in the Little Deli we had been out three hours, but with the lovely scenery and weather, and very agreeable company, the miles had melted away. Before we could raise our forks for lunch the mod plus group passed the window having eaten at The Old Fire Station. I thought Steve Tan would be waiting a long time for me at at Tattenhall, so after lunch we returned directly at a good lick. As it happened the mod plus group had extended their return route, so Steve appeared a couple of minutes after George and me. We then wasted half an hour looking for keys that were in the car door- but that’s another chapter; ask Steve about it and he will blame me and be100% right! Because of our shorter than planned return route we ‘only’ covered thirty-five miles in total, but who cares? It was really enjoyable spending the day catching up with George and capturing the essence of easy riders from days of yore.

DH

29th October 2026: Malpas (mod+)

 I arrived at Alison’s Café and was just parking up my bike when Ray S and Keith arrived.  With the temperature around 13°C, Ray and I immediately faced one of the great dilemmas of cycling: should we sit outside and get cold before we had even started riding, or head indoors and enjoy a little warmth while we still could?  No formal agreement was reached, no hands were shaken, and no committee meeting was required.  We simply opened the door and went inside.  Clearly, we were of one mind.

Keith, meanwhile, was still outside faffing about with his bike and therefore missed out on the decision-making process.  When he eventually joined us, he made a point of observing that we always sit outside at Alison’s.  Similar comments followed as other riders arrived.

It was another decent turnout, with three groups setting off: Dave H and George in the mod group, and everyone else split between mod+ and brisk.  Our mod+ contingent consisted of Fiona, Elwyn, Alan, Steve T, Dave N, Kevin, Keith and yours truly — eight riders in all.

Steve T and Alan had been discussing a ride to Whixhall Marina for lunch and, with Alan taking the lead, we set off to enjoy the day's cycling.  Little did we know that the route, the lunch destination and even the group itself would soon be subject to revision.

There was no gentle warm-up or leisurely leg-stretching to ease us into the day.  Although not very steep at any point, we were right into a 350ft climb up to Bolesworth Castle.  More respite now as we headed south to No Mans Heath following the roads to the west of Larkton Hill.  All was going reasonably well as we crossed back over the A41 towards Bickleywood.

Then nature called.

Fiona needed a loo stop, with Elwyn staying behind to accompany her back into the group, leaving the rest of us to continue a little further up the road where we took a right turn, coming to a halt shortly afterwards to wait for our missing companions.  However, we were too far around a right hand bend that we couldn’t be seen by Fiona and Elwyn, who continued on past the junction all the way to the A49. 

While we waited, Keith took the opportunity to remind everyone of the club rule that the last rider should hold back at junctions to prevent the group from becoming separated.  Alan and Keith rode back to look for them but, by then, Fiona and Elwyn were well down the road. Fortunately, Keith was able to telephone them — thanks Dave H for your timely distribution of the new contact list.   Fiona and Elwyn returned using the same section of road – ‘wee-cycling’ I believe it’s called - to rejoin the group.

A young lady stopped for a pee,
As her cycling pals rode off with glee.
Her hubby gave chase,
At a cracking good pace,
But they missed the right turn — W.C.!   (Will Chase 2026)

 Overall, a delay of around 12 minutes and an additional three miles for Fiona and Elwyn, a wee detour as a Scot might say.

 While waiting for our missing riders, we had further discussions about the route for the day.  We had only covered 9 miles for a planned route of about 50.  Furthermore, it was in the wrong direction for Fiona and Elwyn who had already cycled 15 miles to get to Alison’s.  We decided to re-route and head west rather than east with a lunch stop at Malpas, a better location for Fiona and Elwyn, giving them more options for returning home with a sensible overall mileage for them.

Malpas was a little too close to justify lunch so soon and so I volunteered to lead a new route and add some extra distance via Tallarn Green and Threapwood.  This meant another steady climb of around 350 feet on the road from Threapwood to Malpas but it felt so much easier than the earlier ascent to Bolesworth Castle, admittedly over a slightly longer distance but also on warmed-up legs.

Lunch at Malpas was at the Old Fire Station café, where there were two separate tables of 4 but enough to accommodate us.  Fiona wasn’t keen on going there because of how expensive it had been on a previous occasion but, for one reason or another, we ended up parking our bikes in the bike rack, the type which support just the bottom of one wheel, and which never inspire much confidence, leaving the nagging suspicion that a badly placed bike could leave you with a bent wheel.  As for lunch itself,  I can’t speak for everyone else’s meal but both Keith and I had the café’s club sandwich and were suitably impressed.

The direct route back to Tattenhall via Tilston was just 9 miles and so we headed back via Shocklach, Farndon and Churton to add a bit more distance.  Fiona and Elwyn left us at Malpas and headed home via Tilston.  We bumped into them again crossing the A534 at Farndon, with Fiona and Elwyn taking a left turn shortly after, through Farndon and Holt to return home.  A little more communication at lunchtime on our respective plans and we could have cycled together from Malpas to Farndon.  The main group wasn’t deliberately trying to avoid them anymore than we were at Bickleywood – honest!

 At Churton, rather than taking a right turn for the more direct path back to Tattenhall via Coddington as initially intended, it was still early and so we headed on to Waverton and followed the Shropshire Union Canal before heading south for the final run back into Tattenhall.  Not sure why exactly but Keith did take the right turn in Churton for the more direct route back to Tattenhall only for us to pass him going in the opposite direction as he headed back to Guilden Sutton via Waverton – something about not wanting to go through Waverton twice, firstly on our way back to Tattenhall and secondly on him returning to Guilden Sutton.  Had he stayed with us he could have gone directly to Guilden Sutton from Waverton without returning to Tattenhall.  His call, though, and maybe he had had enough of us for the day.

The route may not have gone quite as planned, but unexpected events are often part of the appeal of club cycling.  Despite a couple of hiccups, it was a good day out on the bikes, in good company and with good weather for the time of year. 

Anthony M

Some stats:  43 miles overall with 1750ft ascent.  22 miles for the hillier part of the day before lunch at an average speed of about 12mph (if the 12 minute delay is excluded).  21 flatter miles after lunch with an average speed of about 15.5mph – no wonder I was flagging towards the end!

Shocklach: a placename that Keith found amusing but then Keith has form when it comes to placenames – see the blog for the mod special ride from Chirk on 17 Sep 2026.  According to the Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place Names, the village name Shocklach means 'goblin stream'.

See route map and/or gpx file download

29th October 2026 : Crewe (brisk)

I have often wondered whether we should go back to the old days for Brisk rides where only the ride leader has the route. It was such fun in those days keeping every rider guessing as to was it the next left or right turn. Frequently, someone would think they knew the routing and flashed ahead only to be called back or lost down the rabbit hole of their wrong turn. A few names come to mind!

I suppose a lot of the other group rides are a bit like that, but it always seemed to me that the Fast Lads rides often missed that essence of “I wonder where we are actually going, and have we taken a wrong turn?” 

So for today’s ride I had offered a choice - Crewe or Ellesmere and no gpx file sharing - Shane and Nick favoured Crewe as the routing took them back close to where they could drop off - the rest of the group liked the idea of experiencing a new Wetherspoons on the edge of Crewe. So it was to be Crewe using my figure of eight routing with the Ravensmoor nexus.

So the peloton consisted of Shane, Ray S, Toby, Al, Chris, Nick and myself as we surged off Bunbury way bound for Sound. This gave us lots of long runs and a decent ride rate in that by the time we stopped to let Chris fix his loose saddle, we had cycled 17 miles in the first hour! 

We hit Audlem at 21 miles. Chris and I had been here on Tuesday past and know that the road to  Hankelow was closed off. I’d fashioned a very pleasant bypass down lanes anew to rejoin it a couple of miles further on. Soon we take a right on the bend down a new “bypass” of new lanes to me which I had also enjoyed on the Tuesday with Chris. We pop out the other side of Hatherton and reach the Boar’s Head crossroads on our way to Wybunbury.

We are now a bit scattered with two riders ahead steaming down into Wybunbury and expecting to ride straight on Nantwich way; but a shout of “Next Right” saves the two riders from wondering where the rest of us have gone. We had actually turned right towards Hough on the Wrinehill road.

I pull up to corral the group advising that we all stay together as we are now entering the Crewe suburbia where it is easy to get “lost”. So at a slower pace, we slide through Shavington crossing the main rail line into Wistaston heading for the magnificent Queen’s Park circle. It’s then just a mile or so to the pub much to Ray's relief.

We arrive at Wetherspoon’s newest pub “ Marshfield Bank Farm House” also very recently known as the pub of the Premier Inn, which is attached to it. It’s a modern building and packed tight as its Half Term week. We order up and sit outside and, true to form, the food arrives pretty promptly.

The sun is shining - actually quite a lot today - as we now take the cycle path along side the busy Middlewich Road to Nantwich. We manage to safely negotiate the four-way roundabout into the side of Sainsbury’s to the four-way traffic lights at Nantwich Bridge (over the Weaver river). Soon we are out into the countryside and bowling along back to the crossroads at the Ravensmoor nexus charging down to Wrenbury.

It’s a familiar routing now to Bickerton via Cholmondeley Castle gates  (for Shane's  photo). Shane and Nick head up an over the side of Bickerton hill bound for their homes. The remaining five dive down the romantically named Reading Room Lane and up and down Brown Knoll to skirt the back road of Bolesworth Castle. We five now hit Tattenhall at 1500 after 55 miles deciding to head back to Chester via Saighton and Sandy Lane.

It's a  Halloween ride photo!

So 55 miles around at a decent pace all day in fine autumn weather with leaves just turning on the trees. So, thanks to the group for humouring me today - maybe we shall do it again? We all clocked up 70+ miles today with the ride out to the cafe included.

See route map and/or gpx file download

CA

22nd October 2026: Comberbach

There were lots of riders at Meadow Lea, but would any be riding with me?  The moderates were thin on the ground and Big Ray was trying to press-gang the tolerant unguarded to join us. Kindly Anthony stumbled in after having a puncture on his ride from home and was too out of breath to resist Ever Ready Ray’s blandishments. Ray was making sure that he would be seen on the roads today by wearing very large, dazzling yellow overshoes. I was struck last week how noisy it was at The Gallery Café in Hawarden as our sociable and friendly club enthusiastically engaged.  This week it was, as ever, not possible to connect with everyone but I still appreciated the camaraderie. 

Our threesome set out on a route that would be a bit different and quite hilly for a big old boy without a battery. We passed Manley Mere and were soon climbing up to the tarmac rollercoaster of New Pale, then sped down to Waterloo via Birch Hill, reaching the edge of Kingsley by crossing the Frodsham to Delamere road. I hadn’t ridden on these lanes since the club stopped meeting at the Windsurfing Centre at Manley Mere.  Anthony was familiar with riding in the area, but it was all new ground for Ray. We descended carefully down Dark Lane, navigating the ruts masked by twigs and wet leaves; it’s an Alice in Wonderland glade down here. Pretty cottages stud the lush greenery; it looks an idyllic place to live. We continued from Kingsley on narrow Roddy Lane before crossing Mill Lane and heading for the River Weaver. The little used Cliff Lane led to Acton Bridge with a testing steep bank after riding under the west coast main train line.  Cliff Lane was a first for my companions. The slightly damp start to the day had turned warmer and brighter. With the climb up from the Trent and Mersey Canal dispatched I looked forward to an easy and flat spin to lunch at the Spinner and Bergamot in Comberbach. Unfortunately, Anthony had a soft rear tyre at Little Leigh; he hadn’t been able to locate the source of his early morning puncture, and it now appeared that his replacement tube had also punctured. After a rapid pump we decided to try and sort it at the pub, less than fifteen minutes away. We took the back route into Comberbach via Cogshall Lane, passing Heath Lodge at the entrance to the hidden country estate with a listed Georgian house at its centre.

At the Spinner and Bergamot we used the former bowling green to try and fix the puncture on Anthony’s electric Boardman which had replacement new tyres which were as originally specified. I say “we”, but Ray had rapidly disappeared into the pub: just as well I suppose! Anthony successfully located a tiny, sharp stone as the cause of the problem. The tyre rubber looked soft to me, and I would be surprises if the tyres incorporated anything like a ‘SmartGuard’ layer. The innertube was patched and everything was put together. Although I did get my hands a little dirty, I was as Debbie McGee to Anthony’s Paul Daniels.  Lunch was fine although my Thai fishcakes were a bit underwhelming. Ray had a luscious looking well gravied pie, although he got served last, which serves him right for always making sure that he orders first. With all the current problems in the world, discussion over lunch was the usual poor man’s Newsnight session, although, to be grudgingly fair, Ray is interestingly well-informed.

Our return was generally more direct and faster, although I diverted through Weaverham to avoid the usual very steep climb to Acton Bridge, and to see if it was a viable alternative in the future; it wasn’t really! At Kingsley we stopped briefly at the Horseshoe Garage for me to arrange for two family cars to undergo wheel alignment the next day. The climb out of Kingsley up to Newton is quite a long slog. A few years ago, I watched a top bike race up here and it was steep, slow and narrow enough to be a great spot to see stars like Mark Cavendish close up. Ray was complaining that his legs were aching, so I told him that it was all downhill or flat from Newton: actually, there were a couple of steep banks I had overlooked; never mind! After Manley village School, Sugar Lane was supposedly closed, but we ignored it and it shouldn’t have been closed. After rounding the hairpin bend into Cob Hall Lane, we were back on our route out. We opened the throttle slightly and reached Meadow Lea just on 4.p.m. with 38 enjoyable miles covered. I didn’t really struggle, but my colleagues had to be patient here and there which I truly appreciate. Now where was I with the Ribble Cycles electric bike catalogue?

DH

See route map and/or gpx file download

22nd October 2026: Bangor-on-Dee

Meadow Lea café was crammed with CER members, but I could see the possibility of three rides based on who was there: a ‘mod’ ride for Dave H, Ray B and Anthony, a ‘brisk ride’ for Steve H, Chris, Nick, Ray S, Toby , Dave N and possibly John M. and a ‘mod+ ish’ ride for Alan, Fiona, Elwyn and myself.

As we all spilled out onto the concrete outside the café, there was a melee and it was impossible to tell who was going with who, except for Dave H and his ‘mod’ group. Steve H said to me ‘just set off and we’ll see who follows’, so that’s what I did. As we set off up School Lane through Guilden Sutton I still didn’t know how many would be on the ride. When I aske Steve H if he knew he muttered something about it being the ride leader’s responsibility to know this – cheeky sod!

So, I pressed on, heading towards Chester and the River Dee. At this point it was drizzling and we stopped to put on our rain gear. It also provided a point to do a head count and to take a photo so that I’d have ‘evidence’ of who was on the ride. Whilst we were faffing about, Steve H started talking to a lady who, it turned out is taking the same Welsh language classes as Steve and Meg. So, credit for the photo should go to Catherine.

Photo by Catherine

It was now clear that we had a blend of ‘mod+’ and ‘brisk’ in the peloton of 11 riders, so it promised to be an interesting ride down to Bangor-on-Dee and The Buck Inn, my destination for the day. We crossed the River Dee and set off up through Handbridge to Eccleston, where we picked up Rake Lane to head for Pulford and Lavister where we rode past Fiona and Elwyn’s mansion.

Turning into Darland Lane, Fiona warned that it’s used as a rat-run and as soon as she’d spoken a van came tearing around the corner. As we reached the end of the lane my Wahoo declared that I’d reached my destination! This forced us to stop to let me re-load the route. By now the rain had stopped so we took the opportunity to ditch the rain gear. I also tried to phone the pub to make sure they could handle 9 hungry cyclists (John M and Ray had left us by this time), but there was no answer.

Heading towards Holt, we took a right along a country lane to take us to Hoseley Lane. At Borras Head we went straight on and skirted the roundabout near Wrexham Industrial Estate. Picking up the small lanes that run around the outside of the industrial estate, we found our way to Cross Lanes, where we turned left at the traffic lights.

We were soon flying down Bangor Road, but approaching the slip road off to the old bridge, Chris warned that there had been hedge cutting along it and that there were a lot of thorns, so advised us to go past it and to lift the bikes over onto the grass just before the bridge.

The Buck is just past the now-closed Royal Oak and, to my relief it was open and serving food. We all piled in, except for Chris who had discovered that he had a puncture. How unfair is that, given the warning he’d given us! The Lunch Menu offered soup and a sandwich for £7 and several meal options for £10 including ham, egg and chips, salmon with broccoli and potatoes in a cream sauce and lasagne. Elwyn chose the latter and it was enormous! Great food at a highly competitive price.

Once Chris had removed the three (yes three) thorns from his tyre and fixed the puncture, we finished our food and set off home in bright sunshine. The route back was via Worthenbury, Shocklach and Farndon, where Elwyn, Fiona and Steve H left to head home. Now down to six, we pressed on through Churton, Alford and Saighton to reach Waverton. Heading straight through Brown Heath, we crossed the A51 and headed back via Guilden Sutton (where Alan left to find his car) to Meadow Lea café.

A ride which started in a degree of chaos in poor weather improved in every way as the day went on. In the end a thoroughly enjoyable ride with a great bunch of people. As usual, plenty of chat and banter over the 40 miles we covered at a mod+ ish speed of 13.4 mph.

ST

 See route map and/or gpx file download

15th October 2026: The road to Nowhere

 I had notified all that I was turning up to the venue, but would be returning home as that would be a sizeable ride for me. So I would not therefore lead the Mod+ group. However, things never turn out as expected, which that very word, can you believe, has just reminded me of a Face Time call. Just a couple of hours ago, from my son, who informed me I will become a Grandad in May 27th -OMG - Lol.

Anyway, back to the ride I shouldn’t have lead but sort of did, as several individuals decided they would follow me anyway and then find their own way-Lol.

 

This was because my route was virtually passing ‘Jack’s abode (Nick BTW-if you didn’t read last week’s blog-Lol). And Tattenhall was on a perfect circular route back to Chester, which suited tt (Teflon Toby) and RR (Rapha Ray). All 3 had also ridden to The Gallery. And so it was that I did end up leading an unexpected mini group - Lol.

 

There was a large CER contingent in The Gallery, the likes of which I didn’t fully realise until I got outside for our sharp getaway, once we had sorted who had chained bikes to who-Lol. This made me realise just how many were in the noisy cafe (all us of course). I counted 20 bikes and I don’t think there were any cycling strangers in the cafe.

 

Noteable absentees, were DH and Steve T + the Chatter Box (Steve Hu). “he was there”, I hear you say. Well he was, but in civvies. He doesn’t ride the day after giving blood. However, he couldn’t miss the opportunity to bend as many ears as possible. He was able to chat every last man and woman out of the door -Lol. 

 

As my group ride would not have a lunch stop and therefore no scintillating conversation to report on, I thought I would tell you of yet another cracking revelation that passed through my ears at The Gallery. Last time it was Clive, meeting the one and only Putin! This time it was from tt,after ‘the very nice man’ (Kev) asked me about using the Eurostar to Amsterdam. 

 

This prompted tt to recall a trip to Amsterdam with a bunch of mates where they spent most of their time in ‘the cafe’s (weed houses-Lol). After a few such cafes, they left as a group and suddenly got mugged. However, full of weed bravado, they pointed out that the mugger didn’t have a chance against 7 men, despite the knife he was wielding and proceeded to offer the mugger a few Euro’s each and told him to politely go away-Lol. They then moved on to another cafe etc and can you believe they got mugged again, but by the same guy. Suffice it to say, you know the rest (twice in one day by the same guy -Lol,Lol)

 

My reason for not wanting to lead a ride was partly predicated on the fact I had 22 miles to ride there, so simply returning home would be enough for me, which meant riding back to The Gallery was impractical. There was also a forecast for big rain coming from the south west by 1pm and everybody, by now, must know of my phobia of the wet stuff, even more so than wind-Lol. I guess after 25 years of cycling through desert land, one would get averse to a few drops of the wet stuff-Lol.

 

Keen to get going in anticipation of the rain, we set off uphill, to the top, avoiding that horrible gravelly short cut. We were soon facing the full headwind but hurtling downhill towards Kinerton and Doddleston, so not an issue. From here it was a bit more workman-like, with all of us sharing the load on the front as we pushed into the wind.

 

We were soon through Lavister and heading up Marford Hill, protected from the wind, when ‘jack’ asked to stop at Alf Jones for 2 minutes.   20+ minutes later with me moaning; “if I get wet because you were looking at cycling shoes I will not be happy”, we finally got going again, but ‘Jack’ got what he wanted-Lol.

 

Still heading into the wind, we got through Borras and on to Francis Lane, where we finally get a tailwind and again tank it downhill in to Holt. We crossed the Holt bridge and everybody decided to carry on to Wetreins Lane, tt & RR choosing not to take the shorter route back to Chester via Aldford.  After reaching the top of Wetreins Lane, Nick and RR decided they would stop for lunch at Manorwood Cafe, while tt and I continued to Tattenhall via Carden Park, deciding to actually ride through via the back entrance, eventually coming out on the other side of Manorwood cafe at Coddington.

 

After taking Dog Lane up to the business park we crossed the A41 and descended into Tattenhall, At the bottom I said goodbye to tt, as he went right at the junction and I turned into Frog Lane. I got home with exactly 50 miles on the clock and avoided the rain by 30 minutes, which meant RR and tt may well of caught a touch of the wet stuff, but in the words of ‘Jack’ I’m all right- Lol.

 

A surprisingly good day, with an unbelievable 15 degrees when I left home at 8:15 and no rain. Some great company as usual, all pulling together, even ‘Jack’ -Lol.

 

Till next time

 

Neil aka TWW 

15th October 2026 : Llandegla (brisk)

Despite the forecast of rain and strong winds, there was a good turnout at The Gallery Café .Most riders opted to follow Neil homewards via Tattenhall and  I think DH and his team of carers went to destinations unknown. Chris, Alvise (Al) and I headed out towards Llandegla and The Community Café.

Since there was no pre-planned route, we rode over Dobshill and into Pennyffordd to pick up the main Corwen road which we followed until arriving at  Treuddyn. Chris had a puncture and while he was repairing it, Steve Hughes stopped in his car. He was trying to locate Nick, who had apparently left his gilet at the café and was trying to find him and return it.

Onwards and upwards, we pass through  Treuddyn and then take a back road that leads to Rhydtalog and the long descent towards the café. Lunch was a quick affair as the café was empty and  service prompt.

Back on the bikes, we had a brief sprint on the main A525 before joining the little-used road that leads past the Landegla Mountain Bike Centre then it was all downhill through Minera to Llay and on into Hope. 

We split up here with Chris and Alan heading towards Chester and me to Rossett.
As predicted, the rain arrived on time around midday and stayed with us until I arrived home.

Today’s ride covered 31 miles with 2660ft of climbing

See route map and/or gpx file download

KP

The following (unedited) report is by our favourite Venetian, Al (Ed: keep them coming pls)

What an honour to be forced into writing about today’s events , I beg for mercy in advance 

It all started off with me having to do a 180 and run back in the house for some unwanted toilet appointment, ahhh fantastic… this made me late for the randez-vous with my associate CHRIS , and as you all know by now he is stickler about being punctual,

Unwilling to let him down we sorted a closer meeting point and off we went , we took sealand road, and in a heartbeat we were over in saltney ferry and off behind broughton park towards Deeside only at that point realising I had forgotten my gps, -the day keeps getting better- a couple of turns later we started climbing towards hawarden and the legs felt alright Chris’s rear derailleur not so much, so ignoring the sweet song of uncooperative cogs, we pushed to the cafe.

I was surprised by the turnout as it was either the biggest group I had seen since joining in the summer or maybe was the fact that the easy riders had taken over a tiny cafe , 

Having worked in hospitality, I recognised the signs of pain that 20 people showing up at the same time had inflicted on the poor lady behind the bar, so I opted for the easiest order possible. Also of note: the man known as “lastmin.com” showed up at an acceptable time when supervised 😂 

After a little chatter with Fiona, Elwynn and others it became apparent that the weather forecast had lied to me. As a result, a few opted to head home before the rain hit. Others joined Neil on his way back towards Tattenhall but a rumour that Ken was planning to go solo to llandegla tempted me and Chris to hop on his wheels and ruin his solo ride.

We rode out of hawarden towards Penyffordd and off on a classic little stint of uphill, we were quiet to begin with; I was a bit nervous about my stomach, Ken was now in charge of 2 more riders and Chris …. well its Chris. 

A few miles in we started to get chatting and Ken made sure to warn me about the amount of climbing awaiting us ahead, I was pleased as I confessed i think I enjoy the suffering. We took a turn towards Leeswood , Ken had intended a route up constitution hill (with an alleged 10%- 12% incline) so I was a bit surprised to see us riding past it. Looking over at the incline of the climb, I definitely thought to myself “that’s definitely not the suffering I would have enjoyed…”

As a punishment for my silence on the missed intended route, we were gifted a stop for a puncture on Chris’ bike.

 

As we got to work on the repair, a questionably skilled driver pulled up -at speed- behind us, hitting the curb right behind us. As he got out, we could hear him ranting “have you seen Nick?” (Or maybe it was Jack I’m not sure what the riders call him after last week). Turns out it was Steve on a mission to intercept him as he had left his gilet at the cafe.

Once all was sorted, we got back on our way and to climb we went up Pontybodkin and then towards Treuddyn on crowed road, here we started to see beautiful views of progressively darker shades of grey all around us quickly follow by mist that morphed into a light rain, making the last few miles of climbing even more interesting. 

Extra layers became unavoidable at the top but it was a good excuse to admire some more of the grey all around. Full of beautiful views, we were ready to head down into the village and have some food and a hot drink. Here Ken explained the inner workings of the fascinating llandegla community shop ,cafe run by volunteers and how it combines a shop, cafe and post office all in one, leading to a tangent about his neighbour -whom is a pro rider- never giving him even a t-shirt out of all the gear he gets by sponsors ! lol   

After lunch was literally all downhill, we went down the A525 a small detour of back roads and little off road skirting the llandegla MTB trails ,before returning to coasting downhill, for a good 10- 15 minutes of descending the smoothest roads without turning a pedal, pure bliss.

Down the hill I lost my bearings a bit , but we sure made a left turn and kept brum o to our right till we got through Hope , until we reached higher kinnerton where we said our goodbyes to Ken and thanked him for the nice ride and taking care of us before heading , towards saltney via Bretton and then a final goodbye to Chris before I got myself home . 

 

All in all we did around 65km.

No picture but imagine 3 handsome smiling chaps definitely dry and happy 😆 

Alvise B.