25th June 2026: Whitegate

Rose Farm was the meet venue for today’s extremely hot affair. There was roughly 10 of us, I think, with DM arriving by bike as we were getting ready to leave. I guess the ‘red weather warnings’ frightened many away.

 

However, I had planned a very specific route that not only exploited the wind to our favour but also half of the lanes used were almost totally shaded by over-arching trees, which convinced TT2 (Teflon aka Toby ,now the ‘Prof’-Lol), ‘The thief’, who rode over to RF with me, Clive and Rapha Ray.

 

We set off right downhill with the breeze. However, I had shortened my original route by 5 miles, at the last minute, after a few discussions, in order to gain more shade, but more hills as a consequence- Lol. Some of us who rode to Rose Farm were literally dripping in enthusiasm and desperately needed the customary lengthy roll call and discussions about what route to follow-Lol.

 

So it was that we meandered slowly up through to Kelsall, instead of Barrowmead. It wasn’t long before we hit the dark and very cool Langley Lane. I heard somebody remark that it felt almost chilly, through the tunnel of trees, they didn’t even notice it was up hill-Lol. We were soon turning right on to Ashton Rd, up through Delamere Forest and more shaded roads. It was nice to see the major road works at Hatchmere were gone, although Keith had already tipped me off to that.

 

In to the bright sunshine for a mile or so, through Norley, before turning right into another uphill shaded lane-Lol. After 2 miles of my favourite Gallowsclough Lane, it wasn’t long before we descend the ridge line and turned right in to that  “back door lane”, to quote Clive, which lead us into the Whitegate Way, which is of course completely under the cover of trees- Lol, Lol.

 

Anyway, 4 miles or so later we arrived at the Station House cafe, for our planned stop. Somewhat earlier than usual, after only 15 miles. The predicted record high temps and the H&S warnings from our diligent De-Facto leader, pretty much convinced us all to stop early, especially as we had done a fair bit of climbing.  However, the Station house was closed, with no indications as to why.

 

This did not bother me at all, as my back up of ‘The Barn’, at The Hollies farm shop, only 3 miles further on, is a favourite of mine. Despite some discord in the ranks; “bit expensive” and “blah blah blah”-Lol, we set off for said Barn, due to no alternative being available in fact. This prompted some discussions en route between me and Clive as we pedalled Shays Lane towards the Chester Polo Club. He came come up with an interesting idea- more on that later.

There was soon lots of happy faces, once ensconced in their breakfast bar seats under very cool air conditioning - “You don’t get this at the Station House” was my immediate comment -Lol-Lol. “ok yes”.

5 pinging /flashing table tags later, we were all served and commenting on our food, especially my Hallumi / Avocado, sweet chilly jam muffin (lush-Lol). Conversation was varied, although the all-time record heat levels, as we all no doubt later discovered on the news that evening, frequently interrupted the flow of conversation.

 

That’s my way of saying that I can’t remember a word of anything anybody said-Lol-Lol-Lol.

 

All suitably refreshed and fed, we set off towards Oulton Park, which was perfect for Clive’s suggestion about a cafe on the inside track of Oulton Park. So, as the main entrance bridge was open, we rode in over the track for a gander. 

 

Not a lot was going on, not even a ‘track day’ no flashy cars around, just a few super RV’s, as the Americans call them.  Cafe spotted, we turned around and left the circuit via the same bridge, turning left towards Eaton. I resisted the urge to take the next left and cycle around the perimeter of Oulton Park, which is more usual for me.

 

After a few miles we were through Eaton and turning right in order to skirt around the south of Tarporley and push on down to Brassy Green. This was the logical place for us to split up for our various homeward journeys. ‘TT1’ and I turned left down to The Shady, while the other 3 carried on to Huxley and their onward Chester suburbs. We both cruised up to Beeston, although one of us cruised up a little faster than the other and it wasn’t me - Lol.

 

After a few more miles along Bird’s Lane, we turned left to circumvent Tattenhall, via Dark Lane and Bolsworth Road. I left Shane at the foot of his climb toward home at Stretton and I turned right to Frog Lane, getting home 2 miles later just after 1:30- ish, with 45 miles under my belt. The actual club route was just 28 miles which at least included some work getting over the Sandstone Ridge- Lol.

 

Another great day, if a tad hot.  I did see 40 degrees on the Garmin, although that was in the sun. As usual we had some cracking laughs and some. Interesting anecdotes from TT1 And of course, even more interesting ‘snippet’s’ from The Prof -Lol.

 

Till next time gents,

 

The wind & shade whisperer -Lol aka Neil.

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25th June 2026: Winsford

 The Met Office had issued Amber and/or Red warnings for the last Thursday in June and, indeed, it had been very hot for a few days. So I thought that a modest ride without challenging hills might be appropriate given the weather forecast. Using Plotaroute, I concocted a 25 mile circular ride via Winsford from Rose Farm.

About 10 CER members gathered at Rose Farm by which time the temperature had already reached 26°C. I thought we had a new member amongst us, but when I looked a second time, it was Dave Matthews in cycling gear!! It was his first ride out for just over three months and he would be limiting himself to the ride to and from home, but well done Dave!

Whilst Dave M and Anthony would be riding home, Neil had gathered a ‘mod+’ posse of 5 for him to lead. That left a mod group of Dave H, Keith and me.

We set off from Rose Farm turning right and not left. This was to avoid going down Wood Lane at the bottom of the hill from Rose Farm as it is probably the roughest road in Cheshire. However, soon after joining Willington Road I learned that this was not much better, at least for a few hundred yards.

Crossing the A51 at Clotton, we followed Corkscrew Lane through Hoofield and Huxley, and soon found ourselves climbing into Tarporley via Crib Lane, the only significant climb of the day. After Eaton, we were now in the Cheshire countryside with a warm breeze keeping things reasonably cool. Darnhall followed and then we were in the housing estates around Glebe Green and our cooling breeze disappeared.

Turning left at the B5074, we were now in Winsford. Our plan was to take a break at The Cosy Tea Room in Delamere Street, but we struggled to find it. Only after we’d gone quite a way past it did we realise that it’s actually part of The Gate public house. We were even more confused that the café had a ‘valuation day’ event on, which meant that the café didn’t have room for us. So, we were directed to the pub bar, where we ordered food and drinks.

When the drinks arrived, Keith managed to confuse the waitress, pulling her leg that she’d got him and Dave mixed up. How could this be? She misunderstood him and thought that Keith and Dave were brothers!!!!! In the end, all was well as was the food.

Back on the bikes, we headed for Cassia Green and then Clay Lane, which lead us across the A54 to Little Budworth and Oulton Park circuit which, today, was silent. All that remained was to cross the A49 at Cotebrook and take the little lane back to Rose Farm, where we arrived just before 2pm, with 25 miles on the clock.

By this time, the temperature had soared to nearly 30°C, so we were glad to have avoided the heat of the day.

ST

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18th June 2026: Llandegla

 Gathering today was at The Gallery, my second closest start point. Even with a good little climb up Hawarden hill, I'm somehow still improving my PB time. Despite being the usual last one to arrive, I had time for a coffee. There were still a half decent turn out, but not quite into double figures, surprisingly the weather was half decent compared to last week. Today's weather promised drizzle, but we somehow avoided it. 

Last week I was happy to embrace the rain, but I only got as far as Guilden Sutton where I had gained a puncture, which in turn removed my efforts to get to last week's start point. 

Conversations were hard to hear with the poor acoustics. With not many, if at all, the normal ride leaders, choices seemed slim. Most wanting to follow Neil back to Tattenhall, but back along the Greenway which Ray S and I had travelled in from. Shane's birthday plans were to return via visiting family members whilst keeping his terrain relatively flat due to a slight mechanical issue. 

So, with Ray wanting a punchy ride and wanting to be back mid-afternoon, which suited me, we opted for a hilly ride to Llandegla. This seems to be the most common choice for a hilly ride from Hawarden and I am not complaining - I feel obliged to tackle some elevation from this start point. 

Once Ray had managed to load a route from the archives, we set off West into the wind, uphill. The two of us make it to Northop but continue across the crossroads to avoid as much of the main road as possible. We take the second left up green lane and crisscross our way back onto the route, to follow around Mold. The usual route we normally take after crossing the old road where we turn left over the bridge, instead of following the signs right, was closed due to a housing development, so we skirt closer to Mold, and once again find our way back on route. 

We follow the route finding our way back onto the main road to Ruthin, which then directs us off, towards a good old climb past Moel Famau, but then weaves us off to follow the main road again. Onto Llanarmon and before we knew it we were approaching Llandegla community cafe in good time.

We look at the menu and Ray opts for the bacon and egg bap, which reminds me that they are the best that I can recall to date. Conversations revolve around bike maintenance, fitness and yesterday's game. Some kind of world cup game where the score ended in 4-2. 

Back to more interesting things, we saddle back up to head back to Chester, reminiscing about the old days of motorcycling. We weave on and off main roads, balancing the quiet roads with the necessity of progression. 

Thanks Ray for the enjoyable ride, certainly relieved some of my youth bombing back the country lanes. Discs would be a welcomed upgrade 😅

See route map and/or gpx file download

 

18th June 2026: Tattenhall

Well, what a difference 7 days make. Last week I aquaplaned to Delamere; this week it was warm, sunny, if at times a bit breezy, riding from Guilden Sutton to Hawarden.

 The cyclists already at the cafe were Ray S, Elwyn and his good lady Fiona, Anthony, Toby and then, as I arrived, Shane and Neil wandered in after cycling from their respective homes . The discussion concerning routes, as usual with CER, was like that bloke Starmer running the country. Very confusing and, basically, herding sheep seems easier. Anyway, as it turned out, we did a better job than him sorting ourselves out. Perhaps he needs to invite CER members to his parliament.

The resulting groups consisted of oh eck, due to his last minute dot com timing, Chris arrived so he ended up with Ray as his carer, Shane - haven’t a clue what he decided as Neil set off on his own leaving the rest of us to decide our destination. Elwyn mentioned Tattenhall, so that was that and off we set.

We headed back along the River Dee heading towards Chester then through Huntington picking up lanes around Saighton on the usual route to Waverton. We carried on past the Crocky Trail heading towards Walk Mill, through Burton, Hoofield, Huxley then to Alison’s for lunch. All in all around 23 miles at a steady pace where everyone took turns at the front due to the head wind. The only real thing of interest was Fiona having a drink which caused something that required Elwyn to give her a slap on the back. Then I noticed my saddle had come loose which was caused by the last two rides being on pathetic roads bouncing my rather delicate rear end up and down. At least that’s my excuse. 

The food at Alison’s was excellent to be fair, with a varied menu which I didn’t expect. The usual subjects were broached and some intelligent conversations were had, due to the fact I was present  - haha only joking - ranging from dogs to Norwegian cruises and speeding fines . 

Lunch over, we all decided to head off on different routes back to our designated destinations. Mine was back to Guilden Sutton where I followed the route we took on the way in, but due to me forgetting my sat nav and my built-in one being erratic, I had an extra couple of miles to get back to my car. Toby and Anthony headed back to Chester and the Rossett two headed back their own way. So I’m unsure of everyone’s mileage but I achieved around 45 or 48 due to my small diversion.

So today’s little bimble was another excellent CER day with my group (as can’t speak for the others),  but a good day .

KB

11th June 2026: Delamere Circular

 As I unloaded my bike at the Sandstone Ridge car park, the incessant rain drew into question why was I out on a day like today?  The flooded roads and kindly offered bow waves coming off other cars reinforced the feeling. This questioning sensation was further enhanced when I entered the Station Cafe to be greeted by Dave H with the words “are you riding today?”.

Happiness, I thought, this is all a bad dream and I must remember to knock off the cheese before going to bed. However instead of rolling over for a further ten minutes of beauty sleep I was rudely made aware that the rainwater had run down inside my neoprene overboots and was no intruding on my (up to now) dry feet!

So here we were the merry trio Steve T, Dave H and shortly to arrive Drip Dry Keith. Keith is a legend as he had already ridden in twelve miles from “the village” and having looked at the three of us he decided to ride back on his own!

After half an hour of cheerful CER banter Dave H took the correct decision to head for home, Keith donned his kit and set off for the village and Steve T and I debated on which route we could take to get really wet.

Neil T’s 35 mile circular route to Bunbury ticked the boxes so off we went. The roads from Hatchmere to Norley were properly flooded, leading to lots of crown off the road surfing and trusting nothing was coming the other way. Opposing traffic provided the additional bonus of a bow wave of water every time we passed a car that seemed to have found an even deeper puddle.

Neil T’s route utilizes the Whitegate Way, a lovely ride on a dry day…..just not today. So flying off piste we ventured through more flooded roads as we circumnavigated Cuddington and Sandiway. Soon the picturesque village of Little Budworth appeared from the gloom. By now the rain had abated and spirits were high. However, this respite was short lived and by Rushton a short cut was spotted to Eaton missing out Tilley’s for lunch.

Now complimented by a tail wind we zipped through Cotebrooke and Delamere.

A very wet day but demonstrating the ethos of “we ride in all weathers” as prophesied by Dave H, rain aside we had a go even if only 20 miles it was nice to get out.

Steve H

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4th June 2026: Ellesmere

 The weather forecast wasn’t good, Chirk is a long way, and it was my wedding anniversary – 3 good reasons not to bother with the ride from Chirk.  But bother I did and, with my bike loaded in the back of the car, I headed down to Chirk hoping that the rain wasn’t going to be too bad.

I was just entering the Castle Bistro a little after 10am, when Mike D was arriving on his bike from Chirk station after taking the train from Chester.  We ordered our coffees and sat down for a chat while we waited for other riders to arrive.

By 10:20, we came to the realisation that it was probably just going to be the two of us, and so it turned out.  Just before I had left home, I had fortuitously printed a paper map for the area east of Chirk as that was where the weather forecast had shown that it might be driest.  We discussed options and decided, in case the heavens opened, not to venture too far and so set out on a route towards Ellesmere.  I hadn’t thought that I would be leading a ride quite so early in my time with the club (or write my first blog as this was just my 4^th ride) but, as I had the map, it made sense for me to lead the way.  No SatNav, just good ‘old school’ map reading.

As my bike was electric and Mike’s wasn’t, I decided to switch off the battery so as not to set an unreasonable pace.  Shortly after we left Chirk, I was beginning to regret this as we had a vicious climb up from the River Ceiriog.  The road had dried a bit since the last shower but, even so, I had the occasional slips of the rear wheel on the steep inclines as I needed to get out of the saddle even in my lowest gear.  We both paused for a breather on the ascent when Mike realised that he had lost his water bottle, probably on the bumpy descent down to the river before we started the climb on the other side.  No way were we going back down to look for it and so we continued onwards and upwards. 

The next few miles were characterized by mud, cow muck (definitely a ride requiring mudguards), loose gravel, tree debris and, of course, plenty of dangerous pot holes.  The rain had started but it was light and intermittent and with no need to shelter to avoid getting soaked.  We passed through Dudleston and then around the south of Dudleston Heath.

As we entered Ellesmere, we made our way through resurfacing works that had closed the road to traffic and headed to the Boat House pub by the mere for lunch.  Mike reported that the sausage rolls had been good previously and that’s what we both had with some salad.   After lunch, we headed out towards Tetchill with more climbing on the agenda.  So soon after setting off again, legs were lethargic and we probably should have had a shorter break rather than chatting for so long over lunch.  The sun decided to make an appearance, enough for Mike to shed one of his layers.  We continued back to Chirk via Welsh Frankton, Hindford, around the south of Gobowen and up to Weston Rhyl before returning to our start point.

We arrived back early in Chirk at 2.15pm after just 40km (25 miles) but a decent 430m (1,410 ft) of ascent.  We ordered further hot drinks in the café, feeling quite smug that we had avoided any significant rain on the bikes whilst, through the window, heavy rain decided to make its presence felt.  We chatted on for over an hour, nothing about cycling but just about everything else including a new word for me, “dyscalculia” (the numerical equivalent of dyslexia) before we headed our separate ways back home to Chester.

Good company, very quiet country lanes and, although short, a challenging but rewarding cycle – 3 good reasons why I was pleased that I had made my way to Chirk that morning.

Anthony M

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28th May 2026: Little Neston

 I had spent the previous week cycling the Wales End-to-End so I was determined to get out with the Easy Riders this week, despite the forecast of 27 degree heat, just so I could check if my legs were still working. Actually, considering the temperatures we had been experiencing in the early part of the week, 27 degrees was relatively cool but still too hot to be doing a ride with a lot of climbing. So I devised a route which was fairly flat, would get us to Net's Cafe for lunch and was flexible enough to be anywhere from 30 to 45 miles.

Armed with this idea I made my way to Meadow Lea where I found a number of members (mostly of the faster variety) sitting outside enjoying the sunshine. When I went inside I found Dave H, poring over his maps, trying to find a route with the same criteria that I had used. Needless to say, as soon as I mentioned my idea his maps disappeared and my route was adopted.

Mike D arrived soon after. We haven't seen him for a long time. He has been off travelling the world and is just back for a few weeks before he jets off again. Dave P also arrived but he doesn't like cycling up the Wirral and declined to join us. So it looked like just three of us for the trip up to Net's. By the time we had finished our coffees the faster group had departed, but leaving Elwyn and Fiona behind. They had ridden in from home and since the fast group were heading out along the same roads that they had ridden in on they decided to do their own thing. 'Their own thing' turned out to be a cycle up to Net's and so three became five.

We turned right out of Meadow Lea, passing through Mickle Trafford and on towards Picton. Turning right after crossing the motorway we cycled past the rear of the zoo up towards Backford and across the A41 towards Mollington. Before reaching there we turned north to find the cycle path alongside the railway which would take us to the southern end of the Wirral. Then it was along familiar lanes through Capenhurst and Ledsham before accessing the 'missing link' near Inglewood Manor. Our first stint on the Wirral Way took us to Hadlow Road Station where we turned north again passing through Willaston and Raby to reach Thornton Hough. We were now as far up the Wirral as we were going to get as we turned towards the coast. All the height that we had gained getting this far was soon lost as we sped down towards Parkgate where we enjoyed the delightful cycle along the front.

At the far end of Parkgate we stopped for a short comfort break and took the opportunity for a photo before a second stint on the Wirral Way, this time a short blast to the outskirts of Neston. From there the cycle route takes a twisting tour of a local housing estate to get us down to the estuary and a short distance along the edge of the marshes gets us to our lunch stop.

The breeze coming off the marshes kept the temperature cool enough to dine alfresco without roasting in the sunshine. A thin blanket of cloud helped too. I explained the choice return routes back to Meadow Lea. Going via Kinnerton and Eccleston was rejected as being too far while returning along the river was not popular with the majority of riders because of the headwind, although this seemed to be Elwyn's favoured choice. However majority prevailed and the Greenway route won the day.

All three routes required us to cross the marshes. Most of it is on tarmacked footpath but there is a short section of boardwalk across the worst of the marsh. We lamented the state of it as we rattled across. Patched in several places with many more boards showing signs of rot, it will not last very much longer without major repairs. After so many people campaigned for so long to get installed in the first place it would be a great shame to lose it.

After crossing the marsh and passing through the industrial estate Elwyn made one last-ditch attempt to coax Fiona onto the river path. However, she was having none of it and we all followed the Greenway back towards Meadow Lea. Elwyn and Fiona left us at Blacon to find their own home while the rest of us carried to complete just over 34 miles.

TC

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28th May 2026: Holt

 Yet another glorious day, in fact the threat of temperatures reaching 28+ degrees meant that I had a pan flat route in mind. There were approximately a dozen members including DM in his civvies. Good to see DP, although on his own. And a new face to me at least, Anthony, who then joined my group on his e-bike, which I wasn’t aware of, however, more on that later.

 

The rest of my group became Ken (which was ominous, as he’s a fast boy) Clive, CB1/KK (Alan),TT2 ( Teflon Toby) and me of course. No Thief this week; I believe he had some paintwork he was watching dry and CB2 must have been supervising, as he was also absent-Lol.

 

I believe CB2 was in fact resting up for his 100 miler in Kent at the weekend. Everybody was sat outside, which was an indication of what a lovely day was expected. It must have been the sun as there was a lot of talk about holidays-Lol. I believe there was just 2 groups, with DH leading the rest of the club into the Wirral.

 

Anyway, we got off to a sharp start, again gaining a couple of late additions I didn’t expect, which to be fair added to the ride overall.

 

I had a last-minute change of bike, before I left Tattenhall, due to the overnight rain, which, for our more north westerly members, was torrential apparently and supported my reasons for switching to the Giant (complete with mudguards) which ultimately was not necessary-Lol. This also meant I was without my new saddle and therefore felt wary of my original 60 mile ride plan hence, not only the bike change, but also a last minute change on the group ride plan, in order to shave off a dozen miles, which was agreeable to the others anyway.

 

So it was that we set off along the Greenway to Blacon, cutting out the more interesting northern loop via Backford which I had intended. However, my lunch destination was still the same - Commonwood Fisheries. This was an attempt to catch them open this time- Lol.

 

Immediately, CB1 was up to his antics, dashing off up the Greenway ramp, for whatever. We came across him just idling, a mile later and he then promptly took up his usual rear station position, more on that later :-( With that early regroup, somebody then remarked that maybe we would pass lastminute.com going the other way, as he was a notable absentee at Meadow Lea - Lol.

 

It only seemed like 5 minutes before we turned  off at Blacon, heading downhill, dodging the speed ramps and then a swift negotiation of Sealand Rd ( a necessary evil, although there is a perfectly good cycleway that we hardly ever use for some reason. No doubt my fault- Lol) This lead to the inevitable regroup and a chit chat as we cruised down to Saltney Ferry bridge.

 

We crossed the river Dee and immediately felt the fairly stiff south easterly winds, which would become a headwind/ cross head, all the way to Commonwood Fisheries. It wasn’t long before that really hit us in the face, as we skirt the edge of the Saltney estate, along Sandy Lane. I pushed hard on the pedals to counter the headwind and after a few hundred metres, my trusty Derny (TT2) came to the front and took the wind, which meant our pace was maintained. After a couple of miles, somewhere along Lache Lane, Ken took over the front and continued our pace and in fact increased it to a lovely almost tempo pace. However, although nice for us, this pushed Anthony to the limit on his e-bike of course ( in case anybody doesn’t know, there is no motor assistance above 15mph, unless you have one of those unrestricted ones you see the ‘hoodies’ riding- Lol.)

 

After reining in Ken, we regroup again and got into a discussion about our lunch venue, which meant Ken decided he would turn off in Rossett.

 

Somewhere between Doddleston and Pulford, I decided that a call of nature was required and accelerated past Ken, informing him that I was going to stop up the road and 100 metres or so later I made the signal for slowing down and shouted “stopping” Then a few seconds later  I heard a strange sound and looked over my shoulder only to see CB1 on the ground and Clive looking perplexed to say the least.  Unfortunately, CB1 failed to pick up on all the signals and promptly ran into Clive. Fortunately, there was no serious damage to him, bar a minor elbow graze. Clive’s rear wheel suffered a bit of a kink I believe.I know that sometimes I can be a little lacking in the notifications for turns and stops, but on this occasion I was not in the wrong. I know Clive is hard of hearing, but running into him, just to let him know everybody was stopping was a bit extreme I thought- Lol. Clearly CB1 is helpless without his spiritual brother CB2, which explains why CB2 always rides in front of CB1, as a guide of course -got it now-Lol.

 

Anyway, nothing serious in the end, although I recommended to Clive to not trying to straighten the wheel himself, as that is a bit of a dark art, I have successfully done just about every job there is on a bike, including carbon frame repairs- Lol, but not wheel straightening.

 

We got going again and very quickly we were through Dodleston, Pulford and Rossett. Half way up Marford Hill (Hoseley Lane) at another regroup, I realised Clive had also left with Ken, just before the climb. Clearly Clive was just as scared of Marford hill as Ken was - Lol.

 

We were only a couple of miles or so from our lunch stop when I suggested going the long way around to add another mile on. This was because I had only 17 miles completed on my Garmin. However, I Had forgotten that I had rebooted it after a couple or so miles into our ride-Oops. So we didn’t need the extra mile- Lol.

 

We arrived right on 12 and the place looked really cool. They have now added a big outside area covered by a massive circus-like tent awning as an extension to the outside covered pizza bar area. Anyway, just as we were all sucking in the atmosphere and looking at the menu, the barman came back to tell us the breakfast menu was finished and the lunch menu started at 1pm.  After a pregnant pause, I think I came back with “there’s no food at all till 1pm?”, which was confirmed, with the caveat that the chef was obviously changing menu’s and needs the time to prepare —what! Who’s ever heard of a place that doesn’t have food at lunch time. We were all flabbergasted, but clearly fisherman must have strange habits -Lol.

 

Back on our bikes for a short 2 miles to Holt and Maggies, after a very brief discussion. 

Anthony came up to my shoulder, just as we turned right into the full on slight uphill headwind. I encouraged him to use that electric power to pull us all into Holt, which he admirably did.  Probably the best mile+ into wind I have ever enjoyed-Lol. 

 

I remarked, as we pulled into Maggies, that I reckoned it was the first time an e-bike member had ridden on the front when really needed, although I don’t include the likes of Clive and similar on racing e-bikes. Anthony was riding a much heavier 20+kilo bike. He kept it on the 15mph limit of the bike.

 

We quickly made our orders, although some people had trouble. Surprisingly TT2 asked me where I had got my crisps from, to which I pointed to the rather large crisp rack right beside him- Lol. And, as if infectious, CB1 then asked the waitress if there was Coke or similar, to which she pointed to the even larger fridge with rows of red Coke tins lined across the top shelf-Lol.  I began to wonder if the ride had been too stressful for some in my group, although I could forgive CB1 after his Flying Bombalini acrobatics, just a few miles earlier, but the prof aka Teflon Toby- well I never- Lol.

 

Lunch conversation was well varied notwithstanding the discussions on how Alan managed to run into Clive. the rest of lunch was as usual educational, literally -Lol.  TT2 enlightened us as to the restrictive difficulties he has marking GCSE papers, as he had hundreds to mark over the weekend. We also learned that in Bhutan the Government declares ‘happy days’, occasionally, by way of a public holiday for the whole country, if they think the population needs it, due to poor morale or the likes -Lol. They declare a public holiday for archery practice, as it is their national sport. TT2 never fails to provide - who knew-Lol.

 

After a brief discussion about who needed to get back to Meadow Lea or not, it was decided we would all continue en route up to Bruera and then everybody continued to follow me home toward Tattenhall or at least until Newtons Lane, where they all turned left and head off past the new Cambers store, who have also re-opened Old Ma’s cafe as their own. TT2 and CB1 were going to lead Anthony back to Meadow Lea en route to Chester, although CB1 was parked up near Meadow Lea anyway.

 

I got home just 4 miles later with 47 miles on the clock with an AS of 15.2mph thanks to some spirited front riding by everybody - not CB 1 of course, as he doesn’t do that -Lol.

 

What I thought was going to be a difficult ride, due to another saddle change, turned out surprisingly comfortable for me, probably due to the work done by others that gave me plenty of respite from the front - cheers guys.  My posterior felt all the better for it-Lol. Suffice it to say, my expensive special saddle is now up for sale- Lol.

 

Great day out again, with lovely weather and good company, only marred by CB1’s contact with the tarmac. Hope you didn’t discover other sore spots on returning home, as is often the case.

 

Till next time gents

 

Neil.

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21st May 2026: Whitchurch

 It was good to see Neil back in the saddle at Alison’s. Dave Matthews was still making progress with his health but was here to talk cars not risk riding yet. With some moderate riders not available this week it looked like just Ray the cruise adviser and me. Then guess who popped up last minute?  So it was that Dave Pipe joined us with the Black Bear in Whitchurch as our destination. It was a lovely warm day with a gentle breeze as we headed for Bunbury via Newton and Beeston. We the twiddled along familiar lanes with a less common diversion by way of Haughton. Ray was generally ahead, (but waiting at junctions) leaving Dave and me to have an unpressured chat as we made relaxed progress. On the road to Wrenbury we took a right turn and weaved our way on very quiet roads to Marbury. A road closure on the route to Black Park had me heading more directly to Whitchurch instead. The terrain in this area is quite hummocky, so we were ready for our lunch stop at The Black Bear. Ray thought we were locked out of the back entrance, so started shouting orders to a guy in the back yard to get a key, who protested that he wasn’t an employee! He opened an unlocked door for us anyway. There was plenty of room and shade inside, and the food and service bob on. Our conversation was wide ranging with well-informed input from Ray. It is a credit to our members in these times of polarised politics that we respect each other enough to avoid unwanted arguments at lunchtimes.

Our route back was to be more direct as it was going to be hot, and I had Steve Tan to pick up at early closing Alison’s, also, my son’s car needed picking up from a Frodsham garage. Th e climb up to Wiswall is quite hard work on a full stomach, but a fine view across Cheshire is our reward. We drift downhill watching for potholes and heaped hot gravel before crossing the Llangollen Canal at Steer Bridge. The A49 is crossed at Bickley and we are still on narrow, peaceful sun-baked lanes up to the edge of the Cholmondeley Castle estate. The climb over Harthill is never easy if you are old, heavy and without electricity, but satisfying to crest and then bomb down straight to Tattenhall. Steve was sat waiting on a wall, and later drove the Berlingo with our bikes in from Frodsham to Runcorn while I drove my son’s car back from the garage; the air con now worked, just in time for the bakery oven days ahead. About thirty-seven soporific sunny miles covered. 

DH

21st May 2026: Tattenhall

 My last ride was 3 weeks back, which meant I was a tad apprehensive, having had a minor surgery that makes engagement with the saddle a touch tricky-Lol. However, I made it to Alison’s, all of 2 miles-Lol and subsequently felt I could manage a short one of 30 miles.

There were approximately 15 in attendance, although I half expected to be riding on my own, as I did not know how many miles I could manage, which didn’t seem to bother the usual Mod + crowd. However, to my surprise I ended up with even more than usual-Lol. So, my group became the CB’s, The Thief ( back from his climbing sportif in Scotland), Clive, Nick, Last min.com, Toby aka Teflon and for today ‘Biggles’ -more on that later-Lol. And last but not least was the new slim lined Steve T- Lol.

 

We set off to the left and out of Tattenhall via the easy hill, otherwise known as Rocky Lane, towards the A41. We crossed over and headed for Carden Park, all of which provided natural cover from a south westerly, although not to strong. I think it was around here when Biggles came along side and then took the lead into a lifting headwind, but not before we caught up on what’s been happening. Biggles weekend was far more interesting than mine, as he got to fly in the back seat of a Spitfire (nice one Biggles!- Lol)

 

It wasn’t long before we arrived in Tilston and turned left toward Malpas, however, less than a mile later we turned left again into one of my favourite easy climbs (Scar Lane) which is a steady one for about a mile or so, leading us to the A41 again for the 2nd of 3 crossings, the other being at No Mans Heath, where we took the little walk through up to the recently resurfaced roundabout. We headed off right, downhill towards Malpas and then climbed the  ‘Cross O’ th’ Hill Road’- yes that is the correct spelling and name- Lol. I actually find it an annoying hill and not because it is super steep or long. 

 

Anyway, no sooner said than done we descend into Malpas and take the one-way system to our next left turn, the steep awkward little turn, literally around the ‘old cross’ monument, which has been there since 1873.

After a lovely quick descent, which saw me chase down Nick, just before turning right through Cuddington Heath, where we all regrouped before the next quick descent into Chorlton. After jumping the red lights on yet another load of roadworks with nobody working them, we turn right into Purser Lane, en route to Shocklach.

A few miles later we were through Shocklach and regrouping again after a bit of a spurt from me and Chris, but not the customary CER blast to the Farndon junction. I then realised Nick had already departed us, as he had to get home for 1pm.

 

Steve T then came along side, breathing slightly heavy, but riding well, remarking that he didn’t think the days pace was particularly slow, as he had been lead to believe it would be (I responded with “you can never believe anything Steve Hu says”- Lol). Our pace was in fact a little slower than usual, due to my last ride being nearly 3 weeks previous. 

After crossing the very fast Wrexham to Nantwich road and incurring the wrath of a dick head in a car, we headed up the road to Churton and Aldford beyond. Our pace was picking up, due to the light tailwind we now had, which was still helpful, even after turning right to Bruera. 

Platts Lane saw us slow a little as we turned right again and fully across the wind. The inevitable conversations then ensued about our lunch destination and who was going to stop or not. 

Chris and Biggles decided to carry on for Chester, via the canal road, so they left us just as we entered Tattenhall.

The remaining 5 of us arrived at Alison’s after 31 miles and an average speed of 14.2 MPH. We sat outside and our orders were swift as is usual at Alison’s. Plenty of conversation and cross table banter was had, not that I can remember any of it, apart from me taking the mick out of Shane’s little ride in Scotland- Lol.

Anyway, another cracking day with the club, great company on a lovely dry day - not a hint of rain either-Lol.

Till next time gents.

 

Neil.

See route map and /or gpx file download