2nd July 2026: Backford

 Yet again, considering the lovely weather, the turnout was unusually low with roughly 10-12 of us on what was a lovely day, but with very high winds, ostensibly from the west. Fiona & Elwyn arrived on the back of a lovely tailwind, which saw them smiling like Cheshire Cats, as I was still mopping my brow. Then Nick arrived, having also come down Wetreins Lane, directly into the wind - not sure I have ever seen him sweat before- Lol.

However, I had a wind whispering plan for the day, which convinced a few members to follow me, including Nick, after a bit of deliberation-Lol. The rest of the ‘posse’ were ‘the invisible man’ aka ‘the very nice man’ aka Kev, Clive & Chris aka last min.com.

 

As I know how good the hedge row cover is up to Aldford and Huntington, my plan was to head north across the wind and then west, under the cover of the Greenway, in order to get some good lanes in and cheat the wind of course. 

However, before we could even get mounted The Prof discovered a puncture, but insisted on us carrying on, as he would catch up. He knew exactly where we were going and he knew some short cuts, past his home. So, off we went and blow me if we didn’t get another occurrence not 2 miles into the ride, when lastmin.com tried to assassinate me, just before turning left, up around the back of Churton-Lol.  I suddenly felt a strike on my rear wheel and fearing the worse, as we were motoring, I looked over my shoulder expecting somebody to crash to the ground. I then heard  ‘the invisible man’ cry out “what a save”. 

 

One doesn’t normally feel the dreaded ‘cycling kiss’ between front and back wheels, but on this occasion, I think Lastminute.com simply decided to ram me- Lol. He has clearly got some skills to not end up face down in the road (don’t tell him I said so - Lol)

 

Anyway, we managed to turned left, still with some pace, only to come face to face with the dustbin men, which in that narrow lane meant a near emergency stop on the gravelly corner- lol. I don’t know how they get that truck down there, which probably explains why the lane appears to be well trimmed all year.

 

Double drama over, we proceed up a cracking little lane through Churton and over Aldford bridge, bearing to the left and Huntington beyond. Only 4 miles later we crossed the main drag through Chester and swung around the back of The Bike Factory, across the canal and up through the suburbs of Hoole, in order to get on to the Greenway.

 

We turned left and tapped it along for a few miles, hardly noticing that horrible headwind, until the exit at Saughall, which was a convenient quick stop for several of us. This gave me chance to try and convince Chris about my pre-existing rear wheel buckle being his fault — Lol, Lol.  Unsurprisingly, he denied all culpability. Then, by an amazing coincidence, Clive got a call from a bike shop about his buckled wheel (spooky -“there listening”- Lol). His wheel got buckled on our last ride together, when CB1 ran into him, but was less skillful than Lastminute.com, hitting the deck, fortunately only gaining a small graze. 

 

After a short uphill through Saughall, we turned left onto Lodge Lane, which allowed us to cross over what looks like the M56, but isn’t. The M56 actually comes to an end just a half mile out of sight of us. We turned east along the adjacent and unusually wide cycleway, for a mile or two towards Dunkirk, not the one with the long beach BTW- Lol. I was taking the group on a more unusual meander around to the Hospice, which is nice to be fair, if a tad exposed, but we were now with the wind as we whistled past Fox’s tea rooms, following the now narrower cycle path or most of us did. Nick and Chris chose to swing around the tea room farm, but no issue as they saw us up ahead and nothing lost. 

 

Just a mile later we crossed the highway again and picked up the cycle path parallel to the railway line that pretty much leads to Mollington. Not advisable in late summer as I imagine that cycleway will get over grown, being narrow. We turned left, barely a few hundred metres from Clive’s house and just 2 miles+ later arrive at the Hospice Cafe in Backford and just as the Prof arrived.

 

After a few hugs and kisses with the Prof we entered the very welcoming cafe, which always provides good fair at the best prices in the land.

 

That reminds me of a previous visit with Clive, who had informed us on that occasion of the funding difficulties the Hospice faces, due to only 17% of it coming from the Gov. I have therefore since made it a small mission to try and visit them as much as possible, at the risk of avoiding other cafe’s. 

The hospice cafe brings in a few extra shekels of course. Everybody in the cafe is a volunteer, including Clive’s wife at times. This is how they keep the prices down of course.  

 

So, I apologise now, if I lead future groups to the Hospice cafe more often, but I will endeavour to find even more intriguing routes - at least you’ll all save a few quid- Lol And in winter it is very warm.

 

Anyway, we grabbed a big table and got our orders in, which for some, was a 3 course meal. Conversation was varied as usual, although constantly interrupted by more food arriving- Lol. Clive even had to call his dessert back, after a well-meaning volunteer took it away- Lol.

 

I do remember Kev probing everybody for a reliable builder recommendation, after his 4 month sabbatical from CER. Clearly, he had made enough money to pay for an extension on his new house in Hambridge. So! If anybody knows of one, please let him know, as we all came up with nothing. 

 

Lunch over and probably one of our longest, due to some individuals trying eat the cafe bare- Lol'.

We got going again! Whilst still discussing the return route and some trying to decide where they would bail out. The likes of Lastminute.com, Clive , Kev and The Prof, all live in and around Chester, so the return route was more relevant this week, as we were already virtually home for them.

 

We headed out left of Backford, in the same general clockwise direction and heading towards Picton, initially on Rake Lane, but turn almost back on ourselves, just because I could, thus using a couple of lesser known lanes. We were of course meandering again, ultimately swinging around, over the motorways and heading towards Guildon Sutton and the familiar Meadow Lea cafe, which provided the first drop off for Clive and The Invisible Man, who is never quite sure of the way home. So Clive was leading him at least in the right direction and shielded from the headwind wind of course. No doubt, putting him on the right exit towards Handbridge.

 

Meanwhile The Prof was interested in catching up a few more miles, due to his puncture, not that he needed it, as he had ridden down to Holt in the first place. Anyway, now just 3 of us, Nick took that to mean he should pick up the pace and both of us chased on, now with a cross tailwind. 

It wasn’t long before we were in Waverton and I was asking which way was preferred, as Nick needed to get to Tilston and TP was just going with the flow. They decided on the canal road, which became a real dash, with Nick raising the stakes somewhat, all the way to Huxley, which stretched the lungs a bit, but not too bad, because we had assistance from the wind.

 

We passed Alison’s and TP was still with us, which is where I left them of course, TP decided to carry on with Nick, as he had nothing else to do that day, or nothing he wanted do, in his words- Lol.

 

I left them with 49 miles on the clock and an AS of 15.1 mph, which included my very slow 8 miles getting to Holt, due the stiff head winds, so I figure, as group, we must have tapped it a long very nicely at times, which means The Invisible Man put in a very good ride, after 4 months off (perhaps he’s been secretly riding with another group- Lol.) Clearly not dragging the Prof along, for the first 20 miles made a big difference- Lol, Lol,Lol.

 

I finally got home, all of 1.5 miles later, after an excellent day, with some outstanding moments and genuine laughter and little recollection of our lunch conversation.  Clearly, the more I ride the less I remember or is it the more I eat the less I remember- Lol.

 

Just had a thought, my memory can’t be food related otherwise Lastminute.com would never managed to find our CER venues- Lol, Lol.

 

Till next time gents,

WW aka Neil - Lol.

2nd July 2026: Ellesmere

 A Baker’s Dozen CER riders gathered at Maggies on a warm, sunny, but blustery day. Ken and Dave Matthews were just there for coffee. Kevin was back having finished a stint of work – good to see you back! Neil was going to lead a posse of briskers towards Chester so that he’d have the wind behind him on the way back, just as you’d expect from ‘the whisperer’.

I’d rooted around in the CER archives for a ride down to Ellesmere on the basis that a north-south ride would expose us only to side winds from the west, although it turned out that the wind had a northerly element to it which would not help us on our return journey.

The ride came from 2020 and had been devised and led by Steve Haywood who, sadly, had to stop cycling a while back due to illness. Steve specialised in finding delightful little country lanes, so it was no surprise that we headed out of Holt and down tiny lanes to the west of the River Dee. These are often flooded or muddy if it’s wet, but today they were dry and well surfaced.

After about five miles we joined the B-road and then the A525 and zoomed down into Bangor-on-Dee. The road over the old stone bridge was closed, with big concrete blocks barring traffic. Of course, we were able to wiggle our way through on the bikes! But lo! On the other side of the bridge, the Royal Oak pub was closed and boarded up. That’s another of our lunch stops down the drain.

Pressing on through Bangor, we toiled up Millbrook Lane and headed towards Duddleston Heath, crossing the A539 between Overton and Penley. A couple of miles further on we reached Ellesmere and the Boat House café.

We were soon seated and various food and drinks were ordered, including fish and chips, sausage rolls and a pizza. This led to discussions about pizza toppings and the choice of decaffeinated tea. According to Fiona, Yorkshire Tea is the best decaf and who am I to say otherwise!

Suitably fed and watered (or even over-fed, maybe!) we headed on the main road towards town, but took the first left turn up the side of St Mary’s church. The road is called ‘Church Hill’ and what a hill it is! Much grumbling from the peloton about this as we headed over the Llangollen Canal towards Lee. There, we turned left down a small lane which runs alongside White Mere. Chaos ensued as a stream of traffic came towards us, causing cars going our way to have to pull to the side to let them through. It turned out that the main road had been closed and this little lane was the diversion. The loop we had done was just that – a loop for the sake of adding a mile or two. Dave H complained, but he’s the ‘loop master’ so he should know better!

Safely across the A528 the traffic disappeared and we had the lane to ourselves as we cycled past Colemere to Lyneal. The lane from there to Welshampton was not great, with a rough surface and lots of sand and gravel making life a bit difficult. The next few miles were similarly rough and gravelly, prompting complaints (mostly) from Fiona.I don’t remember them being this bad when we rode them six years ago. It was along here that we stopped for the photo – thanks Elwyn.

Reaching metalled surfaces, but roads full of potholes and bad repairs, at Worthenbury, we quickly polished off the remaining few miles and arrived back at Holt with 41 miles covered. The wind had caused fewer problems that anticipated and the route got the thumbs up, at least for the run down to Ellesmere.

Another good day out with great company and fine weather, with temperatures in the low twenties, rather than the scorcher we had last week. Thanks should go to Steve H for the route.

ST

See route map and/or gpx file download

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.

See route map and/or gpx file download

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

See route map and/or gpx file download

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

See route map and/or gpx file download

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

See route map and/or gpx file download

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

See route map and/or gpx file download

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.

See route map and/or gpx file download