A large group of Easy Riders plus two guests met at the café in Chirk, for our last departure from here this year. We were also honoured by the presence of Dave M who had ridden from Holt to join us for coffee but had to return home to Oscroft for a prior afternoon appointment. The ten moderate riders of George, Trevor, Dave H, Keith B, Bryan, Brian M, Petar, Dave & Liz P, and Jim, were joined by guest riders Chris and Dave R.
The plan was to depart via the attractive Ceiriog Valley and then descend into Shropshire for some pleasant ‘lane riding’. Prospective member Dave R used his skill to winkle out a lunch stop at Burlton and all went well until we got to Whittington, where we followed the B 5009 south to West Felton. The road was wide straight and boring: clearly the old main road downgraded after the opening of the A5. To the local drivers this was an opportunity to make good progress without much traffic. For those who enjoy main road riding, fine, but not for us. I would recommend a change of route in future. However, we were soon onto the lanes after the village, and began to make good progress until Bryan picked up a puncture. This was soon repaired and we continued eastwards towards Wykey and Stanwardine in the Fields. The chilly autumn weather was briefly relieved as the sun came out for part of the route to Marton and our lunch stop at Burlton.
The Burlton Arms turned out to be a real find: newly re-furbished with a range of beers and good choice of food. Soon we were back on the road again, this time to the north and Loppington, where we took a sharp left to English Frankton and Colemere. Continuing westwards, we passed the sailing dinghies on White Mere on our way to Welsh Frankton. By the time we got to Hindford we had another puncture, this time to guest rider Dave R. While this was fixed Brian M spent some time talking to the owner of the land we had stopped on and he learned that the owner is in the process of constructing an outdoor snack bar and food area for canal boaters and cyclists. A stop to look out for in the future.
Soon we were back in Gobowen and the road to Chirk. The traffic island on the A5 was an experience, but we all survived to reach the village car park at about 16:30.
A total distance of about 43 miles on mostly pleasant lanes and above all another dry day. How long can this go on?
JD
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