Another dull grey murky Thursday in January and yet still a
large number of Easy Riders turned up at Cleopatra’s – one of the biggest turnouts
I can remember and all but one was cycling.
We split into brisk riders, moderate riders and the tandem, and coincidentally
we all decided to lunch at the Red Lion in Ellesmere. With this destination in
mind I found a route from our archive and nine moderates set out: Neil, the two
Andys, Peter, Bob, Daves H and M, Keith and myself.
We rode out along the minor lanes to the west of the River
Dee and found plenty of evidence that these had recently been fully under
water. We headed for the old cobblestone bridge into Bangor-on-Dee, although
some enthusiastic members had to be called back from shooting past on the A-road.
At some point the clouds cleared and we enjoyed sunshine, with little wind and
mild temperatures, it felt like Spring. We headed towards Dudleston Heath,
crossing the A539 between Overton and Penley, and then into Ellesmere.
We had arrived first and quickly placed our orders. A little
later the brisk riders and the tandem arrived together. Service was quick and
friendly and soon we were on our way.
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| Photo by SH |
Our return route headed south by the marina and then by
White Mere and Cole Mere, to pass through Welshampton. Heading northwards, we lost
Keith and Peter, and after some backtracking and confusion, decided we had no
alternative but to continue on our route.
After some attempts they broke radio silence and we found they were OK
and making their own way back to Holt. A reminder that we should each try and
keep sight of the rider behind us, and also to keep our phones on and have the list of contact numbers.
The return route, north of Welshampton, was also notable for
having both the worst and longest section of bad surface I’d ever ridden over.
The pervasive mud made the experience one to try and forget. Heading generally
northwards we made for Worthenbury and then the usual route back through
Fardon. Surprisingly we met up with
Keith and Peter as we waited at the lights to cross the Dee Bridge.
Back in Holt several of us popped into Cleopatra’s for
coffee. Despite the potholes and the mud,
we agreed it had been a good 40 mile outing.
SH
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