15th December 2022: Gresford - Christmas Dinner Ride (mod)

There were five moderate riders at Alison's willing to give it a go in risky, icy conditions. Alan was recovering, but still game, and it was great to have Big Roy back. Mike's hardiness had been honed in the Welsh hills, Steve Tan was positive as ever, and I was wearing my old helmet in case my new one was scarred by freezing tarmac. Ken and Clive had already been for a cold spin and were waiting for John Wilkie for further forays. Dave Matthews was in civvies, as was Neil with his wife, Paula. Dave and Neil would be driving over to join us for Christmas lunch, later. Trevor was a bit under the weather, so he had sent us his route the day before, and Steve had downloaded it. I had one of Mike's maps from the bundle that he had kindly donated to me the week before, so between us we were unlikely to go wrong. It was a bit of a wrench to leave the warm and friendly hospitality of Alison's for the face-cutting cold air outside.

Photo by Mike G

We headed in the direction of Huxley before turning north-west alongside the canal to Waverton. We were riding steadily, with reckless overtaking by the odd driver causing more concern than the road surfaces. Steve was sure that his Garmin's temperature reading was too low, but my dentist, who lives at Tattenhall, told me that her car registered -7°C on Thursday morning. Farndon via Saighton was our next target. We stopped at the toilets next to the ancient Dee bridge. In this sheltered spot we briefly enjoyed the warmth of the brilliant sun, set in a clear, cold-blue sky. The road from Holt was straightforward, but we were not sure if the smaller lanes up the hill would be rideable. Some of the surfaces looked threateningly slippery, but we made it to Pant-yr-Ochain on schedule. It was good to see Matt on his tricycle continuing his recovery from being smashed off his bicycle by a turning car many months ago.

Our hopes of a prompt start to our meal, in order to ensure we had time to return to Tattenhall before dark were undermined by a couple of still- empty seats after a quarter-past-one. A misunderstanding about the time of the booked meal I believe. Never mind, we were served promptly when all had arrived. Everyone seemed to enjoy the food and the socialising. It was good that our hosts had managed to accommodate the brisk group in the library, adjacent to the originally booked main table. I was pleased to see Jim again, who has now ordered his electric bike from Ribble Cycles. Trevor had also made it, but I apologise for not chatting to some people at all, because I needed to pay the bill, and join the fabulous five as quickly as possible at the end. It was a really good turnout, so I hope everyone was pleased that they had made the effort to attend, even those who had to suffer Roy's jokes at our end of the table.

Photos by Steve T

The ride back was as direct as possible. We retraced our steps as far as Churton then headed east to Coddington and Chowley. Steve and I like this route, but many think that the road surface is too rough. The thin coating of frozen mud and  patches of ice needed some care as twilight advanced. Roy yelled a warning at one stage as his vintage steed had a slippery moment. It was a relief to cross the busy A41 and reach the car park at Tattenhall before it became properly dark. As so often, were all glad that we had ridden, and enjoyed the challenge. Three courses, and thirty three miles covered on a memorable day in very agreeable company.

See route map and/or gpx file download

DH