On a cold but bright and sunny day, there was a fair turnout of mods at Meadow Lea: Andy B, Ray, Steve T, Alan, Dave H, Andy W and Matt.
Only two or three routes were on offer, and the usual Garmin gremlins quickly reduced that to just one. So it was that I (Matt) made my debut as route-master / ride leader. And what a debut it was, delivering drama, comedy and farce in a fun-packed special: a figure-of-eight ride that ended up being a figure-of-zero!
Setting off on well-travelled roads via Tattenhall and Churton on our way to Holt, topics of conversation included Dave's auto-electrical problems, reckless car drivers and the woeful state of the tarmac on some of our favourite byways.
As the peleton splintered between Coddington and Churton we encountered a couple of horses ridden by youngsters. They (the horses, not the riders ... I think!) were completely freaked out by my trike (or was it me?) taking one look before rearing up and hastily cantering off in the opposite direction. Eventually, they were persuaded to trot past my stationary vehicle, all the while peering suspiciously in my direction. As if that wasn't enough drama, I soon came to another stop, with a slow puncture in the rear tyre.
The group reconvened at Churton and conversation soon turned to where we should stop for lunch. Consideration was given to Cleopatra's and The Red Lion at Doddleston before someone suggested the Commonwood Fisheries at Borras, just off the planned route. The more enthusiastic riders, led by Ray, made it all the way up the hill to Borras Head before getting the message that we'd overshot Commonwood and had to turn back.
Lunch conversation featured the shameless dodgy dealings of government ministers, whilst the popular vote of the CER collective was a landslide majority in favour of Burgers. Dave Heath would like to point out that although he had supported the Chicken Burger party, their candidate had failed to turn up, so his vote was a second preference.
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| Photo by AO |
After a group photo, and a few more pumps of air into my rear tyre, we headed north into the wind and via a little-known and somewhat Clive-esque grass-topped lane into Lavister. Just before Doddleston, I had a second puncture, this time to a front tyre and much too fast to get away with air top-ups. A relatively painless tube replacement ensued, as Steve came back to see where we'd got to.
Reconvening once again at Doddleston, we managed a whole mile before the next dramatic interlude. As Steve turned onto the main road he called "car right". I stopped, but Alan didn't, colliding with the back of my trike and executing an athletic somersault into a muddy ditch! It deserved 5.9 for artistic impression, but maybe only 5.5 for technical merit.
The final act witnessed yet more trike puncture farce at Saltney Ferry - the same front tyre, as I'd not properly removed the guilty thorn. At this point, I resigned from the ride leadership and the rest of the group headed off across Saltney Ferry bridge, then along the (non-trike-friendly) Dee path back to the Greenway.
Postscript: I have now ordered Schwalbe Marathon Plus tyres for my trike!!
See route map and/or gpx file download
MT
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