Despite the wind and promise of rain nothing diminished the turnout at the Gallery Cafe. It was quite a poignant visit since this was the last time members of the club would meet the long established owner, Spiro’s widow. Apparently the cafe will change hands shortly and we should soon meet the new owners.
The group today consisted of Alan (Leader) Dave H, Steve Ha, Every Ready Ray, Clive and Steve Hu. Ken had ridden over and was returning home to pack his bucket and spade in anticipation of his Portugal holiday. Dave M has also ridden over and set off to do his own ride.
The discussion of rides had centred on two routes , a Welsh route to Afon Wen or a lower level route to Great Barrow to the excellent Bluebell Cafe. The drenching that many riders had experienced just getting to the cafe influenced the decision to go low and avoid the rain.
A brief plunge down Gladstone Avenue with a certain rider even overtaking a car led us down to the Dee Blue bridge. Then we met the headwind that would haunt us many times during the day. A quick diversion through the “triangle” found us face to face with a group of people planting trees in the area covered by Alan and his Sustrans chapter. The team were replacing fruit trees that had previously been stolen from the triangle despite being planted for the community.
The route took us on quiet lanes alongside the busy Welsh road. A sharp right took us along a gated road towards Lee by Backford and onto Chorlton. A quick dash across the A41 returned us to quiet lanes towards Picton and then Bridge Trafford. A downpour provided the necessary speed to tackle the short climbs before Little Barrow and our lunch stop at the Bluebell Cafe.
During a splendid lunch of Eggs Benedict or Welsh Rarebit the weather took a turn for the worse with some heavy showers.
Replete with pots of tea and lovely food we rode for a short period before Clive peeled off, within 50 metres the heavens opened again. The expression Jacket On—Jacket Off has never been so apt. Steve Ha routed us through the metropolis that is Oscroft before bidding us farewell to return to Kelsall and hopefully some dry clothes!
With the sun now shining we rode through Waverton and the into Chester City Centre. We had just cycled passed the weir when we had to shelter under the city walls to avoid another deluge. Some new friends and a dog were made in this interregnum between the showers. Once the rain had abated we continued around the Roodee racecourse and onto the river path where we were exposed to the full force of the headwind once again. Ray spurred on by many watts of electricity disappeared into the distance as we boldly plugged away into the headwind.
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| Photo by Steve Hu |
A quick photo opportunity (apologies to Clive and Steve Ha for my late planning) and we set off towards Airbus. A nasty RTA on the right reminded us the dangers of speed. At this point Alan left Ray Dave H and Steve Hu to complete the final push to Hawarden.
A nice ride planned by Alan in mixed weather just shy of 40 miles with great company.
See route map and/or gpx file download
SHu
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