15th February 2024 : Whitchurch ( mod+)

Having been not sure until this morning whether I'd be riding at all, I ended up getting to Alison's so early that I'd finished my beans on toast by the time any other riders arrived. 

It was worth the wait though, as a bumper crowd were taking advantage of a positively balmy (for February) 13°C day. Most of them opted for a mod ride, leaving just John M, Ken, Alan and myself (Matt) fancying a slightly brisker ride. This reduced to three when John decided his skipping chain was going to be too much impediment and opted to ride home again.

Comparing available routes - all with a southerly bias to give us a tailwind leg back - we decided that John's was the best option. However, technical gremlins intervened and it proved impossible to send the route to me. Thus it was that the three of us set of on my 70km clockwise route, heading north initially, then east through Huxley. It was at this point that I realised my rear derailleur battery had run out. Fortunately, I always carry a fully-charged spare so we were not detained for long. We continued east in unexpectedly sunny weather through Eaton, Tarporley and Wettenhall, comparing notes on bicycle technology and gadgets, before heading south into the wind towards Nantwich. 

The headwind was stronger than any of us expected and we were glad to get a little respite as we turned towards Whitchurch. I used to ride this route very often BC (Before Covid) and was sure this section was "mostly downhill", but as Ken pointed out several times, there were quite a few ups to negotiate. The roads were also an awful lot muddier than I remember and it was definitely one of those "I'm glad I didn't bother cleaning my bike yesterday" rides. The technical theme of discussions continued as Ken explained that the slightly longer version of SKS's race blades made all the difference when it came to keeping mud and crud off your bottom bracket and pretty much everywhere else. So apparently, those extra couple of inches have served him well, phnarr, phnarr!

Just before cresting the last hill before Whitchurch, Ken and I realised that Alan had disappeared off the back, and set off to find him. Apparently he'd shouted that he'd punctured about 5 minutes earlier and neither of us heard. Whilst Alan replaced his tube, yet more technical discussion and tips were exchanged on some of the pitfalls of tubeless tyres and how to live with them. Ken shared his insights from working in the motor trade decades ago at the time that car tyres began the switch to tubeless.

Finally, we made it to Whitchurch a bit later than perhaps expected and chose on sight a cafe in the town centre - conveniently opposite some metal fences perfect for locking bikes to - for our "lunch" stop. The cafe - Benjamin's - turned out to be very welcoming to cyclists and is definitely somewhere I'd stop again.

We set off again with a much appreciated tailwind, through Malpas and Tilston, all feeling that we'd done maybe a bit more work than we'd ideally have liked. Along the way, we were treated to a display by a huge flock of fieldfares (at least I think that's what Alan - our resident twitcher - said they were). The rain made an appearance at this point, but it was light and much later than advertised. We also encountered a river flowing down the road where drains had overflowed. Fortunately, the water was clear and easily negotiated. At Tilston, Ken headed home via Holt, whilst Alan and I continued north through Clutton back to Tattenhall. Near Chowley we were treated to another flooded road, this time with murky water - Alan led the way and managed not to disappear into any submerged potholes, so we escaped with just damp feet.

At Tattenhall, I waved goodbye to Alan and continued home to Chester through Waverton. I'd clocked up just over 100km and enjoyed a good ride with great company in suprisingly good weather - almost spring-like.

Postscript - during lunch I got a text notifying me that my new sofa was being delivered on Friday, while my wife was still away, and Ken very kindly offered to help me shift my old furniture out of the way. I simply wouldn't have been able to do this without Ken's help - at least not without doing myself an injury! Things like this remind me what a great bunch of people we have in CER and how lucky I am to be a member of this fantastic club! I definitely owe Ken a couple of beers next time we're on a ride with a pub stop!

See route map and/or gpx file download

MT

Photos  MT