21st March 2024: Loppington (mod+)

‘Enjoy your ride in the rain today’ were my wife’s parting words as Dave H and I set off for Maggie’s at Holt, as there was light rain falling in Runcorn. ‘It’ll be alright’ was my reply as, according to the Met Office forecast, the rain would ease pretty soon. 

I had planned a 40-odd ‘mod+’ ride down to Loppington and both Steve Hu and Alan were up for it. As we were getting ready to leave Maggie’s, Clive rolled in, so we delayed our departure for a bit so that he could gulp a coffee down. Heading off through Farndon, it was still raining a bit and I had to stop a couple of times to adjust my rear mudguard, as it was rubbing on the tyre – something that would plague me throughout the day.

All went well until we got to Horton Green when Steve Hu caught up with me to show me the reading on his heart monitor. A reading of 158 suggested that he hadn’t fully recovered from donating blood the day before and so, sensibly, he decided to return to Holt.

So, the three of us pressed on into the now strong south-westerly wind and the rain, which had still not stopped. In spite of this, we made good progress through Threapwood, Fenn’s Bank and Whixall, reaching the The Dickin Arms about two hours after leaving Holt. There, we were welcomed and seated next to a fire so that our clothes could dry off a bit and we could get warm. As usual, the food was excellent, being served quickly and hot, although a little more expensive than the last time I’d been here.

Photo by AO

After a quick stop by the church for a selfie, we turned for home. By now the rain had stopped and we would have, for the most part, the wind behind us. All good, you might think, but that statement would not  include some of the roads that we encountered on the way back. Between Lyneal and Worthenbury not only were they wet and very muddy, but the potholes were enormous and impossible to avoid. This made progress quite slow and difficult in places and at the end of the ride Clive handed me his ‘muddy road king’ badge!

Reaching better roads, we made our way back to Holt via Shocklack and Crewe by Farndon. Clive left us at Farndon to head for home, whilst Alan and I went back to Maggie’s for a hot drink. Dave H arrived there shortly afterwards, having led the mod ride to Whixhall Marina.

Thanks to Clive, Alan and Steve for a 48 mile ride which the weather and road conditions made less enjoyable that I would have liked. As Clive said ‘it’s so much nicer in the summer’.  

Steve Hu later reported that he’d done a few miles with the mod group before heading home and that he’s now fully recovered.

See route map and/or gpx file download

ST