The sun turned up today, and so did a few of the CER part-timers, myself included. My own excuse for missing so many meets is that it's the silly season at work (end of financial year, security patching, new timetables, etc). And that's the same excuse I'm using for the brevity of this report.
In the absence of any other suggestions, Clive, Ken, Nick and Chris joined me (Matt) for an anti-clockwise circular through Wrenbury, aiming to get all the climbing out of the way early and enjoy a flat tailwind-assisted return after lunch. It didn't take long for that plan to go out of the window, as roadworks at Bruera forced a diversion via Tattenhall and Barton. We eventually picked up the planned route just southeast of Tilston and from there it was a fairly straightforward ride to Wrenbury.
Bare arms and legs outnumbered tights and sleeves for the first time in months. Another Springtime tradition - councils desperately splurging their leftover road budget (y'know, that money they've been claiming all year isn't there to fix potholes) - was a topic of conversation en route to lunch. It seems to many of us that some of the schemes chosen don't appear to be of the highest priority.
The lunchtime venue was the Canalside Café, in a garden centre alongside the Shropshire Union / Llangollen canal just west of Wrenbury. And a lovely venue it was too; a sun trap with indoor and outdoor seating, a proper cycle rack, and excellent hot and cold food including cooked breakfasts and massive sandwiches. They even had some good GF/vegan options. I'll go there again. Lunchtime chats covered subjects as diverse as heat pumps, solar panels, Slow Horses and the slug forecast for the coming year.
 |
| A rarity - no potholes! |
 |
| Ready to roll! |
After lunch, Nick departed for home whilst the rest of us headed on through Wrenbury, with a brief pause to check out Berries café (formerly No 15 The Park), which looks like another promising mid-ride lunch venue. Then we caught that tailwind home via Bunbury and Beeston Castle. Overall, a very good day out - more like that please, Weather Gods!
See route map and/or gpx file download
MT
No comments:
Post a Comment