I have been recovering from a recent injury but felt able to get back on my bike as long as the ride wasn't too long or too vertically demanding. The best way of ensuring that was to plan my own route. I was happy to follow someone else if the ride met my criteria but the first thing Dave H asked me when I walked into Walk Mill was ''Have you got a ride?''. So it was that I got the job of leading the moderates on a ride that would take us for lunch at Drays Coffee Shop in Eaton.
Fellow riders will know that it is only about 7 miles from Walk Mill to Eaton so a slight detour would be required. With three other mods in tow (Dave H, George and Mike D) I turned right out of Walk Mill. It was immediately obvious that the cold weather that had been forecast earlier in the week had arrived. We had turned into a cold wind which would be in our faces for the first part of the ride. Not a strong wind but noticeable enough because of the temperature. We were heading straight towards Eaton here but after crossing the Gowy we turned left up towards Tarvin. After crossing the A51 we turned right to pass through Oscroft and then onto Kelsall. We were heading for the delightful road that runs through the middle of Delamere Forest. There is a short climb to reach it (which produced a few mutterings from behind me) but once at the top it was a pleasant run through the forest.
Beyond the forest we headed for Norley opting for the quiet Pytcheleys Hollow to reach the centre before leaving the village down Bag Lane. The latter took us to the A49 at Cuddington where we took a quick left and right onto beautifully smooth, recently resurfaced stretch of road. Nice riding for about a mile before turning south towards Sandiway Park. For the first time the wind wasn't in our faces and we were making good progress as we passed through Whitegate. We hadn’t quite reached the halfway point of our ride so we ignored the Station House Cafe, carried on to Little Budworth and skirted round the edge of Oulton Park to Rushton. Less than a mile now to the lunch stop but I managed to get the final approach wrong, leading them half way up the track to the house next door before realising my mistake.
So we reached Drays having extended a 7-mile cycle to 22 miles. There was a good selection of sandwiches and toasties on offer (as long as you like cheese) and we all soon found something that we liked. The conversation flowed while we waited for our food, the NHS being the main topic. One of our group had recently undergone a cataract operation and it seemed that at our age we all knew several people who had had one.
When we trooped out after lunch we immediately felt the cold again. Probably worse after being in that cosy cafe. We had to work hard to warm up again. Only 7 miles back to Walk Mill? We hadn't done enough in the morning to justify that so another loop was required. Our return was via Alpraham and Bunbury before crossing over to Peckforton and Beeston. Dave preferred the road past the Ice Cream Farm to the drop down to the Shady Oak and the final approach was via Hargrave and Martins Lane. 39 miles completed (and a few more for those who had cycled out to Walk Mill) and not too hilly, which suited me. My companions seemed happy with it too.
TC
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