Bank Holiday Ride 2

Following Saturday's ride I decided I really needed to know if I was still able to ride beyond 20 miles, so Sunday became the day to try it.


As the day dawned beautifully sunny and warm I left the long sleeves and leg warmers behind and set off towards Cheshire and Chorlton Water Park to find the car park filling up rapidly and hastily made my way to the trail around the lake for an anti-clockwise loop dodging joggers and fishermen - it seemed like everywhere I looked there were people fishing!


After having a chuckle at the sign posted at the end of the wooden bridge over the Mersey - what are they trying to say? - I enjoyed the sprint down to Kenworthy Wood, through Wythenshawe Park passing by the Hall and onto Altrincham Rd where I could continue my sprint to the Shaftesbury Avenue roundabout where, finally, the bridge repairs have been completed and both lanes in both directions were open to use. No more lorries up the butt getting up and over for me.


This part of Timperley has the best cycle path I have ever been on - it's alongside a busy dual carriageway-esque road (which makes you think it's be awful right?) Wrong: the cycle path is as wide as 2 lanes of the road and is separated from the road by a verge and has lovely gardens to cycle past.

Once back on the road and past Altrincham Municipal Golf Course/park/cricket ground/thing and I'm praying for the traffic lights to stay on green, so I can have a run-up to the evil 18% climb across another bridge. Thankfully my prayers are answered and I breeze across the bridge and continue on to the busy T-junction and the joy of trying to cross 3 lanes to get into the correct one for my turning.


I knew there were roadworks and the bridge at the end of Seamon's Rd was closed off so one of my routes was unrideable, so I chose the next best one through the lovely area around John Leigh Park and Oldfield Rd. i knew I'd have to follow Oldfield Rd as it veered left somewhere along here, but still managed to take a wrong turn! A wrong turn that proved great for me and embarrassing for another cyclist.

The wrong turn took me to a part of the world where this cyclist regularly trains and was busy doing so when I turned up. His training was hill repeats on a hill he knows very well and zooms up. A hill that I would crawl up. A hill that, after riding for 15 miles already, I led him up. Led him up quicker than he usually gets up. After reaching the top I had to try and turn right onto the very busy and wide A56 and then further on get across umpteen lanes so I could turn right again onto Charcoal Rd alongside Dunham Massey grounds.

At this point I wasn't even ready for a rest or lunch, so I continued riding with a lovely loop round the country lanes through Dunham Town to the very sweet little Sinderland Methodist Church and through Dunham Massey village, back past the boundary of Dunham Massey and onto the Lavender Barn for lunch.


After the best cheese toastie I've had in years, I set off on a mission to sprint for as long as I could. Zooming along White House Lane I managed to pick up a fellow cyclist who tried his best to stay on my wheel, poor love. Every time I stopped at lights or a junction he'd catch up only for me to leave him behind in an instant. Every time I looked back he was there trying to get back on the wheel, but I eventually lost him after 5 miles when I turned off through Northenden. When I stopped through the lights to see how he was doing, the look of relief on his face was huge - I think he regretted chasing me for so long!


After Northenden the route became so straightforward I could ride it with my eyes closed (but won't, to be on the safe side ;oD) - straight along Palatine Rd/Wilmslow Rd to the turning for the Bike Docs and then on to the Velodrome and round to the Medlock Vale for a quick breather before attacking the long hill climb/test I've been doing recently.


Stats view route
Hot, bright and a gentle breeze.
Maximum speed: 30.5
Average speed: 13.1
Miles:39.79
Climbed: 456ft


Dunham hill climb stats view hill
Maximum speed: 11.5
Average speed: 8
Miles: 0.34
Climbed: 98ft at 13% max
Not sure of time - didn't hang around to find out.


Hill climb stats
Maximum speed: 10
Average speed: 6.8
Miles: 0.44
Climbed: 102ft at 19% max
Time: 3.01 mins

Rainy ride

I met up with Amy for a ride out to Lavender Barn tea rooms - an enjoyable route that we did last week. We set off through quiet roads until we came to the junction of Barrington Rd and Manchester Rd in Altrincham where a queue of traffic and a few buses got the better of us - Amy stopped suddenly (too suddenly for me to be able to stop), I shouted for her to try and move to no avail; as I squished past her she fell onto a Clio - rather her fall onto that than me go under the oncoming bus! Sorry Amy!

As we pulled into the farmyard for the cafe it was evident that we wouldn't have the place to ourselves as we did last time, as there was a tandem in the barn and a little kids bike leaning against the wall. Once inside, we found ourselves with several other people who'd braved the rain.

Hot chocolate and teacake later, we stopped for a chat with two chaps who'd also braved the rain on their bikes before we took a little detour along a section of the Transpennine Trail - lovely and muddy.

We got onto the Floop by Sainsbury's in Fallowfield before I took a rather interesting tumble while riding at 18mph, ending up in a heap on the floor cussing the weather and coming off!

Somehow, my chain ended up getting off the chainrings and through the little gap between the rear derraileur and the rings...something that amazed both myself and Amy! Thanks to Amy for putting my bike back together for me.

It was a case of crawling back to where we split to head to our homes as every jolt was like sending shockwaves through my body, but we got there in the end; Amy was even offering to kick me in my good leg to take my mind off the pain everywhere else!

Boring bit -

Temperature: 13 degrees

Max speed: 24mph

Average speed: 14.2mph before crash, 11.5mph after

Miles: 35.61.

Challenge 61.29% complete with 116.12 miles left to go

300 mile challenge, 30% completed.

I had a bit of company on my 3rd ride of the challenge, with Amy tagging along so that she can also do more of her 30 in 30 challenge she's set herself and also as the last ride we did together was to Southport to watch the Tour of Britain, so it was about time we rode again. Amy rode over from Bolton to meet me at the Velodrome so she already had done her daily challenge by the time we set off for mine!

As my knee & shoulder were hurting after Tuesday's ride and given that it's base training season we decided to have a nice easy route and go to Dunham, and have lunch in the Lavender Barn tea rooms as Amy has never been there before.

I opted for the route we normally do (it only ever alters if I'm alone or with Paul) through Northenden and Didsbury, alongside Wythenshawe Park and onto Shaftesbury Avenue where there's still roadworks on the bridge over Brook Avenue - I'm sure those roadworks have been going on for a year or so!

I decided that we'd go and say hello to Paul at Maxatec as Amy hasn't seen him for a while, then it was back on the road through the lovely country lanes over the transpennine trail and under the Bridgewater Canal. I did warn Amy that we'd be hurtling past the gates to Dunham where we'd normally stop to eat, just in case she got concerned that she'd be missing out on chocolate cake in there; it didn't take long to get to Lavender Barn, so not too much to worry about.

After some very yummy food, and Amy's compulsory chocolate cake, I decided that I'd take her along some different lanes than she's been on before - she definitely liked them! I also took her on a different route off Washway Rd than she'd been on before, along Marsland Rd through Sale Moor until we got back to Palatine Rd by Wythenshawe Park and on into Fallowfield.

As Amy has never been on the Fallowfield Loop and I know she loves nice, quiet lanes, we made the choice to get on there and head towards Abbey Hey. As we cycled along I pointed out the main roads etc so that she knew where she was still. No furry Exocet missiles today, thankfully, although I do frequently have the odd race with a little Tufty running alongside on the grass!

All too soon we were on Abbey Hey Lane and close to the point where we'd be going our separate ways. I took her past the building site that was my old school - now long gone, with Lovell houses being built on the land, then we split at Edge Lane/Manchester Rd junction with Amy going north-west while I went east.

The info on the graph is the elevation of the route that Amy and I rode together, ditto the map.

It's definitely a ride we'll be doing again, hopefully sometime soon Amy!

Boring bits -

Temperature: 10 degrees

Average speed: 14.1mph

Max speed: 24.2mph

Miles: 36.00

Miles to go til I complete the challenge - 212.