As has already been said, it was a lovely evening for a ride and this, I think, was the best of the Manchester-Morecambe FNRttC. The lovely weather and the dramatic cloud formations against the (almost) full moon made for spectacular viewing on the moors.
It started, as usual, for me with the gentle ride to Piccadilly where I grabbed a table in the Mayfield bar upstairs.
yoav (not OTP) arrived pretty quickly followed by Gordon P, StuAff and wanda2010. Bazzer turned up not long after that.
Gordon P and I waited for Tacey while Bazzer lead the others to Albert Square to meet up with Lisa C (just signed up to TP
).
After a quick safety talk (not really necessary with a group of this experience and competence) we were off.
As StuAff has already said, most of the many red-lights changed to green just as I unclipped but before I had to put a foot down (you're all welcome BTW) so we kept moving and made it to the top of the climb in Whitefield together.
No one needed to visit the 24 hour Sainsburys just before Bury and, in a change to previous rides, we skipped Bury town centre on the by-pass; shorter, less glass but no good natured nightlife.
After a stop to lay flowers and remember jogler/Alan S, we started the climb through Tottington. StuAff, yoav and I rode steadily and the rest of the ride caught up very quickly when we stopped to re-group. Despite carrying 2 weeks worth of touring luggage, Gordon P was just behind us, Lisa C still seemed to have her climbing legs from last year, Tacey was storming along and wanda was obviously on good form. Bazzer had declined my invitation to ride in the group while I took over TEC duty and he arrived as smiley as ever.
My further "elfin safety gorn maaaaad" talk was duly heeded and no one came off on the steep dip into 90 right over bumps and we re-grouped in Edgworth. One of the pubs looked like it was still open and so Gordon P suggested a pint....... He really is steel framed. Since there were no takers (I had raised a dellzeqq-esque eye-brow of disapproval because McDonald's Whitebirk beckoned) we started the "big" climb.
My advice that the steep bit was at the beginning was taken on board and the re-group stop was very short. I tried and failed to take a decent picture of the Winter Hill TV mast with the moon and the clouds behind it so I'm hoping that someone with a decent camera (and some clue) managed to capture it.
We flew down the Grane Road to Shadsworth (the best part of the ride IMO) and were in McDonalds soon afterwards.
Duly refreshed, we went outside to find that the temperature appeared to have dropped about 5 deg and the bikes were covered in dew.
No ride leader induced Gefechtskehrtwendung nach Steuerbord was required on this ride (for the 1st time ever) but we had managed to lose part of the group so we had to turn back to look for them.
More lovely descending followed. I love going downhill, especially when I don't need to use the brakes. It's the best feature of this ride. The following climb from Ribchester to Longridge is always a chore (I hate climbing) but we did it in very little time and, it seemed, in great style.
The route from Longridge through Inglewhite and Scorton is my favourite part of this ride. The lanes are just lovely and the views (daylight by this stage) are fabulous. Since there are no hills to speak of on this section, we rode mostly together although I did bomb off down the few descents and I almost collected mummy duck and cubs around one corner. Mummy duck clucked her annoyance as she gathered in her brood. I wonder how she felt as the rest of the group appeared ..........
The coastal path from Conder Green was in good condition and, thankfully, there was no repeat of the drama from the recce. I reckon I'd walked/jogged 2.5 miles to the station.
Morecambe came and went (great views over the Bay) and we had breakfast in the Wetherspoons followed, soon afterwards, by beer. Lancaster Black was again the beer of choice. I might look for another breakfast venue for next year's ride. Wetherspoon's sausages are awful. I don't want "artisan" but something resembling "meat" would be good.
As time passed the group headed off for their various trains leaving Gordon P, wanda and I as the last to leave.
Thank-you one and all for coming all the way to MCR for this ride and to Moodyman and mcshroom for committing to it. Hope you've both recovered and I'm sure we'll ride again in the future.
From the feedback that I've received, it seems that the East Lancs Moors are the highpoint (literal and metaphorical) of the route so I'll be sure to include them in next year's ride. This, of course, assumes that I pass the strict physical and mental aptitude tests that are required for FNRttC ride leaders. I scraped through this year ........
Pictures:-
An elegant yet hardy group in Lancaster:-
DSC_0158 by
Chocolatebike1, on Flickr
Morecambe:-
DSC_0161 by
Chocolatebike1, on Flickr
If anyone did manage to get a decent photo of the moon over Winter Hill, please post it.
. That was scary moment, but it was balanced by Bazzer educating me on the sounds pheasants make, mummy duck and her ducklings crossing the road to get to the stream and the changing sky from night to dawn. Lancaster Black is the appropriate drink instead of Guinness for this ride.
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