30/4/25
Recumbent Ride
Heat Defeat
Today promised to be very warm so I thought I’d try and get an early start. I’d had a root canal done last week and unfortunately it had flared up so I’m on antibiotics. Keeping active may help as stimulating the circulation can encourage healing as well as carrying away toxins. Unfortunately it can also cause painful throbbing too. I got myself ibuprofened up and took some paracetamol with me just in case.
Wearing just a T shirt with the usual nondescript trousers, everyday shoes, peaked cap and track mitts, I bunged on my shades and wheeled the bike out on to the road. Off downhill to the left, then approaching Darnhall Bridge I realised that I hadn’t brought my camera with me. There was always my phone, but without my gilet with its pockets, that was in my rack bag. Well, I wasn’t going back now, so I pressed on down the dip and up the other side.
My first decently long ride on the Linear since my 80 miler last August, when my riding for any distance was interrupted by pericarditis and fettling the newly acquired but ultimately unsuitable Grasshopper.
Despite my efforts to conserve my energy for later in the ride, I felt that the bike was going well. Keeping a steady speed up in the direction of Wettenhall, I zoomed down a dip and up the other side to find a road closed barrier with a road mending truck beyond it apparently fixing potholes. One of the workmen told me that if I waited, they’d be finished in a few minutes.
Once they’d moved on to the next stretch, I carried on. There were minute tarred stone chips everywhere, which attached themselves to my tyres. Once I’d passed through this area on to untreated road it was if I was taking my own gravel track with me as the gravel stuck to my tyres made gritty noises as I rolled along. I turned left on the Church Minshull road, then left into Woodgreen Lane which eventually led to Paradise Lane. I stopped in a gateway to pick as many of the bits off as possible before carrying on.
A tractor and trailer went past in a cloud of dust. I’d seen several of these today already.
Early last year I came to Paradise Lane hoping to get a photo of the Linear next to the name plate but it had disappeared. It hasn’t been replaced yet. I turned right on Over Road towards Church Minshull and after covering a level stretch came to the long downhill to Church Minshull itself.
There was little traffic about and after pedalling up to speed I was able to let the bike roll away. At the bottom of the hill the road winds a little as it levels but it’s still possible to keep pedalling into the village itself without needing to brake until reaching a traffic calming chicane. I kept rolling until I caught up with traffic at a mini roundabout. I could see that I’d reached 30.2 mph on the downhill, which despite the longer downhills I’d meet later, was the highest speed I’d see today.
I turned left and crossed a long narrow bridge over the river Weaver before the steepish climb up to a summit over a canal bridge on the Middlewich branch of the Shropshire Union canal. There is an entranceway near the top where I usually pull in to let traffic past but today there wasn’t much about so I climbed it without stopping.
Once over the top I worked my way up through the gears and got rolling respectably again. The road was fairly flat for a while and after a 90 degree right turn it was straight for over a mile so traffic that wanted to pass could do so with ease. It’s potentially a fast road. Another left hand bend followed by a straight, then a 90 degree left and a T junction with traffic lights.
It didn’t take long for the queue to work its way through the lights and I turned right then sharp left through some cones into the part of Flowers Lane that had been by passed by new road construction. I couldn’t help thinking of Miley Cyrus singing “Flowers” as I passed the sign. It was pleasantly shady here and as the day was noticeably heating up, after passing through some bollards I leaned the Linear against a tree and had a drink of water and a stretch.
I was soon rolling again, past a substantial plastic barrier designed to keep cars out, then joined the new road at an oblique angle, going left. A small roundabout, straight on, to another roundabout where I turned left. I was soon approaching another set of lights where several cars were waiting at red. With a wary eye in my mirror for rusher uppers in their cars who might hurtle up to the lights and brake at the last minute, I eased off until I was s-l-o-w-l-y approaching the last vehicle. As I’d hoped, the lights changed and I went through without stopping.
Steady rolling with the traffic then, until ahead I could see a red pedestrian crossing light ahead over the tops of the vehicles and just freewheeled. If I was in a motor vehicle it would be called hypermiling, but to me on a bike it’s just conservation of momentum and saving energy. Is it annoying to other road users? Probably not, as someone on a bike is slower than motor traffic most of the time, and there are plenty of bikes about in the town of Crewe so drivers are used to them.
Anyhow, the traffic had cleared by the time I got to the crossing, and so I rolled on. A high railway bridge ahead, so I gained a little speed, changed down near the top, and freewheeled down the other side, needing to touch the brakes for the first time in miles as a parked car caused a traffic obstruction. I still hadn’t put a foot down yet since having my last drink, and the traffic had cleared by the time I’d reached that spot.
Ahead, a large roundabout where a well known pub had once existed, giving its name to the Cross Keys roundabout. More or less straight round without needing to stop, heading through a residential district, over another high railway bridge and then coming to the junction of many roads at a busy roundabout. If it had been quiet, I would have just ridden round it, but as it was the lunch time rush hour I decided to use the cycling facilities since they were there.
It was a bit of a long way round, using the cycle/pedestrian lights at each road in the opposite direction to the traffic flow, but gratifying to think that drivers might have something of interest to look at in compensation for being held up at the lights. After all, it’s not every day you see a LWB recumbent bike with underseat steering in the course of your travels.
Eventually I reached the cycle path on University Way, and it was actually quite pleasant bearing in mind I would soon be mixing it with the traffic on Weston Road.
I’d intended to cross over to the other side of the road before reaching the roundabout at the end but missed the last bit of lowered pavement. Still, there was a cycle crossing on the approach to the roundabout so I was soon across and following a cycle path alongside Weston Road until it ended.
There was a wide pavement here, and I could see others cycling along it, so I followed it until I came across a car with its bonnet up with two wheels on the pavement. The lady driver said she was waiting for the breakdown service and was very apologetic for blocking the pavement. “No problem”, I said, “as long as you’re not stranded”. There was room to get past on the pavement so I carried on. Further on there was a van parked on the pavement but there was a lowered kerb just in front of it so I just got on the road and took my chances. It wasn’t very far from there to turn off into the lane to Weston so I just blagged it, stuck out my right arm and took up the position and before I knew it I was crossing a railway bridge en route to the quaint old village of Weston. As I passed the centre I noticed the White Lion Inn with 1652 on its frontage in prominent numbers
I felt it was time to find a shady spot with a bench to have my lunchtime snack. It was getting uncomfortably hot. I pressed on and was soon at a roundabout on the Newcastle Road. I went across it on to the Newcastle Road going East and came across a grassy area in the shade of some trees. I waited for some cars to pass. There was an approaching cyclist in my mirror but he wasn’t near so I signalled, rode across the road, and extended the Linear’s stand. Here I stopped for a while, cooling off and eating my snack. No bench here, but you can’t have everything.
Suitably refreshed, I wheeled the bike to the other side of the road, got on and set off in the direction of Balterley Heath. Uphill to a roundabout, straight across, more uphill then downhill into Staffordshire to a junction where I turned left on to the B5500.
A little more downhill then a taste of things to come as the road gradually climbed. Some traffic along here, including the occasional tractor and trailer. Through Balterley then over the M6. I’d planned to turn right into Shraleybrook Road but there was a group of horse riders filling the junction so I pressed on thinking I’d go via Audley, continuing along the B5500. Once I’d passed this point there was some downhill then mostly flat into Audley.
Things seemed to be going well, though I was aware of feeling uncomfortably hot. I knew that there was going to be some steep climbing ahead. I turned right into Wilbraham’s Walk which itself was a steep climb. I hadn’t got myself into a low enough gear, and part way up wobbled to a halt. I pushed up on to the pavement to cool off under an overhanging bush while I carefully eased the hub gear into its low range before setting off to the junction with Church St.
Right, then a slight uphill, a slight dip, more uphill then a left turn down Hougher Wall Road which is a very steep downhill, then up the other side of Rye Hills. I noticed an interesting black vintage Citroen Traction Avant parked at the roadside as I went past. Across an old railway bridge which was possibly the site of the former local station, right down Heathcote Road which is another steep long downhill.
Unfortunately, for every steep long downhill there is another steep long uphill. Here, there was no shade, and as I toiled uphill towards Halmer End I felt like a fly on a window pane. I stopped under a small tree, with the sun virtually overhead minimising the shade. Even when stopped, I felt my temperature rising. I braced myself to go another hundred yards. I can climb hills, and I can tolerate a certain amount of heat but I can’t do both simultaneously. I’d hoped to get to Alsager’s bank, get over the top, whizz down the Black Bank on the other side to Knutton then come back up and enjoy the long downhill trend towards Crewe.
I rarely miss having conventional handlebars but this could be one of those occasions where I might have wished for something to get hold of to push this bike into the shade. Furthermore, time was going by. I would have to try this again, either starting earlier, waiting for a cooler day, or both. It’s possible that if I’d been able to take the route via Shraleybrook Road, there would have been more shade on the way up, and I’d have got further. Another hundred yards, then I decided enough was enough. I turned across the road and faced downhill.
I made a determined effort to get up speed, avoiding all the parked cars and oncoming traffic. I could see the steep uphill approaching but at least I could see the summit, which was the junction with Rye Hills. Up I went, down and down through the gears. I pressed on, but came to a stop just yards from the junction. As I sat there, sweaty and dishevelled, getting my breath back, a girl I’d passed earlier coming the other way crossed the road in front of me and gave me a wry smile.
I gathered myself together, covered the last few yards and turned left. After a slight uphill it was down a long steep dip and another climb which I managed without stopping. Then across a road to go downhill again, then left on to B5500 Nantwich Road and on the way back to Balterley Heath.
Once I’d passed the entrance to Shraleybrook Road where there were yet more horse riders, with one or two riders dismounting at a farm opposite, the road went downhill over the M6 and I was able to get speed up, still going well up the short climb on the other side and then able to stride along in high gear down a long gradual downhill.
As I was sailing along enjoying the self induced breeze I spotted a bench on the left. It was situated on a narrow footpath separated from the road by a low bank, covered in long grass. I looked back and saw there was a small road turning off on the left so I rode back, turned in, and got on the path. I could see that this was a memorial bench with plaques. I leaned the bike on it, and sat in the shade for a few minutes while I had a drink and a snack.
I was Grateful for Graham Tomkinson, his dog Max, and friends who had contributed towards this shady bench for overheated travellers such as myself to cool off on.
I pondered the effects of heat on my performance. Last year on a blisteringly hot day I’d passed through Tarporley on the Spirit, coming back from a trip to Chester, and overheated on the long uphill on Forest Road. I’d had to stop several times to try to cool off but once on the level with a bit of a breeze, I was fine. A few years previously on the Linear with camping gear I’d been trying to reach the watershed on the A483 south of Newtown, hoping that once I’d got to that point the downhill trend would have enabled me to do the 20 miles or so to Llandrindod Wells without too much trouble. It would only have been a couple more miles, but the steep climb and the heat defeated me then. I’d often thought about that, and how if I’d persevered I might have got to Llandrindod that day. Today’s experience reminded me that it wasn’t just a case of wimping out, I’d just had to get out of the heat and cool down or I might have keeled over by the roadside. If some kind local had come by in his pickup and offered me and the bike a lift for that couple of miles, I wouldn’t have been too proud to accept on that day.
I changed my peaked cap for a floppy sun hat with a brim all round and a chin strap, and immediately felt cooler. I took a couple of paracetamol, as my tooth was beginning to make its presence felt. I wheeled the bike through the long grass and down the bank, and hit the road.
After some pleasant high gear rolling I was soon at Balterley Heath and turning right on the Newcastle Road, and passing the sign welcoming me to Cheshire.
The road ran downhill again from this point, straight on through a roundabout, then downhill to another roundabout where I turned left for Nantwich, still on Newcastle Road. The road here ran uphill again, then up and over a railway bridge to the village of Hough. From here the road seemed mostly level or downhill. This was the old main road until the dual carriagewayed A500 was built. Technically, you could cycle on the A500 but with the busy fast traffic it wouldn’t be very pleasant.
Although there was regular traffic on this road, it wasn’t obtrusive. I felt as though I was making good progress here, through the lights at Shavington, to the place where this road met the A500 at a roundabout where I went left for Nantwich. The traffic was more dense here but bearable. I came to some traffic lights where I took the right hand lane for straight on. The left lane was for traffic turning left, though it didn’t stop some loon on my left undertaking me as I reached the far side of the junction. Annoying, but there was plenty of space. Keep it up, dude. Keep rolling the dice, and some day you will meet your comeuppance.
Over a level crossing, and into the Black-and-White town of Nantwich.
I arrived at a mini roundabout and turned right, then straight across the next one. Some girl in a car with a group of teenagers screamed something, I know not what. I arrived at another set of lights and waited with the traffic before proceeding. Uneventfully to the next set, over the river Weaver on a bridge, left at the next roundabout past the front of Reaseheath college, then getting speed up as best I could until I came to the turn off on the right for Wettenhall Lane, gratefully leaving the traffic behind. Some resurfacing has been done here, a very smooth surface as I passed behind the college and for several miles beyond.
I came to a dip with a narrow bridge ahead. I could see that the road was clear so I gave it the beans downhill knowing that this time I’d be able to keep speed up for the other side without the potholes rattling my fillings out as they had on previous occasions here. And so it was, as the speed slowly declined and I rolled on at my comfortable pace.
I kept on rolling at an easy pace and soon came to Wettenhall Marina. I thought I’d have a break before the final few miles home. What better than to sit in a shady spot eating an ice cream watching the boats go by? So I did. Not only boats but trains rattling by on the Crewe -Chester line on its embankment nearby.
Feeling chilled out, I got going again. Across the car park, right into the lane and up and over the humped canal bridge, with some free speed from dropping down the other side. I passed under the railway bridge and surprised a line of cyclists coming the other way as I burst into the sunlight.
A little further on, I met some more cyclists, maybe part of the same group.
This road was then dead straight for a mile or two, encouraging drivers to put their foot down. Unfortunately the surface here is dreadful, so it’s least uncomfortable to stay in the middle if you can. I could see where the road mending team had been doing their best to fix potholes but the road had sunk near the edges and was pretty rough in places. It certainly meant that you could hear the tyre noise from approaching vehicles from a long way away.
I’d gone most of the way down this straight stretch when I bounced through an unavoidable pothole and heard a sound from the back wheel. I stopped to investigate and saw that a spare luggage elastic had become unhooked from the rear carrier and one end had been pulled onto the rear sprockets under the chain. After some fun and games unhooking it I established that there’d been no damage and continued on my way. I passed through Wettenhall. Then, down a dip, up the other side and some steady progress between hedgebanks until I eventually stopped in the shade by Darnhall village hall for a drink of water.
As I got going again a large black BMW came roaring past so I hurried after it hoping that if it triggered the lights on Darnhall Bridge I might benefit from it. Sure enough the lights turned green and as it disappeared I pedalled furiously after it, getting a bit further up the other side than usual before changing down and grinding up the rest of it.
Not long afterwards I was passing my back gate, a little short of 45 miles so I went a bit further to round it up before turning back for home.
On the whole, a good ride even if I didn’t manage my objective due to the heat. Since my last few rides have been related to fettling the Rans Stratus, it was good to get out on the faithful old Linear and enjoy its familiar virtues. Despite being ancient, it’s reliable and comfortable, and the under seat steering just feels so nice. It’s possible that once I’ve got the Rans Stratus fully sorted the Linear will have to go due to space considerations, but I’ll continue to enjoy it while I can.
Distance 45.03 miles. Max Speed 30.2 mph. Average speed 8.5 mph. According to Garmin.
Ascent 1106 ft. According to Bikehike.
