Sat, 3rd June, 2017 - my annual 200 km Cheshire forum ride.

[ColinJ]

It is nearly time for my annual 200 km ride in Cheshire. Actually, this year the ride will still be just over 200 km in length but we will be using some of the distance getting from the centre of Manchester to Cheshire and back again at the end of the ride. (@Littgull had his car trashed by a dozy driver so we are using trains to get to distant rides now.)

If you want to do the full '200' then start with us from Manchester (Victoria station or Piccadilly station). If you prefer to skip the city roads, meet us at Dunham Deer Park and do an imperial century instead. We will be using the 'escape route' from the city that @nickyboy used on his recent Llandudno ride. That worked well. I don't like riding in cities, but it wasn't bad. Just watch out for tram lines in a few places!

Some people have been complaining about inadequate notice to prepare their excuses for missing rides so I thought I'd start this thread now to allow more thinking time!

I know that @skudupnorth is always interested. There must be more of you who enjoy long, steady rides? If so, express your interest below.

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[k_green]

I was planning a solo 300 that day but really just need to get some miles in so I'd be interested.

 

[Littgull]

Count me in as a definite @ColinJ. I've already got this ride written in on the calendar.

 

[skudupnorth]

Looking good for me, always a cracking day

 

[skudupnorth]

Cake at our usual haunt ?

 

[ColinJ]

I was planning a solo 300 that day but really just need to get some miles in so I'd be interested.

It would be good if you could join us. We ride along at a steady speed, chatting, no speed records broken. Having said that we will definitely aim to get round the chosen bits of Cheshire and then ride back into Manchester still in daylight!

Looking good for me, always a cracking day

Excellent, and yes, it is!

Cake at our usual haunt ?

Yes - Venetian Marina cafe on the Shropshire Union canal, near Cholmondeston. We might add a couple of other short stops, one before, and one after, but that will be the main one of the day.

 

[GuyBoden]

It is nearly time for my annual 200 km ride in Cheshire.

I'm tempted to ride some of the easy flat bits of the route. I know the area, so I'd like to avoid the hills around Beeston, my knees can't get my weight up any hills anymore, but I know a detour, so I can meet up again at the Venetian Cafe.

What's the new route?

 

[Freds Dad]

I'm working in Knutsford on the day but depending on timings I may be able to join you for a few miles. Do you have a route?

 

[ColinJ]

I'm tempted to ride some of the easy flat bits of the route. I know the area, so I'd like to avoid the hills around Beeston, my knees can't get my weight up any hills anymore, but I know a detour, so I can meet up again at the Venetian Cafe.

I had the same problem with my knees when walking when I was 17+ stone but I was okay riding because I fitted very low gears to my bikes - 28/30, 26/28 and 34/36.

We are riding our loop in a clockwise direction this time so Beeston comes AFTER the cafe stop. We will be tackling Swiss Hill at Alderley Edge but I have included a shortcut bypassing the climb for anyone who doesn't fancy it.

I'm working in Knutsford on the day but depending on timings I may be able to join you for a few miles.

I can give rough timings but obviously problems could delay us. I'll post some times tomorrow. (I'm a bit tired tonight after a hilly 80 mile ride today.)

What's the new route?

Do you have a route?

It is provisional, but I don't expect it to change much unless somebody spots some big problem with it.

Aaargh - I just loaded an old version of the route over the new version!!!! Phew - I found a backup. (Which reminds me - it is about time I backed up the entire SSD on this laptop. My last backup was done from the old HDD!)

I have attached the GPX file at the bottom of this post. The route in the file starts at Dunham Park and heads off to Wilmslow but we will in fact ride out from Manchester Piccadilly to the park first. The end of the file includes the route back into Manchester after our 101 mile Cheshire loop. We will do that section in reverse in the morning. The file has been updated to include a cafe stop near Goostrey.

 

[GuyBoden]

@ColinJ

Nice route, I'll definitely meet at Dunham park and ride to the Venetian Cafe, but obviously Swiss Hill and around Beeston Hill is tooooo much for my legs.

 

[doughnut]

I'm 50-50 about this one Colin, but at least I've read about it before it happened this time! Got a lot of family stuff going on right now, but if I can get that sorted then I'll be in. I'll let you know in a few days.

 

[ColinJ]

Provisional times:

Manchester Victoria - 07:20 (train due in 07:17)
Manchester Piccadilly - 07:35 (we will ride straight past unless someone wants to meet us there)
Dunham Park - 08:50 (we took 1 hr 15 mins to get there on the Llandudno ride, though we could probably have done it quicker.)
New Mills (near Mobberley station) - 09:15
Crossing A538 in Wilmslow (near leisure centre) - 09:45
Dane Villa via Swiss Hill (shortcut gets there ~15 minutes sooner so meander round if you are taking it) - 10:15
Goostrey (short cafe stop) - 11:05
(Let's allow for a 25 minute break there. There is a cafe we could stop at, Take-25 minutes off subsequent times if we don't stop)
Leave Goostrey - 11:30
Venetian Marina (long cafe stop) - 14:00
Leave Marina - 15:00
Delamere Forest - 16:50
Dunham Park - 18:50
Piccadilly - 20:00
Victoria - 20:15

We may well ride round quicker than that, or take shorter breaks. Obviously, those times do not allow for bike repairs en route!

I'm 50-50 about this one Colin, but at least I've read about it before it happened this time! Got a lot of family stuff going on right now, but if I can get that sorted then I'll be in. I'll let you know in a few days.

Fingers crossed!

Riders:

• ColinJ
• Littgull
• skudupnorth
• GuyBoden (as far as the Venetian Marina)
• @doughnut (50-50 chance of riding)
• @Freds Dad (may join us for some of the ride)

 

[Freds Dad]

Sorry but looking at those the timings I will have to pass as I'm in Knutsford until 2.30.

Which cafe are you planning to stop at in Goostrey?

 

[ColinJ]

Sorry but looking at those the timings I will have to pass as I'm in Knutsford until 2.30.

Oh, well ... next year, perhaps?

Which cafe are you planning to stop at in Goostrey?

That's a good question!

I thought I had bookmarked details of one but I can't find anything. I'll have to search again.

 

[Freds Dad]

Oh, well ... next year, perhaps?


That's a good question!

I thought I had bookmarked details of one but I can't find anything. I'll have to search again.

You can either stop at Jodrell Bank or the cafe at Goostrey Home and Leisure is good. http://www.goostreyhomeandleisure.co.uk