2/11/25
Recumbent Ride
Threading the Needle with the Spirit on the Whitegate Way.
Now that the Spirit was finally adjusted to my satisfaction again, I decided to do a longer ride on it. Dry and sunny with rather a cold wind at times this afternoon.
There were road closures in random places locally due to road works though some bright sparks had removed some of the barriers due to it being the weekend so they could park.
No problems going down the road on the bike from my back gate though. As I came to Swanlow Lane someone came up behind me in a car and beeped. Was I grievously offended? Did I slow down and wobble all over the road? I admit nothing, before I indicated to turn into Swanlow Lane which was barriered off after a residential turning. The beeper went left to go home and complain about blasted cyclists holding him up for about a nanosecond no doubt while I went right on to the pavement to ride round the corner and back on to the opened part of the road.
Soon I was zooming downhill to the town centre into a slight head wind, hopefully to be behind me on the way back. A wait at the town centre lights, then across to Grange Lane, navigating the speed humps and parked cars.
As I came across the bottom of a side road on the left, a white Range Rover, which appeared to have stopped, started forward just as I went by. Fortunately I swerved out of the way in time. The bike isn’t exactly invisible being bright yellow with a permanently-on Supernova E3 headlight. Still, no amount of that sort of thing works if they’re not actually looking. I am a pretty quiet sort of chap but I surprised myself at how loudly I shouted and the choice of words that appeared. Cars were double parked along here and an oncoming car was waiting for me to go past so the offending Range Rover was stuck behind a parked car somewhere behind me.
Once I’d cleared the obstruction I expected the Range Rover to come past but it never did. Turned off somewhere? Embarrassed? Afraid of me turning into the Incredible Hulk? Ah well. A miss is as good as a mile. How could I have dealt with the situation better? I swerved away immediately and avoided a collision. They can’t hit you if you’re not there. Still, too much depended on the driver actually stopping, or not moving in the first place.
As I simmered down and rolled out into the countryside I came across a crowd of people with kids and dogs and pushchairs. I tinkled my bell and they parted miraculously. I rolled on down a dip and up the other side. The old railway bridge abutment appeared on the left. As I was lining up for the hidden climb just beyond a barrier I heard bicycle brakes on the other side and hung back. A beardy mountain biker came through then I trundled through and up the steep ramp.
Once on the less steeply sloped rail trail I went up through the gears and got to a reasonable cruising speed. I felt myself relaxing and absorbing the ambience. This bike was noticeably slower than the Rans here, though not hard work. The surface was mostly dry with some water and mud in places. It was decidedly more autumnal today than it was a couple of weeks ago on the Rans, though we’ve had quite a bit of wind and rain in between.
Despite the small wheels, the mudguard clearances on the Spirit seemed to be enough to avoid any clogging so far. The front mudguard clearance on the Rans might not fare so well in these conditions now I’ve fitted the 40mm Greenguard to it.
I rolled on passing another large family group, a family on bikes and many dog walkers. The mildness of the weather today had brought them all out.
I was impressed by one family group where the woman got two dogs to sit stock still with her finger raised as I went past. Further along her kids were doing the same thing. Maybe she uses the same methods to train them all. I wonder if she gave them all a biscuit after I’d gone.
Further on someone commented that that was a good bright light I had there. I agreed, though refrained from adding that it seemed to be invisible to some Range Rover pilots that I might mention.
I was soon in the Whitegate car park. A swift inspection of the plumbing then I was off along the trail, past the old station platform and under the bridge. My intention today was to pass under no more bridges in this direction but to climb up the ramp to the next bridge at Kennel Lane and head for Cuddington. Eventually I would reach the far end of the Whitegate Way and thread the needle through the bridges back to this point.
So along I went. It was surprisingly muddy on the next stretch under overhanging trees but the bike tracked straight. There was a suggestion of leafy rubbing inside the mudguards following this but the bike went well enough. After passing by some meres and a wooded area the track dipped downhill and Kennel Lane bridge came into view.
I changed down to a good low gear and plugged up the muddy ramp. It was steeper than I remembered and I was expecting the rear wheel to slip or the front one to start wandering but the Spirit didn’t waver. There was a sharp right turn at the top on to the bridge where it was even steeper.
I stopped to take some photos and to peer down on to the trail below.
Once I got going again the lane was steeply downhill with a mixture of sand, gravel and mud but even on the muddy bits the bike went where I pointed it.
It levelled out and passed through a narrow gap across a tarmac lane then continued as an unsurfaced track up a hill.
I’d not been this way for a long time on this bike and I was impressed by the way it was going. It felt as if the mudguards had collected some mud but I was hoping that it would drop out with the vibration as I rode the drier bits. A bit of rough downhill where the suspension did its job, and I could hear dogs in the nearby kennels howling.
A little more uphill then we were on tarmac. There were many people walking, then I saw lights in the woods to the left and heard music. There was something on for Halloween weekend by the look of it.
I came across many parked cars, then I arrived at the A556. It was very busy with traffic coming and going so I just walked across the road with the bike.
Straight across from Kennel Lane was Weaverham Road, so I followed this to where it began to slope downhill. I enjoyed the free ride for a while then I turned left at some crossroads. There were many speed humps along here, then I came to traffic lights at the A49. I got there just in time to go straight across. The road soon sloped steeply downhill, though the bike felt a bit reluctant to get going here. I pedalled up to speed, and the bike kept it up downhill. Soon Waste Lane appeared on the left, and I turned in.
This is another permissive bridleway, narrow, with plenty of speed humps, giving access to several houses along the way. At the end of Waste Lane there is a steep hill leading to gateposts and a drive under a bridge, then the access to the end of the Whitegate Way.
Sharp right just beyond the bridge, then steeply uphill between a fence and the brickwork of the bridge, to where the trail opens out. It levels a bit where the Oakmere Way meets the Whitegate Way, and conveniently there is a picnic table.
I stopped for a break, though it was becoming gloomy under the trees. A youthful runner appeared from Oakmere Way, and headed off in the direction I’d just come from. Soon afterwards a couple of dogs came bounding from that direction followed at a distance by a woman who called, “That’s far enough for today. Come!” and they immediately turned round and bounded just as brainlessly and doggily enthusiastically back the way they’d come.
I noticed there was stuff wedged in the back of my front mudguard so found a stick and poked out what I could. I got my things together and as I was about to set off I heard a runner pat pat pat patting from behind. I waited for him to get past but he disappeared down Oakmere Way. Hmm.
I got under way. There was still something rubbing inside the mudguard but it was becoming dark now and I didn’t want to mess about with it: perhaps it would fall out on its own.
It did seem like hard work getting up the long incline from this end. After a while the old line was in a cutting which made things darker.
I passed under one bridge which was probably the A556 then the uphill continued. Another bridge which had been strengthened with concrete blocks, probably the A49, passed by. It seemed a long way to Kennel Lane bridge but finally it appeared, and I knew that beyond this point the line levelled off and the landscape opened out.
There were usually less people about on the stretch that I’d just passed but because I was getting closer to Whitegate car park there would be more. Also, this part is more populated, so more local people use it.
I could still hear something rubbing in the mudguard but as the slope eased the pedalling got easier and I was able to change up. I reached the stretch with the overhanging trees and the wet surface which was slow in drying out. I hoped that the moisture might help shift whatever was clogging the mudguard. More likely, it would just add to it.
I reached Whitegate station bridge and passed under it. All level or downhill to Grange Lane from here on.
Not many about now. I beheld a rider on a great pale horse who pulled in to one side to let me pass. It was that time of day when the light was nearly gone, particularly under the trees, but it wasn’t dark enough for the headlight to be fully effective yet. I was roamin’ in the gloamin’. Perhaps I’d just seen Death but the grim reaper had let me by this time. Well, Hallowe’en has just gone, with its fanciful imaginings.
After further ponderings in the darkness I came to the down ramp to Grange Lane, turned right down a dip and powered down it to get up the other side. It felt like hard work and I was tempted to pull in under the street lights once I reached the houses to have a break and poke some more mud out. It became easier as the road levelled, so I just carried on instead.
Soon I was crossing the sports complex car park and heading between the playing fields towards the exit. The bike wasn’t responding to the slight downhill very enthusiastically so I continued pedalling. There was a distant bright light in my mirror which was slowly getting closer. I came to the uphill slope leading to the A frame barrier and found myself in bottom gear.
The night lit up and a following mountain biker said, “on your right!” He went by in a blaze of light, with no apparent motor. “I want one of those lights” I thought, as I ground to a halt in front of the barrier. The overtaking cyclist made my Supernova E3 look like a glow worm, and it dimmed as I stopped. I felt as if all my energy had been sucked out by the passing cyclist.
I got through the barrier and walked up the lane in the dark with the bike. Once I came out onto an estate road with street lighting I stopped and had a snack. It hadn’t been many miles since my last stop. This wasn’t my normal performance.
I had a look at the front mudguard and sure enough there was a great dollop of clay like mud wedged at the back of it. I poked the worst of it out with a stick and carried on up the slope. There was still some noise, but it was running more freely now. Going to have to think about increasing the mudguard clearance before I do any more mud plugging.
Left at the T junction with Delamere St., then some good rolling to the A54 roundabout. Not too much traffic, easily across to Swanlow Lane, right into Beeston Drive and after some winding about and a downhill swoop, gratefully rocking up at my back gate. Once inside I got the hosepipe out and gave the insides of both mudguards a good soaking. An impressive quantity of crud washed out.
Only about 16 1/2 miles today but it felt like much more. Although it ain’t no off roader, I felt it coped well with the conditions, far better than its tiny wheels would lead you to expect. One advantage of the recumbent design is that your feet are well away from the muck, and you stay pretty clean which makes you underestimate what might be finding its way in between the tyres and mudguards.
Distance 16.43 miles. Max speed 22.8 mph. Average speed 7.3mph. According to Garmin.
Ascent 498 ft. According to Bikehike.
