Wednesday 29th July 2020
Post date: 28-Jul-2020 08:51:10
A bright morning without any signs of rain saw a good turnout of 20 riders which required 4 pods.
Medium ride to Ruddington Report by Graham
This week my pod of 5 were Ruddington bound. As we mustered, Alan’s full pod was already leaving on a long ride, so I led Tricia, Margaret, John N (not David, as I called him last week), and Robert out through town towards Stanford-on-Soar. Margaret hadn’t ridden with me before, and probably never will again, after the smooth canal path I promised turned out to be a whole lot gnarlier than her lovely steel road bike was used to.
Anyway, we wended northwards, through East Leake and Gotham before taking a left under the A453 into Barton-in-Fabis. Just as we entered the village we bore right onto the bridleway which follows the Trent towards Nottingham. It’s a lovely tranquil path, but marred by a proliferation of “A” gates, requiring frequent stops, dismounts, and in 1 case involving Robert, an undignified encounter with the muddy floor. It’s also not as smooth as I’d remembered, with gravelly pebbly sections, but we all made it through. A diversion at Clifton bridge took us onto the footpath and then onto Wilford lane, heading south towards Ruddington. At one point, one of those soon-to-be-discontinued painted cycle lanes appeared on the pavement to our left, but with no way of getting onto it! The road was wide and quiet, so we pressed on to the Black cat cafe in Ruddington, which was not only cycle friendly, but actually had a working, open, toilet! Result!
Margaret was relieved to hear me say that we had done all the off-road for the day, but of course I lied, as no sooner had we remounted than I led us into Ruddington Country Park (which was heaving with families) and its gravel paths. I was trying to find a traffic-free way into Bradmore, but failed miserably and we found ourselves briefly going south on the busy A60 before turning left towards Wysall. Then at Wymeswold we waved farewell to Robert, who was going west towards Hathern, while we continued south through Burton-on-the -Wolds and towards Cotes. John and Tricia continued to Quorn via Barrow, while Margaret and I came back into town past Cotes mill and I then peeled off on the bridleway to the canal path homewards.
Difficult to say the actual route length since we all did different variants, but I reckon about 34 miles from Holt square, and not too much climbing today.
Short ride 1
Following the departure of the two long rides the remaining riders split into two groups. Wendy, Myles, Mick and Roman joined what was nominally 'Pat's ride' but which was mostly plotted by Roman,who was having a day off work to join us. We headed out of Loughborough around the ring road to Quorn from where we followed the old A6 to Mountsorrel, where we turned left towards Sileby. From here to Cossington then up Humble Lane, through Ratcliffe and on to Thrussington for refreshments. The deli was well set up with a separate window to order take-aways, and we joined a number of other socially distanced cyclists, scattered around the green, to drink our coffee.
Having reached Thrussington in a fraction under an hour we decided that a slightly longer return route was required. We set off towards Rearsby therefore, where we joined route 48 which took us past East Goscote and Queniborough, through Syston and over the A46. We then followed the canal towpath and rejoined our outwards route at Cossington. Retracing our route to Quorn we turned left at Meeting Street, then joined Forest Road into Woodhouse. Taking the path through Mucklin Wood we reemerged near the Woodthorpe area of Loughborough. From here Myles led us 'through the houses' towards our starting point where we dispersed in various directions. Total distance covered was around 25 miles.
Short Ride 2
With three pods gone, it was just John, Andrew, Wendy and Patrick left waiting until 9.35 in case any late comers appeared. They did not so the group set off through the University taking Oakwood Drive and using the relatively recent cut through to Ashby Road near the traffic light junction with Old Ashby Road. The riders then weaved their way through Shepshed to arrive at Hallamford Road via Tickow Lane whence they pedalled on to Belton. Here a choice of 3 routes was offered and it was decided to opt for the mid length option via Gelsco Lane and then on to Long Whatton for refreshments at the village shop.
After a leisurely chat in the sun the riders returned via Hathern arriving in Loughborough a little after noon. Estimated distance just under 20 miles.
Long Ride: Report by Alan
Perfect weather conditions saw a mass of people gathered in Holt Drive. Far too many to only have 3 groups of 6. It was left to John to sort out this conundrum and luckily Terry, Keith, Rob, Mick and Brian (not ‘campervan Brian’ the other Brian with a shiny new electric bike) quickly attached themselves to me (Alan) and we were the first group to set off.
Leaving Loughborough by the ‘coast path’, i.e. through various new housing estates and emerging by the new Aldi we headed south, heading towards Watermead Country Park via Quorn, Mountsorrel, Sileby and Cossington. Obviously the Google van doesn’t venture around the park and so it was with some trepidation that I entered the park trusting the Garmin to do its job and navigate us through the myriad of paths to emerge by Thurmaston. The secret surprise I had up my sleeve was that the last kilometre in the park involved cycling over very bumpy grass. It was so bumpy in fact that a quick series of rectal examinations was necessary, on leaving the park, to check that each other’s prostate was still intact. Luckily I had my wet wipes with me.
Our cafe stop was at the Church View Garden Nursery at Barkby, 15 miles into the route. I defy anyone to find slower service anywhere in the East Midlands. Three ladies in front of us simply wanted to buy 3 coffees. It would have been quicker for them to grow and harvest the coffee beans themselves. A man and woman were serving; I use the term ‘serving’ in the loosest sense. On each sale the woman appeared to be trying to link her iPhone up to the International Space Station to authorise payment. The man affected the 1000 yard stare often displayed by Vietnam veterans but eventually managed to produce 2 cups of tea for Mick and I. It was with disbelief that I saw Keith and Brian emerge 20 minutes later with a full cooked English breakfast neatly laid out in a polystyrene airline tray. What would have Boris thought? Sadly Terry was last in the queue. I’m sure his wife will question him on why he seemed to have sprouted a full beard whilst out cycling that morning. He can put that down to the wait. Twenty miles remained which started off with a right turn into Ridgemere Lane. Mick got a bit emotional here and said this was his favourite road in the whole world. It had the added benefit of a huge public mens’ toilet half way along, (also known as a field). The final stages took in South Croxton, Barsby, Gaddesby, Rearsby, Thrussington, Seagrave, and Walton-on-the-Wolds. Soon after this we split up to go our separate ways. All in all a good ride; great weather, and fewer hills than last week. I also remembered the photo this week!