Sunday 19 May 2013

Who put that bridge there?

Why is it that just when you are getting back into regular cycling, something happens to knock you back a step (or rotation) or two!
Somehow, when driving my desk at work, I managed to twist my knee, which over a couple of hours, swelled up and became more and more painful. I wasn't too worried to start with, but as Saturday wore on, I had to admit that there was no way I could attempt the Loop to The Horseshoe Pass, a 100mile ride on Sunday.
I spent the day moping round the house, convinced my knee was getting better, until I tried to climb the Stairs.
Luckily, by Tuesday all seemed well and I was back out for the Tuesday evening spin.
The group that turned up were all up for a bit of hard work, so we did some loops of the lanes, which added up to 10 miles, and I was happy to do it in just over half an hour, nearly back to the pace I was on in the run up to the Ten Minutes of hell. We then rode on to Hoylake, where we practised riding techniques, pulling each other along, and then going to the back. It didn't take long for the group to get the hang of it and we decided to then ride up to Leasowe and back, with a big group effort on the way home. I couldn't believe we had nearly done 30 miles at the end, with a good average speed.
Thursday there was a larger group, so we did a more social spin out to Heswall then back to West Kirby and Hoylake, where we did a bit more practise of group riding. Another 25 miles in the bag.

Today the plan was to ride out to Chester via Wales, then back through the lanes with a loop round West Kirby. There was a large group too, all looking forward to the promised sunshine!
All was going well, even though the new Marsh path to Wales was covered in Sheep S**T, and I thought we had got away without getting lost, until I realised that I had taken us up a footpath, with a Footbridge over the railway!


I am getting used to having the micky taken out of me for my route planing now!

The rest of the ride was uneventful, not even a puncture to report! We got to Eureka just in time, before the rest of the clubs arrived, and I managed to have a chat with Anne about a ride I am planning for the Clubs Anniversary, more details to follow (when I have them!)

A Busy Eureka Cafe Today
After a refuel, we then looped back round the Wirral, via Capenhurst, Great and Little Sutton, Hooton, Raby Mere, Thornton Hough, Brimstage, Prenton, Moreton and West Kirby, where we treated ourselves to a climb up the hill from the Village then back to the Twelfth Man.
60 miles done without incident, all by 12 o'clock! 

 

Today saw the maiden ride of Derek's new Onix. That takes our total up to 4, maybe I should talk to Craig about custom club colours and a bit of Sponsorship! 

The only thing that didn't go right today was the weather! (Sunny after the ride doesn't count!)

Monday 6 May 2013

A Bank Holiday Cheshire lanes sunny spin

The weekday rides are growing. As the nights get lighter and warmer it seems to bring out the Palefish that have spent the winter in the Gym or on the Turbo. We have regularly had 15 riders spinning through the wirral lanes. Last weekend I was away, celebrating my 10th wedding anniversary (well done Mrs Palefish for putting up with me!) so I was looking forward to today's ride.
The weather has got better through the week, and today promised to be the best of the week. The route I planned took us out to Tarvin via Helsby and Beeston, then back to The Wirral via Chester.
The take up on the Facebook page was great, and I was expecting more to turn up on the day.
Mother Nature didn't let us down. As 10 of us headed over to Birkenhead, the sun started to burn off the clouds. We picked up Ken just outside of the tunnel, and then made our way to Eastham to meet up with Tim, Mark, Steve, Wayne and Jon then round to the Boat Museum to pick up Darren.
As the group grows, so does the Geography of collection points!
All was going well, the group was riding well together, and no mechanicals, but eventually, just as we arrived in Tarvin, 28 miles into the ride, disaster struck. Just after a sharp left hand turn into the village we came across some glass in the road. The shout went up from the front, as as the group jostled to avoid the tyre shredding glass, wheels touched and Paul hit the Tarmac. Luckily he avoided the glass, but he did suffer some nasty cuts. After straightening bits of his bike, and stemming the flow of blood, we carried on.
The original plan had been to go to the Ice Cream Farm, but as it was such a nice day, and also a Bank Holiday, we decided to go a little further down the road to The Manor Farm cafe. Dan was waiting to join us there, and we caused a bit of a problem, as 18 people in one go seemed to slow up the service a little! The team coped well though, and it didn't take too long for everyone to be served and get some fuel on board.

Palefish CC taking over the outside seating area at Manor Farm


It was nice to see a Brace of Onix RH bikes out today, and not too long until another one is added!


The second incident of the day occurred  just as we were getting ready to leave the Cafe. Nothing too bad, a puncture for Graham, but it did mean that we had an extra few minutes in the sun!

The ride back through Chester was uneventful, except for the long queue for the Zoo. We snaked through the lanes back onto the Wirral, and then through Willaston and Thornton back to Greasby.

I rode home, to find the family on their way out, so I decided to add another 10 miles to the ride,bringing the total up to 87 for the day.

I think as the club grows, I am going to have to make a decision about how many is too many for a ride! 18 was ok today, as everyone was of a similar ability, and the route didn't have too many difficult junctions to cope with, but there were still times when the group split. I remember back to when there were just a few of us out, and how tight and fast we rode, and I think that may be the way forward, sometimes. I think we may need to have a social soon to discuss how the club moves forward as we near its anniversary.