Palefish Cross the Mersey!

It has been a while since I have been on a long ride. The plan today was to follow the route of a ride the club did last year, when we visited The Greedy Pig in Kelsall, with a couple of amendments.
Today was also a special ride, as we were joined by the member of the club who lives the furthest away, Rob, who drove down from Scotland to join us for the ride (and catch up with family in Liverpool!)
The weather once again threatened to be awful! After a sun filled Saturday, once again enjoyed by some of the club who couldn't make today's ride, We faced wind and rain! However, I decided to be optimistic and rode my summer bike, and didn't take a rain cape, I just wore my Club jacket (not rainproof, but very warm)
It was a little chilly as I waited in the car park of the Twelfth Man, to be joined by other insomniacs who were up and out at 7am on a Sunday morning!
Seven of us headed over to Birkenhead to meet 5 more at the mouth of the Tunnel.
I can still vividly remember the day I raced Alex Dowsett through the Tunnel, and as we rolled into the mouth of hell, I couldn't help putting my foot down a little bit! The Tunnel has been resurfaced, which I think would help me make up a few seconds on my last time trial time through there!
We exited the tunnel onto Strand St, and once again, I wish I had my video camera on the handlebars. Cycling in front of the Three graces is a great experience (If you are sad like me!) and the buildings tower over you and the Liver Birds look down at you. I will remember to take a photo along there one day!
We rode on, into the wind, to the Hotel Rob was staying at, just outside Liverpool Airport. The only puncture of the day was just round the corner, on an open bit of road next to the Airport, with the wind blowing at us relentlessly! The Garmin worked well, and only user error took us on a little detour at a roundabout in Widnes!

Another impressive structure along the ride today was the Runcorn Bridge! when you ride along the path at the side of the road, you realise just how high you are, which doesn't suit my dislike of heights  and also how high the arch of the bridge is.

Heading up to the Runcorn Bridge.

 Once over the bridge it was just a matter of climbing up and over to Frodsham, and then once again, up and over to Delamere! The Railway Cafe was a welcome sight, Half way into the ride, and wanting to be good, I only had a coffee and a toasted Tea Cake!!

Palefish CC at the Railway Cafe Delamere.

 Chris and Tuni left us and headed back, as a christening was waiting for them, and the rest of us rode on towards Kelsall, and then on to Chester. As we were not stopping at the Greedy Pig today, I changed the route a little, aiming to get onto the Greenway cycle path through the middle of Chester.

Steve Enjoying the ride

This is where the problem of trusting in a computer mapping system and routing device arise. In hindsight, I will in future check that all roads we are going to ride are suitable for road bikes. There was a section of the ride, just over a mile long, that for half of it was an unmade, dirt track, with a section of cobbles, including three bridges! I have not ridden cobbles before, not like these, and it certainly was interesting.

Not everyone wanted buckled wheels!

The same path in Winter (Thanks for the Photo Iain)

I will be taking both wheels into The Bike Shop in Moreton tomorrow after work to get them trued!

The roads seemed very smooth after this, and we motored on towards Chester, and joined the cycle path just as the rain started. I was very happy with the performance of my Jacket. Even though it isn't waterproof it did a good job of keeping me dry and warm.

The path through Chester wasn't too busy so it wasn't long until we were in Sealand and making a decision whether to go to Eureka or straight home. Home won (as most of us needed to get back reasonably early) and we took the new path through the Deeside industrial estate, and through the marshes to Neston.

The Boardwalk through the Marshes

When we reached Heswall the group split, and people headed home, I rode back to Greasby with Paul, and we were happy that we still had some energy left to enjoy the road from Irby to Gresby!

I arrived home, in time to relieve Mrs Palefish of childcare duties so she could go to the match, which was good, and then was asked by the boys if I had fallen off my bike as I was covered in mud! The bike wasn't much better, so I gave it a quick wash down and lube, ready for the next club ride.

A different kind of Spray Tan?

Finally I have to mention Phil! If he was ever to get off his full suspension mountain bike, which he rode with us today, and was at the front of the group for most of the ride, and got onto a Road bike, I don't think we would ever see him! I did the Liverpool Chester Liverpool ride last year on my Mountain bike, 52 miles, and it hurt! Today Phil has ridden 82 miles and was Wheelieing up hills right up to the end!!!!!

Wet and Windy Welcome back to Wirral

I'm not sure how many times this has been said, but the weather in Scotland last week was fantastic! The sun shone every day, and the wind and rain stayed away from the West coast so that we could enjoy the stunning scenery.

There were some great roads around the area too, which led me to think about the possibility of a possible Palefish CC cycling holiday there next year.

Anyway, enough about my holiday and on to this weeks club ride!

The weather forecast for today was not good! Wet and Windy which ever forecast site I looked at! I remembered to reset my alarm clock back an hour, and even with an extra hour in bed, I wasn't too keen on getting up and out into the rainy morning gloom. I rode up to the Twelfth Man expecting to see a couple of other there, and was surprised to find the car park bereft of other Lycra clad madmen. I wasn't alone for long, Dave B joined me and after we waited until 7.15, with no other riders appearing we set off towards Birkenhead to hopefully meet up with Ken. 

When we arrived at the mouth of the Tunnel, we were pleased to see 3 Palefish CC members, Mark, Richard and Derek, sheltering under the toll booth canopy. We considered doing a Tunnel run, but decided against it, and also to rearrange the route to keep away from the North Wirral coast and take a more direct route to the Mills. After receiving a text from Ken to say he wouldn't be joining us we set off in the now torrential rain. We took the usual route through the lanes, at a more sedate pace that usual due to the conditions, which suited me as I hadn't been in the saddle for 10 days, and had maybe overindulged a little whilst on holiday!

We arrived at Eureka in good spirits, if a little damp, and were surprised to be the first there, even though it was nearly 9. By this time usually there is no where to sit and a big queue waiting to be served.

Richard shot off before the rest of us, as he had a date at a football ground to keep. The rest of us headed back towards Heswall via the lanes. Mark and Derek headed back towards Birkenhead, and Dave and I continued on to complete a loop of Wirral via West Kirby, and Moreton, with the wind behind us for a bit, but no let up in the rain.

It was good to be back out on the bike, and even strangely enjoyable being out in winter conditions again. As we always say, no bad weather, just bad clothing!!

Damp Palefishers!

Freezing rain Club ride.

Today was a day not for the faint hearted. Although it didn't appear to be cold, from the warmth of the house I could see no frost on the car, but as soon as I stepped outside the cold hit me. It was like walking into a freezer. I left the house to ride up to Paul's with the Garmin  showing 15 degrees. We arrived at the shop and it was now showing zero degrees.
While we were at the shop we decided that we would stay close to home so that if the snow arrived, it wouldn't take long to get to shelter.
As we left the shop one of the group took it upon themselves to show us how to fall properly to avoid injury. I thought it was very kind of him and I didn't laugh too loudly or for too long!!

There were seven of us today, not bad considering the weather and some of the club being in Lanzarote for a weeks warm riding! We didn't let it bother us too much that the three Dave's Paul and Phil were enjoying sunny shorts and short sleeved jersey rides while we froze! Dave has been keeping us up to date with their progress via twitter.

Zel even stopped at a cafe, although he doesn't look too happy about it!

The temperature continued to drop as the ride progressed. As we got into Parkgate the Garmin was showing -1.5 degrees and it didn't move from there until we reached Willaston and the wind was behind us. It rained for a bit, which wasn't as bad as the predicted snow, but it was a little alarming when as the rain hit my jacket, it froze and turned the sleeves white! The roads weren't too bad, considering the freezing conditions. We did some good group riding in pairs through ad off to keep the pace up, Zel would have been proud to see us!!

We got back to the shop in one piece, with no incidents or mechanical's, which is a first for the club rides!
Well we did have a little incident as we rode through Willaston. We had to negotiate an articulated lorry delivering in the village and as we rounded the cab there was a kindly gentleman crossing the road. He was a little surprised to see us bearing down on him and stopped like a rabbit in a cars headlights. His face was a picture as we split and rode either side of him.

It was nice to have a coffee and  a warm in the shop, and catch up with some of the race boys who had been out doing fast loops. It's a great part of riding with a group, and being in a club, being able to socialise and talk about bikes without getting "the look" from those not as passionate about cycling!

We also had the opportunity to check out the new brand the shop are stocking. 

BH is a Spanish company that produce some great carbon bikes. http://www.bhbikes.com/en/ 

I also purchased a new rear light. I have been very impressed with the Moon X-power 500 so decided to buy the Moon Shield 60 rear light. I have ridden behind one before and they are very bright. Best of all is that it fits well on the Aero seat post of the Kebel. It will see its first action tomorrow morning.

I am planning to head over to the Tunnel again in the morning. As long as it hasn't snowed or the roads aren't frozen I aim to leave the 12th Man at 7am for a quick spin out and back.

I am also hoping to get out in the week in the evenings. Possibly Tuesday and Thursday, I will Tweet and Facebook details if I go.

Today's ride details: http://app.strava.com/rides/3869092

Tunnel Test ride and A long stay at Eureka

As promised yesterday, I was up and out at 6.45 this morning. Luckily I wasn't on my own. I met Dave, Carla and Ian at the 12th Man. Cycling seems to develop a motivation in people you don't see in other sports/ activities!

It didn't take long to get to the Tunnel as the wind helped us along. We didn't stop when we got to the entrance, we just headed into the Ten Minutes of Hell route!

We had decided not to push it as this was just a recce to check out the grades of the climbs either side. The descent into the tunnel is quite long from the Birkenhead side, which will be useful in the TT. I coasted quite a way into the tunnel, and then as it levels out at the bottom, picked a gear to spin up the other side. We went round the Roundabout in Liverpool, which won't be part of the course, so I can take a few seconds off my time today to compensate for the extra meters, and then headed back. The descent from Liverpool is shorter so I put a bit more effort in going down, and then pushed harder to get out the other side. I was quite happy with my time, which I am not going to post here as I don't want to scare everyone else who is thinking of entering, but it is safe to say I will have to work much harder on the day.
I drove through from Liverpool the other day, and decided to video the journey as a motivation tool!!



Once we had played in the Tunnel, Ken met us and we headed of to Eureka for breakfast.
It is always great to learn new routes, and today Ian treated us to a great one through Port Sunlight Village and out to Clatterbridge. It is definitely one to remember as it cuts out a lot of the major roads on the way from Birkenhead to central Wirral.
The pace was pretty good for early on a Sunday, and we arrived at Eureka at 8.30!! Anne was quite surprised to see us so early, but as always made us very welcome. The only problem was that I had arranged to meet Lou from Patisserie Cyclisme, a web site dedicated to Cafe reviews, and all things cake!

http://www.patisseriecyclisme.co.uk/

To pass the time I chose a full English breakfast from the menu, which was great, until Steve, from Team Vita, arrived! I did feel a bit guilty, for about 10 seconds!!

Whilst we were waiting, a steady stream of wind blown cyclists came into the cafe. I was surprised at how many I now know! We were joined by Steve for a while, then Paul from the club rides had a coffee with us. When he left, Carla and Dave headed back, it was now 9.15, and Ian had already gone off into Wales.
Next to join us was Frank, a fellow blogger and Vita fan, http://frank.kinlan.co.uk/
Frank left with a group from the CTC and he was replaced by Dave (Tinselspin) and Phil (Cheshire Oaks Cycles) Dan who has ridden with us before also made an appearance.

Lou eventually arrived at 11.30. A little later than expected, but she had a great excuse. She had been talking to the Voice of Eurosport, David Harmon, about a possible interview with a Cycling Legend. I won't steal her thunder and spill the beans, but I'll let her off.
Whilst me and Ken were waiting, Anne said she was going to give us some jobs to do, although we didn't break the longest stay record of 7 hours, we only managed 3 and a half!!

It was great to see Lou and chat about her website, and plans for the future. I'm sure 2012 is going to be a busy year for her, both with the business, her PHD and racing. Please check out her website and why not review your local cafe whilst your there!

Ken and I left at 12 and headed out into the wind. The Chester High road is not the place to be with a strong head wind, so we turned off and zig zagged back through the lanes. We picked up another lad on the way, and we worked together taking turns at the front.

It certainly was another extraordinary ride. http://app.strava.com/rides/3523857

Puncture and a Pug Vita Club ride!

The aim today was to do a loop round the top of Wirral, then cross back to Ness Gardens for a brew. But, as always things didn't quite go to plan!

Leaving the house to head up to Paul's with Dave, it didn't take long to realise the wind was not going to be our friend today. It wasn't unexpected, but you know your in for a slog at times when it is gusting at 50+kph!!

It didn't take long for everyone to arrive at the shop, and once everyone was there, we discussed an earlier start time of 9am in future. Everyone was in agreement, as it means we can get a few extra miles in and still be back for our domestic duties!!!

I wore my new Giro Aeon today, well I think I wore it! It is so light and fits fantastically. It is well worth the money, and I'm sure it added at least 1mph to my acceleration!! Go and see the lads in the shop if you are considering getting a new helmet,they have a great range, and if they haven't got what you want in stock, they can normally get it in for the next day. I now have to decide on shoes. The ones I had decided on are no longer available!!! So its back to searching for "The ones"!!

There were 10 of us today, and we headed out towards West Kirby, battling with a strong side wind over Thurstaston and down towards Caldy. Once in Hoylake the wind was behind us and and helped us along to Wallasey. We rode along the front to New Brighton and this was where Phil had a puncture. We stopped in a shelter, as the wind was quite strong now, whipping up the sea/river which was breaking over the sea wall.

Thank goodness the Victorians liked shelters by the sea!

Once Phil had fixed his puncture we set off again, for 10 yards, and Bang, he punctured again. On closer inspection the side wall of his tyre had ripped. Luckily he had a tyre patch, so once he had fixed this and put in another tube, we set off again (another pair of Vittoria Paves will be on the Wirral Tarmac soon.)

We agreed that as the time was getting on, we would forfeit the cafe stop in Ness, and just go back to the shop, and go to the Cafe next to it!!!!

Whilst we were motoring along the prom towards the Seacombe ferry terminal, sheltered from the wind, we encountered the cyclists worst enemy! A dog on the loose who likes chasing tyres! Please don't think in am not an animal lover, but this could have been nasty. The front lads missed it, but it then ran into the pack and almost took Owen out, he was quick enough to get his foot out of the pedal and stop, just in time for the Pug to run between his leg and the frame. If you are along the Prom in the future please look out for this dog!

Wanted for Crimes towards cyclists!

The advantage of riding along the prom is that you get a great view of the world famous Liverpool waterfront skyline. I may take a better camera one day as the iPhone camera doesn't do it justice.

 Once back on the road we headed back towards Irby, into a headwind all the way. Certainly a character building ride!!!
A big thanks to the staff and customers of the Cafe next to Vita Cycles, who made space for 10 weary riders, and coped with our intrusion!!

I mentioned to the group that I was planning to ride through the tunnel on Sunday morning to remind myself what I have let myself in for, and there are now possibly 5 of us heading to Birkenhead. We are leaving the 12th Man in Greasby at 6.45am. Once we have ridden the tunnel, I am heading over to Eureka Cafe to meet some Twitter friends, The Queen of all things Cafe and Cake @patisseriecyc and one of the best sportive organisers @polocini, as always anyone is welcome to join and share turns at the front into the wind!!!

Today's ride details: http://app.strava.com/rides/3497823