Intermediate Ride Report (28th April 2021) by Alan A large turnout gathered in gloomy weather conditions. I noticed with some satisfaction I appeared to be the only one in shorts. I’m impervious to the cold having been brought up in the foothills of the mountains in Essex. David, Nikki and the faithful Mick joined me (Alan) as the second group to depart, our destination being Thornton. I had given a warning that the first part of the ride was going to include a fair amount of going uphill. There are some stiff climbs to the west of Loughborough. Luckily for us a stiff breeze was behind us. Leaving Holt Drive, we meandered through housing estates, emerging on the A6 near the new Aldi. Proceeding through Quorn, we turned right into Wood Lane, climbed to the top, and took a right turn into Kinchley Lane. From there it’s a fast descent to the perimeter of Swithland Reservoir. A gravel track (Rushey Lane) then took us to Brand Lane and then with a right hand turn we faced another step...

A rather overcast day saw a turnout of 17. Long Ride report by Alan When does an intermediate ride become a long ride? Who knows, answers on a postcard please. I say this because Howard offering a ride of 30 miles and myself offering 32 miles placed many riders in a quandary, especially as we both had Barton in Fabis on both our routes. Eventually cyclists made their choices and I (Alan) set off with Nikki, Andrew, Margaret, Pat and the dependable Mick. I had kept details of this ride deliberately vague, primarily because the first couple of miles were going to be on the bumpy side. On leaving Holt Drive we secretly followed the Howard posse through the town where we parted company at the bottom of Bridge Street. Here we turned left onto Meadow Lane and took the next left on the canal path past the Boat Inn. Our destination was Normanton on Soar which meant about 3 miles following the canal and then a further 2 miles across fields following the river Soar. Bouncing up and down on gr...

Another good turnout. Howard was back and it was noted that all the ladies opted to go on his ride. Long Ride report by Alan I was a bit perplexed at the rendezvous at Holt Drive. John asked Howard how far his trip was going to be and I’m sure I heard him say “50 miles”. Within seconds about 8 people swarmed around Howard including my wife. They must have heard differently to me as my trip was a puny 40 miler. It turned out that Howard was going around 30 miles but the damage had been done and I was left with the ever faithful Mick, Marcus and Bryan heading off to Hickling. Our outward route took us through the town, and up to the Melton Road via Stanford on Soar. The Melton Road to Rempstone is not for the faint hearted at that time in the morning with lorries thundering past and BMW drivers vying with Audi drivers to see who could drive in the most moronic fashion. Everything quietened down after Rempstone. We glided up the Wysall Road, through the village and on to Widmerpool...

Short Ride It was decided to head for a new tea place Millie's cafe & farm shop at High Meadows Farm on Melton Road above Barrow upon Soar. David, Pat, Derek, Lynn, Eric and John set out through Loughborough taking Meadow Lane to Stanford on Soar before heading south, taking the road to Prestwold and on up to Hoton. The riders then headed east through Wymeswold taking Narrow Lane to Six Hills. Then they turned to punch into the cold wind heading west along the Salt Way until they reached High Meadow Farm where Derek tried out a new mount. Some excellent value refreshments were then enjoyed outside in the sunshine before the riders returned home with Pat and Eric splitting off in Barrow. Famous Five go to Thrussington The famous five, Julian, Dick, Anne, Georgina and Timmy the dog, (oops I meant the infamous Bryan, Margaret, Myles, Mick and Terry not the dog) left Holt Drive for a 25 mile ride to the ...