Wednesday 4th August 2021

A beautiful sunny summer's morning saw a large turnout at Holt Drive.

Short Ride

After the other three groups had left, just Rosalind, John, Siva and new rider Tina remained at Holt Drive. As Tina was uncertain as to how far she would be comfortable riding it was decided to head south with either Bradgate Park or the garden centre at Cossington as possible destinations, with a variety of routes available. Hence once again the riders head out past Mucklin Wood and on through Swithland along The Ridings to the Ridgeway. Here the riders paused to check if Tina would prefer the shorter route to Bradgate Park.

It was decided to carry on south through Rothley and over the A6 to Wanlip then onto to Birstall, where on this occasion John took the correct entry to Watermead Park, although Tina did have a problem with the road humps on the entry road dislodging her pannier. 

The riders then wended their way through Watermead to the Hope and Anchor where they were pleased to discover that the canal side path to Cossington had been reopened after repair.

Excellent refreshments were enjoyed at leisure in the gardens of Goscote Nurseries before returning via Sileby and Mountsorrel to arrive in Loughborough just before 12.30.

Middling ride, report by Graham.

Following last week’s off-road escapade, I decided to stick to tarmac this week, (apart from the Mucklin section that is), so offered a medium 25 miler to the Met cafe, which is at the south end of the Great Central railway, at Redhill.

As we assembled at Holt Square, things weren’t looking great for Tricia, who had a flat front tyre despite (because?) it being repaired by a committee of three experts the previous day.

But Marcus came to the rescue with a spare bike, so after a slight detour to his and Sue’s house to swap out Tricia’s broken bike, the team (myself, Marcus, Sue, Tricia, Keith, Vic and Lee) wended our way through Shelthorpe to Muckin wood and then out along Brand Lane through Swithland. We headed for Rothley and took a right turn onto the Ridgeway, which has the dubious distinction of being the most expensive street in the county, and also serves as a training ground for learner drivers. Then through Thurcaston, going left onto Leicester road, before joining Thurcaston Road and down Mowmacre Hill, which must be one of the steepest in Leicester. At the bottom we crossed the ring road before doubling back up the Sidings to our destination.

What can I say about Met cafe? It clearly doesn’t get many customers, and it won’t be getting our custom again because the food took forever to arrive. Several of us ordered bacon sandwiches on brown, and only as we left did Keith discover that part of the delay was because they had had to go out to buy brown bread! Still it had a pleasant, if noisy terrace, and an interesting African themed interior, and the extended stopover allowed the conversation to cover many topics and geographies.

So, a full hour after arriving we continued, crossing Thurcaston bridge before turning left onto the path towards Birstall and Watermead. The canal path by the Hope and Anchor had finally reopened and we were flabbergasted to see the tininess of the repair which had caused the closure of the path for several months! About 20 metres of bumpy tarmac, when we were expecting a cycle superhighway.

Onwards to Cossington where we said goodbye to Vic, then Sileby and Mountsorrel to Quorn where I also said goodbye, heading home up the bridleway and leaving the remainder to continue back to town.

Distance would have been about 25 miles with not too much climbing and a beautiful sunny day, what’s not to like (apart from the cafe delay!) ? 

Long ride report by Alan.

Returning from holiday, I wasn’t particularly focussed at Holt Drive at 9.20 in the morning. What with Trish’s puncture and campervan problems to discuss, I wasn’t scrambling around on a recruiting mission. It didn’t help when John called out an incorrect destination. At 9.30 Wendy asked me how many were coming with me and I reported that it was just us two. Thankfully there were enough other indecisive people knocking around and so the final group was me (Alan), Wendy, Mick, Phil, Patrick and yet another man called Rob. Is anyone keeping count of the number of Rob’s we have now?

Our coffee stop was to be the Tropical Birdland tea house in Desford, 20 miles into a 35 mile trip. Off we set, meandering through the new builds to emerge at Woodthorpe. From there it was on to Woodhouse where we faced the first category 4 climb of the day (whatever that means) ## ---Swithland Rd leading up to Warren Hill. Everyone gave a huge sigh of relief when I announced we weren’t going up Warren Hill this week but turning left into Roecliffe Rd before turning into Bradgate Park. If anyone knows a more picturesque setting on a crisp summer’s morning than Bradgate Park please let me know. From there it was a fast spin past Groby Pool before heading on to Ratby. The second category 4 climb of the day came in the shape of Burroughs Rd, a sharp right hand turn from Ratby High St, but it was worth it as it led to a peaceful ride through a path cutting through Burroughs Wood. From there it was past another fabulous setting on a summer’s day (Thornton Reservoir) before arriving at Tropical Birdland.

The car park was packed but thankfully all the punters were there to drag their children around to see parrots, owls, vultures, eagles etc. What else can you do if Benidorm is out of bounds? Once in the cafe, surprise, surprise the girl behind the counter knew Mick. However for the first time in his life Mick couldn’t place her. After much soul searching he gave up. Such was the screeching of nearby noisy birds that I forgot to take the obligatory photo. My apologies for not adding another picture of a group of middle aged retirees supping hot drinks and scoffing cakes to the web site. On arriving home I flogged myself with a rusty bike chain as a penance.

Drinks supped and cakes scoffed, we headed back via Newbold Verdon, Bagworth, Stanton under Bardon, before emerging at Copt Oak. It was there that Phil announced he was going to do a time trial (whatever that means) ## all the way back to Loughborough via the B591 (Nanpantan Rd). Before I had a chance to say that the purple line on the Garmin was instructing us to veer off right from the B591 to Beacon Rd and head home via Woodhouse Eaves, he was off with Patrick and Rob in hot pursuit.

Sadly Wendy, Mick and I never saw them again. I will scan the Loughborough Echo later this week, for news of any accidents, but I’m assuming the three of them made it back ok.

## I’ve a confession to make. Being a bit thick, much of the Tour de France confuses me and so “category climbs” and “time trials” goes a bit over my head. Am I wrong, but isn’t the race effectively over each year, bar the shouting, by the end of the first week and the winner is always someone who can climb steep hills in the mountains? 

Intermediate ride led by Howard

Report by Robert.

Closed Road tour to  Beardsley's.
On a sunny Wednesday morning, Howard, Rob, Myles, Dave, Pat, Andrew, Patrick, Robert with Clyde as Back marker set out for  Beardsley's at Rearsby . We rode out of Loughborough towards Stanford on Soar, turning right after passing under the viaduct and on to Cotes.After crossing the A60 we proceeded to Wymeswold via Prestwold and Hoton. As we left Wymeswold along Narrow Lane, in the direction of Six Hills, we met our first "Road Closed" sign. Pat assured us that our passage would not be impeded. The Road works were easily passed. After Passing under the A46, we turned right close to the Race Hub, towards Ragdale and Hoby. More "Road Closed" signs were encountered, and we carried on undaunted. After passing through Brooksby we arrived at Beardsley's in Rearsby shortly after 11am. The waitress service at Beardsley's was excellent, the latest electronic devices being used for ordering and payment at the Table. (Cakes were excellent as well).

After leaving Beardsley's in the direction of Thrussington, we saw more "Road closed" signs. Someone commented that surely we can walk round the obstruction. The road however was completely blocked at the level crossing and we could see that we would have to turn back and take another route. Clyde led for a short period taking us to East Goscote. After this order was restored and we returned via Cossington to Barrow on soar. We continued towards Stanford on Soar via Cotes proceeding back to Loughborough across the meadows. Thanks to the "Road closed" signs the route was mostly traffic free. A ride of 32 miles covered at  an average speed of 12 miles per hour.