A rather chilly early autumn day with the usual clear air produced by a fresh north-westerly wind saw a high turnout of riders. Long Ride Report (29th Sept 2021) By Alan Large numbers of riders were circulating around Keith, anxious to get their names down for the social event of the year, namely the Wednesday Cyclists’ Christmas Lunch. Vic, Brian, Phil and Trish detached themselves from this melee and joined me on what was going to be a blustery ride out to Moo’s Kitchen outside Twyford. The outward leg of the journey was a delight, primarily because a strong wind was pushing us along through Sileby, Cossington, East Goscote and Gaddesby. The fun came to an abrupt end when faced with a stiff climb, and a strong cross wind, up to Holland’s Nurseries where Moo’s Kitchen is situated. The climb was worth it. The venue has had a complete makeover since I was last there (about 3 years ago and pre-plague). Tea was £1.50 per pot or two pots for £2.50 (!). Vic and Phil immediately opte...

A beautiful early autumn morning saw a good turnout of riders. Long Ride Report (22nd Sept 2021) by Alan Mindful of the perfect conditions for cycling I decided to offer quite a long ride by Wednesday standards and head off to the Wildflower Farm at Langar (45 miles ± 3). Initially joined by Dave, Brian and Rob (1), ...... John, to his horror, noticed that all the other rides had slipped away and he had no choice but to join us. Our out route involved travelling through Hoton, Wymeswold, Wysall, Widmerpool, Kinoulton and Colston Bassett, arriving at Langar around 11.15. Mindful of the distance, I tried to map a route that minimised the amount of climbing. Thankfully the Wildflower Farm had stopped the bizarre covid regulations that were in place last time I visited, which involved 5 cyclists being forced to sit individually at separate tables. In Britain (or possibly China) there must be companies that have grown rich on producing outdoor seating and tables as the 5 of us dec...

A rather overcast and cool early autumn morning saw what is probably the highest turnout to date for a Wednesday ride. Long Ride to Shackerstone station. Report by David On a warm overcast day, with one of the largest attendance of cyclists, only six were resolute enough to rise to the challenge, set by Howard, of a ride over the hills to Shackerstone, and back again.  These were Bryan, Mick, Alan, Vic, David and Howard.   The pack negotiated a path leading to a corner of the Holt Drive quadrangle without mishap, which is always a good start.  We continued past the Beacon and the Shelthorpe roundabout to Quorn.  At the traffic lights we turned right and carried through to Woodhouse Eaves.  A moderate speed was maintained, and the light wind blew cooler in the shade.  After Main Street, we turned up Maplewell Road to Joe Moores Lane and went right. We were soon at the entrance to the Rollercoaster.  Priory Lane has 3 uphill slogs, with downhill r...

Long Ride Report (8th Sept 2021) Report by Alan Another excellent turnout at Holt Drive on what was probably going to be the last really hot day of 2021. Mindful of the fact that the temperatures would probably peek at around 28°C by 11.00am, most riders wisely gave my offer of a 38 miler a miss and opted for shorter rides. However I was joined by Vic, Mick Trish and Rob (Smith I think ... there are so many Robs!!) and we set off in pursuit of Howard’s much larger group. The latter we overtook just before entering the university campus. The first water stop was going to be at Long Lane at Kegworth. The journey there was uneventful apart from a motorcyclist waving his arms at us at the duel carriageway along the A6. It soon became apparent why; a double size mattress was neatly laid out in the middle of the road together with a sorry looking settee on the grass verge. Mick, Rob and Trish did the responsible thing, parked their bikes and quickly dragged the mattress out of harm’...

A rather cool, overcast and drizzly morning saw another excellent turnout at Holt Drive, with four rides setting out. Long Ride 01/09/2021 Report by Alan I didn’t do a head count but it seemed that we had one of the largest turnouts ever at Holt Drive this week. A new member called Eric came along and was introduced to everyone and he quickly made friends. I had the pleasure of Marcus, Rob, Vic, Trish, Phil, Mick and Brian’s company this week. I decided to pull out all the stops and treat them to a ride that had everything; a decent distance (38 miles), varying terrain, quiet lanes, canal paths, stately homes, challenging climbs, sweeping descents, scarily busy roads and treks through a forest. I’ll charge a fee next time. The first part of the route was to Shepshed via the Garendon Park estate and from there to Belton and on to Tonge. In order to maximise the length of the Cloud Trail we did a loop around Tonge via Breedon on the Hill to pick up the trail at the Worthingto...