Wednesday 19th July 2023

Another cool overcast morning with the threat of rain saw an excellent turnout at Holt Drive with four groups setting out.

Long Ride

Report by Alan

Not one of my finest moments.

Unselfishly, I offered 3 options to John for the long ride, at Holt Drive; (Swarkestone, Borrowash and Ruddington). The unanimous verdict was Swarkestone. Loading this route into my Garmin, having not cycled there for about 6 months, the device got completely confused meandering out of Loughborough. The sum result was that by the time we got to Warwick Way it had completely lost the route and I had to confess I hadn’t a clue which way to head on from there. Cometh the hour, cometh the man, and it was at this point that Mick stepped forward and offered to lead from that point. I could see some veterans of the Foxton Locks debacle looking decidedly edgy at this point but this was an opportunity for Mick to redeem himself, and regain his self respect.

Mick decided to play it safe and shun the quiet winding lanes and pretty villages and head straight down the A6. This also meant shunning the usual cycle paths on the right hand side of the A6 and plump for the lesser used left hand side after Hathern. There is a reason why cyclists choose the right hand side and that is to avoid the broken branches, bushes, mud and general crap accumulated on the left hand side. I had spent the day before lovingly Mr Sheening my beautiful Trek bike and now it was besmirched with the effects of flotsam and jetsam caused by the night’s heavy rain.

Oblivious to this, Mick pressed on through Sawley and Shardlow. The rain gods were kind at this point and a brief heavy downpour washed the debris from my bike. Swarkestone was eventually reached by passing through Aston on Trent and Weston on Trent.

From here matters took a more positive turn. A wide range of cakes and savouries were on offer, and all at reasonable prices. No ride report would be complete without a reference to cakes so even I have fallen into that trap. Having just received my bus pass and state pension this week I was feeling completely at home amongst the zimmer frames, colostomy bags and the rest of the clientele drinking their soup through straws.

Reaching Swarkestone jogged my memory in that I knew various ways back to Loughborough. Mick was therefore relieved of his duties and I took the party back home via the Cloud Trail, the early stages of which involved riding about a mile along the side of a canal. Thankfully Mick resisted the urge to take another dip. Someone kept nagging me to take a picture of the group. This would have meant writing a ride report which I’m allergic to but eventually I relented. Lined up from left to right are Brian, Mick, Harry (?), Vic, Rob, Phil and Dave all smiling outside a cemetery. 

Brian, Mick, Harry, Vic, Rob, Phil and Dave all smiling outside a cemetery near Osgathorpe.

By this stage the sun had come out and everyone was in good spirits as we sped through Osgathorpe, Belton and Shepshed. Here Vic and Harry left us and the remainder of the group re-entered Loughborough via junction 23 of the M1.

38 miles, average 12.0 mph, 1170 feet, 2 egg and bacon rolls, 1 black pudding on toast, 2 scones and jam, 1 carrot cake and 1 Victoria sponge.

I arrived home at 1.32pm to settle down to read the outpourings of thanks on the Whatsapp group to Howard for being a brilliant Ride Leader.

Short Ride

Report by David

Today, just like many days this week, the weather was changeable. Riders gathering at Holy Drive were agreed that this was better than being on the other side of the Gulf Stream and experiencing temperatures in the 40s. Instead, we were prepared for rain, but probably in short showers.

A 20-mile ride was therefore popular, and there were initially about 13. I am grateful to those who opted for another ride this time, seeing the need to limiting the number of riders.

So, David was joined by Laurence, Pat, Roman, Paul, John, Andrew, Chris Gibson, Myles and Rob Pinsent.

We rode through town via Emmanuel Way, William Street, Burleigh Road and Chestnut Street. Crossing Ashby Road, we took Broad Street and Bridge Street, turning off onto Canal Bank. The canal tow path to Meadow Lane is much gentler on the bikes since it was resurfaced.

The traffic lights were kind to us as we crossed to the meadow and into Stanford on Soar. As we left Stanford it looked like riders were doing the Hokey Cokey as arms stretched out in different directions before turning up Leake Lane. After a breather at the top of the hill, we were soon on our way mostly down into East Leake.

We turned left onto Costock Road, then right onto Gotham Road – the road names round here are so logical. We continued past the sheep into Gotham. Here we turned left onto Kegworth Road, up past the school and via some undulations (not what any other rides would call “hills”) and bends. To add further interest, it started to rain. Nobody needed to take out more rainwear. We just continued past Kingston on Soar and the agricultural college. On the corner by the railway bridge, we gathered momentarily before swooping down to Gallery 119.

We were invited to check out the upstairs accommodation in this idiosyncratic establishment, and the staff were much appreciative that we had been here before and now had returned. The upstairs room was a perfect fit for us with just 10 chairs for 10 people around 3 tables. Cakes were good and large, and reviewed separately on WhatsApp. The coffee was strong, with a suitable kick to get us home. As we collected our bikes it was apparent that there had been rain while we were indoors, but from now on the sun came out.

Rob, Paul (almost hidden), Andrew, Chris, Myles, John, Laurence, Pat, Roman and David at Gallery 119, Sutton Bonington.

Our home route was to the A6006, where we left Pat and Roman, then to the A6 via Zouch.

As a departure from the plain route, we tried to cut the corner by the Kings Arms. However, a tall close-boarded fence has been put up laying claim to that road, and just a narrow path remains. Apologies to riders for the stinging nettles encroaching onto the narrow path. We exited through a gate leading to a playground, then took a track north of the new houses on Goodacre Road. After a brief dead-end detour on Hawthorne Avenue, we emerged by St Peter and St Paul church on Green Hill, then went along Church Street and Dovecote Street. We got back onto the A6 using Wide Street, just by the Anchor pub. After continuing to Loughborough, riders went their separate ways

The route returning to Holt Drive was 20.6 miles and I expect we were all home just before 12:30. The elevation gain was a modest 705 feet and the speed a sedate 8.9 mph.

Shorter Ride

Report by John

As the wind was in the north and rain threatened, the short ride opted for the fairly close refreshment stop of the community shop in Normanton on Soar. Dennis, Rosalind, Ian, Fiona, Eric, isobel, John and Derek set out through the town centre onto Meadow Lane. They then rode through East Leake and onto West Leake, where the rain clouds started to look threatening, so a direct route via Brickyard Lane, Travell's Hill and Butt Lane was chosen. The riders arrived at the tea place just as the rain started to fall.

Derek & Rosalind leading Dennis and Fiona along Brickyard Lane.

After a very relaxed sampling of the friendly service and excellent value repast at the shop, whilst they waited for the rain to cease,  the riders returned over Fox Hill arriving back in Loughborough before noon.

Fiona leading Ian and Eric down Butt Lane.

 

 

 

Short Hilly Ride

Report by Howard

This week I wanted to lead a short ride but one not without it's challenges. Instead of going for distance I thought it would be interesting to see how much ascent could be fitted into a short ride. With this in mind Markfield became an obvious destination. In Markfield also there is a nice little village cafe on Main Street called Brewster's that is not often visited by ourselves. I'm not sure that John mentioned the hills when he announced the ride at Holt Drive as I was surprised by the number of takers. Included in my group were Phil, Robert, Jeff♀, Keith, Margaret, and Mark; so maybe they didn't know what they were letting themselves in for. 

The hills I had in mind were in the order we would take them, starting with Beacon Hill (which I decided to cut short as it made the ride too long). Up Swithland Road to Warren Hill, up Ulverscroft Lane to Polly Botts Lane, Priory Lane and finally up Whitwick Road to Markfield; all before the coffee stop which we reached at 11:20am (on schedule).

Brewster's being a village cafe has a humongous menu allowing all to indulge in whatever they fancy (I think Keith had a hot vegetarian samosa). Phil did his usual and arranged for the tables to be set up outside and also with the agreement of management gathered enough chairs together for us all to sit on. I must mention at this point, we had lost one of our party quite early on and not because of the fact that hills were imminent. Jeff's bike had suffered a terminal mechanical, that meant the much needed gears would not be available and had to abandon. 

It was not long after this I also had a bit of a fright as I initially thought my bottom bracket had failed though this turned out to be my pump on the seat tube had slipped down and was getting jammed with each revolution of the pedals fortunately this was easily fixed and scuppered Phil's plans for a less hilly route, if I was unable to lead any further.

Mark, Margaret, Robert, Philip and Keith.

Part way through our refreshments a rogue shower arrived and we hurriedly hid inside for a few minutes whilst it quickly passed us by. We left the cafe after 1/2 an hour and came back via Bradgate Park and Mountsorrel, having climbed all morning the route back apart from a few bumps was all downhill.

We arrived back in Loughborough shortly after 12:30 having completed 42Km and 440m of elevation. (26 miles and 1444 feet of elevation).