Wednesday 9th August 2023

A beautiful sunny summer's morning produced an excellent turnout necessitating the need for five groups. Initially there were four rides on offer but the short ride proved to be so popular that Terry offered to lead a ride to Millies while John offered one to the Garden Centre in Cossington.

Short Ride 1

Report by John

After the other groups had departed Derek, Eric, Andrew, Duncan, Marcus, John and Ian remained. The riders head south towards Quorn before turning left for Barrow on Soar. Climbing up from the river the chain on Marcus's bike got jammed when he changed gear. After a slight delay this was sorted and the group headed east up Melton Road and then turned south for Seagrave. 

On the climb up towards Seagrave the chain on Marcus's bike again jammed, but this time it could not be freed without some dismantling of the bike. Derek kindly agreed to stay with Marcus while this was sorted out allowing the other riders to  meander on through Seagrave and then Thrussington, where they turned west along the Wreake valley to Ratcliffe. After a climb up to Humble Lane the riders enjoyed a swift descent to Cossington and refreshments.

Eric leading up Park Hill Lane.

Shortly after their arrival they were joined by Marcus and Derek who had taken a shorter route via Sileby once repairs had been effected.

Derek, Eric, Andrew, Duncan, Marcus and Ian taking refreshments in the shade at the Garden Centre, Cossington

After a relaxed refreshment break in the garden, the riders took the direct route back to Loughborough via Sileby, Mountsorrel and Quorn, arriving back in Loughborough shortly after noon.

Short Ride 2

Report by Terry

An enormous crowd gathered in the sunshine at Holt Drive, too many for 4 rides I therefore volunteered to lead a group on a scenic route to Millies. The participants were, in no particular order, Rosalind, Fiona, Dennis, Keith, Dom and Chris and myself Terry.

We left Holt Drive across the Green Belt to Forest Road, as we waited at the crossing I shouted that we were going down Woodgate and Baxter Gate to Meadow Lane, I have lost a rider along this route a couple of years ago when we got separated in traffic and they went through the Market Place and never re-emerged!

Having safely traversed the town to Meadow Lane the traffic was still quite steady until we passed the Brush (what’s left of it!) turning right at Stanford church we found a smiling group of cyclists led by David, “we’ve lost Phillip” was the delighted cry. Immediately Rosalind burst into tears, were they tears of joy?

We all safely navigated the A60 at Cotes, this is the easy direction you can see both ways. We climbed the slight hill towards Prestwold and turned right and waited for a straggler. David and his group overtook here so we waited a couple more minutes to let them get away.

Coming up to the left turn for Burton my GPS gadget said straight on and my map said turn left, Keith said follow the paper map, being a mechanical engineer I don’t think he trusts the technology! Straight on would have been shorter, but if we had wanted a short ride we could have gone to the Beacon pub as I had suggested in Holt Drive.

We turned right in Burton up the hill passed the school and down to the Nottingham Road from Barrow, two left turns took us towards Walton on the Wolds. On our way up Back Lane to Big Lane, though it didn’t look that big to me, Rosalind commented she had never been this way.

We were now closing in on Millies just a short downhill stretch away.

At Millies the main discussion was about the Oppenheimer film which we could not really agree on how the subject matter was handled. We did all agree though it was an excellent and very thought provoking film. Chris suggested another thought provoking film, Barbie, which fortunately NO ONE took up the cudgels.

Leaving Millies we turned left down Paudy Lane to Barrow, Sileby and Cossington all uneventful and flat! We got separated at the traffic lights at Rothley crossroads and the leading group waited at the left turn into Antony Street as the trailing group could have gone straight on.

At the crossroads at the end of the Ridings Keith opted to turn right and go a slightly shorter route back to Loughborough as he had to be elsewhere in the afternoon. The remaining 6 carried on to Swithland , Woodhouse and Quorn.

The group split up at the Aldi roundabout, I enjoyed the ride made so much better by the company.

Intermediate Ride

Report by David

It was a warm day with little wind and no rain. David set off first with Philip, Bryan, Rob Stephens, John and Paul, for a round trip to the Bison café.

We took a regular route to the canal towpath and exited Loughborough on Meadow Lane. The route took us along Stanford Lane to Cotes, but Philip carried on ahead of us to Stanford. As we waited for his return, another group led by Terry caught up with us. We cycled with the two groups together until Prestwold.

Our group went through Burton on the Wolds, then turned left along Burton Lane to Wymeswold. When we got to the centre of Wymeswold, I needed a few minutes breather. We continued up the A6006, through the traffic lights, then continued along the up and down section past the fruit farm. Soon after passing under the A46, a quieter road was found to the left – Gibson’s Lane. Yet even here there were cars. We gathered at the crossroads ready for the steep descent through Old Dalby. After Old Dalby, the road does a right-angled left turn to the A606. We turned right onto the A606 and, after a bend in the road, reached the Bison Café.

The service here was as usual exemplary, with meaty offerings to help us on our onward journey and plenty to drink.

At this point we had covered 16.2 miles with an elevation of 732 feet and an average speed of 11.7 mph. However, I had been flagging and it was best that I got a lift home. My thanks to Bryan for staying with me until my lift arrived.

Other riders will have made it home via the quicker route by 1 pm.

[Ed.Happy to report that David is feeling better and his doctor has confirmed all is well.]

Medium Ride

Report by Alan

In view of Vic’s marathon, I have reclassified my ride as “medium” instead of “long” this week.

The destination was Hill Top Farm near Asfordby and unlike my previous ride more than one rider decided to join me this time. I’m beginning to think that the whole of the road network in England is being dug up at the moment such were the number of road works and “closed road” signs we saw on the outward trip.

Leaving Loughborough, our journey took us passed the railway station, on to Cotes and then along the Barrow Road to the T junction facing Prestwold Park. A quick right then left turn led us to Burton on the Wolds and from there to Wymeswold. Six Hills was reached by the slow climb up Narrow Lane. From there the route along the B676 can be a little fraught at times, due to the speeding traffic. As luck would have it, road works had closed the road and therefore for once the long flat ride of about 3 miles to Ostler Lane leading to Saxelbye was relatively quiet. Leaving Saxelbye we faced the first of two climbs of the day but as no one was in any hurry it did not pose too much of a problem for the group.

Hill Top Farm was at its best. The grass had been mowed, the sun was shining and the service was quick and efficient. Margaret, Mark (son of Margaret), Trish, Andrew, David, Mick and Rob (Smith) settled down under the umbrellas. The only minor irritation was the growing number of wasps attracted by all the jam on display.

Tricia, Mark, Mike, Dave, Rob, Andy & Margaret Hill Top Farm near Asfordby

The return leg was about 16 miles and either downhill or flat and took us through Asfordby itself and Hoby. Possibly because of the rising temperatures, rather than the brisk pace, Rob indicated he was feeling a little unwell and so he and I stayed at Thrussington for about 15 minutes whilst the rest of the group made their way back through Radcliffe on the Wreake and Cossington. Happily Rob sprung to life soon after, and he and I followed the same route back to Loughborough. 38 miles on a day when summer at last showed us what we have been missing.

Long Ride

Report by Vic

There was a foolish bike guide,
Who offered to lead a long ride,
Two others with him,
Set off with some vim,
And on their return were happy they’d tried.

We went to Wymondham Windmill on a nice summers day. A round trip of 53 miles, 2500 feet of climbing. Back by 1.30pm having had a nice slice of fruit 🍰.

This might make a good destination for next years annual ride out!