Medium Ride Report by Keith The ride to Bradmore (Cherry Lane Garden Centre) drew a slightly over the recommended limit of eight, but carrying out a rapid risk assessment Keith decided he was with competent responsible cyclists! So with Betty, Anne, Jeff, Dave, Phil, Robs (Smith and Stephens), Jed and Terry, they crossed town using the canal route parallel to Belton Road which now has no stile to negotiate, then via Stanford, Cotes, Burton, Wymeswold to Six Hills. Then back under the A46 and right along Hades Lane (nice name) through Willoughby and Wysall to the café. Doubt was cast on the “30 mile” route as we had already done about 23, but this was put aside as the 10% cyclist discount was used for a selection of cake, scones with jam and cream or cheese, and bacon sarnies. Shock was expressed around the table that one scone purchaser did not consume all the clotted cream – where is the staying power expected of our group! Robert, Keith, Rob (hidden), Jeff♀, Ian, Terry, Phil, Be...

Medium Ride Report by Graham Several times previously I'd planned to take a group to King's Lock, but had been thwarted by weather or floods; today we actually made it. So on a bright but breezy and cool morning, I led VIc, Paul, Dave C, Tricia, Margaret, John N and Marcus out of Holt square, south along the old and then the current A6, past the new 'Broadnook' development and through the top of Birstall to Watermead Park. From there we continued south, picking up the canal behind Belgrave and following it all the way through the middle of Leicester to our destination, the tea rooms. Parking the bikes round the back, we headed for a covered, but still draughty shelter in the garden before ordering. That was perhaps a mistake as it was pretty cold, and the hot food came in 2 batches, they obviously only have a small kitchen. Yorkshireman Paul provoked much intrigue by disappearing into the toilet to extract his wallet, he must have it stitched in! Then he reversed...

Medium Ride Report by Graham Today's ride was to Forest Hill Golf & Conference Centre, Botcheston. I'd never been before, but had spotted another club had ridden there and thought we'd give it a try, so on a bright blustery morning, Nim, Tricia, Laurence, Robert, and Terry followed me and we made our way through Quorn and Mountsorrel, turning up through the quarry, then via Thurcaston and Anstey to join route 63 along the disused railway behind Glenfield to Ratby. From Ratby we headed towards Newton Unthank, then a couple of right turns and a gradual climb brought us to our stop at the golf club. It was not an unqualified success. I guess golfers don't cycle, as there were no racks, so we locked the bikes together against a wall. Once inside, Laurence asked about the advertised sausage rolls, but they were "still being cooked", and all that was on offer was lemon drizzle cake. Luckily (?) they had 6 pieces, but it was obviously yesterdays batch as...

The day started quite chilly, and rain was forecast for early afternoon. Short Ride Report by David David retrieved a route previously stored and used on an aging Garmin and offered a shortish ride. He was followed by Andy, Ged, Rob, Trisha, Nim, Dave, Betty and Mick. We went out along Holt Drive via Beacon Avenue to Shelthorpe, then along the A6004 towards Quorn. We turned off along Farley Way towards Barrow upon Soar, taking the road bridge over the A6. After climbing Bridge Street, we went left at the Dinosaur roundabout and past the village shops, pausing to check we still had everybody. So far, we had had the wind behind us. We continued along the Nottingham Road until the Barrow Road turning for Burton on the Wolds. Mick had an assignation here, so the rest of us continued right on the B676, then left past the burial ground on Wymeswold Lane. Overall, the traffic was quite light, particularly on minor roads, but with the odd exception on a bend. We took the usual zig...

Medium Ride Report by Vic There was a slightly smaller gathering at the clubhouse, maybe a combination of holidays and a forecast of showers had put some off. I offered a 30 miler to Valeview equestrian centre at Old Dalby and 9 of us set off in a light mizzle. We wended our way through town and out along Meadow Lane then onto Cotes, Hoton, Wymeswold, Wysall and Willoughby. Brian had to push the last hundred yards as he had a puncture once we had negotiated the electric gates we abandoned our bikes and piled inside. We were the only customers except for a friendly Jack Russel. We all chose our bites and drinks and decamped to a large table, meanwhile Brian and Mick were outside attending to the puncture. They eventually came in with the offending wheel and we proceeded to fit a new tube. Leigh was most upset with the lack of equine activity in fact there were more dogs than horses. We set off back (Mick guessing the correct code for the gate!!) after Brian had refitted his w...