Wednesday 7th August 2024

A n overcast summer's morning saw another excellent turnout at Holt Drive with 4 rides leaving for various destinations.

Short Ride

Report by John

John led Rob, Chris, Paul, David, Derek, Myles, Dennis and Dom south with the ambition of obtaining refreshments at the Methodist Church Hall in Birstall. Departing via Shelthorpe the riders headed down the old A6 finding it closed through Mountsorrel but managed to bypass the road works by taking to pavement. Rothley also provided a bit of a challenge with road works at the Cossington Lane cross roads. Having navigated these, the riders toured the new cycle tracks where Bentley Nurseries used to be before climbing to Hallam Fields and taking the bridge over the A6 to Wanlip (taking care not to come off on the gravel or the severely eroded sections at the bottom of the hill).

Rob & Myles leading Chris and Paul south from Wanlip.

The group then headed south to Birstall and the church hall. However on arrival it was found that the hall was full, with only 4 spare chairs, so it was decided to continue riding and get refreshments at the garden centre in Cossington. The ride then headed down to the river and wended its way through Watermead Park. However, arriving at the Hope and Anchor they found their normal route blocked by fences due to a radical refurbishment being undertaken by builders. However it was discovered that there were stairs leading down to the towpath and these were utilised.

Arriving at Cossington the tea room was found to be busy and but a pleasant surprise was finding Fiona ahead of us in the queue. 

Rob, Chris, Paul, David, Derek, Myles, Dennis and Dom at East Goscote Nurseries.

A large table was free in the garden and refreshments were taken there before heading back to Loughborough via Barrow, arriving back c. 12.30pm.

Intermediate Ride

Report by David

Howard led this ride (mostly), accompanied by David, John, Brian and Dave.

The weather was overcast with a slight wind from WSW, so helping us on the homeward ride. There were a few spits of rain at one stage.

We went across Cross Hill Lane and Broadway to Manor Drive and via the path to John Boden Way into Allendale Road. We continued to Quorn, and through Mountsorrel and Rothley on the old A6, and passed by the BroadNook Garden Village, which is under construction near a large new roundabout on the A6.

Having crossed the A46, we rode on one side of the A6, then crossed some way down into Bentley Drive, Hollytree Avenue and Windmill Avenue, onto Wanlip Lane. This led into the centre of Birstall, where we veered off along Whiles Lane to Watermead. We crossed the River Soar to go between Mammoth Lake and Nature Lake, then cut parallel to Watermead Way and under it to follow the river by its east bank, then crossing the bridge on Thurcaston Road to follow the river by its west bank all the way to Peppercorns.

Howard, Dave, Brian, David and John at Peppercorns Abbey Park Cafe

Peppercorns had some new décor, although we chose to sit outside, and the photo shows that others chose likewise. The counter service was reasonably quick, and there were some interesting home-cooked cakes available for the adventurous.

On the return, David was challenged with finding a way back to Thurcaston, and started badly by leading down Abbey Park Road. This was of course teeming with traffic, and it was a relief that nobody came to grief during a precarious fivefold U-turn to get us back on track. We returned to our inbound route, varying it slightly to get back to Thurcaston Road. Unsurprisingly, this road led in the direction of Thurcaston, crossing the A6 at traffic lights. We crossed the Red Hill Way inner ring road via the footbridge and linked back to Thurcaston Road on the other side.

This road climbs a 10% slope and becomes a track unsuitable for cars. Near the Bradgate bakery we found ourselves enjoying a high-quality red cycle lane that took us to Ashton Green Road. The remainder of the ride home was quite quick. After crossing the A46 by high bridge, there was a dip in the road approaching Thurcaston, allowing us to get a good run on the turn by the Wheatsheaf, then climb the lane to Station Road Rothley. After crossing the Great Central bridge, we went left down Swithland Lane, and carried on past Granite’s onto Wood Lane, that wends its way mostly downhill to Quorn.

John left us at Quorn, and the rest continued to Loughborough. The return ride was 22.7 miles, with an altitude gain of 981 feet and average moving speed 10.4 mph. Everyone should have been home by 12:30.