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Hi all,
We currently have a long and a short ride on Sundays but these tend to be slightly too fast for the younger or beginner riders so this new group will ride slower and will go no further than about 45 miles (well within the capabilities of reasonably fit teenagers). Also the older riders tend to go on the longer rides and we now have enough interest from several teenagers to justify a seperate group.
I anticipate that we should get between 5 and 10 teenagers and probably a similar amount of adults who just want a steady shortish ride. We will have a responsible adult at the front and at the back of the group at all times but I should also stress that each individual is responsible for their own safety and if parents have any concerns then they should come along also.
We have several 13 year olds and a few 15 - 17 year olds also who will be coming along together with a few parents. After about 20 miles we will stop at a cafe and then ride a similar distance back to Hartford British Legion car park which is the meeting point.
All club runs start at 09:30 on Sunday mornings. The first ride is scheduled for 9th May so if your interested just turn up on the day at about 09:20. If you want any advice about bikes, tolls, waterproofs, etc. just give me a call on 01606 74577 or send me an e-mail. I'll let you know when future rides are scheduled so don't worry if you can't make the first one.
John Green will also be helping out but both John and I are volunteering to get things started and neither of us can commit to every week so we are hoping that other adults will help to share the rides so we can arrange them as regularly as possible, if not every week. The success of this additional ride rests on the enthusiasm of both the riders and the runs leaders but I think it will be great to finally get the younger generation of cyclists all out together rather than just turning up occasionally in ones and twos. If you know of anybody else who may be interested either existing members or potential new ones then please pass on the message.
Many thanks to Dave Fearon, Jonathan Green and other parents and friends for leading and supporting the first run designed to encourage kids to ride with the club on the road.
We were blessed with an unexpectedly sunny day, and there were 14 who elected to join our group, including Sam Green, Connor Fearon, Robert O'Brien, Derek Heine and his daughter Claire, Steven, Steph Banks and others. (Another young rider, James Risk went with different group). Everyone rode really well and sensibly, and we all had a terrific time. The route was well judged, (thank you, Dave!) and it avoided busy roads, and chose many interesting paths and by-ways. The 45 miles took us through Northwich, Comberbatch, then Arley skirting under Appleton and then over the quaint footbridge to Dunham Massey. We had a cafe stop at Red House Farm in the warm sunshine. When we got back on our bikes, we took the Transpennine Way to Lymm. There we went under the tunnel, and along the cobbled street before heading for Grappenhall cricket pavillion and the long, draggy incline to Appleton Thorn and Stretton. We then aimed for home via Higher Whitley and Little Leigh, over Acton Bridge and through Weaverham. Some of the children had very little experience of riding a road bike, but we still averaged just under 13 mph, and took just over 3:30 hours of pedalling.
The ride was a great success, and I really hope that this is the first of many more to come! 😀
P.S. Photos to follow on Richard's blog!
Claire if you or anyone want to get photos up onto the blog you can e mail them to me at the.underhills@tesco.net and I'll upload them
Eleanor
Thanks to all for attending the run on Sunday, I think everyone enjoyed it and the route / lunch stop were quite different to our usual choices which made a nice change. I was particularly impressed that Claire could recall the route despite the fact hat it snaked around the lanes North of Northwich. She kept saying, "I know where we are" and yet she claims to get lost if out on her own. Hopefully a few of the jigsaw pieces now fit together.
I suggest we have a similar run every 2 weeks to start with so the next one will be on Sunday 23rd May. I'll put my thinking cap on and see if I can find another unconventional route.
Ta
Dave
Hi Dave,
I will be bringing Elinor and Robert out with me on Sunday for the kid's run! I am looking forward to another interesting route to log in my Garmin!
Cheers
Claire
There were 12 adults and kids today setting off for Acqueduct Marina (Nanny's Bridge) between Church Minshall and Nantwich. We passed the riders from the Nantwich triathlon that was taking place at the same time, and for which I had a number! Dave Fearon wore some very fetching 'faded denim'-look shorts from the 1980s to complete his retro-fixie image! We were joined by Chris Graham and Andy, until after lunch, because they lost their group whilst looking for Andy's odometer that fell off. The rest of us included Elinor and Robert O'Brien, Caroline and Connor Fearon, a new boy Dylan, Steven, and Alison and Claire Heine. Having assured everyone that there were no hills, we ended up going through Whitegate on the 'out' and back up the road from Church Minshall to Winsford! We took a very steady pace, and rode about 26 miles in the blazing-hot sun. Tucking into a tuna pannini, with a lovely view of the narrow boats, I did not regret skipping the nearby Cheshire Triathlon at all! Dave decided to liven things up nearer home, by taking us off-road between Nova Scotia and Sandiway, on a trail parallel to the Whitegate Way. A couple of riders took a spill in the sand but no harm done! We passed Andy in the long grass at Gorstage acting very suspiciously, but he was actually still looking for his odometer! We all had a terrific time and agreed to do a ride again next week. Thank you Dave for leading us on a great ride! (Andrew and James Risk were on the last day of their C2C today, so I hope that went well too!)
Claire ('The kit lady') 8)
P.S. I hope that Eleanor will be able to put some photos I took onto Richard's Blog!
Story and pics uploaded on http://wvcccycleblog-runs.blogspot.com/2010_05_01_archive.html, thanks Claire! Good to see the girls out in force, Claire you need to sell them some club kit though!
Well done all
Thnaks to all who supported the ride last Sunday. Another nice day of uninterupted sunshine. There will be another ride this Sunday so it would be great if you could make it again.
Thanks
Dave
There were 11 riders, including 6 children, in this group today - Dave, Caroline and Connor Fearon, Claire, Robert and Elinor O'Brien, Derek and Claire Heine, Steven Shields, and also Dylan and Phil Sharrock. After the heavy rain the day before, it was a relief to have some sunny weather, even if it was accompanied by some strong, gusty wind at times. We headed for 'AJs' at Henbury through Davenham, Withington Green and Siddington. Dave has taken up the challenge to find routes that I haven't done before, and so we found ourselves off-road again on a trail that cut a corner off Booth Bend Lane. It really was a lovely route past Jodrell Bank and Redes Mere, along some of my favourite roads. Lunch was a lively affair on the children's table! Then we took a stretch of road to Vardentown that I hadn't taken before, and then followed a picturesque road at Windmill Wood that Robert and I had ridden on the Jodrell Bank Cyclosportive. The road from Alderley Edge through Mobberley to Ashley was interesting but slightly marred by some bad driving, with fast cars overtaking very closely. We had a welcome stop at Tatton for an ice-cream, and the sun came out from behind the clouds to provide a real bank holiday atmosphere. At Knutsford, Connor suffered a puncture, and some of the riders elected to cycle slowly to Great Budworth leaving the main group to catch up. I was with the group that opted for another ice-cream at Great Budworth before finishing the ride at 50 miles. We didn't see the faster group until the end, but I gather that they cycled 55 miles, detouring through Neumanns Flash and Marbury. There was a tumble in each of the groups, probably because the children were getting a bit tired by now, although nothing worthy of a prize at the Christmas Dinner, thank goodness! Everyone finished tired, but happy with their achievement! Thank you Dave for leading us on another enjoyable kids run! (Special mention should go to Dylan, who cycled to and from Winsford in addition to the club run, and who was still fresh as a daisy!)
Due to popular demand there will be another budding champions ride this Sunday. Possibly an ice cream stop but not 2 like some did last week! Looks like it will be another scorcher although possibly some warm rain.
