Wednesday 1st October 2025
Veloviewer fans will know that there’s far more than just hunting explorer tiles. In fact there’s so much data now that even I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed so I’m just sticking to collecting tiles and increasing my cluster (a cluster being a group of contiguous tiles)
My main cluster currently extends to south of Chester, but I’ve also ended up with two small unattached ones in south Cheshire and around Chirk. To incorporate these two smaller clusters is the reason I have booked an overnight stay at Trafford Hall YHA tonight.
I parked in a suitable layby on my chosen route at 10.30 and set off not worrying about the wind direction (generally southerly if you’re interested) since the route was so circuitous that I changed my heading every few miles. The weather was good and I was enjoying following very nondescript lanes which were free of traffic, but sadly not free of mud. I don’t want to be racist, but the lanes in Wales were noticeably worse than in England although in truth, I had no idea which country I was in for much of the ride.
Although it is hedge-cutting season, I didn’t notice many thorns, but I still got a puncture after about 15 miles. It was one of those phantom ones I occasionally get; the tyre deflated slowly, but I couldn’t find the cause – no thorns, glass or even a failed patch. So I fitted my spare tube and was quickly on my way, but I was then constantly aware that I no longer had a spare tube and had a mystery why the first tube deflated. In the end it didn’t matter, even though I passed two more tractors cutting hedges on the trip.
I found the scenery quite uninspiring today. I spent hours in tiny lanes which all looked just the same. There were very few villages and most of the lanes had high hedges (but they were being lowered all the time) so I’ve not many photos to share.
I’ve cycled in this region before and I know that cafés are in short supply. The last time I was here in March I found a lovely shop in Bangor-on-Dee which sold homemade filled baps (and loads of other tempting treats) so since the weather was fine I went there again and ate my lunch sitting beside the river. The lady in the shop even told me the same tale when she offered to fill my water bottle. She once took a cyclist’s bottle, rinsed it out and refilled it with fresh water only to learn that the rider had just added an electrolyte tablet which she’d just washed down the sink. The cyclist in question must have given her a hard time because she’s still telling people the same story well over six months later.
I saw several closed road signs today, but only one directly affected me. I routinely ignore these signs since almost invariably a cyclist will be able to get through (especially a polite cyclist). This time, I was especially glad since I’d ridden almost ten minutes downhill before meeting the obstruction but the chaps on the diggers were very friendly and allowed me through.
I arrived at Trafford Hall about 5.30 and was delighted to learn that I’d ordered a ‘meal deal’ when I’d booked the trip and completely forgotten! The lady on reception told me this but I didn’t really believe her and had to check my emails to confirm. I only booked the trip four weeks ago, but quite a lot has happened since then.
The smothered chicken, chips and salad that I had tonight was very substantial and once I’d polished off a chocolate brownie with ice cream I was in a state of lethargy. I need to be up early tomorrow since the hostel has a group of German students here staying here and they’ve booked breakfast at 8am. Since I’ve no earplugs, I’ll have to get in before them at 7.30. And I still need to try and repair the punctured tube, but I’m not sure that I’ll be able to spot the leak.
Over 71 miles today I claimed 48 new tiles and increased my maximum cluster by 52. I was quite disappointed that I didn’t manage to top 1,000 metres of vertical ascent. It wasn’t a target to do that but once I noticed that I’d climbed just 970 metres, it annoyed me more than it should have done.
Thursday 2nd October 2025
I often meet interesting people in hostel dorms and this trip was no exception. There was a Polish chap who was over here on business (I guess he was working at the refinery) who seemed to spend the entire evening watching Polish-language videos on his laptop. The other chap sharing the dorm was rather strange. We all (I think) have silent conversations to ourselves whilst going about our business, but this guy spoke his thoughts out loud and in a dark dormitory when two men are trying to sleep, it can be quite annoying. His conversation (spoken in a normal volume) went along the lines of “Oh it’s dark, I’ll put the lights on, oh no not that much, ah, that’s better”. Then there was a very loud clatter as he knocked a coat hanger off the rack followed by “Now toothbrush, ah, here it is, toothpaste, yep, got it.” After about five minutes of this, he finally climbed into the bunk above me, still muttering to himself, and then let out a tiny fart followed by “There you go”. Thankfully, he slept quietly, so I had a good sleep.
This morning he got told off by the dining room manager for drinking the orange juice reserved for guests who’d ordered breakfast. Him, “Sorry, I just made a mistake”. Her, “But you’ve done this every morning this week!”
Today I’m riding out from Mold. The most appropriate car park is the one called Love Lane car park which has plenty of room and is cheap. Sadly, probably to confuse us foreigners, the entrance isn’t actually on Love Lane. I found it, but while I was unloading my bike (and, incidentally, repairing a thorn hole in my inner tube), I overheard a long conversation a lady was having trying to direct a friend to the car park. The driver must have been saying that he/she was on Love Lane but couldn’t get into the car park so the lady had to give detailed directions to drive through the town to find the entrance (which in fairness was well signposted). I had to leave so I never found out if the driver ever arrived.
Today’s route was far hillier than yesterday’s and initially followed a zigzag direction generally south along similar lanes to yesterday. There were barely any views and the lanes themselves were so alike I could have been traversing the same one over and over as far as I could tell. After a climb at the start, it became flatter as I took a town centre route through Wrexham. Once I began to head west the climbing started but as compensation, the wind became less of a nuisance, it being from the SSE all day.
My average speed took a hit because of the hills, but not so much due to the climbing as the descending. The downhill bits were often steep (10% or more) but along very narrow, twisty and gravelly tracks denying me the pleasure of building up any speed. So I crawled down at a similar speed as I went up, always watchful of the surface which, when not pitted and broken was covered with gravel or mud, and sometimes all four. Thankfully, there was barely any traffic to worry about.
I’d identified a suitable café for lunch near Ruabon. It was only 30 miles out so a bit early, but beyond there were very slim pickings. I enjoyed a tasty slice of bara brith (Welsh tea bread to you and me) and sat outside with my cappuccino. It was a huge place, packed inside with what looked like typical garden centre clientele, although it wasn’t a garden centre.
Later in the afternoon I came across a set of traffic lights climbing up one rural lane so I duly stopped at the red light and waited…and waited. Beside the lights was a permanent sign advising of cyclists on the road, so once it became clear that the lights weren’t going to change for me, I set off past the red light. I suspect the lights were only there since it was a single-track section of road on what mainly was two-car width. I managed to climb beyond the narrow section with only two cars coming down, and neither driver seemed concerned to see me obviously coming through on red.
After that road traffic offence, I followed the Highway Code back to Mold where I found a café still open at 5.30. I was only 1/4 mile from my car, so took a paper cup of tea and a flapjack and picnicked in the car before setting off home at 6.15 after waiting for the traffic to quieten down.
Over the two days, I rode 139 miles and climbed over 9,200 feet, with most of the climbing in day two. I rode in 87 new tiles and incorporated two clusters into my main one which now stands at 3,618, an uplift of 153. So my modest goals were achieved. The next plan is to extend the cluster down to Shrewsbury which doesn’t seem too difficult, just needs quite a lot of driving.
