Thursday 2nd June 2022. Whenever I travel over the Grane Road down into Helmshore, I always look across to a pretty little hill on the right. I first became aware of it in my early teens when one Saturday I decided to visit my friend in Blackburn (about 10 miles distant). I cycled over to see Michael and once I arrived we decided to both go and see a mutual friend who lived in Helmshore. When we arrived at Paul’s house, there was some discussion about what we should do next until Paul suggested that we should climb Tor Hill. I must’ve just been learning about tautology in English classes at the time because I remember commenting on the redundancy in the name and feeling clever! After we’d climbed the peak, we walked back to Paul’s, then cycled back to Michael’s and then I rode home. It was about 36 miles of hilly cycling and 4 or 5 miles of hill walking, and my abiding memory of the day is that I was very tired and hungry at the end.
What’s the point of this slice of nostalgia? Well, because I went back to Tor Hill today for the first time in almost half a century. Today, I found that I couldn’t reach the top of the hill since there appears to be no public rights of way, and I’m a stickler for rules. (At least I am now; not sure about then)
Do you remember this Michael? [His reply “I don’t remember that particular day but when I find something good, I tell everyone so no doubt it’s true. I believe the {to the top} is through the farm, but it’s easy to upset the farmers”]
My reason for today’s walk was to tick off a few more ‘explorer tiles’ on Veloviewer. (I’ve finally decided that walking (rather than cycling) to collect tiles is allowed under my rules).
I was on my way to Hazel Grove where I have secured another gig cat sitting for a few days, and so after a butty and a brew, I set off to nab another obscure tile in the middle of Lyme Park. This time I did cycle, although much of the route was along fairly rough trails and so this meant taking my heavy (but very sturdy) touring bike whose tyres and wheels are better able to take the knocks of off-road riding. Well, at least they’re more affordable to replace if they get damaged than those on the road bike. The road bike will probably get an outing tomorrow if the weather is fair. I’m planning to head Southwest towards Middlewich in the Cheshire Plains where the roads are smoother. I hope.
Friday 3rd June 2022. Today it was much better weather than forecast, so I headed out on the road bike towards the Southwest. Normally, I’d head into the wind for an easy ride home, but I’ve already plotted the routes for this week and couldn’t be bothered to create a new one. As it happened, the wind wasn’t much of an issue, and neither were the hills (there weren’t any). And although the traffic was probably lighter than normal, I met a strangely large number of refuse trucks. I thought they’d have been on holiday too, but apparently not in Cheshire. [It was a bank holiday in honour of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee]
My touring bike is over 12 years old (well, the frame and forks are: most of the other bits have been replaced over time) and very soon it will be registering a major milestone. Watch this space to find out what it is. (But before you get too excited, just remember who’s telling these stories. You’ll recall that I get very enthusiastic about seemingly minor things).
Although towns such as Wilmslow and Alderley Edge are very expensive, they’re far too busy to be pleasant. And every vehicle that wasn’t a refuse truck was just as big but wore a prestige German badge. There was one very ordinary terraced street where each house had parking for a couple of cars at 90° to the road, and every car was a big BMW, Audi or Mercedes. Oh, apart from the Lamborghini. How the other half live, eh?
I called into a café I know in Goostrey for a sandwich and began chatting to a lovely man who was also on a bike. What I expected to be a 20 minute refueling stop turned out to be an extended lunch lasting well over an hour which is why I recorded the 12,858 fastest time on a segment past the café. And that was out of 12,872 people who’d completed it. I reckon that’s one segment I can improve upon.
Tomorrow I plan to ride the Monsal Trail out from Buxton. I’ve crossed it a couple of times, but never ridden the full 8.5 miles. I think it’s gravel, so it’s a job for the Dawes. And the weather forecast is favourable, so it’s suntan cream rather than waterproofs and I’ll be heading into the wind which is what I like. The only downsides are the whopping hills between here and Buxton…
Saturday 4th June 2022. When I was 13 I got a mileometer for my bike and since then I have always recorded the distance I have cycled each day. After today’s ride on my Dawes Galaxy, I am delighted to announce on its behalf that it has covered 24,937 miles since I bought it in 2010. By my reckoning, that’s 36 miles more than the equivalent of circumnavigating the earth, which I think is a cause for celebration. I was going to throw a party for it, but in light of all the festivities this weekend, I’ve toned down my plans: I don’t want to upstage HMQ.
I found today’s ride difficult. It was very hilly and quite headwindy, especially on the way out. I selected the route to avoid busy roads, but in so doing I seemed to have avoided roads altogether for quite long stretches in some cases. Some tracks and byways were far from ideal with road tyres and no suspension. I’m not too proud to admit that there were some sections where I had to walk, which further reduced my average speed, but I bagged 41 new Explorer tiles, which was the main objective for the day. At one point, I was riding on the route of a Roman Road. I know that the Romans invented concrete, but at that time I was fervently wishing they’d invented tarmac too. The surface was awful, and it was a designated National Cycle Route too.
The Monsal Trail was beautiful and scenic but frustrating to cycle along at any speed. It was extremely busy, and although it was great to see so many families out in the countryside, I was really wishing that they’d keep their dogs under greater control. I found the tunnels a bit scary, too. I had lights on, but oncoming cyclists who didn’t (the majority) could not be seen until the last second, and of course they were the ones cycling on the ‘wrong’ side of the path. I know, I’m a grumpy old man, but I’ve learned that I’m better off keeping to rural lanes and not joining the masses on multi-use trails. But of course sometimes they cannot be avoided: the Monsal Trail is infinitely superior to the A6 as is the Roe Green Loopline in Salford.
I had a second breakfast on a bench overlooking the beautiful Combs reservoir which was an idyllic spot. As I was sitting munching my snack, two swimmers appeared and proceeded to emerge Dr No-like from the water. It really took me by surprise since I thought I was quite alone. I hadn’t noticed the two neat piles of clothes close to a nearby bush.
I enjoyed a lovely lunch in Bakewell sat watching motorists in a traffic jam slowly creep past. It was at that precise location that my Dawes should have been celebrating its earthly circumnavigation, but I only worked it out when I got home. More tomorrow.
Sunday 5th June 2022. When I’m cycle-touring, (as I will be in a couple of weeks) if it rains, I go out and get wet. There’s no alternative since I always book accommodation in advance. But today, I don’t have to go out, even though I’d planned to, and looking at the forecast this morning, my first reaction was to stay in. The planned route will save for another (drier) day. The cat sensibly decided the same thing, scurrying in as the first raindrops fell and he’s been ensconced on the bed ever since. One weather forecast suggested a brief let-up from the rain mid afternoon but it didn’t happen, so apart from a brief foray to the shop, I’ve not moved from the settee, reading my book and catching up on podcasts. Do I feel guilty? Yep. Do I care? Nope.
