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| From TNR 05-07-2012 TDF #1 – after Light Room |
Team TNR El Pres, El Pud, Slim, Butty, Coley, Dan, Stunt
Route: BL, Gawsworth, National cycleway route 55 along the cheshire lanes to Congleton, Biddulph valley way, Biddulph Moor, Brown Edge, Leek. Main Macc road back.
Conditions: Warm and Sunny to start, menacing clouds later – but dry other than wet roads back.
Stats: Another slow puncture for Slim
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| From TNR 05-07-2012 TDF #1 – after Light Room |
Notes:
Skinny tyred roadie behaviour whilst Wiggo and the boys battle it out in France.
El Pres shows off his carbon On One crosser (still on flats though- you can take the boy out of the
mountains…)
An annoying section on main roads (well annoying to rude 4×4 & Mercedes drivers) led us to the
relative quiet of the back lanes (a good few speeding madmen here too!)
El Pud relishes his domestique duties with taking food orders, and map reading. We finally avoid
cars altogether on the Biddulph Valley way (although real roadies would have been shocked to be
riding on earth paths with real mud!)
Pace ticks along nicely while its flat (we need to be at Den Engels fairly early to get food) – but we
have a couple of category 4 climbs to complete before then!
Butty(the Manc Missile) and (King of the Moutains) Dan get geeky on Strava sections, and El pres
wishes for an MTB rear cassette.
Cresting Biddulph Moor we see unholy weather unfolding on the hills towards Macc, and dash into
Leek like the all day breakaways trying not to get caught just before the finish.
Skies darken alarmingly and a few drops fall as we reach the sanctuary of the Den Engels thirsty and
dry.
Belgian beer lubricates the conversation rapidly (5:2 Wheat beer to dark), Proper portions of Belgian
Beef, Quiche, Scampi or Pirahna (Trout!?), weather radars are consulted to justify staying for a third
rather than risk catching up the rain riding back.
We find Leek CC are in need of the TNR spirit as a very ragged chain gang head back… to be brutally
bossed by a bearded U boat Captain!
Apart from a few big puddles causing Japanese style splashing 😉 Team TNR avoid incident (despite the potholes) and post a very respectable team time trial time back to macc…rehydration and bed.
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| From TNR 05-07-2012 TDF #1 – after Light Room |
For the record 3 sheds did a solo knobbly ride early doors and was back before the rain for tea and
medals from the lovely Sharon (or at least that’s what his text suggested!)