Crew: El Pres, PTD, Butty, Dunc, Troll, Stunt
Pub: Slim & TJ
Route: Riverside Carpark, Bollin valley to Prestbury, Chelford Road, FIndlow Hill Lane, Bradford Lane, Hocker Lane – with Alderley Park diversion, Slade Lane, Findlow Hill Lane, Singletrack through the woods to Artists Lane, Windmill wood loop to the Owl, back up Artists Lane, onto the Edge from near the Beacon, Castle Rock, the descent with the narrow rocky clefty exit, Mottram Road, Oak Road, Chelford Road, Legh Arms Prestbury.
Conditions: Very Mild, Dry, still muddy in places on the trails.
Notes:
The clear dry cold weather has passed, the day bringing drizzle and breeze, and the threat of low cloud looms over the evening. So a fine time to take a visit to the backlanes and woods around Over Alderley (and take a trip down memory lane for the former Alderley Park and Radbrook park commuters).
A 6pm start should give us enough time for the ride before needing to be in the pub for 8:30.
The odd small puddle on the riverside tracks and woods through to Prestbury but none of the ususal winter mud. The road climb op Chelford road and then along to the start of Findlow Hill Lane has got the team warm (it’s 10 degrees!!) so some jacket faffing ensues (and some Tyre pressure tweaks from Dunc). We meander round to the start of Bradford Lane – where immediately (and despite 3 weeks of dry weather) there is churned deep mud on the first steep section – some squirmy moments! then it suddenly goes dry – with deep leaf filled ruts to the side of a higher dry line. At least the cobbled lane is less green and greasy than usual.
Turning up Hocker lane, and then into the Alderley Park woods, Dunc has to put more pressure back into his rear tyre, and there is a headset tweak from Stunt before he leads us round the trails and tracks and out again onto Hocker.
A return climb back up Slade lane to FIndlow Hill Lane again with orange glow from city lights burnishing the cloudy skies in the distance.
More hoof churned hazards on the single track to Artists Lane (brideways really do mean horses around here) and then into Windmill wood, and the LHS exit at the swampy patch gets us into the sandy field, where there is a narrow strip of path next to the barbed wire fence for extra jeopardy!
Another climb back to the ridge road, then onto the Edge proper, no time to admire the view from Castle rock, but plunging into the down and ups with the rocky rooty twisty line, then a quick right hand side divert, under the fallen tree and into the rock chute section!
Out onto Mottram road for the long grind back up (which turns out to be less than 2 miles even though it feels longer). Heavy spots of rain threaten a downpour on the final descent down Chelford lane but it never comes – we really were on the outside edge of the weather front!
Arriving at the Legh Arms beer garden Pete appears with perfect timing, and we get a cheerful welcome from the team, who have put us in the panelled room with the bay window, and happily serve us Citra and Big Sur. Lots of banter with the waiter – who delivers bonus onion rings and chips (seeing as we were the last food cooked and there were left overs).
TJ finally arrives – having missed an opportnity to get the beers in by a few minutes, halves of Old Tom at 8.4% have arrived in belgian style glasses, a truly sippable syrup 🙂
We get the latest on alpine weather, and slip into a comfortable haze of chat and warmth and Liz Hurley social media pics!
TJ gets the next round in (he’s on pints of old tom “to catch up”)
Reluctantly we head home, we must visit the Legh arms again soon!
10C at midnight in February a welcome change