With my well planned out ‘hilly Tilly’s route firmly in my Garmin and with the backup plan of “just head for the Castle on the hill and everything else will kind of fall into place” wing it approach, nine trusty wheelers thought they were in safe hands as we headed out of Frodsham past Castle Park and up the Ridgeway…
New Pale Road, Manley Common, Dark Ark and the Yeld followed, but with a 40% chance of rain forecast the sky’s looked grey and then as predicted the 60% dry weather came to an end as we enjoyed the first spring soaking of the day…. my meticulously planned left turn down into Kelsall came and went as we headed straight across the cross roads..!!! much to the dismay of my Garmin, who protested with the useful ‘Off Course message’ followed by a blank screen which pretty much followed for the next couple of hours as we adopted the ‘just just wing it’ approach !!
The rain continued, and we decided to head towards Tilly’s to wait it out and maybe take on an extra Americano-Cappachino-Latte with hot and cold milk, oh how cycling cafes have changed..!!
All was going well until Al Clark, powered through down the road, energised by the thought of dry socks and a decent brew when after only 12 months of trying he finally found enough power to snap his chain. Top gear rules applying we bid farewell, left him in the middle of nowhere and headed for refreshment…
The service at Tilly’s was as expected, fast, furious and fantastic… even though the Major was put firmly in his place by the Head Teacher serving, everyone agreed, it really is a place we should visit a little more often..
With the rain easing we agreed to add an extra loop and a few miles on the way home and with the expert guidance of Gary Hartley and Stephen Wright once again I had no idea where we were heading until we arrived in Mickle Trafford.
I bid my farewells and left the masses unattended on their way back to Frodsham.
Damp, dry, wet and sunny, warm and cold… a great ride, not the longest this year but certainly one to remember. Thanks ‘B’ers