First Ride Of The Year

The Old Bike
Originally uploaded by markhsal.

Yesterday, the weather was superb. The sunshine bright and clear and so I felt the time was right to get the old bike out for its first serious ride of the year.

Of course, the first thing I had to do was fix a puncture (I've now got tyres that are supposed to resist the temptation to deflate!), make a flask of tea and pack my saddle bags. Although the weather was dry and sunny, there was a breeze whipping off the West Pennine moors that had come straight down from the arctic, and of course I was cycling straight into it.

Down to the Leeds Liverpool canal and along the tow path to Red Rock where I can join the old Wigan to Chorley railway track that takes me to Adlington, about five miles up the canal. This bit was really heavy and sticky, and occasionally my route was blocked by fallen trees blown over during the previous autumn's storms. I do love this route because it is so peaceful. No sounds of cars, just the birds making sure I had a tuneful accompaniment along the track.

Eventually, at Adlington, I settled down outside the Bridge Inn and had a couple of mugs of tea and had a long chat with another cyclist who had done the Anglezark reservoir circuit and told me of a little known track around the lake which I must try.

Heading back home was a lot easier as I now had the wind behind me and made really good progress along the canal. At one point, I spotted a moated manor house which I hadn't seen before. Mind you, that wasn't surprising as in the summer it would have been completely hidden by trees and bushes with their full compliment of leaves.

With a pint at my favourite pub, I drifted back home feeling very saddle sore, aching and tired, but definitely happy. Roll on the summer!