England : Cheshire 200 km 'audax-style' forum ride, Sat, 27th June, 2015

[ColinJ]

If you have ever fancied doing an audax '200' but never got round to it, then this forum ride might appeal to you.

I chose Cheshire rather than my usual Yorkshire/Lancashire locations, because a hilly 200 would probably be too much for my current level of fitness, and I am struggling to get CycleChatters to turn out even for hilly 100s so a hilly 200 definitely would not go down well!

The ride will start and finish in Wilmslow, at Broadway Meadow car park near the railway station. I have tried to stay away from busy roads and built-up areas as much as possible.

The ride distance will be approximately 206 km.

If it were an official audax then you would have to do your own navigation, and there would be checkpoints to consider, but we won't bother with that - I will guide us round using my trusty GPS. I will supply GPX files for the route so any of you with your own GPS device can download the route for backup.

We will aim to do the ride at audax pace i.e. averaging 15+ kph including our stops. I would prefer to aim for 20 kph, giving us a 10 hour ride time. 15 kph would give us a 13.33 hour ride. It will be a flattish route so I don't think that a 20 kph target is excessive. If you think it is, then this ride isn't for you this time round.

The ride will start at 08:00 so we should get back at about 18:00 and certainly before 21:30 so we should not need lights,

I have split the ride into 3 parts separated by cafe stops ...

Part 1: Wilmslow to Bunbury, 78 km

GPX file for that attached to this post (CC 200 part 1.gpx).

Cafe stop at Tilly's in Bunbury.

Part 2: Bunbury to Venetian Marina, Cholmondeston (Nantwich), 62 km

GPX file for that attached to this post (CC 200 part 2.gpx).

Cafe stop #2 at the Venetian Marina cafe near Cholmondeston, Nantwich.

Part 3: Venetian Marina to Wilmslow, 66 km

GPX file for that attached to this post (CC 200 part 3.gpx).

Elevation profile for the route (If you look at the vertical scale you will see that even the biggest hills on the route are nothing to worry about):

Confirmed riders:

• ColinJ
• Littgull
• skudupnorth

Prospective riders:

• Sign up below!

 

[ColinJ]

*** I have pretty much finalised the route now so much of the following discussion is no longer needed but I would be grateful if someone local would download my 3 GPX files and check the route for problems - cheers!



I'd like to start/finish somewhere near Manchester airport. People very rarely come to my rides by train so we can forget choosing somewhere close to a railway station. If somebody does want to come by train then they will have to get to the nearest station and ride the extra distance! (I've done it myself for forum rides in the past, so I think that is fair enough.)

It should be somewhere with plenty of free or cheap parking, with no time constraints, given that we could be potentially be out for over 12 hours. It would be handy if there were a shop(s) and toilets nearby.

Close to Cheshire countryside, to avoid riding far in traffic. (I hated riding back into Wythenshawe Park at the end of the Manchester 100 - too stressful when tired!)

Any suggestions?

 

[nickyboy]

Altrincham is a good place to start. On the edge of the Cheshire countryside, easy public transport options, some free car parks

Another possibility is Poynton which is used for quite a few sportives/audaxes as the start point

 

[Rob3rt]

Goostrey does indeed have a train station that has a direct connection to Piccadilly, the station has a decent car park for its size or you can park sensibly in various nearby places. There are a couple of pubs and various side roads for example.

You could also consider Alderley Edge or Handforth. Handforth would be good if you intend to head into the hills as you are quickly into the lanes out toward the Brickworks.

 

[Hacienda71]

Ashley crossroads by the greyhound pub. Easy to get to off the M56 and a railway station next to it.
http://www.thegreyhoundashley.co.uk/contact

 

[ColinJ]

Altrincham is a good place to start. On the edge of the Cheshire countryside, easy public transport options, some free car parks

Another possibility is Poynton which is used for quite a few sportives/audaxes as the start point

Somewhere like Goostrey maybe? It has its own station and is right out in the 'lanes', directly accessible from Manc Piccadily. Manchester and District use that area alot for their time trials, so maybe @Rob3rt of this parish could also advise.

Goostrey does indeed have a train station that has a direct connection to Piccadilly, the station has a decent car park for its size or you can park sensibly in various nearby places. There are a couple of pubs and various side roads for example.

You could also consider Alderley Edge or Handforth. Handforth would be good if you intend to head into the hills as you are quickly into the lanes out toward the Brickworks.

Goostrey is probably a bit too far out. Littgull will be picking me up at about 06:45 to drive over. I imagine that we will do M62/M60 and want the start/finish to be fairly close to whatever junction that we leave the motorway from. Any extra distance would mean a very early start for us and getting home late.

For once, I will be avoiding hills! This ride going to be as flat as I can make it, while avoiding busy roads.

Maybe start/finish somewhere in Altrincham/Hale and head out/return Tatton Park way. Does the Park get closed to cyclists overnight? It would be nice to cycle out through it at about 08:30, and come back that way too, but that could be any time (say) between 17:30 and 21:00.

 

[Hacienda71]

Mmmmm so you want to start near the motorway, Altrincham, Hale and Tatton Park. Can't think of anywhere like that........

 

[ColinJ]

Mmmmm so you want to start near the motorway, Altrincham, Hale and Tatton Park. Can't think of anywhere like that........

That is open to drivers from (say) 07:45 on a Saturday and still open at (say) 21:45?

I am not a driver so I don't have a clue where you lot park your vehicles!

 

[ColinJ]

That we can cycle from/back to, so motorway services might not be a good choice!

 

[Rob3rt]

Goostrey is about 10 mins off the motorway. You come off at Holmes Chapel, head up the A50 for about a couple of miles and then hook a right into Goostrey. Do it almost every weekend...

 

[skudupnorth]

There is a road near the Knutsford entrance to Tatton park that people park on to avoid the £5 charge and of course a lock in if you arrive back late. The park may be open early-late for summer months,i know I have got through just after 7-30am on summer rides using the pedestrian entrances which you can ride through. Just checked with my good lady and I am free to play out at last !! Are we heading towards Jodrell bank ??

 

[mcshroom]

Have a look at the starts for some of the Peak Audax rides. They start from round there. It may even be worth doing one of the Perms such as the Mere 200, Newport or Holt 200.
http://www.delphcyclist.info/permanent.html#ran

 

[ColinJ]

I'm making progress on my route.

I worked out a rough route and checked it against those of the Manchester 100 and the Mere 200 Permanent. I was pleased to see that I had chosen quite a few of the same roads, which should mean that they will be suitable for my ride too. I will not have the luxury of pre-riding my route so I will be relying on my maps and Streetview to check for problems. Oh, and I will run it past you kind fellows too.

I am now thinking of starting and finishing in Wilmslow. I found at least one big car park near the station - Broadway Meadow. That is £3.30 for all-day parking and I have just been told that the barriers shown in Streetview have been removed so there would be no problem getting in early or out late. (Any cheapskates wanting free parking can find their own parking spots! )

I want to head out on the A538 and was just wondering about the tunnel under the airport runways ... Streetview shows some cyclist/pedestrian tunnels but they were closed off for some reason when the SV car went down there. Road tunnels make me a bit nervous so I wonder - are the cyclist tunnels open these days? If not, what is the road tunnel like to cycle along? Any problems with lighting in either tunnel?

I fancy riding out through Tatton Park, which I assume will be free to cyclists and open to us at 08:30 on Saturdays? Oh, hang on Skud incoming ...

There is a road near the Knutsford entrance to Tatton park that people park on to avoid the £5 charge and of course a lock in if you arrive back late. The park may be open early-late for summer months,i know I have got through just after 7-30am on summer rides using the pedestrian entrances which you can ride through. Just checked with my good lady and I am free to play out at last !! Are we heading towards Jodrell bank ??

Would we be able to get in at the entrance opposite the road to Rostherne?

It wouldn't be a huge problem if we couldn't go through the park - we would just continue along the roads round it but I thought it was nice when we crossed it on that Jodrell Bank ride a few years back.

The route so far continues ... Tabley Hill, Budworth Heath, Comberbach, Little Leigh, Acton Bridge, Crowton, Hatchmere, Delamere Forest, Woodside, Kelsall, Willington Corner, Duddon, Burton, Huxley, Tattenhall, Newtown, Beeston Castle, Peckforton Castle, Peckforton, Gallantry Bank, Ashtons Cross, Hampton Heath, Malpas ...

Does that sound okay? I'm looking for pleasant, quiet(ish) roads that are not in spectacularly awful condition.

Malpas would be at about 85 km so I think that would be a good place for a cafe stop. Can anybody recommend a decent cyclist-friendly cafe in Malpas, or nearby?

I'll wait until I have finalised this first section before doing any more on the rest of the route. (I need to know how long to make it!)

 

[skudupnorth]

The road from Rostherne is a possible parking area especially nearer to the village as opposed to near the park entrance which is a bit open with no neighbours to look over the cars for added security. Its not as if there is going to be loads of cars to annoy the locals so I would have thought that would be a good spot to park and then ride through the park.

 

[skudupnorth]

Just read the post about Rostherne and realised we are not starting there !!! Yes you can enter the Rostherne end. You do realise at some point we may see the mighty Vulcan doing her V Bomber tour which will include a flypast over her birthplace at Woodford aerodrome which is sadly being demolished ready for more housing