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

[John the Monkey]

FWIW, more trains are likely to be stopping at Wilmslow on the day than Goosetrey (everything going Manchester - Crewe, as far as I know). Goosetrey only gets the stopping trains run by Northern, iirc.

Northern Rail are your best bet for bike carriage - their conductors tend to be practical types, and as long as you don't block the aisle, they're happy to carry you (theoretically, there's a 2 bike limit) and their spaces will accomodate a lot of bikes, if you load carefully (top and tailing is your best bet - put a drop bar bike on first). Arriva only have space for two bikes, with wheel bender stands, although I've been on as the third bike and not been chucked off. Cross Country will carry 3, but only in godawful locker type things you have to hang the bike's front wheel from. Virgin won't carry you without reservations (and have a hard, two bike limit).

If you get as far as Audlem (and are on the Cheshire Cycleway going through it) there's a public car park with loos just before the T junction by the Church.

 

[Hacienda71]

Don't do the airport tunnel there is a much nicer quite route. I will plot it for you when I am at a proper computer. Basically though you turn off the A538 down Burlyhurst Lane then through Mobberley to Ashley avoiding main roads.

 

[MartinQ]

For cafes see:
http://www.ctcchesterandnwales.org.uk/pdf/CafesPubs.pdf
you could call in at Burwardsley where there are a couple as well and you go right past the ice cream farm just before Beeston.

 

[nickyboy]

I was in Malpas a week or so ago. The only café in the village is "A Table at Eatons" I think. It looks jolly nice (I didn't try it). There is a Co-op a few metres away if folk prefer

The route you've chosen from Wilmslow to Knutsford is a bit crap. There are off road options under the runways but the roads are busy. I would reroute via Mobberley. There is a right turn just as you get into Knutsford through the park that connects with the high street from which you can connect with your planned route

 

[skudupnorth]

Cafe at Delamere Forest with plenty of cycle parking but I can get a bit crowded and not as cheap as some

 

[ColinJ]

Don't do the airport tunnel there is a much nicer quite route. I will plot it for you when I am at a proper computer. Basically though you turn off the A538 down Burlyhurst Lane then through Mobberley to Ashley avoiding main roads.

The route you've chosen from Wilmslow to Knutsford is a bit crap. There are off road options under the runways but the roads are busy. I would reroute via Mobberley. There is a right turn just as you get into Knutsford through the park that connects with the high street from which you can connect with your planned route

D'oh - I agree! I just looked at my map and I can see that now - I had a temporary mental aberration and overlooked it because I was rushing to get the route plotted. That is exactly where I would normally go, and is the kind of thing I have been planning for the rest of the route. That's what comes of pinching parts of other people's routes! (That first bit out of Wilmslow was lifted from the Mere 200 perm.)

I have diverted from both the Manchester 100 and Mere 200 routes further on because they tackle roads I don't like the look of. The Mere 200 does a long stretch of the A629 and I want to cut that down or eliminate it.

I was in Malpas a week or so ago. The only café in the village is "A Table at Eatons" I think. It looks jolly nice (I didn't try it). There is a Co-op a few metres away if folk prefer.

Hmm, it does look nice, but a bit up market ... An establishment more suited to a romantic dinner for two lovers, than beans on toast for miscellaneous sweaty cyclists!

Perhaps we should just have a short stop at that Co-op and leave a cafe until later in the ride? We could limit ourselves to one cafe stop and pop in to another shop later if we need emergency refuelling. I was thinking that 2 cafe stops might take too long, in terms of trying to achieve a reasonable average speed?

 

[Andrew Br]

The Mere 200 is run in Winter and that's why it uses a lot of main roads; there's a greater chance that they will be ice free.
If you're able to divert a little, there's a good cafe in Bunbury and the ice-cream farm near Tattenhall is an OK place to stop although it can get very busy.

 

[MartinQ]

If you stop a little before Malpas (but after Delamere), the greedy pig at Kelsall is good
https://www.facebook.com/thegreedypig

 

[Rickshaw Phil]

Keeping an eye on this thread as I'm interested in the ride but am currently really unsure whether my knee is going to be ready for a 200km this month. I may have a job getting my qualifying 100 miler in for the month.

 

[gavgav]

Keeping an eye on this thread as I'm interested in the ride but am currently really unsure whether my knee is going to be ready for a 200km this month. I may have a job getting my qualifying 100 miler in for the month.

I hope you are resting that knee ready for the Lakes. If it is still bothering you, will you please leave the bike at home between now and the 13th? We want you fit for riding up there!!

 

[ColinJ]

The Mere 200 is run in Winter and that's why it uses a lot of main roads; there's a greater chance that they will be ice free.

Good point! At least ice is one thing we will not have to worry about, though mud and slurry could be a problem on some of the smaller lanes. I saw a nasty crash on the Manchester 100 when a bunch came down on a fast bend when they bombed into a sea of spilt slurry outside a farm!

One benefit of this NOT being a proper audax route is that I am free to make the route meander about where I like without having to worry about shortcuts and control points.

If you're able to divert a little, there's a good cafe in Bunbury and the ice-cream farm near Tattenhall is an OK place to stop although it can get very busy.

If you stop a little before Malpas (but after Delamere), the greedy pig at Kelsall is good
https://www.facebook.com/thegreedypig

All cyclist friendly..:

Delamere cafe as mentioned
The old fire station - tarporley
Tilly's - Bunbury

Those all sound good, but they are too early in the ride.

...,
The priest house - audlem

I'm trying to find a way of avoiding a long stretch of the A529. If I can't we will be passing through Audlem. If I can, we won't be!

I am now thinking: Carry enough food and drink for 85 km. Call in at the Co-op in Malpas to buy water, any other drinks plus snacks. Try to find a cafe at about 110-120 km with a short stop at another shop later if we need one?

 

[Rickshaw Phil]

I hope you are resting that knee ready for the Lakes. If it is still bothering you, will you please leave the bike at home between now and the 13th? We want you fit for riding up there!!

I've done a gentle ride with Doug at the weekend and two commutes this week (planning to ride in again tomorrow, weather permitting). It is getting better with use, I.E.: no pain on the current rides, although I can feel it's still recovering. Based on how it feels at the moment I'm not expecting problems with the pace we'll be doing in the Lakes but I haven't done anything longer than 20 miles in one go since the strain, hence being unsure whether I'll be up for the 200km.

 

[gavgav]

I've done a gentle ride with Doug at the weekend and two commutes this week (planning to ride in again tomorrow, weather permitting). It is getting better with use, I.E.: no pain on the current rides, although I can feel it's still recovering. Based on how it feels at the moment I'm not expecting problems with the pace we'll be doing in the Lakes but I haven't done anything longer than 20 miles in one go since the strain, hence being unsure whether I'll be up for the 200km.

Good to hear

 

[ColinJ]

Blimey - 4 hours have slipped by while I have been slaving over a hot (digital OS) map trying to come up with the rest of the route. I think I just about have it now. I 'Streetviewed' about 80 kms of it and I think I have found a reasonable compromise between avoiding the busier roads, but also the tiniest, roughest lanes. A few of the roads may be a little busy, and a few of them a bit rough or muddy, but I reckon overall it should be a fun route to ride.

It is gone 03:00 now and I am off to bed. I will tell you the details of what I am proposing when I come back after a night's sleep! You can make further suggestions for improvements then.

 

[ColinJ]

PS I have changed my mind about the cafe stop ... My mate bonked on our Snake Pass ride a couple of days ago and I got light headed from lack of food. Let's have 2 cafe stops to keep us fuelled! So one earlier, and one later. How about Tilly's at Bunbury after 76 km and the Venetian Marina cafe near Cholmondeston, Nantwich after about 140 km?