Cheshire ride #2, Sat, 31st August, 2019 (100+ miles from Walkden, 120+ kms from Dunham)

[I like Skol]

What's with the walking bikes down those small steps?

 

[skudupnorth]

What's with the walking bikes down those small steps?

We were talking about your bike robics at Dunham

 

[ColinJ]

We were talking about your bike robics at Dunham

Yes, due credit was given for your bunnyhopping on/off and tightrope riding along the narrow footbridge near the Swan With Two Nicks!

 

[GuyBoden]

Yes, due credit was given for your bunnyhopping on/off and tightrope riding along the narrow footbridge near the Swan With Two Nicks!

I can't do bunny hops, but I find that the easiest way to get over the narrow footbridge at Dunham near the Swan With Two Nicks is to stay on your bike, pull the bridge hand rail with one hand and hold onto your handlebars with your other hand. I cross the bridge many times a year as it's usually the best route and I like the Lavender Cafe at Dunham.

Thanks again Colin for organising the excellent ride.

Thanks Steve and Brian for posting the photos and the invoking happy memories.....

 

[skudupnorth]

I can't do bunny hops, but I find that the easiest way to get over the narrow footbridge at Dunham near the Swan With Two Nicks is to stay on your bike, pull the bridge hand rail with one hand and hold onto your handlebars with your other hand. I cross the bridge many times a year as it's usually the best route and I like the Lavender Cafe at Dunham.

Thanks again Colin for organising the excellent ride.

Thanks Steve and Brian for posting the photos and the invoking happy memories.....

It was great to ride with you again, even with the rain early on, the ride was the stuff of legend !
Hopefully we will see more of @Vantage as well, we did not have enough time to get to know each other !

 

[GuyBoden]

2019 Tour of Britain stage 5.

Does this part of the 2019 ToB stage 5 look familiar?

 

[GuyBoden]

The Venetian Tea Room is open again, ready for the @ColinJ annual Cheshire Ride, it's under a new owner called Dee.

Unfortunately breakfasts are only available until 12pm, but toasties, chips are available until 3pm. Cakes, cold food etc until 4pm.

 

[ColinJ]

Well spotted!

And a good reminder that this year's ride needs to be organised. The catch might be rail strikes messing up plans so whatever date we settle on, the ride might get put back by a weekend or two.

I'm working on a variation on our usual route...

 

[GuyBoden]

@ColinJ the Venetian Cafe is closed for holidays 31st July - 10 Aug 2022.

I was there again yesterday and saw the notice on the inside of the door as we were leaving. (See pic below.)

Plenty of other good cafes in Cheshire.

 

[ColinJ]

@ColinJ the Venetian Cafe is closed for holidays 31st July - 10 Aug 2022.

I was there again yesterday and saw the notice on the inside of the door as we were leaving. (See pic below.)

Plenty of other good cafes in Cheshire.

No problem, because I am currently looking at doing it in the first half of September!

I am thinking of starting and finishing the ride at Knutsford station this year so it would be a metric century rather than an imperial century for me and @Littgull. It would be the same route as usual between Great Budworth and Lach Dennis, but anti-clockwise rather than clockwise so the cafe stop comes later in the ride (after 63 km instead of 38 km).

 

[ColinJ]

Pencil in 10th September and 17th September for the 2022 Cheshire ride. Rail strikes are making ride dates provisional this year. The Humber Bridge ride is planned for the 3rd but it could get shunted to the 10th if the trains are not running on the 3rd. If that happens (or the trains are not running on the 10th) then the Cheshire ride would be delayed until the 17th. I will start a ride thread nearer the time.

 

[cougie uk]

@ColinJ the Venetian Cafe is closed for holidays 31st July - 10 Aug 2022.

I was there again yesterday and saw the notice on the inside of the door as we were leaving. (See pic below.)

Plenty of other good cafes in Cheshire.

View attachment 653111

Not been to the Venetian cafe in years now - but have you thought about the one in Wrenbury - No18 The Park ? Not a million miles away and plenty of space.

 

[ColinJ]

Not been to the Venetian cafe in years now - but have you thought about the one in Wrenbury - No18 The Park ? Not a million miles away and plenty of space.

Apparently, the Venetian will be open in September when we do the 2022 ride. Wrenbury isn't that far away from our route but it would increase the overall distance by about 20%. It's a bit of a trek for me to get out there and back so I don't really want to make the ride longer this time - it used to be 100 miles but I reduced it to 100 km to give me a chance to get back home in daylight! I'll be doing about 4 hours of travelling to do around 6 hours of cycling.

Maybe another time though...

 

[neil_merseyside]

Not been to the Venetian cafe in years now - but have you thought about the one in Wrenbury - No18 The Park ? Not a million miles away and plenty of space.

No18 The Park is great but to maintain a marina theme then adding only an extra 7 miles gets you to The Cafe at Bridge 80 - which is at Audlem Marina, this is my favourite lunch stop for my 'local' 100.
I'm still trying to construct a route that does Venitian, Audlem, Tattenhall and Nantwich Marinas all in one ride.

 

[GuyBoden]

The Coffee House Cafe at Rose Farm does a nice big all day breakfast. Hot food was being severed after 3pm last week.
http://www.rosefarmshop.co.uk/coffee-shop/

Map:
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@53.1809621,-2.6765333,17z

The Lock Gate Coffee House Cafe near Beeston is also good, open all day Saturday. You can ride along the Shropshire Union canal path, if it's dry.
https://www.lockgatecoffee.co.uk/

Map:
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@53.1341671,-2.6694952,17z

Plenty of Cafes in Cheshire, if riding "anti-clockwise" the Venetian Cafe might be too late in the ride.

@ColinJ "4 hours of travelling to do around 6 hours of cycling." seems an unreasonable amount of time to travel, personally I wouldn't do that.