Sunday Rides, 29/11 and 06/12/20

Last week’s ride was a bit of an unintended exploration.  We had intended a route to Slaidburn via Longridge, Hodder Bridge, Waddington and Grindleton, returning via Dunsop Bridge, to Longridge and Preston.  In the event, the ride went as planned as far as Dunsop Bridge, with a break for elevenses at Slaidburn.

However, the road between Dunsop Bridge and Whitewell was completely blocked by shoring work where it runs alongside the Hodder, so we were forced to return via the Trough to Marshaw thence to Oakenclough (ok, we could have gone via Scorton).  Route 90 through Bilsborrow was also closed (by United Utilities); this forced a last minute diversion through Inglewhite to reach Preston.

This week’s ride (6 Dec) was altogether different.  It was inspired by rides led by Nick Hall, with an attempt to complete a long distance without being far from home.  The first target was Jeffrey Hill.  From near the golf club we had fine views of a beautiful cloud inversion in the Ribble Valley.  There was no ice, but the hilltops were coated with snow.

Our next hill was the section up Church Raike and past the chair factory at Chipping.  There are 3 sections of slope approaching a gradient of 20% towards the top.  However, the views were still wonderful along the road via Bleasdale village to Oakenclough and Harris End Fell and continued to be so throughout the ride, with sunny clear weather predominating.

Ian and I had a brief chat with Mike Hutchinson as he was returning home from Dolphinholme.  We rode together until Ian and I turned for Bay Horse.  The route was flattish from here, via Forton and Winmarleigh to reach Stake Pool for lunch.  A second traverse of the mosses took us via Nateby to Garstang to follow Route 6 then the A6 south for a while.

There was a traffic control on the A6 because of the large hole in the road here, this being the cause of the road blockage we encountered the previous week. However, we turned right at Owd Nell’s and headed along the St Michael’s road to reach Inskip.  The last leg took us to Traeles, then Clifton, before reaching the Guild Wheel and home.

Both rides were about 75 miles, the first one feeling longer because of almost 5000 feet of climbing, but both rides were very satisfying, and a goodly distance for a late Autumn ride.

Mike Bridges