Saturday, May 27 – Gawsworth and Congleton

The weather has kept excellent, and at 2.15 we were spinning along joyfully, four of us. Taking the road through Cheadle we reached Handforth, where one of us dropped out. (I believe he has feminine acquaintances in Wilmslow). From Handforth we sped along some beautiful bylanes via Dean Row to Macclesfield. Several sleepy cows in the road impeded our passage, and it was only by dint of some careful negotiations that we at last got clear of them. At Macclesfield, my pal’s brother was leaving us – he also was like the above – when a friend of his came up, and we had a chat. The outcome of it was that we promised to see some people at Gawsworth who would provide us with a drink. A lovely ride to Gawsworth, a long search and we were waiting for tea. I myself drank five cups of tea, and my pal two glasses of milk, and we were fit for anything.

Congleton was only four miles distant, so we started off for that town. Meanwhile the sun was terribly hot, so off came our collars and ties, and bareheaded as we already were, what else could we do? Everything was grand, and our entire minds were in perfect harmony. Reaching Congleton we promptly got lost, but were soon pedalling away on the Holmes Chapel road. Two miles further on we got down to a wash in a little brook, much to the amusement of some passing cyclists. Next we studied a map, and decided on a bylane to Knutsford. Nobody can appreciate the beauties of the bylanes in Cheshire until they have seen them. In a wonderful series of these we wandered, and at length reached Knutsford. From here we speedily reached Altrincham and home at 10.15pm. The afternoon was crowded with the joys of the countryside.

80 miles, 8 hours