Saturday, January 5 – CTC ride, Millington

I decided to attend the club run this afternoon, so accordingly I turned up at Hulton Four Lane Ends, 2.30pm.  We, a dozen of us, started at 2.50, along Salford road, facing a steady breeze, and with the prospects of a fine day for once!  A large ship held us up at the Barton Swing Bridge on the Manchester Ship Canal.  Taking it easy we gained Chester road at Stretford, and proceeded along through Ashton and Sale, stopping short of Altrincham to allow the laggards to come up.  Again we stopped in Altrincham – a lady who was with us was extremely slow, and roused the ire of the large majority of us.  At last we were away again, and skimming downhill we reached Bucklow Hill, and soon we – or rather, the more advanced of us, were riding into the old-fashioned farmyard at Boothbank, and captured the cosiest of seats before the rest came.  Tea, as usual, proved to be a merry affair, and later, an impromptu concert was held.  At 7pm we started for Warburton, and I got riding with a Birmingham DA (CTC member), who was on holiday with some relations at Worsley.  I was very interested in his talk of cycling and conditions around ‘the Big City of the Midlands’.  He paid a doubtful tribute to the Lancashire ‘setts’, but was in high praise of Cheshire roads and scenery.  Along the road from Cadishead to Glazebury, we made fine progress, and reached home at 10pm.

46 miles