The Derby Mercury RC All Inclusive Social Picnic Ride

I was told that ' The Picnic Ride ' used to be an institution within Derby Mercury but had not been held for a while..so I thought I would see if I could revive it.

The aim was to make it truly ' All Inclusive '  from youngsters up to Old Age Pensioners like myself, and, as an addition hold the picnic at a place where mothers with babes in arms could also easily reach. And so I chose as the Picnic Destination, the Tara Centre at Etwall, a place with spacious grounds and, if some weight weenies decided not to carry their own food,  a good cafe serving all the essential nutrition that a cyclist could want.

I chose three routes:

a) a 12km ride along traffic free greenways which Nick offered to lead.
b) a 45 km tortoise ride at around 20kph which I would lead
c) an indeterminate fast route for the road warriors

In addition there was a further option

d) a car ride with a free car park at the  Tara Centre.

In the event there were a lot of good things that came out of this ride and it is difficult to choose the best one.

We did manage to attract around 40+ people to the picnic and the main peleton certainly managed to span the entire age range with the youngsters especially impressive on the racing hill climbs. Mums and OAPs took a more ' measured ' approach to these mountains but one of the seasoned cyclists always went with them to ensure safety.

No one got dropped and Neville very kindly acted as Lanterne Rouge and mechanic though his only maintenance task was to fix a couple of dropped chains and rescue a flying water bottle.
The good thing about being ride leader was that I could set the pace; the bad thing was that I was always head into the wind.

 Being at least 20 years older than any other rider I always worry that my tortoise pace for them ( race speed for me!! ) is spoiling the ride for others but no-one complained.
Another great thing about the ride was that we attracted some new people to group rides who were tempted by the short distance ( 45km to the picnic and 20km back to the start point ) and so felt confident to bring their children along too.

It also turned out to be a family event as mothers and toddlers did join us and the Divas were out in force

as well as some of  the seasoned cyclists

It was good to see a mixture of current and future cyclists

All in all a good day out...and as I had ordered a good sunny day that made it even better.

Thanks to everyone who came and kept me company

Belisha Goes Exploring

The vast majority of my cycling is done on my Mercian and my Giant...however I do have another bike, a Brompton the colour of a Belisha Beacon.  I acquired this from one of my sons who had originally bought it to commute to work in London but decided he preferred a ' proper' bike. He is also very safety conscious and wanted to be clearly seen..hence the colour.
My idea was to use it for local errands and, more importantly, to explore distant lands outwith the borders of Derbyshire. Take a train trip to exotic places and then ride and explore. This post is about one such trip.

Now many people would not think of  Stoke-on-Trent as being exotic but it is situated on the Trent and Mersey Canal and so has cycle routes to some local places.

Being an Old Age Pensioner and having purchased a Senior Citizens Railcard getting to places is quite affordable and so I set off from Derby to Stoke with Belisha

The canal path is adjacent to the railway station and so soon I was on my way and it was not long before I saw a symbol of this area's historic heritage and why the area is known as ' The Potteries '

The Bottle Kilns were common in this area and , firstly the canals, and later the railways, were used to transport clay in and goods out.

Moving all this stuff is hard work and so to assist small wagons were built and a selection of them have now been converted for use as seats where people can rest and watch the world go by.

Once out of the city and into the countryside the scenery gets greener and one soon encounters some of the many canal boats which still use this waterway.

These waterways also act as a great haven for wildlife as both the heron and I enjoyed the tranquil surroundings

After about 15 km I approached my destination

The canal path was good for cycling, the only real problem being the tree roots disturbing the surface making for a bumpy ride in parts

and then it was time to stop for coffee

The return journey meant just retracing my steps but the weather turned to biblical proportions with thunder, lightening and torrential rain so no stops for photographs. Indeed the weather only relented once I had reached the shelter of Stoke Railway Station but I did not let the weather dampen my spirits and now I am planning my next trip out with Belisha.