Ladies Luncheon Club Cycle Ride
By Lorna Marsland
June 15th
Members present: Sabina Cosulich, Linda Crossley, Trish Cranston, Cathy Devine, Michelle Harvie, Sheena Hendrie, Lorna Marsland, Ann Sanderson.
Guests: Zoe Clarke
Inspired by the popularity of last year's event which took us to the Lakes for the weekend, I thought it would be a good idea to recreate the outdoor scenario by organising another activity for us all to enjoy together and came up with a bike ride. With this plan in mind, Christine Beeston and I spent a very hot and sunny Saturday in May trialling the route I'd planned, checking out the distance, refreshments, navigation etc and trying to calculate how long it would take, which just goes to show that it's impossible to predict anything about the LLC, other than their capacity for conversation! We all assembled at Parsley Hay car park on the Tissington Trail, which is where the route began. I was a little surprised to see our numbers had swelled by 50% from those who'd confirmed attendance, but no matter. We are all getting older and those senior moments when the once reliable memory plays tricks on us, seems to be affecting some more than others, but me in particular.
Having estimated that the keen cyclists among us would romp around the route, I'd reserved a table at the pub for 12.30pm. However, I had failed to take into account the faffing and gossiping which automatically ensues when a crowd of us are together, and looking behind me after 500 metres, saw the bulk of our party cycling 'granny style' in the distance, those of us who had got onto their bikes at that point, that is! The enormity of the task in front became immediately apparent as I desperately searched my memory for a short-cut.
We left the Tissington Trail at Hartington and headed downhill into the village, by which time Sheena and Sabina had caught up with me. At least I won't be dining alone, I thought! Gradually over the next couple of miles as we headed through Hartington towards Hulme End, we became a more concentrated party so that by the time we set off down the Manifold valley we looked more like an extended version of the Famous Five, yahooing along in search of adventure. The Manifold valley is incredibly pretty and there were many oohhs and arrhs as we caught sight of Thor's Cave and Beeston Tor, together with the odd: 'Isn't that where N fell off S?' It had been many years since a number of us had climbed there, so inevitably there followed a series of recollections of previous triumphs and tribulations.
Moving swiftly on, as we did to begin with, until the hill up to Wetton proved too challenging, for me at least, and it seemed interminable as I frog-marched my bike up the hill. I'd just like to say at this point that it was obvious to me that the other members of the group had been indulging in some secret training which powered their legs like pistons, whilst I struggled feebly behind. But since I had the map, they had to wait for me!
Sadly, no sooner had I reached the top, than we began descending towards Alstonefield where the first adventure began in the shape of loose sheep. We'd become quite strung out by this time and since it was a downhill section, many of us were travelling too fast for the flock moving slowly towards us, propelled from behind by a boy on a tractor, completely unconcerned. Fortunately there were no pile-ups at this stage, and we began the more gradual ascent into Alstonfield, which I managed this time without pushing, and it wasn't long before we all pitched up at the George for lunch.
I had been rather concerned about this lunch stop, for although much recommended for the food, it had proved very busy when Christine and I visited some weeks earlier and the manager had assured me we would need to book to be sure of eating. Added to this it happened to be Father's Day and therefore more popular than usual. However, we were not late and the table was available, though not for the number we actually were, but since the weather was fine and sunny, we sat outside. Having rearranged the tables in true Ladies Luncheon style and to accommodate our large contingent and the prominent tree roots positioned to de-stabilise the tables, we tucked into some lovely and very welcome food.
I had thought we might spend more time than we actually did eating, as service for a large party is not usually prompt, but in this case it was and we were able to resume our ride just over an hour later. Having organised the route to provide for a more relaxed post-prandial meander, I led the way towards our last hill of the day before rejoining the Tissington Trail. I was obviously in 'laid-back' mode as I set off confidently out of the village towards Mill Dale, and I was therefore a little disconcerted as it became evident that the road on which we were travelling, which was becoming increasingly narrower, was the wrong road. Eventually, as the road reduced to a track, we emerged at the bottom, only to spew out over a number of tourists enjoying a Sunday afternoon by the river. So, we weren't where we should have been, but it proved a minor and very attractive detour and we resumed our route up the hill to rejoin the Tissington Trail at Alsop-en-le-Dale.
This part of the trip was not entirely uneventful in that Sheena fell off and we lost Michelle and Trish. This was the last hill of the day but by far the steepest, as Sheena discovered as she valiantly but unsuccessfully searched for a lower gear, whilst struggling to disengage her PSBs from their clips. So embarrassing and so easy to do with those bloody shoes! Meanwhile Michelle and Trish, who being far too fit and will be weight-handicapped in any subsequent trips, had bombed up the hill without noticing a fork to the left leading onto the trail. The rest of us continued to the junction of the A515 and the Tissington Trail where we waited for our over-zealous team mates, whilst soaking up the sun and debating whether we should introduce another detour since it was only 2.30pm.
Originally Linda Specs had enquired if the village of Tissington was on the itinerary as she was interested in purchasing from one of the craft shops there, another wrought iron candlestick holder for her new cottage in the Lakes,. This echoed from a former lifetime when we used to do an Easter cycle ride and she had terrified on-coming riders as she approached them with true KMC grit and zeal, bearing a wrought iron candlestick holder lashed to her bike rack! No doubt she wanted to indulge in some similar behaviour today. There was also the added incentive of a teashop (not to be sneezed at) so their followed a lengthy debate focusing almost exclusively on whether the teashop was the same direction as the candlestick holder shop, and this proving to be so, there was no further opposition and the motion was carried. By this time Michelle and Trish has appeared and were more than happy to extend the ride to accommodate further refreshments and so we set off for Tissington.
We found a teashop with sufficient space to seat 9, once we had evicted some unsuspecting visitors who we managed to persuade didn't want to sit at 'our' table after all, and ordered a decadent supply of tea, coffee, cakes and scones as befitting a gnarly high altitude expedition such as this. We sat in the sun, put the world to rights and investigated all shops which could possibly be thought to sell anything metal. Sadly there was nothing which could meet Linda's exacting standards, on this occasions, so we'll probably have to go back! Trish almost bought a hanging basket although she had only wanted the parrot attached to it, and the rest of us, returned to the Tissington Trail empty-handed.
The return route was a steady incline on the trail up to Parsley Hay, which should have been very relaxed and would have been but not for 2 incidents. Cathy's friend suddenly remembered that she was on a hired bike, which needed to be returned by 5pm and it was now 4.30 and we were about an hour away. It had obviously been a leisurely tea stop! Frantic searching for mobile phones, numbers and a signal ensued, closely followed by Cathy and Zoe speeding off to return the bike before the shop closed. We all returned to a more relaxed pace and were savouring the last rays of the day whilst simultaneously tying up all loose ends in the gossip department, when Michelle upset a couple of seriously lycra-clad cyclists, travelling in the opposite direction, who berated them for riding 2 abreast on the trail and chatting! Hard to believe! I think it was a great pity no one had bought a candlestick holder or two?
Arriving back at 5.40 we thought the fun was all over, but no. There followed a Crypton Factor-style challenge which saw Trish and Michelle trying to squeeze Michelle's bike into the back of Trish Fiesta. This was made more challenging by the fact that Trish's bike was already there, and it generated a surplus of help and advice from us all - just what you don't need. It would have been easier if Trish had not spent the previous night camping at the Roaches, which meant she had sufficient gear in the back of the car to re-stock Blacks, and this had to be removed first. Added to that, the tailgate didn't open so the bike had to be inserted via the passenger door. We all piled in pushing and shoving the bike, rubber gloves were donned, both wheels were removed, and eventually the objective was achieved and both ladies and bikes could be accommodated, albeit a little uncomfortably. I thought at this point it would be prudent to depart before any further challenges emerged. So we all said goodbye, basking in the enjoyment of another successful LLC event, and looking forward to the next one - over to you I think, Ann, for Round 2 of the LLC Cycle Challenge!
Thanks to all who came along and made this such an enjoyable day out.
