After our recent Coast and Castles South tour, on Saturday it was back to the regular Stockport Community Cycling Club rides. Not quite the coastline of Northumberland, the spirituality of Lindisfarne, or the green valleys of the Scottish Borders. Instead in ‘Cheshire Cheese’ Jim had lined up an alternative cycle ride quite unlike any other previously encountered by SCCC.

I decided to use my touring bike, a good jack-of-all-trades bike, since I figured I was cycling nearly 30 miles to the start and back home again with a 15 mile club ride in the middle of which half of that at least would be road. Wrong choice! As I found out, this ride is one for which only a mountain bike is suitable.

It all started peacefully enough as we cycled out to meeting up with the rest of the club at Great Warford. However very soon after setting off down Mill Lane we turned off down a farm track and the fun began …

The Cheshire Cheese is a local route created by North Cheshire horse-riders, the full thing being well-signposted as Laureen’s Ride. Since it was initially envisaged as a horse-riding route it takes you along many of the area’s bridleways. Many of them proved rather MUDDY!

Thankfully there ere were moments of respite for cyclists where we could regain our composure on one of the quiet lanes of Cheshire.

These moments were brief however as we made our way around Marthall, even across fields …

  

  

Cheshire is full of lovely countryside and although at times challenging you were always able to look around and enjoy the environment you were cycling in.

Unfortunately the route proved too much for one of our bikes when Bruce’s derailleur snapped.

Then it was on along more bridleways again through the Peovers towards Allostock. At points there was so much mud I found it difficult to turn my wheels as it clogged up the gap between my wheel and mudguard.

  

The coffee break was taken at the Snowdrop Cafe in Grasslands Nursery at Lower Peover.

  

After lunch there was just time for a couple of punctures and another cycle across a field …as well as the chance to take in more of the Cheshire lanes, fields and rolling countryside.

This probably goes down as the muddiest ride we have ever ridden. Laureen’s Ride describes itself as ideal for first time long distance riders with friends or family on bicycles. I am not sure about horse-riding but for first time cyclists it most certainly isn’t. This was a challenging ride. Perhaps I am being a little unfair since I cycled the route on my tourer. I am though an experienced cyclist.

However for the more experienced cyclist with the correct type of bike this was an excellent route taking in some of the very best of Cheshire, the majority of which utilises traffic-free paths and quiet roads. For these reasons it is a ride I would highly recommend. I found that in spite of struggling with the mud it was still great fun and I very much look forward to repeating this ride …I will just make sure that next time I am on my mountain bike!