Sunday’s Delamere 2016 ride was a late addition to the Stockport Community Cycling Club ride calendar due to one of our colleagues being unable to lead a new ride he had planned. Thankfully Sarah agreed to step in with this Delamere 2016 ride. I was the back-leader. We had, of course cycled this route last year (Not Quite Cotebrook) when we had struggled to find a lunch stop due to Mother’s Day. This year it was Easter!

It was a smaller group of club members than usual that met at Great Warford, perhaps due to the fact that this was a Longer Ride, but more likely because the weather forccast wasn’t good.

At least when we set off through Ollerton and the Peovers it was dry, even if the headwind made things tough going.

Soon however the rain started.

We followed NCN Route 573 to Davenham.

Before turning towards Moulton.

We took a break at Weaver Parkway.

We continued on to Whitegate and climbed up Cinder Hill. At this point the front-leader was behind the back-leader!

Soon we were cycling through Norley and Hatchmere towards Delamere.

We enjoyed a well-earnt lunch at the Delamere Station Cafe, a great place for a hearty meal.

After the morning headwinds we were hoping for some sunshine in the afternoon.

And for awhile it duly appeared between the clouds. It was however the calm before the storm!

Clay Lane at 14.07 …

Clay Lane at 14.08 …

The hailstorm seemed to appear from nowhere, and came down with force …it hurt!

Eventually the hailstorm subsided and we continued on our way.

Through Northwich.

Where at one point the wind was so strong that I was nearly knocked off my bike by plastic barriers being blown across the road. Not that I noticed too much since I was struggling with leg cramps at this point and needed to take a break to stretch the muscles.

Next it was the turn of the rain …

As can be seen as we made our way back through Ollerton we were dodging the black clouds and the rain.

By the time we arrived back we had completed 47 miles through a whole season of weather element. It had been a challenging, but thankfully enjoyable ride.

You can view our Delemere 2016 route below:

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