After SCCC’s Annual Club Lunch last week, this week it was back to cycling. We were heading out to Denton, and Sarah and I were leading the second group.

We met at Vernon Park.

Our route began with us negotiating the Portwood roundabout.

We briefly joined NCN Route 62.

Then via Penny Lane, we made our way up to South Reddish.

After crossing Sandy Lane we made our way through South Reddish Park.

Next, we cycled through Heaton Chapel.

Then headed up Nelstrop Road North.

This brought us out onto the Fallowfield Loop and joined NCN Route 60.

At the far end of the loop, we arrived in Fairfield.

A little cut through brought us out onto King’s Road.

The next section of this ride wasn’t particularly pleasant. We had to make our way around Audenshaw Reservoir. To do this we cycled along a section of Audenshaw Road, Stamford Road and Corporation Road. These roads were busy, so we made our way along them as quickly as possible.

Finally, after crossing Manchester Road at Denton, we were able to leave the heavy traffic and cycle along Ruby Street.

Halfway up Town Lane, we took a shorter breather. It wasn’t a glamorous place to stop, but it served its purpose.

After the rest, we continued to cycle towards Haughton Green.

In Haughton Green, we cycled past John Fisher Presbyterian Church and then turned into Meadow Lane.

Towards the bottom of Meadow Lane, we rejoined NCN Route 62 and briefly cycled along Haughton Dale.

Then crossed the River Tame.

And selected our lower gears for a short lung-bursting climb up Lambeth Grove to Woodley.

Andy Shaw was back to his mischievous self when following a ‘desire line’ (otherwise known as a shortcut) across a field instead of following the path.

Back on track we cycled through Bredbury Parkway.

Eventually, we came out on to Ashton Road.

Leaving Ashton Road on to Cromwell Road, a bridge at the end of the road took us over the M60 and into the far end of Reddish Vale Country Park.

It was only a brief visit, for soon we were navigating our way through the streets of Brinnington.

Finally, we dropped down Brinnington Rise, then turned into Goyt Road, and back into Portwood.

We had cycled nearly 15 miles today. Apart from the middle section around Audenshaw, this had been another interesting urban ride.

You can view our Denton route below: