Sunday was the SCCC Jodrell Bank 2018 Ride. We met in the car park near to Wilmslow Leisure Centre. Andy and I had cycled to the start and by the time we arrived, I felt exhausted! More and more people kept arriving and in the end there were over 30 of us – too many to go in a single group, so we had to split into two groups. Andy Shaw the ride leader took one group with Andy Sykes as the back leader and Tracey and Graham to mark the corners. In the second group, Andy was the leader, I was the back leader and Neil was the corner marker.

We eventually left the car park and headed towards Dean Row

We hadn’t cycled too far when Andy caught up with Andy Sykes (the back leader of the first group) – they had been held up by a problem – so we waited a while to give them time to get well ahead of us.

Having been past Dean Row we headed for Mottram St Andrew.

Just through Mottram St Andrews, Andy and the front of our group caught up with the back of the first group again. After a quick chat with Andy Sykes, it appeared that one person in the first group was struggling and it was suggested that maybe they transfer into our group.

After another brief stop to allow the first group to get ahead, we set off again but only to meet them again near Chelford Road.

We gained a new addition to our group and then waited briefly again to allow for a gap between the groups. Then we passed Hare Hill Gardens making our way to Alderley Edge.

Not long after we set off again, we passed the first group who had stopped and were talking to a policeman.

We turned off and went down Artist’s Lane

At the bottom of Artists Lane, the first group went past us again and we gave them a little time to get ahead again.

We soon set off again and this time, we didn’t meet the first group until the lunch stop!

We along Nursery Lane and cycled over the A34.

At Chelford roundabout, we went down Peover Lane as we made our way towards Jodrell Bank

Having come down Batemill Lane we turned right and cycled into Jodrell Bank, where we were due to have lunch at The Planet Pavilion Cafe.

We arrived at Jodrell Bank ready for our lunch.

As we arrived, one lady was feeling a little unwell. Thankfully she felt better after our lunch.  The first group were already in the cafe and we got to chat to some of them. There was a long queue at the cafe to be served but the food was good when we got to eat.

After lunch we set off on the second part of our ride, heading back to Wilmslow.

We turned left out of Jodrell Bank, heading towards Goostrey. Just before we got there, we turn right through Blackden Heath towards Marthall.

We passed through Peover Superior.

Passing Peover Superior Endowed Primary School, we continued to Marthall.

We passed the Frozen Mop pub in Mobberley

Having cycled down Mobberley Road, we approached the edges of Wilmslow and turned right onto Altrincham Road, which is a busy road. However, we very soon turned left and made our way into Wilmslow along the back roads, making a slight detour as Andy missed the turning.

Although it had been a quite cold day, it was dry for our ‘tag match’ type ride out to Jodrell Bank and back. I think that everyone enjoyed themselves.

You can view our Jodrell Bank route below: