Richard’s Run 9th September
A very warm but misty morning dawned for my run but it tempered the sweltering heat of the past week. When I arrived at Auction Eats Bob and Tony were there having a drink and shortly after Dave and Rose arrived. I had planned to lead the group up through Wyresdale and onto the Trough Road at Marshaw and then down to Dunsop Bridge and on to Slaidburn with a return through Gisburn Forest and on to Wray to return on the usual route via Quernmore. However I had spoken to John M on the Morecambe Vintage ride and suggested that as we had cancelled the Feizor ride due to the bad weather it would be good if he could lead us from Slaidburn up to Feizor for Lunch and then I would lead the group back to Garstang to which he agreed. So at 10:30 with no other rider appearing we set off and I promptly dropped my spectacles onto the road where they were run over by a car! Never mind I can still see! Up to Scorton and on to the Trough road we went and rode into a shower. I noticed there was no one behind me so I pulled over and waited. Bob came up and said the others were putting waterproofs on so we went back to find that now Dave’s. Bike was having a hissy fit and wouldn’t start. A fresh plug seemed to fix it and we set off again. The rain was very patchy and some road surfaces were wet and others bone dry but we only encountered a couple of light showers on the way to Slaidburn. We stopped off for a few minutes at Dunsop Bridge for a rest stop and soon set off again. As we approached Slaidburn it was very busy and it became very obvious that it was the Hodder Valley Show day. However John was there waiting for us and we set off immediately following John up through Tosside to Wigglesworth where we joined the A65 and headed for Giggleswick but we turned off left to go along a scenic lane through Lawkland to get back to the A65 at Austwick where we tuned right and shortly peeled off to Elaine’s Tea Rooms at Feizor.
It was very busy as usual but we set up on a suitable table and ordered meals and drinks in the sunshine. We discussed the route home and decided to do the Gisburn Forest route back to Slaidburn and Dunsop Bridge where John would leave us. The ride back was great and on top of Bowland Knots we pulled over to let the parade of vintage tractors from the Slaidburn show pass by. There were about 20 of them all shiny and painted up. A great show.
The road through the forest was as bumpy as ever. Is it the Trees that cause it or just the poor maintenance? At Dunsop Bridge we stopped by the river and went in to Puddleducks to get an ice cream and then sat in the shade by the river to eat them. Dave offered to lead us back to Broughton from here and John said he would peel off to go back home at a suitable point. He did this at Rock Brow and headed off towards Walker Fold. Thanks John. The ride back via Goosnargh was uneventful and I left the group at the A6 roundabout at Broughton and arrived home at around 4:45pm.
Thanks to all who turned out for the run I enjoyed the day, well worth the effort.
Richard