Saturday 14th August 2021

C Ride - With just 1500ft of climbing over a distance of 50 miles, I think today’s C ride could be classed as a ‘fairly’ flat ride, and it seemed that all of those 1500ft were concentrated into one hill, High Moor aka The Hill! Seven of us met at Hutton Village Hall for what is officially called ‘The Fifty Mile Challenge’, although fifty miles is hardly a challenge for club riders nowadays especially on a ride as flat as this (apart from ‘The Hill’). The Magnificent Seven consisted of Malcolm H, Mick H, John A, Sue R, Phil ?, Tim ? and myself Mike C. Phil ? and Tim ? were joining us on loan from Lancaster CTC with a view to joining the club so it was down to the five established members to vet them to see if they are suitable for GCC ??. The first half of the ride was a bit breezy as we wound our way around the very flat market garden lands of West Lancashire before arriving at the aptly named Velo Cafe at Croston. To say it was busy would be an understatement, I don’t think I have ever seen so many cyclists at one cafe, including a massive group from Liverpool Cycling Club. Eventually we got served and were on our way for the second half. Whereas the first 25 miles is through flat, exposed farmland, the second 25 is along sheltered, leafy, more residential lanes with one or two gentle inclines before arriving at ‘The Hill’. High Moor may not be a very high moor but, surrounded by such flat terrain, it comes as a bit of a shock to the system. The Magnificent Seven made light work of it though and were soon enjoying the long, sweeping descent down to Eccleston. A few more twists and turns and we were back at the cars before 3pm. A good day out with good company and great to meet Phil and Tim who passed the entrance exam with flying colours!