Sunday Ride 27th July

Things felt a little more like the old days on Sunday. For a start, there were more
than just a handful of riders at HQ – and seeing Richard Mace and Phil Eagles
there helped reinforce this impression. Ian was happy to bark a few orders and
quickly organise the gathered wheelers into two groups with the plan to head
to the same cafe, Wheal Coates at St Agnes. We’d just have to see whether
chaos ensued.
I led the group of stronger riders on a short but hilly route to the Beacon whilst
Ian’s group rode a similar distance with a little less climbing. I have an aim of
finding roads ‘less ridden’ with the occasional road ‘never ridden’. Sometimes
there is a reason for this but there is only one way to find out.
🤣
Via Hangman’s Hill and a short ride along the A39 to Cove Hill, we passed
through Perranwell, Frogpool and finally Cusgarne where we ascended the old
Falmouth Wheelers Hill Climb – but not quite to the top. Instead we took a left
along a road ‘less ridden’ to Sunny Corner and here we took a right to United
Downs and on to Crofthandy.
We hadn’t lost anyone and were a well matched group of seven. Phil Eagles
insists he’s not quite match fit yet. If that is the case he should show a little
more respect to those who are definitely not match fit and ride a little slower up
the hills!
🤣 Phil Bartlett is match fit and behaves much like a dog with too
much energy, flying past us all on the hills then coming back down to do it all
again! Dale has rejoined the Falmouth Wheelers after a long absence following
health issues. He is older, wiser and, amazingly, appears stronger
💪 ( no doubt
the strength coming from his daily cycle commute to work which is over a mile
each way! ) and he’s a regular on club rides and visits to the pub.
By Wheal Busy the amount of moisture in the air was starting to increase – by
the time we reached the Blackwater road it had become rain! Fortunately we
could shelter under the A30 bridge for a while. The rain quickly eased, back to
just moisture in the air, and we proceeded on to Mount Hawke where I found a
road I’d ‘never ridden’ popping us out at the “Victory Inn” at Towan Cross.
Opposite the pub is a lane that descends into the valley above Chapel Porth so
just one more climb before breakfast!
There’d been a fair few climbs already and it was nice to see we were sticking
together as a group. Trevor, like Phil Eagles is a light rider with long levers so hehas no difficulty ascending the steep climbs at pace – and it’s good to have some
committee representation on these rides! Now not only a regular on the 9
o’clock ride he also stops at the pub for the debrief!
🤭👏🍺.
With us today was a new rider, Mark, who fitted in perfectly. He was good
company, climbed well ( his daily cycle commute is a little longer than Dales,
starting on Hill Head and finishing at Culdrose
💪🚴🏼‍♂️ ) and he likes pubs!
And it was great to see Adrian on the Sunday ride again. He’s another strong
rider who makes light work of hills. I’m not sure we’ll ever get Adrian into a
Wheeler’s jersey but his company and classy bikes make up for this none
conformity!
🤣
Damp and hungry we arrived at the cafe and were soon seated with our orders
in place. Salmon and scrambled egg was a popular choice. When Phil and Ruth
appeared, following their earlier start and a more ambitious ride, it looked like
we were about to take the place over. Little did the cafe staff know that more
were on their way and it wasn’t long before a group of eight led by Ian were
now crowding in to find seating. A total of 15, a bit of a record for a Sunday. And
it would have been 16 had Teresa not decided on going to the Green Room in St
Agnes as a safer dry option.
It was all a very social affair and with the skies clearing and cups and plates
emptied we fell out of the cafe much as a bunch with thoughts of riding home
together. That plan failed at the first turn – a right along Beacon Road, another
“road not ridden” at least for me. This small lane cut across to the top of St
Agnes and to my final “road not ridden” ( for me ) first right after the Spar shop.
We were seven again but had somehow exchanged Trevor for Ian! I was
reminded of one of my first rides with the Wheelers in 2009 when with Alan
Goldsmith, a few of us made our way back from Perranporth at great speed via
Mithian, Two Burrows and Dangerous Crossing. Maybe we were being flattered
by a following wind that day – my impression was the we were riding fast for a
very long time. Swooping down to the Bissoe valley I took an unexpected right
turn at the bottom, not in search of a “road less ridden” but a pre pub workout,
the climb at Hicks Mill.
Five of us stopped at the Royal Oak for the debrief and were soon joined by
Trevor, Dean and Teresa. A very sociable and relaxing end to an enjoyable day.PS. In Ian’s group were Don, Danny, Dean, Liz, Steve H, Simon H, Richard M.
Sonjia started out with them but wanted a shorter ride.
PPS. There was no AI used in the writing of this report but liberal amounts of
poetic licence.
Robin