On Sunday the 26th of February there are morning rides into Manchester from Bolton, Sale and Stockport. Then at noon the group of veteran and modern cyclists will ride from Manchester to Salford, where there’s an exhibition of Clarion history.

Meeting Points:
Bolton – Meet at Bolton Town Hall. Postcode BL1 1RU.
Sale – Meet outside the Waterside Arts Centre. Postcode M33 7ZF. Map.
Stockport – Meet at junction of A6 (Wellington Road North) and Bowerfold Lane (at the corner of Safestore). Postcode SK4 2LS.

Times:
Leaving Bolton at 9.30am (meet at 9.00am)
Leaving Sale at 10.40am (meet at 10.30am)
Leaving Stockport at 10.00am (meet at 9.30am)
Leaving People’s History Museum at 12.00 noon. Map.
Exhibition at the Working Class Movement Library. Map.

More info:
http://www.phm.org.uk/visit-us/how-to-find-us/
http://www.wcml.org.uk/wcml/en/events/clarion-clycling-club-and-family-cycle-rides/
http://www.manchesterhistoriesfestival.org.uk/-/workingclassmovementlibrary
http://www.manchesterhistoriesfestival.org.uk/whatson/clarionexhibition

Hope to see you there…

It was a very wet day but several hardy souls braved the weather and pedaled out into the mist.  A handful of riders assembled at the start point – some made this their only pub of the day and then returned home, the more adventurous headed down the Fallowfield Loop to meet 3 of us in Chorlton. After a drink or two we gave up waiting for a break in the weather and headed out again anyway, a short ride to the next pub by a rather full River Mersey. From there we thought better of venturing further afield so headed back to Chorlton for warm food and some more drinks.

After the ride we learned that some riders had visited one of the later pub stops, and that the lanes from Northenden to Didsbury were flooded so may have curtailed our trip anyway! Let’s hope the heavens offer more clement conditions for our next outing…

Click on image for high-resolution version.

You can also download a PDF of the map, or browse it online.

We’ll use the traffic free Fallowfield Loop cycle route to ride to Chorlton for our first refreshment stop of the day. From here we’ll ride to Jackson’s Boat on the banks of the Mersey in Sale, then use the Trans Pennine Trail to get to Northernden, and from there we’ll head over Simon’s Bridge to Didsbury. The paths in the Mersey Valley are of a high quality, but please be prepared to encounter the odd puddle. Our next stop is Burnage, where there’s Sun in September – let’s hope it stays sunny in December too!

Remember your lights as the last 2 legs will be in the dark, initially using the roads to Levenshulme before rejoining the FLoop for our last leg to Fallowfield, returning there around 5.30pm. All of the journeys will take approx 15 mins, cycling at a leisurely pace.

As usual, tweeds are optional – it’s more about the attitude than the attire!

If this will be your first social ride with us please get in touch using our contact form so we can swap mobile numbers in case of any problems on the day. Hope to see you on Friday….

We headed through Whitworth Park and along some quiet back roads into Platt Fields…

Eagle-eyed viewers might notice some off-road riding in the picture above. That’s Mr Adam exerting himself in the style of Mr Cavendish, to get ahead for the next shot…

Top speedy-cycling and rock-steady photo capturing skills Sir!

More of Mr Adam’s excellent snaps can be found here.

Despite the cooler day and cloudier skies we enjoyed the company of twice as many riders as our first tweed ride – thanks to everyone who attended:

From here we pedalled gently towards central Manchester, via a few hostelries of course.

Again we gained a rider en-route – a young chap who promptly nipped home to retrieve an old bike from his shed upon which he joined us for a drink and some bike chat.

A couple of people have requested another ride before February/March, so how about a winter warmer ride on Friday 30th December, departing from The Friendship Inn (Fallowfield, M14 6XS) at 1pm, returning there around 5.30pm ?

I’ve planned a circular route that includes 6 pub stops – click on the thumbnail for more detail. Please get in touch if you want to suggest other routes or dates, or to confirm your attendance. See you on the next ride…

This Saturday sees the second of our Tweed Rides taking to the streets of Manchester, for our final outing of the year on the final day of British Summer Time.  “A minimum exertion bicycle ride for people with a bit of style” (Tweed optional – it’s more about the attitude than the attire!)

We’re going to meet at the Whitworth Art Gallery for a 2pm departure. The gentle ride will take us around some of Manchester’s finer locations, with several opportunities for refreshment stops en-route.

The Wheelers’ Brunch group will be meeting at The Whitworth’s Gallery Café from 12 noon for snacks and chats – I recommend arriving early to sample the award winning food and meet some friendly, like-minded people.

The ride will end in central Manchester’s Piccadilly Gardens, which gives us the opportunity to sample some of the Society of Independent Brewers’ wares at their Great Northern Beer Festival. As well as the liquid refreshments on offer, there will be musical entertainment from the tweed-tastic Dr Butler’s Hatstand Medicine Band. There is a small entry charge for this event at the Ramada/Mercure hotel, but I’m sure it will be good value at £2/£3.

There’s a map below. Please get in touch if you can suggest a more interesting route from the Universities to Castlefield. I’d like to include the Hulme Arch but it can get awkward negotiating with motor traffic at the bottom of Deansgate.

See you on Saturday…

Our resident fashionistas tell us that tweed is a key trend for Autumn/Winter 2011, but don’t worry if you don’t have any – it’s more about the attitude than the attire! We like to think “urbane” rather than “urban”. As long as you’re partial to a sedate and sociable bicycle ride with a few stop-offs for refuelling, you’ll be just fine and dandy! We’re planning the next Tweed Ride for before the clocks turn wintry, on Saturday 29 October, starting from outside Whitworth Art Gallery at 2pm.

The monthly Wheelers’ Brunch gathering, when cyclists “who enjoy their bike as a mode of transport in everyday clothes” share snacks and chats, will be the same day from noon until 1.30/2pm in the Whitworth Cafe, so you could even push the boat out and join us for both!

Watch this space for updates and details of the possible route…

Chocks away, chaps and chapesses...

The frontrunners met in Platt Fields then joined forces with the peloton outside Whitworth Art Gallery, lingering in the sun to chat chainrings and quaff fizz from a Thermos. The steeds were many and varied: from Pashleys to Dutch-style; vintage Raleigh roadsters to state-of-the-art folders. Some really were resplendent with fancy paint jobs and vintage panniers, others decked out with wicker baskets decorated with blooms. The Tweeds were equally diverse and there was a jolly good smattering of herringbone, Prince of Wales and dog’s tooth. The men cut a dash in flat caps, plus-fours, elbow patches, cravates and bepocketed silk handkerchiefs, while the ladies sported natty riding jackets, twinsets and pearls, fantail skirts, and, of course, handbags and lipstick.

After a quick pitstop for supplies, the debonair dozen pretty much freewheeled down to Castlefield for an impromptu picnic in the auspicious environs of the Roman remains. Smoked salmon sandwiches and hummus rolls were washed down with glugs from the abundance of hipflasks in evidence; a prerequisite for the stylish cyclist about town. After refuelling, the wheelers rolled on through Spinningfields, picking up more riders who’d searched Google only that morning – who says you can’t mix tweed with technology! We then rode through St Ann’s and across Deansgate to the Cathedral, then via the original Co-op campus to the Marble Arch for lashings of ginger ale and lady-like glasses of rose. From there some departed in their own direction and the remaining group took a quiet roads route back to Platt Fields via as many blue plaques as possible. A brilliant day out!

Sarah-Clare Conlon largely rides a flower-adorned Kona Africa Three called Hettie and blogs at: http://wordsandfixtures.blogspot.com/

We are planning to hold Manchester’s first Tweed Ride of the 21st Century on Sunday August the 21st 2011, meeting outside Whitworth Art Gallery at noon.

Our dashing ride will be at a leisurely pace and will visit the original settlements of Mamecestre and Mamucium/Mancunium.

Provisional route:
Whitworth Park, Art Gallery & Cafe
Sandbar* / Bicycle Boutique
Town Hall / St Peter’s Square / Midland Hotel
Hilton Hotel / Caslefield Roman Fort* / MoSI
Granada Studios / Spinningfields* / People’s History Museum
Parsonage Gardens / St Ann’s / Manchester Wheel
Urbis* / Chetham’s / Manchester Cathedral / Victoria Station
Northern Quarter* / Keep Pedalling / Piccadilly
Granby Row* / UMIST / Kincardine Rd / Plymouth Grove Park*
Victoria Baths / Conyngham Road / Birchfields Park*
Whitworth Lane / Owens Park
Platt Fields Boathouse / Pedal MCR Cafe*
Whitworth Park, Art Gallery & Cafe
* = Potential picnic/refreshments stop.

Then either head home at teatime, or join us for a beverage or three at a local hostelry.

Whitworth Art Gallery is a short, straight ride (1.9km/1.2miles, no turns) from Oxford Road station.

Please complete the Sign Up page if you plan to attend.

There’s also a Facebook page if that’s your thing.