www.tweedride.co.uk

We’ve organised a social ride around South Manchester for this Friday, the 30th of December 2011, travelling mostly on quiet roads and traffic free NCN routes. Please meet at The Friendship Inn Fallowfield M14 6XS for a noon departure.

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….

As usual, we assembled outside the Whitworth Art Gallery ready for a 2pm departure…

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…

Greetings Chaps and Chapesses,

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…

We had such fun on our first Tweed Ride in Manchester that we’re champing at the bit to relive the experience, and hopefully encourage a few more pedalers with panache to join us!

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…