Chester to North Preston
Started our day by exploring the Chester Cathedral and took photos of the black and white timbered buildings as well as their famous clock. Then headed out of Chester on a beautiful bike path but going through a town we broke the first rule of our bike trips. Grace hit a very compact hedge which knocked her into the street. Luckily the traffic was clear so she was not hit by a car but she did land on her bum and broke her mirror. But after a few minutes we were back on the road and headed out to more countryside where we saw friendly horses, old canals with locks, now just locks with grass and cement. We spent most of the day on and off bike route 55. We stopped and ate lunch on a bench near a like and spoke to people out walking their dog.
Bike route 55 got very muddy and we had to walk the bikes and we were covered in mud. A girl on a horse told us it would get worse, it did. But we slogged on through extremely difficult styles. English styles are wildly creative and extremely unfriendly to bikes. Route 55 got so bad we detoured through a town through traffic but we made it to Preston where we stayed at an Ibis.
Breaking the First Rule
Let’s get this out of the way. Grace is alive and well. It was a close call. First rule of GoneBiking is Grace doesn’t get hurt. We broke that rule today. Traveling on a road that had more traffic than we like, yet the worst sidewalks we’ve seen on this journey. If I had to do it again, I would have stayed on the road. I went off the road and onto the sidewalk, because I’d just seen a kid riding along a sidewalk a few blocks before. As we rode up the hill the hedge was encroaching mightily into the sidewalk, and when you brush up against the hedge it wasn’t budging. As I slowed and stopped to walk the bike, Grace caught the hedge and stopped immediatlely, going down hard onto the road. Luckily no cars were driving by at the time. She scraped her shin and hurt her bum, but did amazingly well and soon got back on the bike and off we went. I’m continually impressed with this lady. How did I ever get so lucky. At some point I think she’s invincible, because we’ve gone through so many wacky adventures together, and so many paths we should not have gone down, but she trusts me to take care of her, knowing I wouldn’t put her in danger. For the rest of the day, and for the rest of our lives, I will chose routes that while still being adventurous, will not be as risky as some things we’ve done. Nothing wrong with stopping and walking through a dangerous section, or turning around and finding a different route.
Another nice day. No rain, a little chilly, but just right when working out all day. Started the day with a quick breakfast from Tesco and took turns eating while the other went inside the cathedral. A little bit of riding around Chester, nice town, would like to come back some day.
Heading out of town was a long slow climb, a nice warm up, jackets came off early. Between Komoot’s pathfinding and my tweaks to lower elevation, we ending up in some surprising places today.
Paths along canals
Through the industrial parts of towns.
Very muddy path that went on for miles. Bicycle route 55! (Grace laughs when I spoke this out loud) No one should take this route on a bike. It’s made for horses, and then only ones that enjoy mud. A couple of times we tried to get off onto a neighboring farm road, but it was worst than the path at those junctions. Finally found a section of the road that was navigable, and we left cycle path 55 behind, no regrets. You see, sometimes you have to ditch the plan and make a better one. Rely on your bike computer or phone routing software only so much, then use your head, make a decision, and go for it. Usually it works for the best. And in every case, it adds to the adventure.
This was a tough day, in time, distance, long stretches of traffic, long stretches of bad paths that were rocky and muddy, and there were also really good paths that anyone would like to frequent if they lived nearby.
A few times today we saw horses in a coral, and although the horse could wonder anywhere over the acreage, they had worn a path near the fence that borders the cycle/walk path, likely to come check out people that are going along the path.
