15th August 2019
Journey Length 8.9ml
Click Here For Route Via Ride with GPS
The week after our great adventure to the ROC Nuclear Monitoring Post had been eventful for one reason or another and I hadn’t given much thought to where we could go to this week. After our usual communica we met at mine with still no real plan in mind. As Graham rested after his ride to our rendezvous, we commented about the amount of traffic there was on Radcliffe Road tonight. Now with no idea on where to go we just set off through Leverhulme Park onto Bury Rd. It was here we noticed the roadworks and the massive tailback of traffic which may have been the cause of the excess traffic on Radcliffe Rd.
Once across the road we heard the loud bass music coming from one of the stationary cars, boom boom boom. Out of the blue Graham shouted behind me ” I listen to loud music in my car, on classic FM, I like that one today it went dah ta dah tah da da tah dah dah ” getting louder and louder as he went on. Even then I still didn’t know what it was and funnily enough neither did he.
We rode on up past the industrial units before we turned right on the little bridge over Bradshaw Brook then left along the path which lead us up through Longsight Park. As we rode up the hill I noticed two riders on horses coming towards us, so I pulled over. Graham noticing them ” wow Ebay some gee gees”. This I found extremely amusing as I am always getting corrected by Peggy Lou for using that term.
On Lea Gate we turned left and followed the road down to the lights at Morrisons supermarket, here we stopped taking in the lovely smell of fish and chips and contemplating whether to head up to Jumbles reservoir, this decision was taken from us because Graham had gotten a puncture, not his first of the season. It was caused by a thorn which was stuck in his tyre, he was having great difficulty in removing , eventually attempting with his teeth. Watching him struggle I suggested we get a little pair of pliers for our tool kit for next time , Graham’s response astounded me, “Don t need to pal got one in my bag just cant be bothered getting them out”, just when you think people can’t surprise you eh? By now Graham had replaced the inner tube and handed the wheel to me to pump up, followed by this conversation :
Me: “How hard do you want it?”
Graham : “Let me have a feel, oh harder than that”
Me : “How’s that now for you pal”
Graham : ”Not quite hard enough, I don’t like a soft one”
Me : ” That’s has hard as I can get it my arms hurting now I’ve got a sore elbow”
Graham : “OK pal I’ll get it harder myself now”
Now we giggling like a couple of school kids, looking around to see if anyone was listening. As we were ready for setting off I called out to Graham, “Here you are pal let me grab your helmet” relating to him bending over with his bad back, yet more laughter.
Due to the delay we decided just to head back towards Bolton Town centre, this proved to be a cracking idea.
We rode along Bolton Rd when we spotted a path to or left, which led past St Maxentius Church and Graveyard around a nice little pond. Returning onto Bolton Rd after a short distance we saw what was left of a gate, and a possible path, so off to explore we went. Unfortunately for us it led nowhere only through a field full of stinging nettles, no fun when you’re in shorts. Back at the gate Graham noticed a sign across the road Public Footpath, so we set off only to be halted by another malfunction of Graham’s bike, a quick fix and we were on our way.
The path led us up to Bradshaw Sports, a combination of Cricket Tennis and Bowls pitches, this was a lovely picturesque spot but sadly we couldn’t stay long. On our exit we spotted yet another path leading somewhere, but where, only one way out, so off we set. It in fact led us up a large flight of steps, where Graham unfortunately hurt his back. This was not going to stop an extreme biker “Pain is not a barrier for me” Graham exclaimed .
We soon found ourselves heading back down Turton Rd and onto Tonge Moor Rd. Now we do find some unique and unusual things and it was definitely the case here. Graham had spotted a sign for a path leading to Longsight Park, which meant we could leave the main road, result. Right at the side of the path was a little road down a hill where I spotted a derelict building and we went to explore. As I took a couple of photos Graham went exploring round the back of the building and soon shouted me over. I was astonished to find a old Rover car in a sorry state, it must have been there for years, untouched and left to rot away, only yards from the main road.
Now on the dirt path we hoped would lead us towards home we came to yet another flight of stairs, luckily we thought it was down hill, but we soon found this to be a bit presumptuous, as it proved difficult going in the slippery conditions. After some careful negotiation we arrived at the bridge we had crossed on our outward journey. We paused for a few seconds contemplating whether to follow the path along the brook or return over the bridge. As we did a young girl walking her dog crossed the bridge and I politely asked her if she knew where the path came out, she couldn’t help us as she was new to the area and was exploring it herself. So here we dithered , this way ? that way ?, this way? that way?, that way?, this way? Much to the amusement of the young girl. We eventually decided to follow the path and after wishing the young girl well we set off down the path to its outcome into a housing estate. Just as we did we heard a voice from the side of us “ Good ride?” . Looking round we saw a rather strange looking woman carrying an Asda bag, “erm yeah thanks “I replied “ would be better probably if we knew where we where “ I exclaimed. At this point she began to give us directions to various places around the area including a Tesco. Thanking her for he helpful but strange advice we set off turning right up New Ln and indeed past the Tesco store the strange woman has told us about.
Shortly after we arrived onto Winchester Way where I knew the entrance to Seven Acres Park was. It was quite a steep hill down the entrance on the bridge and we soon began to gather speed and as I approached the entrance I began to slow down quite quickly but Graham failed to notice and with a few expletives past me before eventually stopping just in front.
Now it was just the matter of riding through the park and Leverhulme Park before we were home, even if Graham still had a bit of a journey before he was actually home himself.
