RSF - The Off Road Cycling Club

The Adventure Starts Here

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Don't mention the “h” word! This was the first of the “easy ride” series I have led and on a sunny Sunday morning in August twelve of us set off from Tandle Hill Country Park on the edge of Royton for a 20-mile loop on my local trails. Our first bit of off-road started at Gravel Hole on the Rochdale/Oldham boundary where Pit Lane, once a coal miners' trod, cuts through the fields. Further evidence of the area's mining legacy was the concrete-capped mineshaft half way along the lane.

We dropped down Broad Lane and onto Kingsway Business Park, a massive economic regeneration project kick-started with grant aid (in part) courtesy of the taxpayer. Cycle lanes abound here to make for gentle, traffic-free riding amongst the huge grey-clad sheds. It's not chocolate box pretty but nor was the poor quality, under-used, grazing land that preceded it. It is certsainly a lot neater now with the added benefit of potential for employment outputs.

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The Rochdale Canal towpath brought us to Clegg Hall before enjoying a careful dawdle around Hollingworth Lake and lunch at the lakeside cafe. It had turned a bit nippy so we didn't stay longer than necessary. We left the lake by taking the track down the picturesque Ealees valley to meet the canal at Durn on the edge of Littleborough.

Several miles of towpath riding on an excellent surface took us through Rochdale and Castleton where we finally said farewell to the canal. Up until now our route had been trending mostly downhill or flat but now we had to pay for our pleasure. About three miles of gentle uphill via Thornham New Road was all that was left to bring us back to the country park and an ice-cream finish.

Twenty “easy” miles at a very sociable pace in countryside surrounded by hill and high moor and not even a solitary chevron to be had – a most enjoyable day out. I'll leave you with this thought: what happens when a ride billed as “easy” become “tough” and when the adjectives have to be re-assessed? I suppose we'll all be able to answer that one day.

 

Mick Ely

 

Photos courtesy of Roger Griffiths - more can be viewed on Flickr here:

 

 

 

 

 

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