Saturday 31 December 2016 – An Energetic Morning

Sue and I were up at 7.45, in time to pedal down to Wythenshawe for the parkrun. 5.7 km in about 18 minutes. My route is shown, it’s a pavement and minor roads route, whereas Sue takes the main roads.

Due to a calf strain, I volunteered to run at the back of the 276 participants who turned up today. A plump lady called Zoe was taking her first short steps in trying to get fitter. A group of five encouraged her around the 5 km course, which includes two laps of the bottom loop shown below. Chatting with stalwarts, Ralph, Ron and Claire made the slow pace bearable. A stroll in the park in good company, with coffee from a flask and cake from a tin at the end, as the Courtyard café is on holiday. My time of 55.58 was not the fastest for a 5km run!

Then came the energetic bit. Paul wanted to give his new mountain bike (he’s pictured with it above before it got too muddy) an outing, so I pedalled back to the canal at Brooklands, then down to the Bay Malton to meet him and son Greg. We went back along the canal towpath, leaving it at Stretford for a convoluted route to the Jackson’s Boat bridge, before joining the Fallowfield Loop route along the disused railway tracks, through increasing amounts of rubbish to Gorton and on to join the Ashton Canal near Sports City. From there we followed the canal as best we could, despite a diversion along Whitworth Street, all the way home for me, and home via the Bay Malton for Paul and Greg. I did 49.5 km, and by the time they got home, Paul and Greg had probably done something similar. Here’s the route – if you click on the image it should go a bit bigger. There are a multitude of routes around here, but the Fallowfield Loop is worth a try for an easy off-road jaunt.

That’s it for 2016, all in all a pretty excellent year.

Have a great New Year…

[Homework for Paul: go back down to the bridge at Watersmeet and try to go over without falling off!]