The Bridgewater Canal in Stretford
After a year of mostly short bike rides, I'm now trying to do a longer one each week, starting last week with the Moore Lane circuit. This week, today seemed to be the best bet weather wise, but what looked like a fine morning was really rather cold and dank, with a misty precipitation for a while.
I chose the 40 km Fallowfield Loopline circuit, described in this posting,
The River Mersey at Jackson's Boat Bridge
It's an easy route to follow, and pretty flat. The Loopline is well signed, and some of the roads it crosses have distinctive features, such as Stockport Road, crossed by way of a tunnel on which there's a building.
That's the Stockport Road tunnel in the distance
In places the cherry blossom is out, and in sheltered spots blackthorn is now in flower. Beside the Loopline, woodpeckers were hammering, and wood pigeons were transporting twigs.
The Ashton Canal (pictured below) is joined at roughly the half way point on this ride. The canal is followed all the way back home. I was slightly surprised to find the towpath completely open through central Manchester. That was after I'd stopped at the rather sad looking velodrome, where the cafe and the Evans shop showed no sign of life, though I'm sure there must be some 'bubbles' of cyclists training somewhere within. As I sat outside in the drizzle I could have bemoaned the fact that the tea in my flask was a bit cool and weak, and the banana-guard that I'd hurriedly placed in my bag turned out to be empty. But neither were really needed, as this 40 km ride took only around two and a half hours, and I was home for elevenses.
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