Richard and Jenny joined Sue and me for this roughly 40 mile bike ride on paths that were all (apart from a digression to RHS Bridgewater) very familiar to me but not to the others.
I've been here before, for example here, so given the overcast day I didn't take many pictures on this occasion. However, as I had to wait for a while at the Barton Aqueduct I took a snap of the Bridgewater Canal crossing the Manchester Ship Canal (above).
Then a picture looking back towards the Trafford Centre.
And another picture, in the hope of spotting the others, or had they diverted to do some shopping? No, they had stopped to admire some Canada geese goslings.
A new information board has been installed on the Eccles side of the swing bridge over the Ship Canal. Click on the image for a readable version.
It's hard to spot very much of the original aqueduct over the River Irwell that was replaced when the Ship Canal was built.
We took the busway route to Leigh, where this magnificent old mill building still stands proudly next to the canal.
The next picture was taken on our return from Pennington Flash, where we had paused for a while for snacks and to try a third inner tube on my Stumpjumper bike that was having its first outing of the year. I'd omitted to replace the front tyre, and the old one succumbed to punctures. After using up my supply of two inner tubes I was faced with the prospect of mending one of the punctures. The bike has 26" tyres, whilst the other three have new bikes with 27.5" tyres, so it was somewhat of a surprise when Richard produced a 26" inner tube! "You'd better keep it" he said, looking at his larger tyre.
Lunch was taken at RHS Bridgewater Gardens, accessed via Boothstown Marina on the north side of the canal, and exited on a new canalside path towards Worsley, where the next two pictures were taken. It was still a grey day, but luckily the only shower fell during our lunch break when we could get under cover on the cafe's patio.
An excellent day out. Here's the route. We spent nearly four hours on the bikes, plus lots of breaks - we were in no hurry to finish the 60 km or so ride, as a Jamie Oliver 30 minute meal was planned for dinner. Green curry, crispy chicken, Kimchee slaw, rice noodles, etc. (It took Sue and me about an hour to prepare.)
Click on the image for a better version
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