Well! An eventful ride out this turned out to be!!
7 bikes turned up at Eccy Fire Station on a cool October morning. Straight off, things were interesting. Our guide for the day, Arthur, had done his powders check, only to discover a screw in the rear tyre of his FJ, so he wasn’t going on that. Quick change then to the second bike, only problem??, no Sat Nav mount! So quick write it down and memorise it!
Off we set, through Eccy, Swinnerton, Barlaston, nice roads off towards Mier. Down to Blythe Bridge, only to find the road closed. Quick detour, from Weedfree got us back on track. Up into Cheadle and on to the Peak district, through Llam country park and on to Tissington and the first stop of the day at Herbert’s of Tissington, Almost a bit too posh for us! although JC tried hard, ( check out the photos).
Off again into the Peak District, heading for Glossop. We stopped for a quick cuppa before deciding to head for Homefirth and a café that Phil Elkin knew of, for lunch. On the way we stopped at a great viewpoint overlooking the North Peak District, and watched some Paragliders chuck themselves off the hill. On returning to our bikes, Gary G, discovers he can’t disarm his alarm. After a few minutes trying, with no success, a local biker comes over and says the adjacent transmitter mast causes problems, the solution?? Freewheel down the hill to the bottom, until out of range of the mast. Sure enough, half a mile of freewheeling later, and the key fob works again, bizarre!!
Well! What can I say, what a great place for lunch 1960’s and vintage vehicles, staff in period clothing, shops selling sixties clothing, a DeLorean under the covers, and great food! Belly’s satisfied we headed for home. Back to Glossop and then heading for Bakewell on the Snake Pass, when poor Arf suffered his second mechanical of the day. Yam radios him to say his number plate is falling off!! Arthur pulls over in a pub car park to take a look. The whole rear light cluster has broken away from the bike. 1 bungee cord and a handful of Zip ties later and it’s better than the original!
On then to Bakewell and it’s regular sunny Sunday traffic. Soon we escape to quieter roads and onwards, leaving Weedfree and Irene to head their own way. We head down into Moneyash and the café last visited on a very wet ride out.
Gary C takes over for the final push home via Hartington, Cheadle, Draycott and Hilderstone, then folks start heading their own way, Gary C to Stone with JC Arf, Yam and I to Sandon where Arf peels off to Stafford, and Yam and I head for Milford where Yam departs for home.
Weather was great, company was excellent, and places visited excellent. Overall, everyone pulled together to make a memorable ride out!
Gary
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