The evening social ride went ahead as planned on 25th March.
A compact group of 8 riders left our usual meeting spot in Stafford, making our way through the back lanes of Staffordshire towards Newport.
A beautiful dry, clear evening with temperatures at a balmy 15 degrees.
Once over the Shropshire border, we headed south along the A41 for a couple of miles before turning off onto the road down to Sheriffhales, the light was already beginning to fade and the temperatures were falling away briskly too.
Once through Shifnal, we headed for the A442 towards Bridgnorth, the relatively new tarmac was a very pleasant surprise as we headed into town.
The temporary traffic signals on the junction of Underhill Street and New Road halted our progress for a wee while , it was at this point Ed’s CCM threw its dolly out of its pram and refused to go any further.
Cutting out and refusing to go any further ( like a 3 year old having a tantrum) we watched as Ed tried to bump start the CCM back down the street.
As the usual “ Top Gear” rules apply….So we left him to it and carried on as soon as the signal turned green!!
Once parked, Dom received a call from Ed asking for help ( he wisely called Dom, as he was the fittest among us, and was less likely to die of a heart attack from pushing Ed and his CCM up and down the street)
The rest of us quickly rallied to their aid …. By making a hasty dash to get in the queue at the chippy!
The lovely team at the Seagulls Ocean Boat did us proud, had us seated and served with hot fish and chips within a few minutes of arriving.
Eventually, the mighty boom of Ed’s CCM rattled the windows as he and Dom arrived . within a few moments they joined us for the excellent fare and usual banter around the table.
It seems an electrical Gremlin was to blame, but was quickly laid to rest by Dom and his magic box of tricks ( who knows) !!
For the return leg a short Comfort stop was needed for those gentlemen riders of a certain age ! The local Sainsbury store seemed happy to oblige , we then set off on the homeward leg .
Through Nordley and Linley and on to Broseley the temperature was just dropping into single figures, but with perfectly dry roads the riding was excellent. We descend down to the swollen river Severn and crossed at Coalport before making our way out of the gorge and back towards Shifnal.
At the A5 we waved away Scott who lives away in the east, the rest of the pack headed back to Stafford via the A518.
Ed’s CCM started to get upset again as we neared the town , so Dom chaperoned Ed home while the rest of us returned to our starting point.
Thanks to all who took part, the aim being to give riders who don’t usually head out after the sun has sunk below the horizon, a chance to experience riding on mainly unlit roads, seeing how the lights on their own machines perform ( or not ) ! And to make them more aware of the difficulties of planning and positioning for the road ahead and how it is so vastly different under the cover of darkness with unseen potholes and wildlife seemingly popping up around every other bend .
It’s also part of our collective calorie controlled diet !!
Thanks go to Arf for leading and Martin for ensuring those who where afraid of the dark didn’t get lost. 🤣😂
