Ride to Beacon Fell via Gt Eccleston, Sunday August 19th

It was with some trepidation that the leader of Sundays ride approached the Millenium Bridge in Lancaster with reports of the tail end of storm Ernesto arriving from the Atlantic on his mind. Others may have felt the same as only Neil and Roy met him there and despite a few minutes wait the three club members were the sum total for the days outing. 

Despite an occasional short shower things weren't too bad as they went along Aldcliffe Road and via the canal towpath and Ashton Road to head out to Cockerham with just a strong south westerly breeze to moderate their progress.

The route across Pilling Moss proved simplest and quickest to get to Stakepool given the threat of further precipitation and taking it in turns to act as windbreaks at the front they speedily reached the toll at Cartford Bridge and the Courtyard Cafe in Gt Eccleston. Despite Nick having failed to check if the coffee stop actually opened on Sundays they were in luck and were soon recharging burnt calories. 

The easy flat lanes continued after the stop and were navigated past Myerscough College, across the A6 and up into the thick mist which completely obscured Beacon Fell. The least arduous climb up the hill to the Visitor Centre was found but nevertheless only Neil managed to stay on his bike to the top without pushing.

The centre was unusually quiet for a summer's day due to the non existent views and lunch was hastily eaten in the swirling cloud. 

Michael Fish Junior had foretold of improvement in the afternoon but the reality was full waterproofs all the way to Garstang and a decision to break for home while the going was good. The advantage of this was getting home by mid afternoon after covering over 50 miles.