Adventures with Frank

Over the last week I've been venturing out on the bike with Frank in his Cougar Chariot trailer. We got it second hand off ebay, it was a well used beast, but still with plenty of life left in it for us.  It took little time to set up after it arrived dismantled through the post and it's been fantastic for its use so far.





A couple of trips to the swimming baths, a club ride (family friendly section) along the canal & a picnic to the park all were spot on. Frank was just over 14 weeks old on his first venture and fell asleep quickly.

Since then he's both slept well and been interested in the world passing by whilst in his trailer. Our rides have been between 5 & 17 miles in total with stops on the longer rides.

The trailer is very light weight, although where we live is considerably hilly and on the ups it's certainly slower, although on flatter terrain you don't know you're hauling anything behind you. Storage space is spot on for baby gear, d-locks & picnics.
We love it!!!

But I have invested in a Yepp mini front seat for when Frank can sit up on his own to enjoy narrower paths.  I'm looking forward to longer adventures with skinnier tyres and more varied terrain, which may be beneficial for commutes and dropping Frank off at the childminders (depending on how the work restructure goes - I may or may not have a job to go back to, but trying not to let that thought spoil my time off with Frank).

I think the cargo bike project might be off for now and we'll see how the trailer & seat go for now.

Weets sunset ride

I've been meaning to ride up Weets for sunset for well over a year. Well last night I finally got round to it. Although the logistics of Stephen's work meetings and Deborah's shopping delivery meant we were a little later at the summit than I'd hoped for and we also cycled a bit faster than I'd have liked- so no nice golden photos for the ride out.

It's a nice 15 mile round trip. Perfect distance for an evening loop. And there are a number of route options to enjoy. We plumped for the smoothest off-road for speed. Back streets, a converted railway track, paved Route 68 through Alkincotes Park then lanes to the foot of the tarmac track to the summit.
If we'd had more time we could have gone for more lumpy off road all the way.

 

 

Sadly the pub was closed by the time we descended.  But we enjoyed some ambient light to watch all the bats zipping over the reservoir.

Probably my favourite aspect of evening riding is cycling alongside bats.  It's often the best view you can get of them; they're still quicker than you, but you get a good few extra seconds to admire them flapping along.

RSF ride Lancaster Caton loop

A dire weather forecast & many of the club's usual suspects off on other cycling business, I'd not expected a great turn out at Williamson Park up in Lancaster. Stephen was on Dad duty (with a hangover teehee). I set off early up the M6 and arrived to see Ian sitting gnome like beside his bicycle. Luckily it wasn't chucking it down up here (at home it had been thrashing with rain), but there was a drizzle in the air as we climbed to the Ashton Memorial and ventured upwards on lanes into Littendale. 

 

 

Not a car in sight as we wheeled through the picturesque valley, enjoying the twisty, turny steep road as it descended to Artle Beck & then climbed up the other side.  A right turn took us on a tarmac track onto the southern flank of Caton Moor where the view changed from chocolate box pretty to wild, dramatic and grey.

 

 

We turned onto the North Lancs Bridleway which climbs up to the windfarm and as you crest the hill, the view of the Lune Valley towards the Yorkshire Dales to the NE, and Morcambe Bay & The Lakes to the NW opens up.  The fierce wind cooled us down after the morning climb, luckily the descent would become more sheltered as we neared the clay pits that feed the brickworks in the valley bottom. The lumpy track twists and turns alongside Black Wood then straightens out for a fast ride down to join the main road. From here we turned into the headwind, through Caton Green and into Brookhouse for lunch at The Black Bull as the sun came out. 

 

After lunch we joined the Lune Valley cycleway, somewhat sheltered from the wind we made headway fast and before I knew it we were at Halton and time for more interesting track. The last stoney track took us upwards and over the M6, round the back of the Prison & the old Moor Hospital and we were back at Williamson Park promptly.

 

 

A lovely 18 mile loop, tackled fairly speedily with the help of the morning tailwinds assisting us up the hills and the very small size of the group/duo. Great to explore this corner of the county that I don't know so well.