North Cheshire Clarion Club Run 031010

Sunday was wet. Very wet. In fact the rain lashed for about four hours solid on the club run. We were all drenched. According to the met office there was only the risk of slight showers, someone got that one very wrong.

Riding a route that looped back on itself a couple of times, six of us ended up through Delamere Forest to one of our regular cafe stops at Summertrees (load of the club on the Seasons of the Mist Audax on Sunday). There was no one there when we arrived, place was empty and we soon had the place steaming when we started stripping our kit off. I wrung my gloves out the door and it was like squeezing a sponge, water poured out of them.

And then there were the puddles. We hit some big, big puddles. You had no perspective of how deep they were approaching them, we went through two big ones and then we hit the big one, splash, It came up as far as my cranks and my feet got soaked through.

It was one hell of a slog. Average speed was rubbish, we had to slow right down for safety more than anything, Geordie Graeme's brake blocks almost totally disintegrated with all the grit on the road, so that was fun for him on a couple of the descents.

Arriving home, I was wet through. My overshoes had done their best but my feet were soaking, my gloves were wringing wet, my hat soaked through. Still, you have to be able to go out in all conditions if you want the miles bad enough, I did and despite everything, a hot bath soon sorted me out.