I’ve been looking forward to this one for ages now – the Wiggle Cheshire Cheetah! Starting in Crewe, the route wends it’s way to Mow Cop and then onwards past Congleton and up to the Cat n Fiddle. From there it descends down south of Macclesfield, past Holmes Chapel to Beeston Castle, before finally dropping down to Wrenbury and back to Crewe via Nantwich.
When I arrived I was surprised how few riders were there but I learnt this was the first year of the event and there were 150 riders in total. Next year they are hoping for many more and with the fab route, great staff and general good feeling about the whole day I can easily see it attracting many more riders in the future.
I set off just after 7:30am and settled into a decent steady pace for the distance. The day was hotting up very nicely and would turn out to be the hottest day of the year so far.
At Mow Cop it was a struggle to get up there with the heat and still air, so no cooling at all. Once at the top it was along the top of the ridge (a new road for me) and then down past Congleton Garden Centre, an excellent cafe stop.
The first feed stop was at 27 miles at Swythamaley village hall. Then it was onto the Cat n Fiddle climb via Wincle. I ended up teaming up with this nice guy called Gaz from West Yorkshire and riding the rest of the day with him. Much more fun that riding alone, as I would have otherwise, given the limited number of riders on the ride.
The Cat n Fiddle seems to be permanently closed but a burger van was doing a roaring trade one the road so we had an ice cold fizzy drink and topped up with water. Then it was all downhill to the plains of Cheshire.
We made our way at a decent pace and were soon at the second feed stop at Carnage Village Hall near Holmes Chapel. We were now some of the last riders as most seemed to have done the shorter routes.
The third feed stop was at Bunbury Village Hall (the same place as last week on Ride Chester) and we stopped for some welcome toast and jam along with a cup of coffee.
The remainder of the ride was very pretty, taking us along the side of the Peckforton Hills and then into the beautiful village of Wrenbury.
Back in Crewe I let Gaz finish ahead of me and so had the pleasure of being the last rider of the day to finish (it’s all about the ride and not the speed and quick cafe stops for me anyway).
An absolute belter of a day out. Great route, lovely company and a well organised event.
Route: click here
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