Five Pits Cycle Ride Report

Twelve club members arrived for the meet and two regular cycling guests – Stuart and Alison, who provided excellent local knowledge as they were on home turf. Within two miles we lost two members due to a chain problem. This must surely be a first – ie losing party members so soon! Dick rode off to find them and soon we were reunited. After about 10 miles we took a short detour to cycle up the Nottinghamshire county top at Silverhill. There is some debate here as to whether this is a true county top as it is man made, being a former spoil heap. But. for today, it was the real deal. Again local guidance led us up a very accessible route to the miner statue where we stopped for a group photo shoot. A long and enjoyable ride downhill then ensued and
a much needed refreshment break was then taken at Teversal Visitor Centre. However queues were slow so we cycled on to Pleasley Colliery cafe and enjoyed some mining history. Did you know that in 1913 pit pony numbers peaked at 70 000.? The last pony finished work in 1973.
The conditions were muddy and the terrain undulating.so we decided to exit the trails and make up some ground on some country lanes. We rode through Haddon Park and then waved goodbye to our guess as they headed home. We soon rejoined the original trail via a very muddy track before reaching the cars. A total of 24 miles (indeed 1 mile short of 25 which covers the “around 30” original meet description. However Lin and Hugh have probably ridden an extra 2 or 3 miles!!
Thanks for the company today.
Ali