OGIL ride report 6th September 2023
It was a hot and sticky morning, with only a handful of us out for the ride. As is fast becoming the norm, a storm of WhatsApp messages the day before sowed more confusion that clarity over the destination. Phil1 had proposed Melinsey Mill, only for Amanda to declare the Roseland as a no-go area for her, and for Dean the Elder to explain that he will be out but will not be taking the ferry (reasons not given). Whether this meant that Melinsey Mill was not an option for him, or that he would be going the long way round, was not clear. Anyway, as Dean was offering to buy the drinks, it was inevitable that we would go wherever Dean went.
On the ride up to TOP, we had to slow and give a wide berth to a chicken in the road just past the Constantine turn in Treverva. Needless to say, this prompted a series of ‘chicken crossing the road’ jokes that I will spare you the details of.
On the day, Amanda had posted her destination as Porthleven. Whether it was the heat or WhatsApp exhaustion I’m not sure, but the small group at TOP could not come up with an alternative and so we defaulted to Porthleven. We took the usual route through Porkellis and Godolphin Cross, and after the climb we paused at Balwest, where miraculously Amanda and Jan appeared. So we pressed on to Ashton and then along Beacon Road into Porthleven. The plan was to go to the Twisted Currant for a change, but when we arrived the ‘garden’ (more of a yard, and in fact the converted car park) was completely full. Although the inside was empty, we were unanimous in deciding to retreat to the Harbour View cafe. Dean was true to his word and coughed up for all our drinks (cheers, Dean).
For some reason we collectively were unable to face the cobbles, and so headed straight up the main road before turning onto the Penrose path. This gave us a lovely shady and unusually quiet ride to Helston. Going through the town, we encountered traffic chaos in Coinagehall Street, but we navigated it successfully and re-grouped at the turn into Muddy Lane. No longer muddy, the lane is still generously endowed with copious quantities of gravel, in places thick enough to make steering a bit tricky. We also met a truck that occupied almost the entire width of the lane; the driver either couldn’t or wouldn’t reverse, and we had to squeeze ourselves into the verge to get past. Not very helpful. Still, we got through and continued home. Bucking the latest trend of returning via Longdowns and Flicka, we took the turn to Halvasso. Unfortunately, Dean hit a stone in the road just before the entrance to Via Ferrata and experienced a rapid deflationary event (nothing to do with the economy). Dean declined to allow his new bike cam to be used to record his tube changing prowess, but with hardly any help or words of advice he was back up and running (or rather, cycling) in no time.
A ride that was far enough in the conditions, thank you. About 68 km for me.