IT might seem strange for the towns cyclists to leave town on a day when the annual hill climb championship takes place up The Rake; but it was what we chose to do.

All things considered it was a disjointed day when nothing seemed to flow and there was as much time spent off the bike as on it.

With the B group heading south for Tatton Park in Cheshire, the A group were going north, into a cold northerly wind, with Rathmell as their preferred destination.

It was nice to see one or two faces who have not been seen all summer, to supplement the club stalwarts who show up week after week.

The head wind made the early miles harder than usual, and so at Whalley a few members turned for home in the hope that they would catch then end of the hill climb.

So that left a few members to carry on towards Rathmell, which lies just before Settle in North Yorkshire; where much to our consternation, and that of other cyclists also, we found the cafe closed. With our pot of tea under threat, we decided that the closest option was to be West Marton.

The next few miles were as hard as any that day as we stayed in undulating country lanes as we closed in our holy grail; a pot of hot tea.