Under Manchester and on the Canals

North West Ride under Manchester on the canals May 2012

Only 3 of us for what turned out to be a day of reasonable weather and a fascinating journey of discovery.

Our bike ride under and through Manchester and the Great Manchester Run interweaved all day. We start off in South Manchester at the Chorlton Water park, already thronging with outdoor people including a gaggle of fungi hunters.
After some very quiet back streets we emerge at Old Trafford.

From this point on our fortunes and the 40,000 runners will cross as we zig zag around greater Manchester. We are below them, alongside them, and occasionally above them. The complex canal system of Manchester is at complete variance to the road system, so even if I think I have a plan of Manchester in my head Mark's route pops us up at the most unlikely places. Then we are alongside the Manchester Ship Canal and heading to Media City. ITV and BBC guns drawn across the Irwell.

Back through the middle of Manchester and a bean pole of a trannie falls off her heels requiring a swift manoeuvre on my part, just a normal day in the gay quarter of Manchester.

Gorton is a rough old part of Manchester but Mark's route gets us into the rural idyl of Vale Cottage pub for our lunch stop, and second beer break, thirsty work is Manchester.

A sweep round East Manchester on the very rural Fallowfield Loop (national cycle network 6) gets us back to Chorlton around 20 miles later. Thanks again for the excellent route planning of Mark Taylor. If you knew how good are the events he organises you would all be along in droves.

[flickr-gallery mode="photoset" photoset="72157630018830277"]

North West Ride Report April 2012

Five Moultoneers met up on a fairly non-descript road of semi-detached houses in a suburb of Chester with the threat of heavy showers literally hanging over us. At about 10:50 a shower started, punctuated with hailstones, some of us sought shelter in the doorway of a “house to let” but as all 5 couldn’t get shelter and 11 o’clock had now come and gone, we set off into the rain.

[flickr size="medium" float="right"]http://www.flickr.com/photos/moultonbuzz/7112996723/[/flickr] After about 30 meters of road we dropped onto national route 5, a beautifully smooth track based on the old rail line from Chester to Shotton steel works. After about 5 minutes the rain stopped and that was the last time it inconvenienced us for the rest of the day. Making good progress along the track, into a slight head wind, we travelled down this straight track passing numerous cyclists, dog walkers and ramblers. The tarmac was truly smooth, not damaged by tree roots or dug up & patched by utility companies etc, a real pleasure to ride along. We crossed the pedestrian bridge over the main A55 coast road by the ever-shrinking RAF Sealand facility. We continued on the national route 5 riding over the river Dee bridge, along the platforms of Shotton railway station and down onto the Chester Road for a café stop at the Corner Kitchen, with a great bike stand outside!

[flickr size="medium" float="left"]http://www.flickr.com/photos/moultonbuzz/6966919860/[/flickr]Suitably rested, fed & watered we set off taking a slightly different route back to the Dee bridge, crossed it once again and rode along the river side path with the strengthening wind now behind us. We passed the beautiful John Summers building, the old reception & management offices for the Shotton steel works – now sadly a boarded up listed building; I have visited the reception in the past when it was a fabulously appointed building, well worth preserving and using again in some form. The miles sped by on this smooth tarmced pathway as we passed the shooting school on the left then BA and its A380 Airbus wing facility on the right.

[flickr size="medium" float="right"]http://www.flickr.com/photos/moultonbuzz/6966920774/[/flickr]Shortly after we passed the water treatment works we turned off the riverside path and up Tower Road, turning right at Telford’s Warehouse to join the Shropshire Union Canal and up a flight of locks (the biggest climb of the day!). Once on the top of the locks we followed the canal through a deep & damp sandstone cutting topped with houses, along a cobbled section (love the suspension on Moulton’s) and out into a nicely re-developed area of Chester. We passed numerous renovated warehouses with bars & cafes, moored up canal houseboats, pedestrians – a really well manicured cosmopolitan area. After we passed the old shot tower, used for the manufacture of lead shot for shooting and an area about to be re-developed, we turned off the canal and re-joined the road network again. Taking a back road route passed the site of the old Chester hospital we returned to our cars in a few minutes.

All in all a pleasant day out, good company, 17 miles of mostly flat terrain, nearly all the route was free from internal combustion engines – just a pity about the rain at the start.
[flickr size="large"]http://www.flickr.com/photos/moultonbuzz/6966920846/[/flickr]

[flickr-gallery mode="photoset" photoset="72157629898097327"]

Is this the perfect hand-built bike?

Moulton makes cycles unlike any other, with the small-wheeled stance of a fold-up bike, but with a unique stainless steel frame and quality and performance to put most modern rivals to shame. Despite first appearances, the latest line of Moulton bikes don’t actually fold up, but they do have a neat party trick. They also offer some of the most innovative designs currently on sale.

The latest line of bikes from the high-end cycle manufacturer all boast several distinctive features in common. The Moulton Double Pylon, the Moulton Speed and the Moulton SS stand out from regular bikes by virtue of their relatively small (at 20 inches) wheels – a concept close to the heart of the manufacturer, and one that Moulton claims leads to better performance.

According to Moulton, the more compact wheel size results in a “low moment of inertia, so acceleration is quicker and handling is nimble and fast”. Moulton goes on to say that “cycling requires less effort thanks to the low aerodynamic drag of the small wheels”.

The small wheels gives Moulton’s cycles the look of a fold-up bike – almost like a larger and less compromised Brompton. The latticework of stainless steel tubing that comprises the bike’s frame also sets the latest models apart from rivals, and although the bikes don’t actually fold, the frame is designed to split in the middle.

This won’t benefit you on the daily commute, but it does make the Moulton a lot more versatile, making it easy to pack in the boot of a car in seconds, without having to remove the wheels or seat.

The innovation doesn’t stop there, as Moulton has also used Hydrolastic suspension – a fluid filled rubber mount that’s more similar to a car engine mount than regular cycle suspension, giving better damping without sapping forward momentum. Innovative anti-dive rubber damping at the front, along with those smaller than average wheels, help to create a ride that most cycle manufacturers would kill for.

Features include custom CNC-made brakes and Campagnolo gearing, with a range of different handlebar styles. Moulton will also sell you an array of hand-made luggage bags and carriers to go with the bike, making it practical as well as distinctive.

The cycles are hand-finished with an impressive amount of quality and attention to detail, with the intricate and slender polished stainless steel frame worthy of a place in the Tate Modern. Can you imagine buying a Moulton, however, or do you prefer a more conventional big-wheeled bike?

From: Humans Invent | Innovation, Craftsmanship & Design