We started at 7.30 tonight, just for a spin round ‘the old route’. We call it ‘Th’owd route’ because we usually take that, or part of it, as an evening spin, the usual road being to Walkden and the whole of Salford road to Westhoughton, then over the ‘Snider’ or water tank to Deane and home, or vice versa, or to cut it short and return from Four Lane Ends. We tonight took the Salford road to Little Hulton, where we turned left down Peel lane to Boothstown and then rattled along to Atherton. This road has been cut up badly, and it is full of potholes, made, it seems, for the unwary cyclist to trip over. Reaching Atherton, we turned uphill to Four Lane Ends, from where we reached Chequerbent. A bad stretch and Westhoughton, a worse stretch and Blackrod!

Just before Blackrod – the place of Steep Hills – I was trying to dodge several duckponds – they were situated (not unusually on this kind of ROAD), in the middle of the road – when my bike wriggled from under me and I shot forward. By a miracle I retained my balance, and was engaged for some time afterwards picking bits of lamp up. Having collected this valuable accessory, we proceeded on down Crown Lane, that rather suicidal hill that runs into Horwich, and after a rough passage reached that town. Then a fairly smooth run and we hailed Bolton, arriving home at 9.30pm.

25 miles, 2 hours