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Arthur Findley on the Wheel of Fortune Preston

 

Awheel on The Wheel – Killing Time on Preston’s Guild Wheel

was stuck in Preston recently, waiting for some work to be completed on the car. Not fancying a couple of hours fending off the dealership salespeople and just happening to have a bike with me I mounted up, turned so the howling wind and rain was at my back, aimed the bike east along the Preston Guild Wheel route and charged off to the Avenham Park café to hide from the weather and refuel.

Leaving the café, the weather still looked foul. Giving in to the tailwind I drifted off further east, remaining on the Guild Wheel but with no great conviction which naturally meant I ended up doing the whole thing. Such is my aversion to car salesmen. Thought you’d like to hear about it, the Wheel I mean. I went anti-clockwise.

The Wheel’s a continuous, circular, almost entirely off-road route new for 2012. It’s only about 21 miles round but, being off-road and convoluted, takes rather longer to ride than you might expect. Yes, clubrunners, more than an hour, easily! It’s cleverly conceived, using and linking previously existing tracks, paths and quiet roads with the occasional new section to completely encircle Preston. Interesting thought, Preston being surrounded by bikes. Surfaces are good throughout, mainly tarmac and much of this newly, or at least recently, laid. In places I was just gliding along. I saw no debris, glass etc. either. Were roads once like this?

It’s pretty flat - there are a few steeper sections including a gradient (1 in 8 or thereabouts I think) but these are all short and there’s a signposted bale-out around the 1 in 8 if your 39 ring feels too high. One of the non-tarmac sections is quite steep too and presents more of an obstacle due largely to having to start it from a dead stop at the barrier at the bottom. The surface was slightly iffy when I was there too - I was on a road bike and if anyone saw me pushing up this hill it was due solely to the torrent of water flowing over the wrong sort of leaves for my 25mm tyres, honest. Riding this hill the other way (mine was an anti-clockwise soaking, remember) would provide other excitements including negotiating the barrier fences presumably installed to slow your descent. They will.  

There are some road crossings, including one or two major ones, but these are well equipped with Toucan crossings so no problems. The route’s very well signed and in the odd place where doubt might creep in it doesn’t last long – there’s always a sign nearby. Paths are mostly dual-use and I can see some stretches being quite populated at times, e.g. Avenham Park on a Sunday afternoon but I only saw a handful of pedestrians and no bikies, not even a Preston (Guild) Wheeler to share the wetness.  

On which subject I can confirm there are quite a few places to shelter from the elements; coincidentally many of these would also be handy for catching the bus (bus ….. shelter……get the drift?) but I found the ones I used cold and draughty. In fairness they’re probably not intended for 20 minute tenures which is how long I was stuck inside one, waiting for the monsoon to stop. It didn’t. There’s an underpass or two also – these are even draughtier but at least you can keep warm by riding circles beneath them.

Cafes are rather few from what I could see through the murk; Avenham, Brockholes, Take 5 and the usual burger van suspects are all there but these are grouped fairly closely along the southern section so I was glad I had fuelled up in the Avenham cafe. I’ve since heard rumours that Myerscough College Refectory, just off the Wheel to the north of Preston, has been successfully visited by cyclists for food but can’t confirm. Arriving back at the car dealers the rain stopped so I celebrated at one of the nearby burger vans and was interested to see outside seating being literally blown away by the wind.  

It’s a very varied ride including sections through Preston’s regenerated docklands (complete with steam trains at times), alongside the River Ribble (including Avenham and Miller Parks’ avenues of trees), through Brockholes Wetland (it was), along the Millenium Canal and through Preston Arena, base for the club’s annual Bill Bradley rides. Occasional housing estates and commercial/industrial estates pass pleasantly enough. All this variety ensures things remain interesting. Mileposts indicate your progress.

I would mark it down only in respect of the fairly lengthy stretch on what is effectively the pavement of the fast and busy Blackpool Road dual carriageway west of Preston, which was out of character with the rest of the route. This doesn’t last long though, but should be noted if taking kids along. I rode the Wheel anticlockwise so did this section against the traffic flow, which feels weird and did not help. Clockwise might feel better and if you decide to reverse my direction of travel simply re-read this piece from the bottom up. Simples.

Overall I enjoyed riding the Wheel in spite of the truly awful weather, so it must be good! Worth a look after Take 5, chaps …….

Arthur Findley 22/11/12

 

 

 
     

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