Southport Bike Ride. More photos

Mike, our leader on this expedition, assembles one of the battery assisted bikes for Martin

Our group was divided. Four with battery assisted bikes and four relying solely on peddle power.

Disaster..... John announces that he has left the key for his battery at home. He tries the keys of the others, in the forlorn hope that one of theirs might fit, but all to no avail.

We set off along the promenade in a southerly direction, with a powerful headwind making progress slow, and soon paused for a breather

Looking back north as we head away from Southport, the sky looks tolerably fair. Had the camera been pointing in the opposite direction, dark threatening clouds would be seen. 

We battled on towards Ainsdale with no let up from the beast from the south until the dark clouds that had been threatening us from the start joined forces with the unrelenting wind to thwart our resolve, forcing a unanimous change of heart. Setting off back with the wind behind us enabled us to change from the lowest gear on our bikes to the highest, and we were soon back in Southport looking for a lunch spot, and thence back to the cars.
DK