The dawn of another day and the start of another great Manhoc ride. We set off for the ride in plenty of time - except that Norma's radio wouldn't work. After much faffing around, she turned on the lights and it all sprang into life (they are wired through the sidelights).

We got the the start point about 5 minutes late to find 21 bikes there and loads of people milling around. Excellent !!! The only ones missing where Geoff and Karen who had gone to the wrong MacDonalds - about 40 miles away. We waited for them for a while but eventually it was "wagons roll.,..." time and we set off.

The trip was reasonably uneventful - the bit through Stockport was a pain with all the traffic lights but once we got to the open road it was better. Gary's mike didn't work, so we were able to insult him at will over the radio (he he he). After about 90 minutes, the call came from the back "How much longer?" "About 30 minutes" replied Gary (via me). So, of course, we believed him. Another hour and 10 minutes later, we arrived at Holmfirth - where Gary led some of us up the wrong car park and Mandy proceeded to fall over when we got to the right one (she was fine and so was the bike - in fact, she agreed it was better than before).

After a bit of indecision, I led the troops up to a cafe nearby. Paul and Angela very sensibly decided to go to a different one and got served quickly. Us lot, on the other hand, had to wait about 40 minutes while they took the orders and cooked the food.

So, around 3pm, we set off back to Rochdale for the pancakes. I shot ahead to take some pictures (see below) and had a wonderful "zoom". Alex (my son and passenger) was less enthusiastic and, at one point, did request a clean pair of trousers!!!. However, all was OK and we soon arrived back at Syke where coffee, tea, pancakes and a superb chili were consumed. Then, it was chat time and, eventually, home time.

As always, some pictures to liven the proceedings.