A dramatic, if short, day today. I woke up to a dry cloudy day, but with a forecast of light showers. So, on with the goretex trousers rather than leathers with a waterproof layer on top. I made my way to the start point (Haslingden) to see who was around. By the time we were ready to go, there were 12 bikes and 1 pillion (well done, Val) ready for the off - including a new person, Jeff, who had come along to see what we got up to.

We set off up the hill along the A56 - just a little bit late, in the normal Manhoc tradition. As we got to the top, the heavens opened and it began to pour down. We survived about 3 miles of this before Gary stopped us all so we could get waterproofs on (for those who had them). That was OK - except that some people didn't bring any (oops!) and, in my case, they were no use at all for the rain we were getting (shame on you, IXS). About 4 miles after that, I began to feel the rain seeping around my crotch - cold and horrible. I radioed ahead to see if Gary would consider stopping somewhere fairly quickly so we could assess the situation. As it happened, he was passing the McDonalds near Clitheroe at the time so he pulled in there, closely followed by most of the rest of us. We had, by this time, lost Ian - who, having not been able to see past his misted up glasses, had made the sensible decision to head for home.

The rest of us stood outside McDonalds for about 30 minutes while the rain bounced off the rooftops and road (and our bikes). I then made a decision - let's abandon this ride. The reasons being:

1. We were already wet through
2. The rain was going the same way that we were
3. We were hours later than planned.

So, at that point we wandered inside for a cuppa and some food (and to warm up). An hour later, the rain had eased off - so by just after 1pm, we set off back home. So, not a successful ride by any means, but at least we all had a good chat.

A few photos: