Woodheys Easter Egg Run
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Woodheys Easter Egg Run - 2005 |
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This Easter Sunday
certainly turned out to be a very long but highly rewarding day on many
fronts. The start wasn't helped by the fact that the clocks had gone
forward overnight thus robbing us all of an hour. However, come
08:30 the car park at the Woodheys Club was nicely filling with bikes and
bikers.
We weren't able to do an exact tot up of numbers, but we had 21 Cloggers, IXXRA and BIRD attendees and about 9 Woodheys Club riders. So, that's around 30 bikes and about 45 or so people. Loading up the 150 eggs already collected by the Woodheys Club and the 50 or so brought by the other attendees meant that we did in fact keep up to the 200 eggs mark in the end. Well done and a big thank you to everyone. |
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Once loaded, and BitOnTheSide's sidecar helped
immensely here, the ride started out onto the early morning roads of
Manchester. Above, right and below we are at the first stop Francis
House where we delivered the first batch of eggs.
A big thanks goes to the staff of Francis House who rustled up copious amounts of tea and biscuits for everyone. A few of the great people who helped to make the day wonderful: Big Kev, Phil and mates from Woodheys including Tony & Pete, with Jono & Wendy in the midst. Again, below, Phil & Andrea and Woodheys friends, with Nigs, Rolfy Dave and Quiney in the background. |
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So far the weather was being very kind, so everyone
enjoyed the chance to have a chat in the open whilst more tea and biscuits
were consumed and some of the children of the hospice enthused over
the bikes.
For those who may be interested in knowing more about Francis House, what they do and would like to take a tour of the extensive facilities there, then please note that they are having their annual Open Day on Saturday the 7th of May between 09:00-12:00 and 13:30-17:00. |
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Once again the hordes were marshalled out onto the
road and the few miles to Wythenshawe Hospital were covered where the
hospital security opened up a car park for us all.
As our numbers were so large, it would have been too disruptive for us to have entered the wards themselves, so a procession of egg laden bikers were led past them to an office where the eggs were deposited under the grateful eye of the hospital staff and a local priest. |
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It was at Wythenshawe that the full extent of the numbers who turned up to support this event really came home. These shots give you some idea of what 30 assorted bikes looks like! |
| As the last egg delivery hospice, the Stockdale Centre, was not far from the Woodheys Club it had been decided only to take enough eggs for Francis House and Wythenshawe Hospital, so the next leg of the ride was back to the Woodheys Club to stock up on the last of the eggs. |
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The Stockdale Centre cares for
severely disabled youngsters and always has a full reception party waiting
for the bikes. As soon as we arrived they were helped out to the
front of the building where the opportunity to be put aboard a few bikes
was available!
Here we have one such lad trying out Numb Bits bike for size, with Jono in the background. |
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Then it was on to Precious Metal's new Bird and a
chance to feel the revs and hear the noise as Garf started it up.
Behind there's another youngster trying out a bike with Taz, Numb Bits and Nige in attendance. |
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Here we have Jane showing off her carpal tunnel scars to Skippy, Rolfy Dave and Jan. |
| More generous bikers: Shadrack, Kit, Sue, Sandra of the Cloggers, and John, Tony, Pete and Phil of the Woodheys Club. |
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The assembled bikes outside the
Stockdale Centre before the egg run was ended for another year.
From here most attendees were led through the suburbs to the lunch venue where there were further people coming along for the start of the afternoon ride-out. |
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By now, the 30 or so bikes from the Egg Run were
joined by yet more making some 40 bikes scattered around the various
carparks of the KFC, McDonald and Pizza Hut. From here a
number of people made their ways back to Big Kev's to assist in getting
the BBQ ready for later in the afternoon - and maybe to recover a tad from
the previous nights 'excesses'!
Ready at the off for the ride-out were 21 bikes when two of the Woodheys members reported that they were almost out of fuel! So, a delay occurred whilst they went off to refuel which then prompted Nigs and Jane to top up their low fuel levels, and before we knew it we'd decided to move the ride group down to the petrol station at the next junction on the motorway. Bad move! To try and make up the lost time the first part of the route was changed so as to use the motorway to get quickly out of Manchester. Trouble was, the motorway at this point is undergoing major roadworks and before we knew it we were split up!!! Excellent work by Quiney managed to regroup us and the run then started in earnest. Everybody thoroughly enjoyed the run out into the Cheshire Plains, and even the short break outside the grave yard was taken in good spirit! After Congleton Rolfy Dave & Jan, and AJ took the opportunity of continuing on down the M6 and home - two of our most distant attendees, along with Skippy (Crawley) and Chuff (darn south - meaning a 400 mile round trip). Then it was the more exciting and interesting climb up into the Peak District on roads that got progressively muddier and mistier! Coming over the top towards Buxton we were in pretty dense cloud, so the stop in Buxton itself was welcome. It was here that Jono & Wendy left us to make their own way home. The remainders of the run, overlooking a navigational error by Clive that added a couple of extra miles and a U-turn, was a straightforward run back on the A6 to Stockport where the M60 and M61 were used to get the remaining riders to Big Kev and Nikki's for their excellent BBQ. And a big thanks has to go out to them for their wonderful hospitality and company, and everybody else who were camping on them for the weekend. |
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The following photos were taken by AJ who has kindly
given permission for them to be reproduced here. They are only a
small selection of a much bigger set that he took on the day. If
you'd like to see all his excellent shots then get along to the IXXRA
Manc
Egg Run Pics thread.
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Received 13/04/05 - Transcript: To the Northern Cloggers To everyone who very kindly donated Easter eggs for the children (& Doctors & Nurses !!) on F8 Starlight Unit at Wythenshawe. They were greatly enjoyed and appreciated. THANK YOU |
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Page Updated
01/03/08 16:39
