Dukinfield CC

A rainy day in Cheshire proves the perfect opportunity to go pedalling with the Duks

“Did you think you would be racing with us today?” asks Dukinfield CC president Quentin Blagg, chuckling. “We knew you would be... we just knew.” He makes me wonder if I’ve somehow been secretly hypnotised, but I suspect it’s more the fact that I’ve just got carried away with the infectious camaraderie and high spirits of the club members. So somehow I find myself signing up to participate in the 106th club 10-mile time trial that’s been added to the middle of today’s club run around the undulating terrain of east Cheshire.

“We don’t always add a 10-mile time trial in to our club runs!” club secretary Steve Holt points out. “Today marks the anniversary of the event, so it seemed a good way to get people involved.”

Most club runs alternate between the Derbyshire and Yorkshire hills to the north and east of the club’s meet points in Tameside and Stockport, or the flatter Cheshire Plains to the south.

“The course we’re on today still uses some of the same roads as the very first event back in 1889, so there’s a lot of racing history on these roads — it’s like going back in time,” adds Blagg.

Lining up behind the other participating club members and watching ex-great Britain rider Angela Hunter zoom off down the road, I do feel as though I’ve entered a time warp, with the last time we both signed on the same start list being several years ago.

“It’s my first bike race in while,” Hunter smiles. “I’ve not worn this skinsuit in 12 years, but it still fits.” And, judging by her winning time on the sporting course, she’s still as fit.

Post-race and back at the village hall, drinking tea and coffee, and eating the great spread put on by the members themselves, we all gather round a table displaying hundreds of