The 2008 Christmas lunch took place as usual at the Diggle Hotel on the 1st Feb 2009.
The plan was for a road ride and MTB ride to meet in Diggle at about 12. The weather was clear but cold, with snow showers expected.
Martin, Dunc and Ric were stood at the Rising Sun at the appointed meeting time of 10am, taking bets on whether or not Will was still eating toast in his undies, when a blur of colour flashed out of Torkington Road and onto the A6. A mix of incredulity and giddiness at the prospect of Will not being the last to arrive was starkly contrasted by the sense of shame and betrayal felt by “Granola” Geoff, who is the first person in SCCC history to get to a clubrun meet later than Will.
Unfortunately, Si Hardman couldn’t make it, as he was doing secret training at a secret location.

We set off towards Marple in a cold, swirling wind. As we headed through Marple Bridge, Will had a puncture, so went home, as he was out for “quality, not quantity” mileage.

The four remaining riders carried on through Glossop and onwards to the climb of Holme Moss. On a bleak and increasingly snowy day, motorists maybe mistook us for the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, with Geoff doing his bit for Famine, by snacking all morning. Ric was Pestilence, as anyone who has shared a room with him will testify. Martin had so much in his rucksack, he could have been going to War, and Dunc’s arse smelt like Death.

We all got over Holme Moss safely, despite the worsening weather and had a rendezvous in the valley beyond. From here, a couple of short sharp climbs then the long, slow grind over the Isle of Skye….or that was the plan.

Martin had other ideas, and yielded to cramp, which struck both thighs at once on the first sharp climb. On his knees, in the snow, he was re-considering the “rucksack & D-lock” training regime. He recovered and we moved onto the long drag, which turned out to be a tailwind section, and flew by. Down the other side, avoiding hypothermia and Ric, weaving around on his TT bike.

We arrived later than expected, just as Les and family were leaving. Mark, Maggie and Dave had had a good ride out on MTBs, and were halfway through lunch, as was Ian S, who had ridden out solo, as he was suffering with a bug. Nice cold beer and warm food was appreciated and we spent an hour or so chatting, with an eye on the snow outside. Eventually, time came to head home and we were, again, lucky with a following wind, which got us all back before nightfall…..well, we assume everyone got home ok. Ian and Ric last saw Martin as he cramped up near the flats on Lancashire Hill. A friendly group of the local youngsters were seen helping him off his bike and taking it away to tune up. Even they weren’t mad enough to take a D-lock, though!