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**Adrian McEwen** @amcewen@mastodon.me.uk · May 25

May 25

Adrian McEwen @amcewen@mastodon.me.uk

Friday night's #FolkRidingBikes ride took a route past Goodison Park to commemorate the end of men's football there.

#Everton #EFC #InTheSaddle

**Adrian McEwen** @amcewen@mastodon.me.uk · May 18

May 18

Adrian McEwen @amcewen@mastodon.me.uk

End of an era. Fans heading home after Everton's win in the last (men's) game at Goodison Park.

(A few hours after full-time, so I suspect there'd been some post-match send-offs in the pub )

#InTheSaddle #BikeTooter #Everton

**Adrian McEwen** @amcewen@mastodon.me.uk · May 17

May 17

Adrian McEwen @amcewen@mastodon.me.uk

Found a new route over to Formby. Only a couple of miles different from other regular ones, but nice to connect things up.

An orange gravel bike leans against a post at the side of a gravel track that leads off into the distance. Either side of the track is a strip of scrub grass and beyond that lush green farmers fields. The sky is cloudless and blue and the sun is flaring at the edge of the frame

#InTheSaddle #BikeTooter

**Adrian McEwen** @amcewen@mastodon.me.uk · May 17

May 17

Adrian McEwen @amcewen@mastodon.me.uk

Over the water for last night's #FolkRidingBikes ride. Ferry to Seacombe, rode up the river through parks and industrial estates to the Tap at Eastham Ferry (a real bikers pub, but the sort with engines, they were mostly amused by a pack of acoustic bikes turning up); then back to Birkenhead for the train under the river and home.

Looking back from the Mersey ferry to the Pier Head. A huge cruise ship, its hull painted with an eye and huge red lips at the bow, is moored at the cruise terminal; just next to the Liver Building

A sunset view across the Mersey from Rock Ferry. The sky is a beautiful gradient from deep blue above to orangey-red at the horizon and there's a line of the lights of Liverpool running across the scene along the edge of the river.

You can just make out the pier and pipes of the Tranmere oil terminal stretching out into the river, and a row of tiny sailing boats moored along the low water line on this side.

#BikeTooter #Wirral #InTheSaddle

**Adrian McEwen** @amcewen@mastodon.me.uk · May 12

May 12

Adrian McEwen @amcewen@mastodon.me.uk

We often get folk joining in when they encounter us on our #FolkRidingBikes group social rides, but Friday's was the first on a penny farthing!!!

A group of cyclists riding along a city-centre street. The rider nearest to the camera is much higher than everyone else because he's riding a penny farthing!

(wasn't sure how to make the alt text slightly blurry like the photo is...)

#BikeTooter #InTheSaddle #PennyFarthing

**Adrian McEwen** @amcewen@mastodon.me.uk · May 3

May 3

Adrian McEwen @amcewen@mastodon.me.uk

This viewpoint is off to the edge of Everton Brow compared to the standard one, but you get a nicer view of the city centre.

Looking down the hill in a park, across grassed areas criss-crossed with a couple of tarmac paths. Beyond the grass are trees; and beyond the trees, in the distance you can see the city centre of Liverpool: skyscrapers and other buildings including the St. John's Beacon tower and the twin towers of the Liver Building, topped with Liver Birds just visible on the horizon. All under a cloudless blue sky

#InTheSaddle #Liverpool #BikeTooter

**Adrian McEwen** @amcewen@mastodon.me.uk · May 2

May 2

Adrian McEwen @amcewen@mastodon.me.uk

The view from the soundsystem bike on tonight's #JoyRide. Excellent fun as ever.

#Liverpool #BikeTooter #InTheSaddle

**Adrian McEwen** @amcewen@mastodon.me.uk · Apr 30

Apr 30

Adrian McEwen @amcewen@mastodon.me.uk

Out for a late #InTheSaddle in an attempt to salvage something from the evening after mostly failing at community management.

Happened to bump into a mate at the lights near the end of the ride, and had a good chat for a few sequences of green, so got home in a better frame of mind

An orange gravel bike leans against the railings alongside Canning Dock. The lights of night-time Liverpool reflect off the water, and two ships are moored in the background: tug Brocklebank and former ferry Daffodil, now a restaurant and festooned with strings of white lights

#BikeTooter #NightRider

**Adrian McEwen** @amcewen@mastodon.me.uk · Apr 27

Apr 27

Adrian McEwen @amcewen@mastodon.me.uk

The Cheshire lanes make for excellent riding.

Had a lovely 42 mile (74km) ride with some mates yesterday. Lots of picturesque country villages, two castles, and a water mill.

A country lane lined with green hedgerow leads away from us, curving slightly to the left. It disappears amongst trees which cover the hill ahead. Just visible at the top of the hill are the ruins of Beeston Castle, stood on a sandstone ridge

Not far from Beeston Castle, another view of a castle from a country lane. Another green hedge, a smattering of dandelions in the verge of this one and a lone tree wrapped in green creeper of some sort.

These hills are more rolling, rather than the sudden rise of Beeston. Atop one is the still in use (though as a hotel these days) Peckforton Castle.

A two storey building built in sandstone and black-painted horizontal planks of wood, with a slate roof. Attached to the right-hand end of it is a wooden overshot water wheel, also painted black.

A series of wooden bollards mark the edge of the road past the flour mill, and three bikes are leant against them. Two of the cyclists are stood at the open doorway to the mill, the third was holding the camera.

#BikeTooter #InTheSaddle #Cheshire

**Adrian McEwen** @amcewen@mastodon.me.uk · Apr 26

Apr 26

Adrian McEwen @amcewen@mastodon.me.uk

All the south parks for last night's #FolkRidingBikes group ride.

Crown St Park -> the Mystery -> Childwall Woods -> Score Lane Gardens -> the Loop Line -> Camp Hill -> Clarkes Gardens -> Allerton Towers -> Calderstones Park -> Penny Lane. Then a stop to celebrate @Styles becoming a Dr. and back home via Sefton Park and Princes Park.

The view from Camp Hill, looking out across a grassy field to woods at the bottom of the hill. In the distance there are houses and just about visible is the River Mersey

Lots of bikes of all types parked up on their stands or leaning against a low wall around the park benches spaced out along it, at the top of Camp Hill

#Liverpool #BikeTooter #InTheSaddle

**Adrian McEwen** @amcewen@mastodon.me.uk · Apr 20

Apr 20

Adrian McEwen @amcewen@mastodon.me.uk

GPS echoes.

Looking across a neatly ploughed field. The furrows nearest the camera run left to right, but just beyond that (and most of the field) has furrows running away from the camera and we're looking along some perfectly straight miniature valleys, laid out by a modern tractor with satnav

#InTheSaddle #Lancashire #BikeTooter

**Adrian McEwen** @amcewen@mastodon.me.uk · Apr 18

Apr 18

Adrian McEwen @amcewen@mastodon.me.uk

Took advantage of the bank holiday for an earlier #FolkRidingBikes ride, and we got a bit further afield too.

Rode up to the top of Clieve Hill just outside Aughton and back, via a brief stop in a 705 year old pub.

https://umap.openstreetmap.fr/en/map/bike-routes_491983#12/53.4805/-3.0006

A group of cyclists stopped outside an old whitewashed brick pub with a thatched roof. The sign on the side of it names it the Scotch Piper, and underneath proclaims "The oldest inn in Lancashire. A.D. 1320"

Although strictly speaking, these days it's actually in Merseyside

A map of Liverpool and the Lancashire plain to its north. Overlaid is a bike route that runs up to Waterloo, then across just past Sefton village, over to Lydiate and between Aughton and Downholland. Then retracing its route to Rimrose Valley where it picks up the Leeds-Liverpool canal and back to Liverpool

#Lancashire #Liverpool #Ormskirk

**Adrian McEwen** @amcewen@mastodon.me.uk · Apr 6

Apr 6

Adrian McEwen @amcewen@mastodon.me.uk

Made it back after an excellent weekend catching up with mates and taking in art in London in enough time for a quick #InTheSaddle ride along the river and back through the parks.

#BikeTooter #Otterspool #Liverpool

Continued thread

**Adrian McEwen** @amcewen@mastodon.me.uk · Mar 30

Mar 30

Adrian McEwen @amcewen@mastodon.me.uk

And another #InTheSaddle photo from the return journey from my trip home for Mothers' Day.

Somewhere beyond that wall there are lions. Couldn't hear their roars for the roar of traffic on the East Lancs a couple of metres behind me as I took that.

(It's the edge of Lord Derby's estate, home to Knowsley Safari Park)

An orange gravel bike with a petrol blue pannier leans against a red-and-white striped pipe (warning of the location of an underground gas pipe), in front of a sandstone wall, topped with iron railings which are painted black with white pointed finials

#BikeTooter #Knowsley

**Adrian McEwen** @amcewen@mastodon.me.uk · Mar 30

Mar 30

Adrian McEwen @amcewen@mastodon.me.uk

Leaning my bike against a remnant of the old platform for the Skem to St. Helens line. In the background you can just see the footbridge between the platforms on Rainford Junction (now named just Rainford, even though it's in the hamlet of Rainford Junction and a mile or so away from Rainford itself) station.

An orange gravel bike leaning against an overgrown former railway platform. The bed of the railway is now just a gravel path. Off to the left of the picture is the wood-panelled signal box of the still-working line, and just visible in the distance is the lattice ironwork of a footbridge over the railway.

#InTheSaddle #Rainford #RainfordJunction

**Adrian McEwen** @amcewen@mastodon.me.uk · Mar 22

Mar 22

Adrian McEwen @amcewen@mastodon.me.uk

Didn't have anything in for lunch, so went to Formby. CW for photo of food, but there's also a nice bike zine

**Adrian McEwen** @amcewen@mastodon.me.uk · Mar 22

Mar 22

Adrian McEwen @amcewen@mastodon.me.uk

First trip over the water this year for the #FolkRidingBikes Friday evening social ride.

Started in West Kirby and rode round the coast to Birkenhead.

#BikeTooter #Wirral #RiverMersey

**Adrian McEwen** @amcewen@mastodon.me.uk · Mar 15

Mar 15

Adrian McEwen @amcewen@mastodon.me.uk

Bandstands of north Liverpool. An impromptu collection from today's #InTheSaddle ride

A wrought iron, octagonal bandstand, painted black, on a low red brick base in an open grassy park, with a couple of dirt paths passing by it.

This one is in Newsham Park in Liverpool.

A pretty octagonal wrought iron bandstand surrounded by a paved area in a park. It's mostly painted white, with coloured highlights, and a green copper roof. Just to one side of it is the Isla Gladstone conservatory, a relatively-recently restored Victorian glasshouse.

This is in Stanley Park in Liverpool, and while taking it I could hear the excitement of the crowd at one of Everton's last games at the nearby Goodison Park.

Another octagonal wrought iron bandstand, this one painted white with black details. It's on a stone-walled pedestal and surrounded by grass and then a black metal fence.

This one in Derby Park in Bootle

#BikeTooter #bandstand #park

**Adrian McEwen** @amcewen@mastodon.me.uk · Mar 15

Mar 15

Adrian McEwen @amcewen@mastodon.me.uk

Last night the band Stealing Sheep joined us for a special #JoyRide listening party. We played their new album on the soundsystem and everyone decked their bikes out in colourful LEDs (inc. lots of @MCQN_Ltd's My Bike's Got LED kits )

They performed from the back of the trike and livestreamed it to their socials (sadly they're not on the Fediverse)

Here's a bit from my phone when we were down at the Pier Head

https://youtu.be/lHBB-LXvlJA

YouTube#JoyRide Stealing Sheep Listening Party at the Pier HeadBy Adrian McEwen

#BikeTooter #InTheSaddle #Liverpool