Molly - Woodside - GC2WWDT

Second time lucky with this one - I was so miffed at not finding this one earlier in the year that I didn't even bother to log a DNF. I pretty much new where it was, but the bramble and thorns were high and it so was dark and gloomy (and raining too) that I couldn't bear to look for long. I can't say that I like this type of cache environment much.

Anyway, today it was bright, sunny and very mild for mid November, and so I decided to have another go. It also helped with the CO having checked it was still there and some other geocachers finding it recently. This time I went straight to it without using the GPSr after getting the first bearing. Bingo!

Indigo Ninja - GC35GWG

Today I found the eighth and final cache in the Ninja series, after just missing picking it up last week. It was a bright, sunny and unusually mild mid-November morning and so I set off of my bike with high hopes of success. I didn't need to use the GPSr much for this one, as I had a pretty good idea about where it was from doing the previous caches in the series. Within a minute or so of reaching GZ, I had located the cache and had signed the log.

After finding the cache I met a friendly walker and we chatted for a while about how nice it is for walking and cycling round here, particularly on a day like today. He told me all about the local farmer and his family and what was going on where in his fields. It was really nice to learn a little more about this area.

Yellow Ninja - GL6ZJGWV

This Ninja cache took us a little longer to find than any of the others in this series, as there were so many possibilities that matched the hint. In fact we were about to head off for home but after 'just one more look', I managed to find it. This was not before putting my foot deep in some bright orange swampy gunk which stained my boot with it's iron-rich pigment. Seasoned cachers usually quickly 'get a feel' for where a cache is going to be when they get near to GZ - to us however, this one was not in what we would call the 'obvious' place.

We decided to leave the only Ninja cache we hadn't done (Indigo) for another day, as it would have meant backtracking a little along a route we'd already cycled (and in the direction of the dog mentioned in previous logs), and by now the sandwiches were calling us from home! But we were quite happy to have found 5 out of 5 caches on our little cycling expedition around the outskirts of Leigh and Tyldesley.

Sensei Ninja - GL62ZJG1Y

Still shaking off the mud from the over-excited dog attack just before the previous cache, I suggested to Sarah that we did this cache next, rather than Indigo Ninja, so that we could cycle in the opposite direction to the one in which the dog was being walked. So we headed off along the excellent cycle paths in search of the Sensei Ninja, whatever that means.

This Ninja cache was a lot easier to find that it might have been, being quite a small container and fairly well-hidden. However, I found it quite quickly, mainly thanks to some of the vegetation in front of it having been recently trampled down.  After signing the log we cycled along the sandy footpath trail to what would be the fifth and final cache of the day for us.

Purple Ninja - GC35GWZ

This was the third cache on our circular cycle route list for today. Just before we arrived at GZ, I was enthusiastically 'attacked' in a playful way by a large bulldog type dog (probably called Winston) whilst its owner pathetically ordered it to stop from a distance. I came to an abrupt halt when the dog got in front in my front wheel and stopped it, nearly bringing me off my bike. It was nothing serious, but it did cover parts of me in unwelcome mud which I tried to shake off, whist the owner made some less than convincing attempt at an apology.

When this little episode was over, Sarah and I continued towards the cache with me explaining why it was not a good idea for her to cycle alone along the canal towpath to work, just in case something like this happened and she ended up in the canal. We found the cache very quickly and then decided to alter our cycle route to avoid meeting the dog again.

These Ninja caches seem to be multiplying quite regularly as I'd already done some of the earlier ones a little closer to home in Tyldesley. They've been great for exploring this area by bike and, true to form, we found some more new places doing these caches today. We're looking forward to the next batch appearing soon.

Leigh - Secret Passage - GC34ADJ

After redesigning our circular cycle route to make it a little shorter, we reached GZ without much difficulty from the previous location. It was in another unexplored part of Leigh for us, close to Leigh Bowling Club, which we'd never seen before.

The cache was quite a straightforward find as we knew the type of magnetic container we were looking for and reckoned it would only be a matter of time before we located it, which indeed it was. After signing the log, we headed for the Avenue and Lilford Park to get on the Ninja trail.

It's a walk in the park - GC31W9Y

Sarah and I decided to use this unusually mild and sunny mid-November morning to do a spot of geocaching by bike. I'd planned a circular route around the outskirts of Leigh and this was the first cache on the list.  We've driven past this small park thousands of times on our way to Leigh without really noticing it, although it does look to have been 'spruced up' fairly recently.

It was quite a straightforward find except for the lady muggle who was throwing a ball for her two dogs with one of those ball-throwing contraptions - she must have thought we were mad as we skulked about in the vegetation looking for the cache container! However, unperturbed by her presence, Sarah continued to look and eventually found it.