One Armed Bandit

Following David fracturing his elbow two weeks ago at Llandegla, this was his first ride out. The plan was to take it gently to avoid aggravating his injury. The sun was shining and so we thought we'd ride up to Tatton Park in Knutsford for a bit of country air.

We headed down Brooklands Road towards Timperley when I heard a loud 'bang' similar to the popping of a balloon. I turned my head to see David looking dejectedly at his front tyre (the one I had inflated 5 minutes earlier). The first puncture of the ride less than a mile from home!

Puncture No1 - Brooklands

 

 

There was a huge tear in the tube, so after 5 minutes of faffing and we were on our way again. (Using my spare inner tube as David had forgotten to bring one).

Round Brooklands roundabout and onto Shaftesbury Avenue we plodded on, turning left at Thorley Lane and up towards Hale. We were soon in the hedgerow lined lanes of Ashley, so far so good. Davids elbow was holding up and we got into a nice rhythm and the lack of traffic meant that we were able to ride side by side and chat. There were dark clouds looming and we were headed toward them. As we turned into the park I could feel a few spots of rain...they rapidly turned into dirty great drops and we were decidedly damp within minutes. How remiss of us to forgoe our waterproofs! The shower passed as quickly as it had come and it was time for a danger panda.

David in a long distance danger panda. My fat carcass in the foreground.

Blurry danger panda over and done with we sought caffeine at from the friendly baristas' at Costa Coffee in Knutsford. I ordered two pints of black coffee and a couple of brownies (just to keep us going).

591ml of strong, black coffee

Re-energized from the beverage stop we decided to ride over to Alderley Edge and then onto Wilmslow. The weather was holding up and we hadn't done many miles. Off we went, a little quicker than before thanks to the caffeine kick.

A noise behind me again. This time a rattle and pop. I looked back to find David again looking dejectedly at his front wheel. I was starting to think that our little ride today was strewn with cowpats from the Devils own satanic herd! Front wheel off again, David set about using my 2nd and last inner tube.

Mobberley is very pleasant place to fix a puncture

After closer inspection it appeared that the first loud puncture had split the sidewall of the tyre, so we were unable to fully inflate it. This gave us a slight conundrum. We had no more inner tubes and no puncture repair kit. Going off recent historical evidence David was quite likely to puncture again before we got home. Being the more graceful rider I decided to take one for the team and swapped my front wheel for Davids. This meant we were going to have take it very easy on the way back. An even bigger problem was that my blue and white bike now had a red front wheel. THE SHAME! We had to get back without a further puncture and preferably without any of my shaven legged brethren seeing us.

Due to our current predicament we took a shorter route home, going past the Cheshire Smokehouse and under the runways. All was going well until we hit the back of Thorley Lane when the heavens opened yet again (I refer to my previous comments about the Satanic herd). The pace a bit faster now. We were quickly soaked through to the skin. Saturation was almost immediate. Back on Brooklands Road now the rain feeling more like hail. As I still had Davids front wheel we went back to his to swap the wheels back. Another mile and the dry warmth of my house beckoned. Shoes kicked off at the front door and cold beer in the fridge.

Just under 28 miles done. No more cowpats please.

Blitzkrieg!

Well, not really. Just a photo blitz! My focus on cycling has been upped by the recent spell of good weather (fair weather cyclist I hear you say). I haven't been blogging my rides as I promised myself I would. The  photos' below are just some of the rides I've done in the last month. Monthly mileage total (including today) is 715 miles for both road and mtb.

Coffee in Buxton

Good Friday Track meet at the Velodrome

Stay close to me

I'm bigger in real life

Danger Panda

David and his broken elbow following a crash

Llandegla

 

New sexiness

Cheshire lanes

Danger Panda

Best cafe in Hayfield (only)

Welcome to Derbyshire.

David looking bored

Jon messing around with a weird electric bike

I am not a number, I am a FREE MAN!