April 19, 2024 to July 29, 2024
Getting sorted near Lincoln
staying at my daughter's and Dave's
They say travel broadens the mind. It scrambles mine on this journey.
It's an epic trek, flying long-distance from Taiwan to the UK, traversing numerous time zones while squashed into an economy-class seat. I dread it... it's always joyless.
To compound the tedium, my second flight from Dubai to Manchester is delayed due to serious and unprecedented flooding and my suitcases are not at the airport when I land in the UK. I also miss the train I'd planned to catch east to my hometown, where I'll stay with my old buddy Dave.
Armed with a local SIM card, I let my daughter - Ruby - know the score and decide to get off the train at her village and spend a night there. Over thirty hours of travel with little sleep is more than enough.
| Heart | 1 | Comment | 0 | Link |
My wife Debbie is joining me in late June and there are a few places I've researched and planned routes for. In fact there will be four principal rides, with Debbie opting to do the hardest one, in the mountains of Wales.
She'll ride an old mountain bike that our grandson has been using for the last couple of years. It inevitably needs some attention: the rear brake is ineffective and the rim looks to be worn out. There's a puncture to fix and a new tube sorts that out soon enough. Fitting a rear rack and bar-bag can wait. There's also a Brooks seat at Dave's that I'll put on.
In the afternoon, we walk over to the village playing field as the centre is holding a jamboree fund-raiser for the local cricket teams. Ruby and Alan, my son-in-law, both play, as do the two boys. I end up winning a huge box of biscuits.
| Heart | 3 | Comment | 0 | Link |
| Heart | 3 | Comment | 0 | Link |
| Heart | 2 | Comment | 0 | Link |
My bike has been stored at my brother's house and I know there are a few things to do to it... things that need changing
Once it's at Dave's, I fit some tyres I'd got on ebay a while ago. This is a real pain. Ironcally, one of the reasons I decided to change them was the old ones were really hard to remove. These new ones may be even more difficult. The hubs on both wheels are dodgy, with the rear one seemingly kaput. I call a local bike shop and he says he can sort the hubs out and advises on fitting cheap tyres. Dave kindly drops them off and brings them back later in the day. The tyres are very knobbly, but they'll do.
I've an old-stock Cannondale bar-bag to fit and a Brooks seat, plus a pair of flat, second-hand Shimano pedals to replace the SPDs - I no longer have clip-in shoes and will just ride in a pair of Clarks that look the part (all eBay purchases).
My first ride will be north to York to visit my son.
Today's ride: 50 km (31 miles)
Total: 50 km (31 miles)
| Rate this entry's writing | Heart | 8 |
| Comment on this entry | Comment | 0 |