February 9, 2012
Train north to Saxilby in Lincolnshire
Somerset can wait
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It's great to get a new bike, even though most of the parts have come off my old Brodie. Primary yellow, the frame gleams and I hate the though of getting it mucked up in the rainy conditions outside St John Street Cycles, which is ridiculous considering what the Brodie has been through over the years. I can't help but wonder how long it'll be before there's a nasty scratch across the top tube.
It feels lively; more responsive; which I hadn't expected. Fitted with the same handlebar, I'm glad to have the width and control, while the Rohloff hub gear changes smoothly and contrasts with my worn-out derailleur and chain, which had started to crunch and slip.
It just ironic that it'll be going to Taiwan, where it was made. I've got the VAT forms completed, ready to be stamped at the airport for when I flew home in July, so the tax gets returned.
It would have been better to have ridden up on to Exmoor, but with rain falling, I simply head to the train station at the end of the street. A return ticket costs only two quid more than a one-way one, which is 83 pounds for the five-hour trip to Lincolnshire, so that's what I get and say to myself I'll be back within a month to ride around Somerset... once the weather has improved.
A young German guy, Lars, who I chatted to outside the bike shop is getting the same train. It seems - based on my time there - that a lot of Thorn bikes end up overseas and Lars says they're cheaper than the German bikes with S/S couplings, and I guess that includes traveling to check the Thorns out.
It's still raining when the train stops at Saxilby station, a handful of miles outside Lincoln, and my daughter's house on a street called The Sidings basically backs onto the tracks. I don't even get on my new bike and ride, it's that close.
Today's ride: 1 km (1 miles)
Total: 2,707 km (1,681 miles)
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