As you can see from the title, there’s a variety of topics to discuss from last week. Starting with a gruelling 50 miler on Sunday the 8th – the longest stint so far
Luckily, there was no real wind about, and we were blessed with continuous glorious sunshine, with the only real drawback, a rise in the amount of rambler type people we encountered throughout the day
Ste did find time to comment between his Maximuscle Viper Bars and Lucozade the rather alarming number of ramblers who seem to feel the need to traipse around the North West with open mouths and vacant expressions – it’s fair to say we all agreed with this observation.
The point, did however remind me of a piece of advice that was given to me a long time ago by a former colleague, the notorious Norman George Jackson – (creator of the automatic motor bike gear changer). His advice, succinct as ever, was as follows:
‘No matter what, never ever trust a person who stands around with their mouth open’
I mean, you just can buy that kind of advice.
Laughs aside, the 50 miles was hard going, not forgetting the unfortunate puncture incident in Ormskirk, though with a bit of rapid thinking and the use of the magic Piccolo Pump we managed to fashion a quick repair before going on our way.
For whatever reason, Sunday just seemed to stretch out forever. It was only when we stopped to take the last of our drinks we noticed the Lengthening shadows on the ground and realised we’d been out for over 6 hours, we had 5 miles to go and that the weekend was pretty much over!
The 50 miles, as with everything did come at a price, as even a severe dose of Merry down failed to ease the rectal aching on Sunday evening, and there are strong rumours circulating that Kevin spent 2 days on his iron lung.
Following the big 50, we decided to take on some alternative training, so we packed up our ‘jib sticks’ (Urban Dictionary Required) and headed off to the Chill Factore for a days boarding on the indoor slopes. There’s something strange about been in Manchester playing in the snow in the middle of June. It did afford us the chance to loosen up though, and take a look in one or two bike shops for some suitable attire, though the Borat shorts were one step too far.
The final chapter of the week 14th took place, with a spot of off road biking around Carr Mill Dam and Billinge, with refreshments taken at the Mason’s Arms. All in all, for a quick session it was quite eventful, with everyone covered in nettle stings and scratches and Kevin demonstrating how to do an emergency high speed dismount – he took it well all things considered.
Here’s hoping all weeks from here on in are just as eventful.
Till next time….
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