A lovely ride in the sunshine was enjoyed by the Family Welsh today as we cycled from home in Padiham to Cafe Cargo in Foulridge along the canal for lunch before returning home the same way. A reasonable 30 miles which when multiplied gives us 120 towards the Round The World total. We considered docking miles off Evan for those moments when he was merely a passenger on the tagalong, however his protests and suggestion that he'd done all the pedalling at times saw no such penalty imposed.
Unfortunately my attempts to make it to the top of the exit ramp at Gannow tunnel resulted in a snapped chain which may just possibly be why Shimano suggest you use a new joining pin when you split the chain - whoops! Anyway, we were then faced with a walk/push to Gannow Top before freewheeling into Burnley to get to On Yer Bike for running repairs. Getting there at 11am left us with the dilemma of how to fill 30 minutes before they opened, so after a short debate we settled on Rhode Island Coffee House for a particularly fine latte. Back to the bike shop and my request for a new chain was quickly met with an equally quick request for £20. My subsequent request for them to fit it, which thanks to the glaring omission of a chain tool was met by their poker-faced request for a further £7.50, representing their minimum labour charge. My look of astonishment, combined with Helen's look of intent as to how to investigate where to store a mini-pump, held no sway and so 90 seconds later, once installed, we left the shop looking more broken than the chain and as deflated as a snake-bitten innertube. I must have spent over £3k in that shop over the last 5 years and that may very well be the last £27.50 they'll ever have off me.
Having seen my wallet completely emptied, and without a card to back us up we detoured via Lomeshaye village and through the park to Helen's mum for an emergency loan from the bottom of the sock-drawer in order to enable a family lunch purchase.
Back on track we motored along to Foulridge, enjoying the off-road trail as the handling characteristics if my new cyclo-cross bike were investigated. I can't wait to have a proper play without dragging Welsh Junior behind me. A lovely lunch was denied by the dawning realisation that Grandma has supplied sufficient cash for food, but not enough for the 2 pints of Black Sheep we had our eyes on. Denied!
The return home was as uneventful as an uneventful thing on its day off, until Helen announced that her knee was giving her considerable grief. Unqualified physiotherapist as I am I immediately diagnosed an ITB issue and prescribed a stretching regime to commence at once. Sceptical looks went ignored, as to be fair to the little grunts and occasional squeals of pain until we got home and Helen attacked the ibuprofen tablets and gel. I write this ad she sits in wonder at the loss of feeling in her hand. Note to Helen, don't forget to wash your hand after applying ibuprofen gel!
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