We’re just waiting now for the contractions to get a little stronger…a bit more frequent…then we’re off back to the hospital.

Stay tuned for baby news, readers.

Many people who I ride with take the piss out of the vast contents of my Camelbak. I do carry a lot of kit – a bag of brake pads for 4 different types of brake, so I’m not having to remember which pads I need to take on a long ride depending on the bike I’m taking. A pair of pliers. A waterproof. Food. Tools. Tubes. Energy bars. Patch kit. Zip ties. First Aid kit (a little bag of plasters in reality). Shock pump. Tyre pump. Spare chain links. Camera. Lube. Tyre levers. LED backup lights. Spare battery for the HIDs on nightrides. Some gaffer tape.

Every now and then, some of this stuff comes in handy. Like the time I had to rebuild my front brake at the opposite end of the Mary Townley Loop. Or when I gave an energy bar to the bloke who was lying down at the side of the Penmachno trail, apparently dying of hunger. You’re better off with than without I reckon.

This morning, I noticed a bubble on the sidewall of my rear tyre. The sidewall of the tyre had been ripped, exposing a bubble of inner tube that was slowly expanding in size. At first, I thought that I’d been hard done by – “I’ve only had it for 10 minutes” kind of thing. Then I remembered the abuse this tyre has had. Glentress, Innerleithen, Garburn Pass, Welsh slate, Pennine slabs…you name it, I’ve hit it at full pelt on the Patriot. Feeling better, I thought I’d better think about a bodge to get me home. Gaffer tape. I’ve got some 🙂

I’m a feckin genius.

We went into Manchester the other night to meet up with Gaz and a few others. He’s back in the UK for a few days to see his poorly Dad. All that stress-free work, drinking coffee and walking about in A Nice Place is clearly taking it’s toll. I’ve never seen him so laid-back. Even though Garry’s been in Canada for 12 months, due to the Internet, it’s like he’s never been away.

This Indian we went to had a buffet – eat as much as you want for a tenner. I was trying to get myself banned (or put the place out of business). God knows how I made it to the car.

short (to medium) ride tonight on the SS, up to Hurst Wood, down to Outwood Park (still some tape left from the ‘cross race last weekend) and up and down some muddy stuff. There was a group of a dozen or so riders in the woods, all with mega bright and presumably very expensive lights. Presumably a bike shop marketing “try a set of lights” ride as none of them seemed to be talking or riding close together; like they were all punters who didn’t know each other in fact.

At a bridge, the leading riders had stopped and were counting the rest of them. I was in the middle of the group at this point (I even did a “on yer left” whilst overtaking one lad) and got counted! I was number 7 apparently. Obviously I explained I was a free man, and not a number….

Went for a road ride last night over to Macclesfield to meet Deb. The weather was grim so I decided against going the long way round (via Hayfield) and instead went straight through Manchester and through Cheadle. It’s a good route this, there’s plenty of mad drivers in the City Centre to shout at, loads of traffic lights to race against and plenty of ups and downs to provide a bit of a challenge.
The traffic in some places was a nightmare. Normally no problem on a bicycle, but everyone seemed to be crawling along in their cars as close to the kerb as possible. I was on the pavement a few times just to get safely to the front of the queue. The fumes were pretty bad too – there was no wind last night so I was riding slowly through a thick mist of carbon monoxide. That can’t have done me much good.
The parts without traffic jams though were pretty good. Ride as fast as possible, sprinting through each green traffic light until legs and lungs are saved by a red light. As soon as it goes green, sprint, sprint, sprint to the next set. Once in Cheadle, there are less traffic lights, less cars and less mongy looking people, so it’s a bit more relaxed. Then I hit the road to Prestbury that hasn’t got any street lighting. I’d fitted an LED cluster to my Lumicycle lamp last week and this was the first time I’d used it. It’s fine in well-lit areas but on this road it’s utter pants. I could hardly see anything at all and predictably hit a small pothole. A bit further on my front tyre burst with a loud POP and HISSSSSS.

Luckily, I was only a quarter mile from Deb’s mum’s place so just walked. I wouldn’t have been happy about that happening earlier on though – fixing a tyre at the side of the road in Burnage isn’t my idea of a good ride.