For once, I managed to make my train with more than moments to spare - a moment of triumph marred only when I my hip flask was still sitting on the kitchen worktop. Arse! But since Adrian never reminded me to bring it, even when I asked, obviously it's his fault. Not my own absent mindedness. Definitely.
On arrival at Manchester, I soon spied where everyone else was from the large collection of bikes visible on the mezzanine level.
X Bike marks the spot... A pleasant hour followed meeting people I hadn't seen in far too long, even User482, who indulged in some gentle mockery over the magnificent array of lights adorning my bike.
Our triumphant departure from the town hall was marred only by the discovery that my Philips Saferide 80 was refusing to work. Arse! But that,
@User482, is exactly why I had three lights - the failure of one makes for a minor irritation rather than a major inconvenience.
The last time I was on this ride, it had been raining so hard it was difficult to even see the road ahead, so it was a new and pleasant experience to be able to see more than a river flowing down the road. And, yes, there were hills, but they seemed to be more steady climbs rather than steep shocks. With a reasonably small group, we managed to make good progress so it seemed no time at all until we were at the top of the moors looking down on the lights of Blackburn.
Therein followed a triumphant sweeping descent.... marred only by *click* *click* *
crunch* - hmm changing gear isn't supposed to sound like
that. Arse. Snapped gear cable. Even with the help of Adam, and someone who I'd only met a couple of hours previously (sorry I can't even remember your name, but many thanks) - a perfect illustration of the spirit of the FNRttC - it rapidly became very obvious that this was beyond any mere multitool, brute force and swearing. Arse. But some expert bodging by Adam meant at least I was in a half sensible gear rather than a show-stoppingly useless one.
My earworm for the night was Ladytron's
Destroy Everything You Touch. Funnily enough.
The default recourse to sweary cycling helped rather to get me through the rest of the night, though seeing signs for Preston were all too tempting as a bailout option. Still, the skies cleared, revealing Jupiter, Venus and Mars in splendid conjunction - that helped, as did the support from everyone else. Though i will confess that my heart sank on mention of the coastal path, it turned out not to be the Sustrans bog that I feared, and was a far more pleasant route into Lancaster than the road option.
Morecambe, when we arrived almost dead on the predicted 8am, rewarded us with a marvellous view of the Lake District. Breakfast and beers followed in Lancaster, but it seemed no time at all before everyone had to leave and catch trains. Soon it was just Andrew Br myself left. Sorry I couldn't hang around longer, Andrew, but I still had a long journey ahead myself and delaying it would only have made things more difficult.
Whilst it may seem unwise to tackle riding back to Preston with a less than well bike, well it was a nice, sunny afternoon and it's mostly flat. So who needs gears anyway? Besides, I'd spent a good chunk of Friday afternoon planning a route (in lieu of Doing Science) so it would have been a waste not to... Indeed, cyclist and bike were holding up quite nicely by the time I got to Preston, and it would of been almost an hour to wait for the next Ormskirk train, so it seemed rude not to press on. And it's flat over there anyway, right? So who needs gears?
Well, almost flat. There were a few unexpectedly gratuitous hills in the last few miles, and missing a turn meant a few extra miles, but three hours and 44 miles from Lancaster I spotted a sign for the station. Hooray!
So, 115 miles from Manchester, mostly on two speeds. And I'm still tired, my legs still ache, the Philips light's looking rather terminal and I haven't even dared look at the bike yet.
Clearly I need to not leave it a year before doing my next FNRttC.
Thank you Adam, chap with gear cable, and most especially Andrew Br. I'm glad I joined.