Bicycle Maintenance Friday August 27 2010

A big thank you to Emma and Cycle Shrewsbury for arranging a bicycle maintenance session. Under the expert guidance of Tom (a cycling officer from Herefordshire) I took both wheels off my bicycle, took an inner tube out, put it back in again (having 'repaired' the imaginery puncture), put the wheels back on and adjusted the chain! Tom also went through routine maintenance and showed me what 'those bits of silver wire' were for! (brake pad adjusting). A small step for many but a giant step for me! I feel more confident now cycling on my own but I think I will have to put a stirrup pump on my Christmas list!

Trip 7 – Thursday 19 August 2010

After an enforced rest of 2 weeks I am back on the road. A hospital procedure to have fluid drained from a very swollen knee and a steroid injection has put me back in the saddle again! Cautiously I decided to join up the two parts of the cycleway from Warton to Kirkham – a very flat (and somewhat uninteresting) ride through industrial estates and past the prison! I cycled from St Anne’s to Route 90, carried on in the opposite direction from my starting point on Trip 1 and with a slight detour (where did the signs go?) arrived in Kirham. The plan was to be collected from there (in view of the knee) but as it was so flat, I decided to cycle back on Route 62 – in the rain for the last few miles. Nothing even worthy of a photograph, with a gentle, flat and uninteresting 21.88 miles cycled.

Trip 6 – Monday 2 August 2010

A drive back to Cockerham today with cycling buddy Lyndsey for a flat ride to Little Eccleston. This part of Route 90 is the flattest (and most uninteresting) as the black soil of the reclaimed moss lands stretches for miles with the Bowland fells only just visible on the skyline. We paid our 10p to cross the River Wyre at Cartford Bridge and cycled into the car park of The Cartford Hotel for lunch. Finding it closed on Mondays, we decided to cycle the uphill mile to Great Eccleston where we discovered one pub closed and one pub not serving lunch! There was no alternative but to have a glass of wine, fish and chips (good quality and extremely popular) and another glass of wine before getting back on our bicycles and freewheeling back to the toll bridge. Not wanting to retrace our tracks completely, we decided to cycle on the towpath of the Lancashire Canal (have since found out that cycling is prohibited on the canal path south of Lancaster!). The path was mostly grass and extremely hard work so we were glad to rejoin the road just south of Cockerham. Another couple of miles and we arrived back at the car - 22.89 miles today.

Trip 5 – Sunday 1 August 2010

After driving to Cockerham, I started the cycle to Halton – a short stage of Route 90, with John agreeing to meet me in the Crock O’Lune car park. The view of the Lakeland panorama was truly breathtaking, as were some of the gradients! Pleasant cycling on quiet roads, apart from the large number of lamberetta riders and cyclists all out for a morning ride. The white topped buildings of The University of Lancaster peeped over the horizon (apparently designed to create an impression of an Italian hill town!) as I cycled into the village of Quernmore and a very long descent! In Caton, I joined a cycle-path to the very beautiful Crock O’Lune picnic area and car park where I found John drinking coffee and reading the Sunday paper! It was a quick change out of my cycling clothes and a short drive to nearby Morecambe where we had lunch and a walk to see the Eric Morecambe statue. A lovely day out with just 12.38 miles cycled.

Trip 4 - Thursday 29 July 2010

After cycling 9 miles back to my last finishing point, I rejoined Route 90 and headed for Longridge where I cycled through the busy Friday morning traffic then back onto the quieter country roads and into the pretty village of Ribchester. After a quick look at the remains of a Roman fort and a short rest by the river, it was back on the quiet roads to enjoy the view of Pendle Hill and the Ribble valley. Approaching Whalley there were more great views - of the 49 arched railway viaduct and of Whalley Abbey. A picnic in the park and indecision – should I cycle back to Preston and the car or continue on Route 90? Still early in the day and feeling refreshed, I decided to continue on the route to Waddington. All was going well and I was enjoying the ride through picturesque villages and over rivers when a combination of poor cycle path signposting and some kind sole turning the finger post by 45° sent me in the wrong direction for a couple of miles – extremely irritating! Finally back on the route I reached Waddington and decided to turn left and head back towards Preston via Longridge. Still enjoying the ride (thighs aching a bit though!) I came to a junction which signposted Longridge to the right 8 miles or to the left 6 miles – no contest, I took the shorter route. This is where I realised my failings - in map reading and in reading ‘The Comprehensive Guide to the Lancashire Cycleway’. The Longridge Fell is a 1:7 hill described in the book as ‘the steep, dark edge’ and marked on the map with little black arrows! After an hour of pushing my bicycle up the hill I reached the viewpoint at the top, almost too exhausted to enjoy the far reaching views! At last, back in the saddle and hitting 32mph going down the other side of the hill, I cycled into Longridge where I was met by John and the car. A staggering 39.15miles today – phew!