Well i'm home now after a long tiring trip home!
To be honest it's not been so bad. I started the day with more goodbyes - Martin who was heading back to Germany and the excellent B&B we stayed in - not before another excellent breakfast to set up the day.
Ang convinced me not to ride back to Bristol - I compromised by buying a ticket for Bath! Of course i had a bit of extra time on my hands so i took the chance to visit Poundbury hillfort and catch up on a few pictures around Dorchester before my mid morning departure.
Two hours later i clambered off the train with Foxy into a busy but damp Bath(!) so rather than hang about getting wet i found my way onto the UK's first dedicated bike route using disused railways - the Bristol Bath Bike Path. Due to its heritage it is at least pretty flat!
As i reached the Avon Valley Railway which shares a short stretch of the route the heavens opened so i took shelter and lunch in a converted railway carriage! It had eased a little by the time the Lasagne was finished so i pushed on towards Bristol still some 10 miles away.
It dried up and i was enjoying the ride until a loud retort from Foxy's rear announced a spoke failure. Well not the end of the world if i'm careful but literally a couple of hundred metres further on the front tyre deflated and my ride was over. Well it didn't have to be but by my calculations i was about an hours walk from my destination so thats what i did.
Once at Bristol station Foxy quickly assumed the folded position then it was a wait for our train north. So here i am at home, sad, light of purse but happy! Until next time.
ttfn
Mads
Comments
I'm glad
you got home safe and sound, eventually.
Angharad
Angharad
Glad you got home.
Hi Maddy.
Sorry I had to leave you all at Corfe Castle but needs must when RL intervenes. (Son got a new job! His mum wanted to mother him so there we are.)
Glad you got home but pity your wheel threw a wobbly. Yes the B&B was superb and I wish I could have stayed until Monday. (Next time I will!) If you've got any piccies of us as a crowd, I'd like to see them.
Until the next time.
Hugs.
Bev.
(Growing old disgracefully.)
24 inch gear
In my cycling writngs, I always stress that walking is no crime. After all, the whole thing is to be human powered. But I DO prefer to ride....
It's rare
for me to resort to walking, in this case i just couldn't be bothered to do the repair and i had loads of time.
I NEVER walk up hills on principal - Foxy has a 21" bottom gear - i'm reserving the lower options for my dotage!
Mads
Madeline Anafrid Bell
Gears
The lowest gear is ALWAYS 24 inches.....
Not true
The bottom gear on the tandem is 48 inches ie four feet :) Actually the real bottom gear on the tandem is (blush) 22x34 which with 26" wheels equates to a ridiculous gear of 17". Lo, how the mighty are fallen. We almost never needed anything lower than 42x28 (40") on our old tandem. Even on granny gear we got up everything (even in the Lakes or mid-Wales) on 30x28 (29") with luggage.
Getting old and decrepit is no joke :(
Robi
Joke
And recycling old ones is? As a full-load masochist, I have no shame. I will get there when I arrive.
Depends
on your load. I found my 21" (26x29 on 520c)was just right down in the Alps with a fully loaded Foxy. However my full load (camping kit, clothes, bedding etc) weighed - according to the airline, 13kg and Foxy is a gravity defying 10kg-ish!
The worst climbs were often 1 in 4/ 1 in 5 for several kilometres - one even included single track tunnels! Not that i want to make it sound hard work!
Madeline Anafrid Bell