Ok so tonight we have a tale of misfortune and surprising preparedness which frankly was a bit of a surprise. Numbers were short this evening as the three musketeers; Frank, Jonesy and Beans left the shop to meet Matthew and I in Rothwell. I had a quick spin to warm up as I discovered before that joining others 'cold' is a bad plan.
We rode well up to Harrington and then on the Lamport straight Jonesy noticed that Darren had an issue with a very buckled wheel. We stopped and as I had one I handed the beans my spoke key. I asked if there was an obvious loose spoke but he can't have heard me because five minutes of spoke nipple twiddling ensued. I then enquired again if there was an obvious loose spoke and Darren was suddenly holding a broken spoke. Oh yeah there's one, it's a tad obvious! What happened next is just brilliant. Moments earlier I remarked "that's lovely new yellow bar tape, it would be a shame if something were to happen to it!" Beans looked at his now oily hands in horror. Oh dear Darren looks like that tapes about to get grimy...
Nipple twiddling plus look at that pristine canary yellow bar tape
Oh contraire mes Amis! Darren produced some vinyl gloves, which he carries for je ne sais quois! He popped them on and announced they'd be all the rage for the tour, just watch Chris Froome apparently. So Darren limped off and the four of us forged on.
Like all good manservants Beans carries a gentleman's essentials
I enjoyed the rest of the ride, great blokes, good cycling. The average was ok and if you look at the segments we tore it up in places. Lots of PRs this evening which is always a good sign.
Another issue this evening is that I once again am guilty of listening to other cyclists. This time it was a comment on road cc about typical sportive riders with their arms held straight and rigid, sitting upright. Apparently real cyclists bend their elbows and and backs into their work. So guess what? I gave it a go, bending my elbows and back at every opportunity. What difference did it make? Jack all probably but hey I'm easily influenced.
The last mention of the night goes to Matthew who joined us to help his training for the Nottingham marathon. In six weeks he will attempt a 2.5 mile swim, 112 mile cycle and a marathon, al of which needs to be completed in under 17 hours. I'm knackered just thinking about it. Anyway good luck Matthew and 'Kia Kaha' - be strong!
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