Distance-
76Miles Ave Speed - 16.4 ave
At Withys where Gethin, Jose, Rick and myself. It was
bloomin' cold and seemed to get colder as the day wore on. Two of the Withys
Wobblers tagged along and sat on for a bit, turning off to go over Quernmore.
(None of the rest of the Withys lot turned up: wimps!)
We headed up the A6 at a brisk pace to Galgate and then over Galgate and
through some lumpy lanes to Ingleton. Dodgy and Rick had a touch of wheels
but managed to stay upright, other than this and the fleeing cold all was
going well.
An ace cafe stop (Beetham beating) at the Copper Kettle in Ingleton followed
but was marred when the Butler announced that we would be coming home over
Lamb & Tatham Fell to a general shocked silence, except for myself who was
whinging like a scared child.
On leaving the Cafe Rick was suffering from a bad case of cafe legs and
dangling off the back but recoverd the main group just as the attack on Lamb
& Tatham began in ernest. Gethin led the way with Jose hanging on, Rick
began to lose the wheel and it was at this point that the first KABOOM of
the day occurred, El Dodges legs exploding in magnificent fashion, followed
by a long grovel to the top.
Gethin was first over the top followed by a latterly dropped Jose then Rick
a bit further back and Le Dodgster way behind. Gethin waited at the top
(thanks) while Jose and Rick were tackling the icy descent.
Some 'Oh my God, I'm gonna die' descending led to a bit of a reordering by
the bottom of the descent, with a resurgent Dodge heading the way followed
by Gethin, then Jose and Rick.
We regrouped at Slaidburn and set off into a nagging headwind for the final
leg.
Gethin was looking serene but possibly a little tired underneath it all,
Rick seemed a bit ropy, Le Dodge was pretending to be ok but Jose was about
to undergo a 'Nuclear Kaboom' of historic proportions. The 20 yard climb of
Dunsop bridge proved the last straw and Jose cracked with bits of leg and
bike flying everywhere (a truly gory scene I'm sure you'll agree.)
From this point on we pottered back to Preston, the once proud and powerful
Wheelers now a truly shambolic sight for all to behold (oh yeah and now it
began to rain:Thanks God!).
This was an epic ride on a horrible day and I'd like to thank the others for
a great day out in spite of much suffering along the way.
