Well, here's a brief report of todays festivities.

I woke at 7.30am and told Mrs Dodge I wasn't going as the weather looked most inclement . At 8.10am it had brightened up so I dragged the old bones out of bed and got ready in a rush . At Withys were Ric, Matt Hoyles, Paul Fleming, Gethin, Gary Brown, Robin Brennan and yours truly.

Asked where we were heading Gethin uttered two of my least favourite words, one being Lamb the other being Tatham. So under clear blue skies with a glorious tail wind off we toddled. Out through Grimsargh & Longridge, on the climb towards Chaigley Robin suffered the first of a quadruplet of punctures (more of that later). Master Ric and young Sir Hoyles at this point announced that they weren't up for all the fun and would be turning off soon for tea and cakes at Chipping with a pootle home afterwards, this meant I would be left on my own with people who all looked suspiciously fitter than myself (Bugger!).

We headed out to Whitewell and Dunsop Bridge then onto Newton and the nasty knock out of the back of it, I commented that I hate that one cause it's 'short & vicious', Gethin asked if I was talking about Robin. For the first, but sadly not last, time I was soon off ther back rejoining the group just as we turned onto the dreaded Lamb & Tatham road . The lads stopped for a pee but I trundled on in the hope that I might get to the main climb a bit ahead, however I was rejoined just a mile before the climb, the wind was now absolutely howling, more cross than tail and I was immediately off the back, to add to the joy it now started to rain really hard, I got to the top about three minutes down on Gethin et al where they'd waited (thank you). Gethin said the ride to Ingleton was off as the weather was kack and we'd have more than enough head wind to deal with if we cut left and dropped into Wray.

Well it was jolly nice when we turned left, descending precariously into the gale with raindrops like bullets trying to flay the skin off your face, Robin commented that tea and cakes in warm cafe at Chipping was probably rubbish and that there was nowhere he'd rather be than trying hard to stay upright while freezing rain took his face off on the top of Lamb and Tatham. Oddly enough, I thought the precise opposite.

We battled our way intgo the jaws of the wind down to Caton where Paul turned off mistakenly thinking we were going to a cafe but in fact Gethin was taking us down a pan flat, wind sheltered cycle path that brought us out in the middle of Lancaster (job's a carrot GB). It was in the middle of Lancaster that Robin suffered punctures 2, 3 & 4 , the less said about this episode the better I think. From here we had a horrible run down the A6 (none of us wanted to do anything scenic, we just wanted to get home) into the wind. GB was a total hero doing the whole thing on the front while Robin, Gary & myself sat miserably behind him.

Passing Barton Grange we could see riders ahead whom we rapidly overhauledand despatched, GB commenting that just when you think you're going really slowly along come the Ribble Valley to make you feel better

75 nasty miles, average 16.9mph.