Here's a tale from me, not on Phil's epic scale I must admit. I've not been out much with the club lately, this is because I decided to go for a Brazier serious record of over 20,000 miles in 2007, all has been going well with monthly totals of over 2000 in March and April, but I hit problems this month with a combination of work, weather and running a cycling holiday week for a group who went out for less than 50 miles a day!

 

Short of miles last Tuesday, I decided to go for a big day ride to Foxton locks in Leicestershire, returning to Moreton In Marsh for a pint and the train back at 20.00 pm, thats about 170 miles. Leaving home early and with a good tailwind, at 8.15 heading through the Bredon villages I noticed that clickety click from the rear wheel, loose spoke I thought, at Dumbleton I propped the Longstaff against the church wall and got the minimalist tool kit out to get the spoke key, oh no its not there never mind I'll just ignore it until I get home. As I was about to get back on the bike, I noticed the tear in the rim just like Phil's, in fact so similar it could be mine, Gatorskin tyres, and my rim an Open Pro CD rim supposedly the best, double eyelets and all that baloney!!

 

So instead of Foxton it's back home with another 50 mile day to get a new rim, but counting my blessings because only the previous week Anne and I had ridden back from Liskeard in Cornwall in crap weather fully loaded, a split rim on Dartmoor would not I think have led to our rescue by helicopter like the Ten Tors crowd a couple of days before!

 

A very cautious ride back through Wormington, Hinton X and Elmley, every pot hole and bump was a nervy moment I can tell you as I have seen wheels explode under pressure in these situations, indeed a pal ended up with a bad cut leg from a metal shard; anyway at Pershore, at 9.30, I decided on the spur of the moment to call in at Echelon to see if I could buy a new wheel off Tim. What a fantastic chap, within minutes he had removed the back wheel, loaned me a spare, and organised to rebuild the wheel with a new rim. So instead of going home, I headed back east, got as far as Ashby St Ledgers in Northants before turning, managed to cover 155 miles that day thanks to Tim Wood. I would commend other members of the club to support Tim, I shall certainly be in there again.

 

And the May mileage, there is one day left and I am on 1991, it looks in the bag for 3 consecutive months of 2000 miles. Don't think I'll try and do it again in June, I am absolutely knackered.