Well, Sheila and Grace were off to Tatton Hall for a picnic with Rebecca, Rachel and Frankie and Sheila suggested I cycle which was a neat idea and gave me a chance to try out my new 3/4 quarter cycling shorts which later received admiring comments from Rebecca.
So back along the canal from Stechford through Altincham past Dunham Massey then yellow roads to Tatton, about 14 miles which I did in an hour and a half. I saw a swan's nest on the canal bank with a swan on it then later a swan fly about 3 feet above the canal right by and not unfriendly.
So I arrived at Tatton pleased with myself only to get a puncture. After a picnic lunch I attempted to repair the puncture. I could hear the air coming out but with the noise of all the children in the playgound I could not locate it. Sheila thought she could identify it but I could no longer hear the noise of the escaping air. Then I noticed the valve was lose. I tightened it and pump up the tube and all seemed OK. I replaced the tube pumped it up good.
I was about to set off back home a few minutes later when I discovered that I had a flat tyre again. Robert Pirsig writes about these kind of happening in his classic book Zen and the Art of Motor Cycle Maintenance - if you have not read it do. He talks about losing 'gumption' in these kind of situation and getting into destructive patterns.
Punctures fall into two classes in my experience easy to fix and those that are a swine. I got a lift home for me and my bike with Sheila. Once I got home I was all set with a bowl of water to immerse the inner tube in when I hear the sound of escaping air again and this time I am easily able to locate the puncture and patch it. A few minutes later I am off to
the local bookshop on my bike. Everything OK.
Mynew 3/4 shorts were a treat, it was great to be on the bike again on a warm spring day.
Best to all,
Bill on bike
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