We stayed at a lovely B&B on the square in Broughton and had an outstanding meal at one of the local pubs. So in a way I was glad that the broken spokes had given us the opportunity to spend a little time in a village that otherwise we would have passed by. More importantly for our timetable we saw an advert for a mobile cycle repair man.
Jon, who runs Cyclewright South Lakes, came out first thing the following morning and although he didn't have any of the special short spokes required on our wheel, he managed to get us on the road again. We jumped on the bike and bashed out the 17 miles or so to Wasdale Youth Hostel, where we dropped off most of our gear and then headed up the valley to climb Scafell Pike. Up and down in under four hours, with the sun out, and a well deserved beer afterwards.
On the way back from the climb, despite Jon's best efforts, the wheel had developed a severe wobble. The plan from here was to carry on along our route while Jon waited for new spokes to be delivered so that he could rebuild the wheel. So come the morning Captain Cowboy here decided to have a go at strightening the wheel himself. 20 minutes of bodging later and we were ready to head off. I was fully confident that my repair would probably last all the way to John O'Groats, Den was less so.
So just under 20 miles later we pulled over having broken 3 spokes, likely caused by my over tensioning them and sat down for lunch. Fortunately, Jon phoned 5 minutes later to say that the spokes had arrived and he would be over to do a proper repair.
It took about 3 hours to completely rebuild the wheel with new spokes, so we were a little behind schedule, so we pressed on. By the evening we had got as far as Cockermouth YHA. We had supposed to be at Carlisle, so only a few miles behind plan.
This morning we had a fairly early start, and headed North as quickly as we could as we were playing catch up. We made it over the border and into Gretna, where we posted a pile of our used maps home in order to save some wait. Pedalled for a few miles more and stopped for lunch at a pub. The landlord remarked that we'd be likely to get a soaking in the afternoon, and was quickly proved right as we headed further into Dumfries and Galloway. By the time we'd clocked up 75 miles we were both very wet indeed and decided that now was a good time to look for a place to stay for the night. A few miles later a B&B sign hoved into sight through the lashing rain. So now for a nice warm shower.
Jon, who runs Cyclewright South Lakes, came out first thing the following morning and although he didn't have any of the special short spokes required on our wheel, he managed to get us on the road again. We jumped on the bike and bashed out the 17 miles or so to Wasdale Youth Hostel, where we dropped off most of our gear and then headed up the valley to climb Scafell Pike. Up and down in under four hours, with the sun out, and a well deserved beer afterwards.
On the way back from the climb, despite Jon's best efforts, the wheel had developed a severe wobble. The plan from here was to carry on along our route while Jon waited for new spokes to be delivered so that he could rebuild the wheel. So come the morning Captain Cowboy here decided to have a go at strightening the wheel himself. 20 minutes of bodging later and we were ready to head off. I was fully confident that my repair would probably last all the way to John O'Groats, Den was less so.
So just under 20 miles later we pulled over having broken 3 spokes, likely caused by my over tensioning them and sat down for lunch. Fortunately, Jon phoned 5 minutes later to say that the spokes had arrived and he would be over to do a proper repair.
It took about 3 hours to completely rebuild the wheel with new spokes, so we were a little behind schedule, so we pressed on. By the evening we had got as far as Cockermouth YHA. We had supposed to be at Carlisle, so only a few miles behind plan.
This morning we had a fairly early start, and headed North as quickly as we could as we were playing catch up. We made it over the border and into Gretna, where we posted a pile of our used maps home in order to save some wait. Pedalled for a few miles more and stopped for lunch at a pub. The landlord remarked that we'd be likely to get a soaking in the afternoon, and was quickly proved right as we headed further into Dumfries and Galloway. By the time we'd clocked up 75 miles we were both very wet indeed and decided that now was a good time to look for a place to stay for the night. A few miles later a B&B sign hoved into sight through the lashing rain. So now for a nice warm shower.
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