the heat must have gotten to me ride

Untitled, a photo by rOcKeTdOgUk on Flickr.

with an important stage on the Tour de France looming i wanted to get a ride in but have time to get back to watch the TV coverage, after a couple of days of rides I was also feeling it in my legs so i decided to head to dickens Heath and the North Stratford canal, there was the little matter of Weather oak hill to negotiate first but it wasn't too bad coming early in the ride. Onto the canal and i was thinking I'd head for a sign that I've spotted on other rides and that sign was advertising a bakery "only 100 yards from this sign" duly found I popped in and was confronted by a dazzling array of cakes, some very "Gateaux" and fancy, some plain, fancy cakes are difficult to carry on the bike so i plumped for an eccles cake. As i pulled away from the shop i noticed I had neglected to add my saddle pack with spare inner tube and tyre levers before leaving, disaster! If i got a puncture now it was a 13.5 mile walk home! sods law would kick in and despite not having a flat for months I was bound to have one now. As i shook my head at my stupidity I noticed a sign saying that the local town was 3 miles away and I know there is a bike shop there. The only solution is to ride there and buy a tube and levers. After 2.75 miles i suddenly thought to check i had my wallet, completely forgetting I'd used it at the shop, as i fumbled in the "tank bag" that I had fitted before riding my hand brushed against the tube i carry in it.....hang on, WTF?? I had a tube all along! i think the sun had affected my brain, i really don't know what i was thinking, madness!
So back to the tranquillity of the canal having added an unnecessary 6 miles, time to eat the cake. Sadly it was probably the worst eccles I've ever had, hard thick pastry instead of crumbly, no crunchy topping and no juicy fruit with just the right amount of grease to moisten it, it was pretty substandard which was a shame as the shop showed great promise. The next disaster was that the route i wanted to take was closed due to a road traffic accident and I had to take a big detour to get back on track. the only good things to happen was the Heron at Earlswood lakes and the fact i got back in time for the Tour stage. Quite an eventful time for what was supposed to be a quite ride
rode 88
34 miles
total 1815
july 200
commute 817