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@Shoosh
I was up North for the weekend and couldn't bear to not get some miles in, so stowed my bike in the car, planning to be brave, cycle and meet Betty at BikeHaus. It was also a test to see how I cope with unfamiliar territory.
I packed my wet weather gear but I really should have checked the weather before leaving because it was far worse than I envisaged. I should have also planned my route a bit better.
Betty had warned me about how poor the road surfaces were, and she was right, they were terrible. Dropped manhole covers at almost every 50 yards along with hundreds of potholes. If you've cycled through East Ham, the road surface was a million times worse than that.
My cousin had advised me that the journey would be relatively flat - no hills, so I was quietly confident that the 11+ miles on almost straight strange roads would be achievable for me.
I set off and the first two miles were mainly a slight downhill and I started to get a sinking feeling about a 2 mile uphill struggle on the last leg of my return journey. Things were going well but then I found myself on a triple carriageway and wondered if I'd taken the wrong turn and was heading onto the motorway. I was reassured by the familiar sight of an ASL at the next set of traffic lights.
The rain came down and left so much surface water, along with muck on the road, that I did a skid and fell off my bike. I also got stupidly lost and seemed to have gone around in a square. Betty came to my rescue and met me at the nearest pub where we had a joyous evening of food and beverages. (She looks amazingly well and I realised just how much I've missed her over the past year or so).
For the return journey, Betty guided me to the nearest overground train station so I could get back to Manchester Piccadilly and I was seriously contemplating cycling the final 4 miles at the other end, because there is a stupid rule that you can't take bikes on the Metro. But the roads really had too much surface water and it was still raining, plus with the thought of that final 2 mile incline, I bottled it and got a taxi back.
Around 16 miles in all. Not as many as wanted but I feel I have a few extra learning experiences under my belt. The biggest learning experience is that if I want to cycle where I haven't got a clue where I'm going, I need to rely on a Garmin, not blind faith.
https://www.strava.com/activities/139562928