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| Into deepest Preston |
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| Escape from Preton |
I’d seen a weather chart on the TV the night before, and there
was a line of windy depressions spread across the Atlantic, all rubbing their
hands together in glee. I set off in the rain, following the NCN6 for 10k's before joining the canal at Catterall. The towpath was less than than ideal. It was just grass, and often I'd find the wheels tuning on the spot, like hamster wheels. There would be section of compacted gravel either side of a settlement, then the towpath would revert back to grass, or even worse, mud. By the time I reached the Whistle Café, on the outskirts of Preston, it was nearly midday, and in well over three hours I’d only done 27k’s. The towpath finally came good, but I had an immediate puncture and an alarming swelling on the tyre wall.
Preston turned into a nightmare. First I had to find a bike shop, then I had reach the cycle paths on the south side of the city. In a pattern that repeated itself right down the country, there were good bike signs to the edge of the city, none in the middle, then then they would reappear on the other side. It was frustrating couple of hours in hosing rain. Eventually I connected with the NCN55 and finally escaped Preston's grip just as the rain started to ease.After some more misleading signage I finally made it over to the Leeds and Liverpool Canal in the gathering gloom and renewed rain. I switched the headlamp on and continued, determined to get a few miles
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| River Lobstock |
beyond Preston. After about 8km I spotted a perfect camping spot in a wood next to the canal. I needed some water though, so cycled to a nearby a road where I saw Frederick’s Ice Cream Parlour, so I
l went in for a coffee, happy to hang around there until it
was fully dark. I went to
the loo to fill up my water bag and managed to drop my smartphone, which hit the tiled floor
with a resounding crack, skittered away and bounced off the skirting board. Once the tent was up I had a look at the phone; it showed no signs of life. I was gutted; my wee connection with family and friends, and my Strava logging had ground to a halt.
Day stats 61km 324 Metres of ascent
B road km
Unclassified road km
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