Awoke at 6am and it was raining, no surprise there then! Went back to sleep for an hour when I woke the sun was out so I set off into a fine dry day. The day started off with a very large climb over a very large hill as it usually does but unfortunately this proved to be too much for my trusty stead and at 12 miles into the ride, the back wheel finally gave up leaving me stranded halfway between nowhere and nowhere else. I was only able to make 7 mph on the flat, 9 mph down hill, don't ask about the up hill! During one up hill struggle, I had stopped to apply yet more oil when a passing cyclist asked if I was ok. Telling him what the problem was, he simply said "ney bother" or "no problem mate" I will go and get my car. True to his word, he returned 45 minutes later and drove me 40 miles to Lockerbie where I then caught the train to Carlisle (approx 30 miles in 20mins) as this was my nearest cycle repair shop. At Carlisle I took the bike to Palace Cycles http://www.palacecycles.co.uk/ who diagnosed the patient with "knackered wheelitis". They very quickly replaced the wheel for me & I then retired to a lovely b&b very near the town centre http://www.abbeycourtguesthouse.co.uk/ready to try again tomorrow.
It has been quite a difficult day in some respects but the kindness of strangers got me through - Ian if you get to read this, I can't thank you enough for helping me out today.
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