Tyred but happy!

After Monday's cycle the cold virusy thing I'd been brewing really took hold and I spent the rest of the week feeling a bit poorly with a version of the rotten cough that John has. So no cycling until today. And, yippee! Our first 'group' outing! Well, John, Beth and myself. Alex-across-the-road had to work and goodness knows where Trusty Ironman is at this stage. Anyways, the three of us set out with intentions to cycle for an hour and a half. It is good riding with other people and Beth's new bike is certainly very, very shiny! However, forty minutes into the ride the shininess didn't disguise the fact that she had had her first puncture. Blah. Coach took this as a teaching opportunity and we paid rapt attention as the inner tube was changed using with the help of those 'blue things' (tyre levers). But it was not to be and the tyre would not pump up. Was it the pump that was faulty? Only one way to find out.....John hot-pedalled it back home to fetch the car and the foot pump. Beth and I stood hanging out along this side road when a van pulled up with N Tyres written on the side. Wow! We thought for a moment that John had sent a rescue service to us! It transpired that it was the Universe sending a tyre angel (well, that was my interpretaton, of course. Other people may consider it just a happy co-incidence. How boring.). Nick is a very nice guy who tried to pump the tyre with a very sophisticated piece of gadgetry. But, again, it was not to be, must be a faulty valve. Still, we got to meet a very kind man who restored our faith in tyre fixers....not that our faith in tyre fixers was at a particularly low ebb, but you know what I mean! Plus he wants to cycle LEJOG this year too! Co-incidence? I think not. So, our Irish tyre angel returned and changed the tube again. Bless him. We stayed in the car trying to thaw out a bit. Then hopped back on and cycled some more. John passed us and offered chocolate from the window of the car. This bodes very well for his ability to support us on the long trip, I feel.
Because of time pressure after the delay we only cycled just over an hour but it was good fun, even with the tyre shenanigans.
This week John and I are heading off to Spain in the car for a couple of weeks. We have the use of a villa in Granada (thanks R & T!). We have the bike rack, we have Finn's passport and are looking forward to some sunny cycling.