Saturday 31 May 2014
Retreat to York and Beyond
The last day of May. I have never been away from home for so long. It has been over a month since I have driven a car. So long since I have seen my garden. My thighs are double their original size on departure. I now need a haircut. Interesting facts. We have now reached the most northerly point on the Cycling Music tour. We have turned around and heading for base. Still many adventures to come. Lord only knows what they will be in the company of our esteemed leader. We are still waiting for the sun to arrive. The weather this last week has been anything else but summer. Temperatures have been well below average. We met up with Ben and Amanda after a hearty breakfast was taken at the hotel. His nibs had haddock with poached eggs. Very good indeed. How they have spoilt us. Mr. Durrant's clean laundry was delivered along with a very nice packed lunch for later. That really is drawing the short straw dealing with Mr. D's dirty clothing. Beyond any call of duty I would say. Ben and Amanda's son Tom would be leading us back to York and I could once again relax from my navigational duties. We released the charity helium balloons and thought of Jane and her family. What a fantastic job they had done to make such a success of the concert. We were sad to be leaving. There was a job to be done and I needed to deliver the mighty one to an appointment to play at the Giant Bike Shop in York. We shot off down the road to Malton. We hit our tour best average speed in excess of 12 mph. Whilst Richard and I were pushing our bikes along with some effort Tom was in cruise mode managing to cycle with his hands off the handlebars for most of the way. Oh to be young and strong. We were pleased with performance even when we hit the hilly section of the route from Malton to York. We have passed a few Civil War battlefields of late, Marston Moore the other day and today Stamford Bridge. It has been like a history field trip out of school. Tom led us through the quite lanes, an exhilarating ride. The sun came out to join us and so the jackets had to come off. We felt we had achieved something as we stood outside the Giant Shop a couple of hours ahead of our playing time. Tom left us to return to Pickering. I am sure that leg would be much quicker without a couple of old men in tow. We dumped the our trusty cycles at the shop and went to enjoy Amanda's lunch; sandwiches, cake together with a caramel slice each. What a treat! Things were quiet when we went to set up and play. One or two customers enjoyed the playing. A couple who own a hotel were interested in the music and bought a cd! Bingo. Perhaps a missed opportunity here for the bike shop. Shame not more regular customers invited to the shop. By late afternoon it was time to depart the city of York and continue south in the general direction of Doncaster. We had a B and B booked at Church Fenton outside the town of Tadcaster. Home to RAF Church Fenton. What should have been an easy evening ride became a race against time before our energy levels dropped. We should have stopped for a snack before leaving. Running on empty! I had great trouble getting us efficiently out of the city. My mind was still off duty and one wrong turning and we were off in the wrong direction. My fault, my fault my own grevious fault. However, let us remember, we are not living in a blame culture on this tour. We ended up having to peddle a short way on the A64. Not fun. Into the countryside but a rather roundabout route to get across the River Ouse and then on to Tadcaster where the artiste went into meltdown. We stopped at a pub to refuel. A bag of nuts and a pint of beer. Not sure that is what Bradley Wiggins takes on at this stage of a ride. Would it bring sir round? The delightful environs of Tadcaster did nothing to lift the flagging spirits of the artiste. Home to John Smith's Brewery it looked more like a chemical plant. At a low ebb the comments of RD are not able to be put into print here. Telephones losing power and Church Fenton six miles further south. Would this be a bridge too far? Not only had he lost the will to ride he seemed to have lost his sense of humour. With a sigh of relief we trundled into the village and found the oasis that is Station Farm B and B with little trouble. The utterly exhausted and subdued maestro hobbled in with his gear. Oh how he had suffered. All in the the name of his art. After a wash and brush up it was time to eat. Let us not mention the Church Fenton pub we visited. Not one to complain, Mr. Durrant failed to find a redeeming feature about the place. He had to send back his pint with ginger beer and felt that eating there would now be too risky. Nobody likes the chef's own sauce now do they? We opted for the Indian restaurant located in the railway station building a little way up the road. If in doubt have a curry. It could be a long night back at Station Farm. Over dinner we recovered from the day. Riding, playing and then riding again. 58 miles on the road. 883 the tour total. We were ready for bed that was for sure.
Peddling to Pickering
We woke at the Knavesmire Manor Hotel. The Hotel with the great customer service. The hotel that likes to give with one hand and take away with the other. The hotel which believes that when taking an on line booking it has no duty of care to provide what has been booked. We have some work to do on Trip Advisor. We headed off to The centre of York in to facilitate Richard buying some extra underwear. He was obviously not keeping up with his washing. I waited on guard with the bikes outside HM. There must have been a wide choice as he was gone for a long time. Maybe he was trying them on! Or availing himself of their fitting service. Eventually he returned not only with the required underclothes but with some imitation flowers to go on his crossbars. All rather worrying and I would beg to suggest he is going to find it difficult to justify such frivolous spending. Retail therapy completed we set off for Pickering. The road out of York was easy to find and we had a quiter route away from the busy traffic. No rain encountered or sun and so conditions rather chilly. Undulating it was but not too steep and the miles were clocked up. The clicking noise from my bike had not eased and in fact was worse. It was clear that the bearings in the peddle had gone. As we approached Stamford Bridge I could take it no longer and enquired at a garage if the was a bike shop in the village. The lady gave me an encouraging response and we found ourselves in the small settlement but sadly no bike shop. We clicked on to Malton and thence to Pickering. I hoped that there would be a bike shop there. The road was busy but straight and level. Our esteemed artiste has played in Pickering many times and has a loyal fan base. I was confident that he would know the way to the Memorial Hall, the venue for the evening. I even checked, as a devoted domestique would, when I delivered him safely to the edge of the town. Sadly his sense of direction failed to engage and we had to ask for some local knowledge. We peddled along the busy high street to the bridge at the bottom and there outside were the welcoming reception committee. The evening was a near sell out with over hundred tickets sold in advance. It was going to be a great night. It was a very special evening for our hosts; Jane and her children Chloe and Nick assisted by Ben and Amanda along with their family, Joe, Tom and Greg. Lovely, lovely people. They were raising money for a cancer charity Leukemia and Lymphoma following the passing of Jane's husband in June of 2013. I like to think I know how they feel. After a delightful lunch we set about arranging the space into show mode. For a change we had so much help. The clicking bike was still on my mind and I was directed to Big Bear Bikes around the corner. I could not have been gone more than five minutes. The bike mechanic dropped everything and fixed the Norco in double quick time. What incredible service. No more clicking. Marek was right, many of the components on the poor old Norco are in need of replacement. We will have to nurse it through. The stage was up on my return and the bikes were soon in place. Lights were arranged and focused. The maestro was in positive mood. What could go wrong? With everything in place well ahead of show time Richard went to wash and brush up and slip into his new line of underwear at the Forest and Vale hotel. In my position as stage manager I remained at the venue tinkering with the lights. Nothing went wrong. My man played his socks off. Not his new underwear, which was good. No arrests. Plenty of positive feedback and we heard that many of the audience had travelled miles to be there. A speedy pack away whilst the artiste chatted with his adoring public. The help from the "committee" was much appreciated. Out and back to the Forest and Vale. No food available but we made do with a couple of packets of crisps. Kitchen was locked up! Jane and her family and friends joined us for drinks in the bar and great chats were had. The service of the night porter left much to be desired. In the words of the maestro who summed her attitude in a few words "Sullen, unhelpful and begrudging". She needs to consider a career change ASAP. Bed at 0.45 Good morning! 825 miles. Full statistics to follow.
Friday 30 May 2014
Thursday 29 May 2014
York
We woke up in Ilkley at Ewan and Louise's to find it was still raining and the temperature was nothing like what it should be for the end of May. There would be no need to ensure that I was wearing my sun screen. The one benefit would be that my charge would not be stripping down to his cycling shorts. Not a pretty sight. After saying our goodbyes we peddled into the town. It was early and we had just over thirty miles to cover to make the evening concert in York. We could afford some time in Ilkley. There is a Betty's Tea shop and we felt it would be rude not to sample their service. We got into tourist mode. After purchasing postcards Richard was waiting in the street for the restaurant to open when he received a cal from Ewan to inform him that he had left his rucksack behind. I could make no comment as only a week ago I left my telephone on a bench after a pit stop! Kindly, Ewan brought the offending rucksack to us and we said goodbye again. Betty's was very pleasant indeed. No complaints there, for a change. When we finally set off at 10.00 the fine rain was still falling and so it did for much of the morning ride. We had a good route off the beaten track and without too many hills to climb and for that reason progress was brisk. We did not stop until we were approaching Wetherby. Good ground and no incidents apart from a badly judged passing manoeuvre on Mr. Durrant who thought I was attempting to run him into the hedge. Now would I try and do that! Tempting. I, of course, made an unreserved apology. No stopping in Wetherby. We pushed on across the Vale of York and arrived in the city just a few minutes short of 14.00 Unfortunately my bike has developed an irritating clicking noise which I need to get to the bottom of. The venue for this evening was in the Early Music Centre. We picked our way across the city and found the place with little trouble. Within easy reach of the shops, we ventured out. We had one or two errands to catch up on. We needed another light for the show having lost one through wear and tear, not my treatment of them I must add. Our search took us to Argos where we took possession of a desk lamp intended to throw more white light on the artiste when in performance. Time would tell. I visited Lloyds Bank to carry out some business. They don't look the same now when you walk in. How much has the makeover at Lloyds cost? It must be expensive. I was charged £30.00 to transfer money from one bank account to another. I was informed I could do it for free using on line banking. At my age I still wish to receive service from a human being. That service now comes at a high price. Banks can get away with anything as we all know too well. End of rant. Back to business. We returned to the venue to set up the show. I was eager to test out our new light. As it turned out my cheap torch throws out more light on the maestro and that would have to suffice for the time being. It was back to the drawing board on the that front. Like a well oiled machine now we were up and ready in good time. Ticket sales were not great which was disappointing but that does not stop the show from going on. Performance was excellent. More turned up for the show on the door. The acoustic in this former church was rich and ideal. After packing up we had a short ride to our hotel. We had an altercation with the manager earlier in the evening when confirming our booking with the hotel, Knavesmire Manor. We had booked a twin room on line only to be told that the room we had been allocated was a double. Now there are many things I am prepared to do in my position as manager of all things including sharing a room but not a bed. A point I made fairly strongly to, Basil, the manager. I had to explain whilst we were on tour we were not Morcambe and Wise and there could be no bed sharing going on. Customer service was not engaged by the manager who said it was my fault when booking on line. My first call ended in stalemate. I was just about to ring back to ask a for a mattress to be put on the floor and the manager phoned me to say he had been able to make alternative arrangements. Now it appeared nothing was too much and drinks and sandwiches, on the house, would be in our room. I was pleased that this crisis had been averted. I was pleased for the hotel too as I had already started to compose my response for Trip Advisor. After taking in a late curry supper, there could be trouble later, we got to the hotel at 11.30 As it turned out there was a double bed and two singles. The tour has now covered 795 miles and we have completed 17 concerts. Pickering our most northerly point would be reached tomorrow. Bon nuit.
Grand Depart
In July the Grand Depart for the Tour de France will start from Ilkley. Part of our ride to Ilkley was on the route for the first stage. It was good to have played a small part in the build up for the tour!!
Wednesday 28 May 2014
Ilkley
The rain was heavy and continued all morning. We had a short ride from Leeds today to take us through to Ilkley in the West Riding of Yorkshire, just seventeen miles. We had agreed to meet up with Ewan McKay from the Ilkley Cycling Club who was going to ride with us and lead the way. We hoped that he liked going slowly. We reckoned 8-10 miles per hour. Maybe a little more going downhill with the wind behind us. The Ilkley Cycling Club is the largest in England with nearly 1,300 members and is heavily involved this year in the Tour de France which brings it's Grand Depart to the town in July. We were honoured to have Ewan as our escort and he and his wife Louise were helping to organise the concert in St. Margaret's parish hall. If that was not enough they were also hosting us for the night. The rain had eased by 13.00 and just a little after we hit the road again after two great days with Joseph, Louise and Thomas. It was good to be back in the saddle after the Marek treatment on the bikes. Just to remind us of what is involved we had a steady hill out of Leeds for the first couple of miles. Our route took us by way of Cookridge, close to Leeds and Bradford Airport and through the back doubles to the iconic views around the Cow and Calf tor where we stopped to do some filming for the video blogs. In the circumstances the progress was more than acceptable. With Ewan in the navigators seat I was able to relax from that duty. No chance of getting lost. No blame today. Long steep downhill into Ilkley and a visit to the book and bike shops. Ewan treated us to a coffee and a caramel slice. Very welcome. It slipped down without a problem. The artiste's fingers were twitching a little and so he offered to play in the bookshop. Very much appreciated by the customers. Perhaps it would increase the interest for the evening show. Ticket sales had been slow. In order to get to the venue we peddled the bikes up the steepest hill on the trip to date. Slow and steep,it may have been but we did not get off to push even with the back wheels struggling to grip. Once again Richard did a heroic job of dragging the trailer behind him. Great hall and plenty of space with excellent facilities. We got the show set up and in good time too. Another light has gone on the blink. This definitely means a trip to Maplins in York to secure another one tomorrow. A nervous wait to see how many would turn out. Slowly but surely an audience grew and this did much to encourage the maestro. Joseph and Thomas came too which was a real treat for me. Marek, our bike engineer, arrived just in time to enjoy the show. Our way of thanking him. New territory for RD and the audience were rather reticent to start with, not knowing what to expect but the silver tongued guitarist soon won them over with his chat lines and background stories which equally match up to his beautiful playing. Two encores! Satisfying cd sales. Some good foundations were put down for a return to the area. Pack up and pay up. We were out in good time. Sad goodbyes to my gang and off to Ewan and Louise's house in the town for a drink, a chat and a welcome bed. So so the adventure continues........ 756 on the clock.
Big C Charity
Great Uncle Sean
It was good to catch up this morning with my brother Michael and Drea in Canada on FaceTime. We were chatting over his recent week long camping and hiking expedition with some young people from his home town and getting him up to speed on the Cycling Music Tour and he drops into the news that David and Leanne have a new baby daughter Madeliene June Simington. Important things first!! Mum baby and father all doing well. Great Uncle again. Congratulations to my elder brother, emphasis on elder, and sister in law. Grandparents again! Thinking about you all loads.
Tuesday 27 May 2014
Leeds Photographs
Richard, Sean, Joseph, Louise and Thomas at Salvo's restaurant. 
Marek's company logo.
Marek working hard on the Norco!!
Under Repair
Apart from nursing ourselves through the tour it has been so important to look after the bikes and the equipment. Thomas very kindly arranged for his friend, Marek, to check over our bicycles and bring them back up to full operational condition. Marek used to be the drummer in the band that Thomas also played in, Nostrovia. A few years ago they spent a summer holiday in St. Bonnet, France, recording an album. Marek has set up a bike company Aurelius manufacturing high end cycles for the more decerning athlete. www.aureliuscycles.co.uk Well he was dealing with a couple of old timers on bikes here who had abused their equipment over 700 miles or so. It is difficult to appreciate the stresses the bikes must come under carrying the equipment, two relatively large riders and the running over such variable terrain. After a busy admin morning we met up with Thomas who guided us to the new unit that Marek is converting. Marek took one look and just shook his head and said he would do his best. We left to do some shopping in town and visit Hotel Chocolat where Tom works. After killing time for awhile we returned and Marek was still working on the task of servicing Richard's Giant bike. For a relatively new bike it required some serious tightening up; new cables etc etc. The much older Norco was next and that was in need of much tweaking. Marek recommended, at some time in the future, a complete rebuild for the Norco from frame upwards with all new components. Poor old bike. It has been a great machine for both my brother Michael who brought it over from Canada to complete his family and friends ride from Bilbao to the house in the Auvergne. On permanent loan to me since that time it has clocked up a few good miles in training and on adventures various. We were running very late for dinner back at Joe and Louise's house some six miles away with a serious hill climb between us and them! To make matters even worse I had the salmon and prawns in my back pack having purchased them earlier in the day. Should have said having caught it earlier in the day! Thomas showed us the way home and he can ride his bike at a fair old lick through the city leaving his poor old Dad for dust. He has no respect for the elderly. We eventually got back shortly before eight and enjoyed a lovely supper together. Richard played a beautiful Paraguayan piece for us before we ate. Not a concert day but a positive one; we met up with the family and got the bikes well and truly sorted. Without them we were finished, that is families and bikes! Watched a bit of TV and fell asleep in front of it. My usual trick.
Monday 26 May 2014
Leading to Leeds
I rose early and went downstairs to the foyer area leaving the good Mr. Durrant to snooze on. Time enough to write the blog for the day. Keeping up to date with all the adventures of the tour. At 08.00 returned to our room to give wake up call and pack ready for the road. Breakfast was probably the best part of the service. Wide choice and well presented. Richard,out of sorts a little, had plenty to do on the admin side to ensure matters on the concert front were still moving forward before we hit the peddles. Prospects for the day were for a long rather hilly ride through largely built up areas. I took it upon myself to mention to the manager of the hotel before we left that the entrance was such a mess with cigarette ends and empty drink cups and rubbish. It made a very poor first impression for guests. It happens in so many places, people smoking outside a building and then leaving without consideration for others. I suggested it should be the first job of the day for any manager to check the front of house! I am not sure how well my advice went down. And with that we set off to Leeds to rendezvous with my family; Joseph, Louise and Thomas. It would be good to meet up with familiar faces. We are staying with them for two nights. A time to catch up with all their news! An invitation to have our bikes checked over for the next stage of the ride. Plenty to do before we got there though. We had a few hills to get over on the the first section of the ride. One or two real challenges. Now I am not one to get on my high horse but the most annoying thing we came across in this region was the poor condition of the cycle lanes. Not only are the surfaces uneven and breaking up which renders them almost unusable but the vegetation from the hedgerows has been allowed to grow over the paths making a real hazard. Richard nearly had his face ripped to shreds by an overhanging hawthorn. It is false economy to leave the paths in this condition. It forces cyclists to use the main carriageway and inevitably causes more accidents. End of lecture. The route is familiar to me as I followed it last year when on the sponsored ride I undertook on LEJOG, again for the Big C charity in Norwich. It was the section of the route where I was joined by my two brothers David and Kieran. We passed through at mid morning, Rotherham, my birthplace. Again no fanfare marked the occasion. The return of a long lost son of the town! We stopped for a coffee and a cake in the square. Onwards north. Good news came in about ticket sales in Pickering,with over 100 sold, and Pip Piper, Tour de France filmmaker, had got back to Richard. The artiste was now feeling creative and suggested we divert to Barnsley and try out a little busking in the centre, perhaps near the Civic Theatre. On arrival it was clear that Barnsley was not ready for a street performance by Durrant. I was not sure we would get out alive or with the guitar in one piece. Maybe Richard would be wearing it. We took in it turns to guard the bikes and purchase our lunch from M & S but not before a tour of the back streets to find a suitable cafe. There was some street theatre in the main precinct; a French trio doing poor slapstick dance and a couple of ladies in French costume on stilts. Bizarre. Time to make a dash for Leeds before the maestro came up with any more good ideas. Quickly on to the A61 and we enjoyed a relatively fast ride into Wakefield and then Leeds. No mishaps with the bikes and just a pit stop to pick up water on the edge of Leeds. We shared a Fry's Peppermint Cream too. Across the city and out to the northern suburbs where Joe and Louise live. Great welcome and a cup of tea. Time for a shower before going out for dinner at Salvo's, a delightful Italian restaurant which has featured on a Gordon Ramsey programme and I am not talking Hell's Kitchen here. A most enjoyable evening and then back home to bed, all in. Total mileage now:727
Sunday 25 May 2014
Chasing to Chesterfield
Raining early on. Rain at seven sun by eleven we hoped. Today we say goodbye to Stoke Golding and the Ashby Boat Company. What a fantastic bunch of people there. The cottage has been a wonderful place for us to rebuild our strength ready for the push to the north. The concert on Friday night had gone really well. Moral was high. Packing up the gear again after spreading everything out is never easy. A quiet morning followed by a brunch in preparation for the ride up to Chesterfield. We pulled out at just after 14.00 after being told by a chap from Chesterfield that we could expect a two mile long hill at the end of our route. Deep joy! That was something to look forward to. Legs were fresh. Through Castle Donnington and with a reasonably flat terrain we made steady uninterrupted progress. Very little open countryside on route as we peddle through the outskirts of Nottingham via Sandiacre, Ilkeston and Heanor. Plenty of room for a makeover in these parts. Bradley Durrant, fully loaded, making it up the hills with gritty determination. A couple of breaks are required. Vitamin C and chocolate on the menu. The undulating landscape has evolved into a region of more hills as we enter Derbyshire. Together they pose less of a threat to progress as our legs have become fitter and able to endure the long pushes uphill. Spirits on the Durrant tour remain high even when we hit a road block and are forced to retrace our steps and find a route around. No complaints from Wiggins here, head down, keep calm and carry on! What a trouper. At no point did the bikes misbehave. No Basil Fawlty moments! Near the Ibis hotel just after 19.00 and indeed the hill is there. Slowly but surely and with energy in reserve we make it to the hotel. 44 miles under our belts and a tour total of 669 miles. We are allowed to put the bikes in the conference room, very kind. Tonight we are sharing facilities for the first time! I feel honoured to be invited to share the artiste's luxury twin room. This does not normally happen. I am sure Mr. Clapton does not share his hotel room with a flunky. This is the first time we have shared since touring in Paraquay back in 2012. Facilities here are much better. A wash and brush up. Dinner is a subdued affair as the beer is just not up to standard in the next door pub or the hotel. I have little success in keeping the drink at arms length. A light bite. Back to the room to work on another video blog. No rest on this tour. I am finally allowed to take to my bed at 11.00 Sleep well.
Steve Ashby Boat Company.
A big Thank You to Steve at Ashby Boat Company. Outside Steve's barge on the Ashby Canal.
Tour Statistics
Days on tour: 24
Concerts: 15
Mileage: 625
Punctures: 3
Falls: 4
Caramel Slices: Too many to keep count!
Funds for Big C: £1,470 With grateful thanks.
To be continued...............
Tenpin
Despite the riding we still had the energy to lose at tenpin bowling! Not what you do .............
Saturday 24 May 2014
Dashing to Derby
Life in the Lock Keepers cottage at Stoke Golding has settled into a quiet routine. We could stay forever but there is a job to be done, a tour to be ridden and yes the concerts to play and the light show to be presented! We woke to rain pouring down and it was a relief that we did not need to step on the bikes until after lunch. One or two essentials needed to be sorted in order to continue the tour in a well ordered way. Travelling light means that my wardrobe is somewhat limited. I have never assumed the role of a style icon so it is not a major problem. Laundry becomes an obsession and keeping on top of the washing is crucial. Luckily ironing is not involved. This concern does not apply to his Lordship who up till now on the trip has had his clean clothes delivered on the weekend visit of Louise and family. You can get an idea as to how the other half of the tour team lives. I walked to the shop to get one or two items and managed to get soaked. Whilst in the village I called in at a flower festival being held in the Stoke Golding Methodist all set out on the theme of the Love of Gardens. It makes me realise how much I have missed my own garden at home over the past few weeks. Back to tour HQ followed by trip to local supermarket for essentials. Rain was still falling steadily. A light lunch and then the time came to depart for our destination for the day, Derby. We could not put it off any longer. This ride would require our wet weather gear. Setting off in the rain it became a heavy downpour. A test for our determination together with our kit. Heading north and keeping to the quieter routes we did make excellent ground over the time. No sooner said than done we were on the edge of Castle Donnington and looking a place to rest the bikes for the night. The weather had eased and the sun came out. For the evening we had decided to go to the Derby Tenpin Centre. 50p wager and winner takes all. I think Richard thought it was going to be a walkover. His biggest fear, being beaten by me. He made a good start to the challenge and took an early lead, ever competative. Louise, Felix and I rolled with the punches and played some consistent ends. RD more concerned with my game failed to see that Felix had made a last minute effort and took the jackpot with his last bowl. I came in second, first of the losers, but ahead of RD. There will be excuses of course. Back to base and a delightful buffet supper but not before we had lit a fire to keep us warm on what was a very cold summer evening.
Friday 23 May 2014
Resting Up
Day two of our well earned rest from cycling after three weeks of daily spinning and peddling with distances up to 65 miles. Whilst this is no record in terms of the miles covered the weight we are pulling does nothing to increase the speed. We make progress and we are on schedule. After this time though it feels odd not to be on the road. Our bodies do need the time to recuperate. At least mine does. Not being as young as I used to be. Mr. Durrant is up and going early in the day, 07.30 Producing another masterpiece of a video blog is his aim for the day. Funnily enough his bedroom has become the editing suite. Quite how much time he is dozing up there I will never know. I got on with catching up on school business; calls and paperwork which has been sent to me at various stops. I took a gentle walk to the Stoke Golding and passed the blue plaque on a wall marking the spot where Henry VII was crowned King following his victory over Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485. The site of the battle is close by and we will be cycling past it on our way further north. Always good to take in a little history as we travel across the country. Maybe instead of elections we should return to having full blown battles to decide who should govern. Cameron against Milliband. What role would Farage and Clegg take in the battle? Back to the cottage and sorting out for the evening show to be held in the village hall. The artiste needed to change his guitar strings and practice. One minute he was playing away in the living room fully concentrating on his scales and the next he was flat out on the settee. Whatever it takes! At 16.00 we loaded our bikes for the one mile ride to the venue. All felt good in the nether regions. Progress for setting up the show was carried out alongside the ballet class that takes place there in the late afternoon. I resisted the temptation to join in. I had not brought my tutu. It has become apparent that we have an intermittent fault with one of my lights. I am doing all I can as the lighting technician to nurse it through the shows. A little knowledge is dangerous. Sue cooked us a lovely meal before the show. The performance started on time at 20.00 and Richard was, as usual, on fine form and the sold out audience gave him a great welcome and reception. During the interval sales of the new cd were more than steady. I was slightly upset when a lady approached me to complain about the lights not picking out the artiste enough. I was about to take this comment to heart when she added that she was partially blind so I did not feel too bad in the end. I tried to explain that the whole light show is carried on our bikes and backpacks. Furthermore, I patiently explained to her, the colour was all part of the presentation of the artiste in all his playing glory! I am not so sure that she understood where I was coming from. Meanwhile on the M1 Louise and Felix were battling north to join us for the weekend. What we had not remembered in our touring bubble was that it was a bank holiday weekend. By the time we had finished packing away they had still not arrived. Starting to panic a little the maestro left the venue on his bike in search of his family. Very quickly they were reunited in the car park of the venue and all was well. Touching. Sadly we were not able to join one of the tables to enjoy a piece of guiness chocolate cake, my favourite, with them as we ran out of time. Very kindly the ladies plated some up for us to take home. A short ride back to the cottage by the canal and so to bed.
Crown Hill
Went for a short walk.
Blue plaque on the way to the centre of Stoke Golding commemorating the crowning of Henry VII nearby after the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485. 
Thursday 22 May 2014
BBC Coventry
No moving on the bikes today. It was a day of rest from peddling. It would give our legs a really good opportunity to recover from the exertions of the past two days. No set time to rise. I am an early bird. Up at my normal time a little before 06.00 Still some work to catch up on and later in the day a visit to Coventry to undertake two interviews at BBC. Before departing our lock keepers cottage on the side of the canal. I am worried that our esteemed maestro is starting to believe his own press and decided to remain in bed for the morning working on his PR responsibilities. I, of course, pandered to his every need in addition to writing pieces, in my role as image consultant, for his latest tour video blog. This was set to be another masterpiece of editing, both sound and vision. There were other chores I attended to as you might expect; washing up and cleaning around. Our visit to the BBC studios was positive. The first interview was with Steve Foster from Radio Suffolk due to broadcast on Monday next. I was included as co rider and for the fact that I am a former pupil of St. Joseph's College in Ipswich. The second live interview was with Radio Nottingham. Our famed guitarist played on both sessions and gave plenty of encouragement to listeners to get on their own bikes and attend one of the concerts. I was pleased that on our visit to the city that Richard took the opportunity to have a hair cut. We do not want that clean cut image getting blurred at the edges. Back to base and Steve joined us for dinner in the cottage but not before the completion of the video blog. All work and no play.......... Mr. Durrant applied his culinary skills to producing a most delightful salmon on a bed of noodles together with a green salad. He has very definite views on his salad and would not hear of some of the accompanying ingredients of a salad that I suggested. As a mere scullion boy I had no standing and the plain rather boring green leaf salad had to suffice. I prepared a rather pleasant cheese course including a mature cheddar and a blue cheese from nearby Yorkshire. Enjoyed by everybody if the evidence of an empty board is anything to go by. Washing up undertaken before bed. Another successful day done. Thanks to Steve for arranging our stay in such a beautiful place. Nothing too much trouble.
Ointments and Applications.
It would be wrong not to mention on this blog the work required to keep my man on the road spinning. At this stage of the tour we need to take care of his posterior which has suffered a little of the last couple of days. If A clean bottom is a healthy bottom as far as saddle sores go. Difficult to define what they are but they need to be looked after or that could be the end of the trip. I have always used the Zinc and Castor Oil. Heals problems up pretty quickly. Our man from Shoreham is well prepared as you can see from the photograph. It is a good job we have a couple of lighter bike days to give backsides a good airing.
Resting Up
After two days of hard riding I have insisted that my charge takes it easy. A lie in and some work on the video blogs at Ashby Canal Company Stoke Golding.
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