21st June 2013 Catch up day

Haven't been out today. Knees feel quite sore and I think that giving them a rest for a reasonable time may be the answer. No more longish, hilly rides for a time, just easy canal rides and give them time to recover properly.
Rather than leave this blog empty, this will be a chance to catch upon some unpublished pictures.

Oxford Canal

Was down here a couple of days ago.  Thankfully the towpath had been cleared, otherwise it would have been very hard to ride down here. I did mention that this area has drawbridges and not brick built bridges. I have since found that when it was built, in the late 18th century, this stretch south of Banbury was constructed on a tight budget as the company was running out of money. To make savings, the drawbridge option was preferred as brick bridges were far more expensive.

Banbury Station

Platform 2, Banbury station, as the Birmingham train arrives. It was only a 21 minute journey back to Warwick, very smooth ride and it arrived spot on time. Not a bad way to travel at all.

Dunchurch saviours

Yesterday was a bad day for Andy when his saddle fell off! The bolt had snapped and was not repairable. Luckily, we approached these chaps working down a hole and asked if they had a replacement. They had a good look inside and found a bolt holding a couple of pieces of rubber together. They managed to separate it and the bolt fitted perfectly. Well done lads. I only hope that this was not needed to finish your job otherwise the people of Dunchurch would have been without gas for a day!

Draycote Water

That repair meant we could carry on to Draycote Water and have our cake and tea. Looking at this photo, you could imagine being on the coast and not 80/90 miles from the sea.