Day 10 SITREP #1

It’s been a long, long day, but a fabulous one.  Another gleaming evening’s sleep deprivation therapy in a drill hall reverberating to the sound of middle aged blokes snoring and squeaky cam-cots interspersed with the clumsy footsteps of overnight prostate management.  Again.  The SMO really does have some work to do when we get back.  No matter, just one more day of riding to get through and it’s all gravy.  One more day before many bikes can be retired to garages and sheds various and allowed to gather dust for at least a few weeks.  Although I’m betting that one or two perverted individuals will get out for a ride over the weekend.  Tea and chicken sandwiches for breakfast – obvious choice really; before some last minute, last day bike prep.  Some of the machines have taken some serious punishment and the principle of ‘bodge it’ for the last 90-odd miles was clearly being used in some cases.  Another overnight puncture for the ‘Old Man of Shap’ had to be fixed once more – we think he’s been using sausage skins for tyres.  Makes a change from his burst sausage skin shorts he wears for training rides.  All finally squared away and the team press out with a great deal of excitement and anticipation for what is definitely in line to be an epic day.

First order of business is to fight through the Preston morning traffic and ride the 7 miles to the RAFA Club in Leyland.  7 miles, one road (ish).  As Clarkson would say – ‘what could possibly go wrong?’.  Plenty. The Support Team made a great effort of directing us to Leyland, then their vehicles split in different directions.  Riders particularly enjoyed the tour of the various industrial units in Leyland and the ‘Leyland Morrisons Criterium Challenge’.  Realisation dawned that even the route maps were pump, and the Support Team sat-nav equipment various wasn’t throwing straight dice.  At least we had unwittingly already recce’d the route out of Leyland.  Twice.   At this point the Riding Team went EMCON and decided to navigate using The Force.  Result, the RAFA Club hoves into view sharpish and awaiting us is the Mayor and Mayoress of South Ribble - Councillor Jim Marsh and Mrs Susan Marsh, RAFA Director of Membership, Gp Capt Bob Hounslow, RAFA Northern Region Director, Darrell Slater-Smith and the Northern Region girls, the Area Chairman and lots of very nice RAFA Members from the Leyland Area.  More importantly, there was also cake for Bianca.  A photocall session outside the club culminated in what I can only describe as incriminating shots involving Bianca, a Cannondale CAAD 8 and the Mayor of South Ribble to much amusement in the rest of the team.  Can't wait to see them in the Lancashire Evening Post tomorrow!  A great spread and some nice words from the Area Chairman and the Mayor were hugely uplifting and it was again humbling to see just how much people appreciate the team’s efforts.  Met a lot of great people and ate a lot of cake!  No time for sitting around though and after a super send-off, we rode back out of Leyland on the pre-recce’d road to deal with the meat of the day and the final, yes final 85 mile thrash back to RAF Leeming.  Not before yet another nav faff with the team managing to bomburst on different roads on the run back through Preston.  A short while later, all the rogue riders are swept up and the team turn east for home.  But that’s another story and tonight, it’s late and time for some well earned sleep, so we’ll pick this one up in the morning!!