I had a very enjoyable ride this morning taking me through the local countryside beneath grey skies and drizzle. It was brought to an abrupt end about two miles from home when I realised the back tyre had punctured. Fortunately I was at the Horton Inn which made for a convenient place for Alison to pick me up.
In my defence, getting a lift back wasn't my initial intention. I had already taken off the wheel and replaced the inner tube (always carrying a spare in the saddle bag, along with tyre levers and a small pump) but was thwarted by the pump which didn't seem to be having any effect whatsever and then fell apart. It meant I just couldn't inflate the inner tube and had no choice but to seek assistance.
Things had started out well as I rode to Edmonsham, taking my time to ensure I was seeing the countryside as I passed, rather than just looking down at the road in front of me. From there I pushed on towards Cranborne and then stopped at Wimborne St Giles where I took the first photo above. The drizzle was getting harder by this stage but it was nice and certainly no bother at all. Making the ride even more pleasant was the fact that lockdown seems to have caused a reduction in the number of cars about. It may have been that it was early on a Sunday morning of course but I think it was more than that.
With things going so well I made the decision to go on to the Gussages and put myself through the ride out of Gussage St Michael up the very steep hill but I wanted to get it done having not been that way for some months.
I took the two photos at Gussage All Saints and the only people I'd seen were dog walkers.
The ride back to Horton was quiet despite it usually being the busiest of the roads I'd ridden but it was not long after flashing down the long descent to the bends by the water works that the puncture occured.
A total of 12 miles at 14mph felt good and now to get the tyre pumped up and get everything back together again.
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