A random yet enjoyable loop with my friend John

I had arranged to go out for a bit of a ride with my friend John today, around lunch time, after I got home from work.

So after work I drove home, got in and made myself a nice cup of coffee with our new fangled Tassimo machine. The coffee,tea and other assortments of drinks are quite nice and it's a nice treat on a morning to have a strong cup of Costa coffee or a hot chocolate before going to bed.

I finished my coffee and  went and got changed into my biking gear. Picked up my small Canon camera and then headed back down stairs to adjust my cleat on my good legs shoe. Past few bike rides I have had I have been getting a really painful knee. Originally I put this down to riding up our big bank last week with my seat way to low on my Ibis. I then thought maybe  my cleat was in the wrong place. Well to be fair I now don't think it's any of those reasons, maybe I'm just getting old and that's where the pain is coming from.

John arrived at my house around 1:30pm and I provided him with a couple of nice new stickers which he had asked me for, so that he could pop them on his bike. The stickers being the ones I had printed last week and advertising this very blog. Hey you have to take free advertising where you can right lol. Ern very kindly applied them to John's bike (John's hands where to cold and hey I already had my bike gloves on raring to go)

Cool Sticker

I had put on a couple of thin base layers and had my waterproof jacket on, however John reliably informed me it was "brass monkeys out there". I couldn't be arsed to limp back up stairs so just rooted through our downstairs cupboard and came up with an Endura vest, "That'll do" I said and so off we went.

I have only recently started riding now and again with John, it's funny how you meet people in your life and how you then become friends. I first met John when I visited my local Citizen Advice Bureau. I had been there to try and get some help with nightmarish benefits forms. John was the advisor I saw and straight away we got along. John went on to try and assist me with my appeal and then further in a tribunal I had. Eventually it ran it's course and after about a year and I lost my case, which meant I had to sign off the sick and then attend my local Joke Centre.

John showing me how it's done

Catalogue pose like John

I never saw John again for ooh must be well over a year. One day (I think it was sometime last year) I was riding down the C2C route which passes through Mordor...errrr I mean Stanley where I live. It was a horrible wet day and as I approached this equally bedraggled rider I recognised it was John. We rode the few miles or so home together and had a good old chat, John telling me he had lost his job as our local CAB had closed and that he was now himself on Job Seekers (bummer). Again we parted ways at John's house and I carried on on my way home. Then a few weeks back I bumped into John again and this time I said why don't you add me on Facebook so we can keep in touch. And from there it has led to us going out for the odd spin together which I have thoroughly enjoyed. All the old trails that I know off by heart I am now showing to John and he must be getting sick of me saying "have you rode down here" lol.

Allreet Like?

Quick take it now John!

Having Fun

This was a bit steeper than it looks

Nice position on my bike thanks to the BTK

 And so today's adventure was along to Craghead, up and over down towards Bumble Lane I think it's called at Black Houses and then along to climb Edmondsley bank. From there we took a trail I know and ended up on Waldrige fell...Dear me was it cold. From Waldridge, down through Cong Burn woods then across the road towards Stellar Gill and back up the C2C to Stanley and home. Got a right good soaking as it started chucking it down. Still an enjoyable loop...Now relaxing with an achy knee and sore butt lol. 

WoW look at those clouds, it got worse as we headed home