All’s Well That Ends Well!
Norfolk Stage 09 – Ipswich to Braintree 60 Km (Fri 13 May 2022)
Weather: 8⁰C min – 21⁰C max, partly sunny
“I have found it to be true that the older I’ve become the better my life has become” ~ Rush Limbaugh
When you are bicycle touring you have to take the good with the bad. For the first eight days of riding this tour has been all good, so I was due for a bad one.
Until today I have enjoyed amazingly picturesque scenery, mostly blue sky, flat and easy riding on good lanes and country roads. What I experienced today was a stiff headwind and lots of hills. The countryside was relatively unattractive and the villages were lacklustre … and no coffee to be found anywhere!
My only highlight for the day came when I passed through the lovely little village of Nayland. One could be forgiven for thinking that one was on the Italian island of Burano with so many colourful, pastel-coloured, houses. Or perhaps I was in Germany with so many twisted and gnarled, timber-framed, houses, so crooked they look as if they are about to topple.
Crossing the border into Essex at Nurse St Mary, I looked at my Garmin GPS and saw that I had come 40 km, so only 23 km until I reach my destination of Braintree. I put my head down, grinding away into the headwind and pushing hard up the hills. Too hard!
Then it happened … snap, my chain had broken! At first I was not too concerned because I has some spare chain links and (so I thought) a chain tool. Alas, when I emptied my tool kit I found that the chain tool was missing. I knocked on a nearby house (one of the few in the vicinity) and was greeted by a friendly elderly gentleman called Neil, who took me to his workshop and tried to help replace the links using pliers, hammer, vice, and whatever else he could find. No joy, so Neil put the bike in the back of his car and drove me 23 km into Braintree where I found a bike shop that was able to replace the chain and cassette while I hung around in the town for a couple of hours.
Human kindness knows no bounds. There are a lot of good people in this world!
Why was all this happening today? Ah, I had forgotten that today is Friday 13th! I am not superstitious but it makes you wonder doesn’t it?
Oh dear – that’s bad luck, until you encountered the wonderful Neil – what a gem! Here’s hoping your bike stays perfect from here on in!
A good Samaritan indeed! My bike is going perfectly now and the rider is going OK too.