United Kingdom 2015
 
 

Day 04

September 18

 
  My plans today are to ride up toward Scotland and see if I can catch David Whitley, my old riding friend, who is headed this way. I've got his proposed route, so I figure I'll do about a hundred miles out to see if I can find him. So I wander downstairs to visit the morning 'fueling' station. It's a buffet with all the elements of a fully cooked English breakfast. But I pass on the beans as they remind me of the old pork and beans I ate too often as a poor child.  
   
  The challenge has been met with and victory is declared in my favor as there are few fragments that remain.  
   
 

I'm in no real hurry as the 'Scottish raiding party' intends to get off to a later start. And since they don't know I'm here, I've got no deadline I have to make. I figure if I miss them, I'll just turn around and have a nice 200 mile rideout for the day. As I am getting Silver Queen ready to roll, a silver car pulls up and a lovely lady gets out. She starts to look at me and I begin to wonder if I have something hanging out of teeth. She walks over and says -

"I know you from somewhere. Are you Uncle Phil?"

"Well, I've been called that before, I reckon" I reply.

As it turns out, she is Miss Jo, Gareth's lady, and she has driven up early ahead of the 'British raiding party' coming from the south with Peter in the lead. She recognizes my ugly mug from the Facebook forum. As I tell her

"Well, a face like mine is hard to forget for sure!'

She is headed out to check out some shops so I wish her well. I mount up and start to leave, and then I notice Silver Queen is reticent about leaving. I'm still not mentally hitting on all cylinders, so I am a little confused. As it turns out, I have forgotten to remove the chain on the front wheel. We get that taken care of and then Miss Jo sees that there appears to be brake fluid on the right front caliper. I had noticed over Hardknott Pass that the front brakes seemed a little spongy, but I figured it was more in my head than in reality. As it turns out, the top banjo bolt on the caliper has worked loose. The disc has a nice black coating on it, so that means it has been leaking for a little while. I don't have the tools to fix it so I'm in a bit of a pickle. I never got around to getting a sim card for my phone that I brought with me, so I'm dead in the water. Fortunately, Miss Jo comes to my rescue. She spotted a couple of bike shops on the way in that are within walking distance. She insists on hiking over to the closer one to see if they can help. Meanwhile I'm standing here scratching my head and other parts of my anatomy, trying to figure out what I'm going to do. Since it's a Pan (ST in Americanise), the first bike shop has directed her to the local Honda shop which is within plain view. When she gets back with the news, I figure I'd best call Mike at AboutTown to see what he wants to do. Riding with no reliable front brake would be dangerous at best, fatal at worst. Miss Jo, who has become my helping Angel, rings Mike up and hands the phone to me. I tell him -

"Mike, I think it's just a loose banjo bolt but I don't have the tools to tighten it. It also appears to have a fork seal leak, but that's not a big concern for me. There's also a Honda shop within sight from where I stand."

He tells me to take the bike over there and he'll contact them. If they can fix it good, if not we'll do something else. Miss Jo says she will go with me and for that I am very thankful.

 
   
  When we get there, I walk into service and I have already forgotten the man's name that Mike told me to see. The service manager knows nothing of this whole deal, but Miss Jo once again comes to my rescue. She dials AboutTown and hands her phone to the service manager. It gets all sorted and he comes out to the bike with the proper tools to take a look.  
   
 

As it turns out, what I think is a fork seal leak is actually another banjo bolt up near the triple tree that is leaking. The tech torques both of the bolts and cleans it all up to see if that fixes the problem. He's done a great job and that takes care of it. I ask him -

"What do I owe you?"

"Nothing. The hire shop said they would take care of it" he tells me.

 
   
 

Miss Jo has been my delivering Angel on all of this as I would have been up a stump without her and I tell her -

"You are my Angel. Thank you so very much for all of your help. I'd been plumb out of luck if you hadn't showed up."

 
   
 

We both head back to the hotel and she decides she will forgo the shopping. I decide since it's already late that there's no point in riding out. It's about lunch time and the British raiding party is soon approaching. So we decide we'll just sit tight and have some lunch. We talk about life and the challenges we've faced and it's a great time well spent. She's been through some tough spots but has an excellent spirit that is quite refreshing. Since my appearance is a surprise, she motions me to be quiet when Gareth checks in by phone and does not tell him that I am here. When they do arrive, he calls her from the parking lot and asks

"Is there a large American in there?"

They've seen my rental bike with the American flag and figure I'm the only nut case that would show up unannounced. I have a great time of catching up and dispensing hugs all around. I tell Gareth -

"Buddy, you must have caught her in a weak moment. She is a super gal and my angel."

The Scottish raiding party finally arrives also, and Dave can't believe it when he sees me. As it turns out, they did not follow their intended route at the end due to rain, so I would have missed them altogether anyway. So the Lord has taken my numb brainedness and protected me, got my bike fixed and kept me dry.

 
   
  Super will be up at Wetherspoons, so I go upstairs to freshen up. Soon we're off like a dirty shirt up the hill.  
   
  There is a separatist movement going on, so some of the group decide to walk on the other side of the road. I don't understand it as I did take shower and put on some foofoo juice.  
   
  We arrive soon enough after a few miscues and make our way in.  
   
 

Dave orders the largest steak they have and so I follow suit. I tell him -

"If this ain't any good, I'm blaming you!"

Once it arrives, it is actually quite good ...

 
   
  and I manage to wreck my usual havoc on the scene.  
   
  It's been an interesting day, not at all what I had planned. Thanks to Miss Jo, I am not laying out in the middle of nowhere in the ditch when the front brake would have failed. I think on these things as my mind slowly shuts down and I find the blessed place of rest.