One wheel on my wagon!

Thursday, 5th July, 2012
Little Abbingdon to Gravesend 75 miles.
Despite the flat fenland terrain, cycling in Lincolnshire and Cambridgshire had been tough, because of the constant battle of cycling into a headwind and sometimes it was a relief when a road turned a corner or there was a slight incline.
Today, we entered Essex, the land of Essex girls and..errr...West Ham United and if i am honest the cycling was amazing as we skirted the M11 on minor country roads and sped past Stanstead airport with the wind on our backs. It was like being back in Sussex, with gorgeous country villages around each corner - then we reached Billericay!
Huge black 4x4s driven by smart upwardly mobile young men with pea sized brains passed uncomfortably close and at silly speeds just to let us know they were there - then it all started to go wrong.
As we approached a roundabout on the edge of the aptly named town of Stanford le Hope, the rear right wheel of my trolley srarted to fall off, its contents wobbling and tilting uncomfortably near passing traffic.
Apart from panic (because problems at this stage could result in us missing the Tilbury ferry to Gravesend) i was at a loss what to do!
I certainly did not want to cycle over the Dartford bridge or stay in Tilbury (i mean no offence if you were born in this part of Thurrock - but by comparison this place made Gainsborough look like Windsor)
But, fortunately thanks to a 'Howie. bodge' we managed to wobble onto the ferry and into Gravesend to live another day.
Gravesend was much better than expected and even had its own 'Heritage quarter', although i guess it depends on how you define heritage!
As i look out the window this morning it is pouring with rain - i can always implement plan b, if the trolley breaks and get a train home today ;)
However, Mrs Blanks aka the 'silent assassin' is on 940 miles and wants to break 1k for the trip - so i guess i would be on my own, reading a daily paper and drinking a cold beer- its tempting!