Good photos Del!
Well Uncle James and I set off to the wilds of Mid Essex from the calm and demure parts of North-East Essex by means of our Horseless Carriage.
We arrived at the Norton and spotted a Dawes Galaxy standing in a lonely manner by the side of the pub so we started excavating the bikes from the car and rebuilding them. Del appeared and proceeded to look rather chilly whilst we put the bikes together, including my rather fantastic Christmas Light show on my trike's flagpole.
We set off at Auntie Helen's pace and I had my first minor technical issue after a couple of miles when I realised my front light was about to fall off; clipped it in properly and we carried on. I then had to discard my left hand side rear-view mirror when the screw came loose so that went into the pannier. We continued on.
We did a bit of that hill at Danbury and had a wonderful downhill whizz on a lovely smooth road. It became clear that we were behind schedule and eventually rolled up at Oaky's house 50 minutes later than the original plan. We eschewed the delights of having a bedtime story read to us by Mrs_O and turned back Southwards, setting off into the cold dark.
We were feeling a bit peckish so stopped for a baguette that I had previously made (cheese & ham or salami & ham) and then continued onwards. This route was much shorter and felt flatter too; it was retracing various routes I've already done with Oaky so was familiar to me. We rolled up to the pub at a quarter past eight and I demonstrated my exciting Christmas lights to the chaps there. A constant stream of cups of tea and pints of beer continued and I did my sales pitch for the fantastic Colchester (and elsewhere) store 'The Range'
Shop Online at The Range - Furniture, Arts & Crafts, Garden, Housewares & Pet Care
which has anything you could reasonably want (apart from bicycles). I had a selection of The Range Fantastic Tuff Bike Bags for Del to deliver to Wow, plus of course my The Range Christmas lights on the bike (battery powered, for £3.99). I also had a fine selection of Aldi Comestibles.
A very pleasant evening all round, we got home at a quarter to midnight and I then had a disturbed night as the dog had gurgle tums and had to keep going out in the garden to vomit. It's cold at 3am when you're waiting for the dog to come in...
And now we're off to buy James a bike!