Day Six 24:07:12 To Caspers We Go…

So we woke up bright an early and after all of our clothes and trainers were dry we were in good spirits for a good days peddling.

We needed to get to a Post Office to get rid of some excess weight as we now know what we dont need and so my little sister should receive a nice 3kg parcel. It cost just shy of £10 to post though the robbing bastards.

The plan for today  was to get to friend that I know through a forum that I own and stay at his for the night. He was only about 45 miles away in Renfrew and we were told numerous times that it was pretty much all down hill from there.

It was a good cycle round past Loch Lomond and the loch was so still that there was not even a ripple it was truly breath taking.

We pulled over at a viewing point where there was the hydrostation and we got chatting to yank for about an hour which was nice and we shared travel stories and discuss current affairs.

Just as we were leaving two other cyclists pulled up and they wanted to know where the nearest bike shop was. We laughed as we had not found many but it turns out that they needed a new chain as one of theirs kept on breaking.

We of course had spare links and so we gave them and that made their day.

So we headed towards Glasgow taking in the sites and taking loads of photos and just taking it all in while peddling like hell. We decided to use a cycle path that goes along the loch and it was quite a scenic route but it was full of bad potholes and I soon hit a bad one.

Almost straight after, the bike developed a squeaky clicking noise that was not only loud it vibrated through the frame of the bike and it was really beginning to piss me off and it was putting me in a bad mood. At every opportunity I would stop to try and find what was causing the very annoying squeak.

This noise was now beginning to annoy Jane and she was getting grumpy.

We stumbled across a McDonalds and that is what we decided to have for lunch. Jane went in and ordered it while I stripped my bike down to find this noise and I tried everything. I used GT85 on cables and on bearings but I just could not find it.

After we had finished lunch I lowered my saddle and got Jane to sit on the bike as the noise would only come when it was under load. After even more time wasted scratching myI decided to call my local bike shop and they said that it most likely was going to be the headset and that I should take it apart and regrease it all.

Obviously a McDonalds car park is not ideal for this so decided it would be a good idea to get the bike to a repair shop where they could take a better look at it. Out came the smart phones and we were hunting for bike shops. We found one that was called Magic Cycles so I clicked and squeaked my way there.

On the way we were overtaken by a black Ford Transit van honking at us as if we had just raped his dog. Yep you guessed it, it was my mate Casper.

I was devasted to find that Magic Cycles was closed, I ranted and shouted obscenities at a locked door. Being even more pissed off and frustrated we asked another cyclist and he gave us directions to Erskine Bridge which is where we were meeting Casper and we chatted with him for about 10 minutes.

We cycled to Erskine Bridge and I have to say this bridge is a monster of a bridge. The trouble is we had no idea which side we were meant to be meeting Casper on.

From what I remember Casper said he was near a BP petrol station. So we asked another cyclist who happened to be a gereatric cyclist in lycra and we could hardly understand a word he was saying.

A few texts passed between me and Casper and they pretty much told me to just cross the fricken bridge which is what we did after Jane and I argued for five minutes. On the otherside of the bridge there was Casper….. AT LONG FRICKEN LAST…..

We said hello and all that and he walked us to his van where we loaded our bikes into the back and jumped in the front and started chatting. Casper said he had bought us some water and a couple of Snickers bars but he had already eaten on of them…..legend!!!!!!

We got to Caspers flat and we were blown away by what can only be described as a bachelor pad. It was fantastic very clean and tidy and of course the walls and ceilings were faultless…lol

We wheeled our bikes into the spare bedroom and Casper told us to do any washing that we needed to do and just make ourselves at home. We have never felt so welcome and relaxed anywhere, he left us alone for an hour so we can shower and removed a days worth of oil and crap from our faces while washing everything that we carried.

When Casper returned he was bearing lager and a cider for Jane which instantly put him in her good books. Casper had already bought supplies for us so that we can make sandwiches in the morning.

Oh and thanks for the the two Lottery Tickets…. no winners though 🙁

We chatted for a long time and even though we had never met before we felt that we had known each other forever. After a couple of hours we headed out to the local Wetherspoons where we ordr more beer and some well needed food.

Jane and Casper were trying out the ciders while I stuck to the lager. Food was fantastic and the beer was flowing and the chatting didnt stop. However, myseld and Jane were getting tired and we decided to head back.

Casper was giving us all sorts of advice and tips and was really helping us on a few issues. We headed to bed quite late but I have to say Casper was the perfect host and we are very greatful for everything that Casper did. Time for bed….. NIGHT NIGHT!!!!?