ATC: "After landing...

...please vacate the runway motorway via the rapid exit on your left & taxi to parking"

After breakfast, panniers were unpacked & a weeks worth of washing loaded into the machine. Biscuit flew up as far as Lancaster (Forton) Services to have a light lunch with bestie Fidra.

We did the same whilst also Oooing & Aahing at the dose of retrofuturism that remains. Whilst enjoying our lunch & lattes I was shown a pretty awesome photograph her Dad took* many years ago from the services looking up the M6. We tried to find the same view from the pedestrian bridge over the carriageway but soon realised it must have been snapped quite a few metres above from the now disused Pennine Tower.

( * Have included the pic as extra 1 with her permission - just hope her Dad doesn't mind as it's his (brill!) photo. Take a look at Ms.Arells Blip today for her shot recreating her Dad's as closely as is now possible & note the busier traffic! )

Unfortunately, the Lift (Elevator) no longer went up to the 3rd floor to give us access although we did try! In fact it was a little worse for wear, refusing to let us in for several minutes and the emergency call system chattering away when it eventually did. We reported it of course and I hope the maintenance peeps had a look at it sooner rather than later.

After dancing one last Cardo-Bop in the carpark I waved off awesome Ms.Arell back onto the Northbound M6 and Biscuit sneaked me out of the services by the back door onto the nearest Shunpike (extra 2). Only for a short way mind, because pulling the same trick in reverse lead into the opposite services to get onto the M6 Southbound.

The rain poured incessantly and I really didn't have the spoons for the 4 lanes of M61 to M60 near Bolton. Instead the M65 eastwards into the Pennines, a fab B road to Haslingden and then A road & motorway south to home was a much nicer experience thank you very much :-)

My bestie explained that my brief outing today is a little akin to an Audax rider doing a wind down ride after a particularly long Paris-Brest-Paris event for example. PBP sounds too much like hard work but tapering off our brill Holz with this afternoons ride did me good so thank you again Gal x

Future plans already hatching :-)