UP POND MY WORD

. . . an abridged version of the morning. T and I set off on a leg stretcher ride. Perfect route, with a bacon butty stop on the way. Image shows the pond area at the cafe. Then . . . disaster . . . road closed and we had to backtrack. Clearly added to the miles, so just under 29 miles today.
Ouch !
For braver Blippers . . . the tale below cites the problem.
Once upon a time . . . cos all the best stories start like this . . . there was a bridge over a stream. Not just any bridge. Billy the Bridge spans the chilled and very clear waters of the River Skerne, the most Northerly Chalk Stream in the UK.
Billy has always been very strong and proud . . .  always happy to say ‘hello’ as we cycled over. Then, a couple of years ago, a vehicle knocked him sideways. Even with repairs, he became labelled a Weak Bridge, signposted all over the area.
Billy lost his mojo . . . his friends baited him . . . and even words of encouragement from T failed to make him strong again . . . ‘you are still a superstructure’. His tears flooded down into the stream. Today . . . the road was blocked.
The workman ordered . . . ‘you cannot come down this road . . . it is CLOSED’.
What to do . . . the route around is a long way, especially in this heat.
However, the grumpy workman did promise to restore Billy to his finer glory . . . even if it will take until the end of October.
All we want is for Billy to be happy again . . . and I will let you know what happens.