The Adventures of Melvyn and Lesley
Having retired we are busy pursuing the things we enjoy
Based at Upper Tean, this is a lovely course that takes in some of the Cheadle 4. I have been able to get a little bit of training in and so I ran a bit better than at Ipstones, I felt strong to 5 and then had to hold on. I beat two of my regular rivals, but Mick Beardmore showed me a clean pair of heels over the last 2 miles. Looking forward to Congleton half marathon now.
Photos curtesy of Bryan Dale at www.racephotos.org.uk
Today was our annual 20 mile road race. Lesley and I, along with lots of other club volunteers help out at this. This year I am lead bike. I usually do this on my 1100cc Pan European but as I have swapped it for a Honda Wave which is a mere 110cc I was worried that I might not keep up with the leaders.
Ben Gamble won in a new course record of 1:46, a phenomenal time on our tough course!
Probably silly to run this as it’s my first proper run for over 3 months and it is a hilly course, cold and wet, but I really enjoyed catching up with some of my running friends again. I think I actually enjoyed the race, just wish I was fitter. Pleased to have finished within a minute of Mick Beardmore, Stan Winterton and Paul Douglas.
4 countries today. Switzerland is such a beautiful country to drive through and excellent roads just like France. Filled up with fuel in Luxembourg, cheapest in Europe (but a bit more expensive than 3 months ago) at €1.25 per litre. Found an excellent campsite at Arlon in Belgium. 
Arrived in Venice just after 10:00am local time. We looked for Neil and Janette on the Aegean Sea with no success. Today we have driven to Lake Lucerne. Off for a walk.
So after 3 months we finally start the journey home. We said our goodbyes and left about 3:30 this afternoon. 3 hours later we are in Plataria ready for an early start for the ferry from Igouminitsa to Venice. Sitting in Olga’s Taverna waiting to order food.
Lots of our friends leaving today so we had a get together at the campsite restaurant followed by live music at WildWind last night. Still full and feel like I have a hangover even though I only drank water, tonic and coke. Great night, fab. friends.
Oops, managed to get a parking ticket this morning. It’s unbelievable what you can get away with here without recourse. Not wearing crash helmet, driving the wrong way down a one way street, wild camping etc. all illegal but the police turn a blind eye most of the time. I parked where I normally park and where the locals often park. I should have noticed that I was on my own this morning! When I got back I ada ticket. To be fair I was parked under a (very faded) clearway sign. €80, €40 if i pay within 10 days. Lesson learned. 
Unfortunately Ian put his knee through his Hellcat 6.2 yesterday (such a good sail too) so today we took it into Lefkada for repairs. Mark who actually fixes the sails is a lovely bloke and does a great job mending sails, many of the windsurf schools use him, but one of his colleagues is a strange chap. He must have been on some sort of aggressive customer service course as I have now had a couple of incidents with him.
The company have a head office (where you take the sails) and a sail loft where Mark works which is a couple of miles before their office. I thought it would be nice to say hello to Mark, introduce Ian to him and show him where the loft is. Jolly Joe (not his real name), was there delivering sails for repair and greeted us with “What are you doing here? You are not allowed here (it was a public highway), this is my private place and I don’t like anyone coming here” (sorry Mark you’re not allowed any friends). When he had finished his warm welcome I explained our purpose and told him we were indeed on our way the the head office to drop off the sail but even Jolly Joe could see the sense of leaving the sail at the loft and save him a of following us to collect the sail from the office and then bring it back out to the loft.
While in Lefkada Ian took me to an ironmongers I hadn’t been to before (now my new favourite shop). Sells everything you could wish for and passes the test of being able to buy just the one screw if you so wish. Their range was not just extensive with items that were beautifully made and plated in chrome (which Ian nor I recognised) but was timeless. They had the very latest from the very oldest technologies. A great shop and worth a visit.
Today was a rest day from windsurfing. The wind didn’t kick in until 6:30 by which time we had met up with friends for a chat and a quiet drink.
