This is why I rarely venture into town on a weekend between now and January! York was virtually gridlocked yesterday.
“When I was accused of making inappropriate sexual remarks whilst filming Masterchef, my genius defence was to say that there were only 13 middle class women of a certain age"
Case in point; it's all motorways/direct/easy routing... Used to tour in Europe this way, with frequent stops to refer to Michelin maps. So much easier now. Can follow a pre-planned route across the type of roads you want to ride or even just follow your nose and still route to your hotel when the sat nav ETA is appropriate.
I see your point, but the fun and adventure seems to have gone when riding. Bike adverts are more and more resembling car adverts which boast more about screen size or connectivity than about the ride or drive. Guess I'm getting old.
Some of the very best trips I've done are where I "Head South" or "Head East"... discovery and freedom..
One event I have to blame CSS for was my appearance on This Is Your Life, which took place shortly after Christmas. I remember we had just bought our new house in Pembrey and were staying with the in-laws while we waited to move in. The previous day I had been playing in the Wilson's Classic in Manchester, where I was knocked out by Alex Higgins. Then I travelled back down to London because CSS had apparently arranged for me to see some potential sponsors. It was now about 6pm and I was absolutely shattered, having spent all day with Barrie Gill talking to sponsors. We were driving along a street, allegedly en route to a Ford dealer's showroom to talk about an exhibition, when this bus pulled out in front of us. I noticed this crowd of people on the bus and thought: I know that face. But I could not work out what was happening. Suddenly all these lights came on and I recognised some of the lads from Llanelli. What's going on here? There must a match or something. Then Eamonn Andrews stepped off the bus with the famous 'Red Book' and uttered 'the words'. As they took me back to the television theatre, I was in a total daze. I wanted to see the kids before the show started, but they would not let me. That night, in the theatre, for the first time in my life I was lost for words. Emotionally it was too much for me. The next thing I knew the show was over... and that was it. It all went past me like a dream. Obviously it had taken months to prepare, with Annette, family and friends talking about all the things that had happened. She had had to take valium because she could not stand the thought of being on television. Of course, it was a great honour to be chosen for the programme, but at the time I really could not take it all in. People had said to me before that I would someday get on the show, but I had just laughed at them. I never thought it would happen. In fact, it very nearly didn't. They almost got caught out because on the morning of the show I rang the in-lawas to see how the kids were. Mrs Edwards, the next-door neighbour, answered the phone and I asked if Wayne or Darren were there? No. Tom or Audrey? No, they were all up in London. Now Annette was lying next to me in bed at the time and was having a heart attack all through the conversation. I said to her, 'Mrs Edwards says everyone's in London.' 'No, of course not. She doesn't know what she's talking about. Come on, they're waiting for you downstairs.' And so I was rushed off into a very busy day and thought no more about it. It was a desperately close thing that, because if you find out beforehand, they cancel the programme. I did not realise till afterwards how near I got to blowing it completely.
I'd say it depends on the type of rider. Most modern riders will indeed lather up on countless gadgets to make riding easier to navigate and execute. Personally, whilst I have my Zumo XT always on when touring, most of the time it never has a route, just a general direction. I do save routes however, but rarely stick to them.
