Keep your balance

"I'm in the bike shop; the new machine is just getting finely tuned so I'll be with you shortly. You'll need that dusty thing hanging in your garage and some beer tokens; I've charged up the new mini iPad and added a few more useful Apps.  Do you realise I can now find out where and when all the manhole covers in Tunbridge Wells were made just by scanning them using a free App I downloaded this morning !"

Feck, he was serious !!!

We set off at a tremendous pace just before midday, I let him get quite a way ahead as he'd had a bell fitted to his handle bars, which evidently linked by Bluetooth to his mini iPad and an App that could determine the "Family Tree" of anyone he rang it at on the trail, so it was only fair to let him play with it.
It was redders, a proper scorching hot day as we raced along the tracks. Evidently neither the "Food Hygiene" nor "Pub" Apps had been fully updated because we passed up several opportunities of taking on victuals and watering our trust steeds. Eventually arriving at Bridgnorth we stopped to scan a manhole cover conveniently located next to a licensed cafe.

Dale, as with all men has no need to read instructions, especially those of his new HipLock bicycle security system and it did take him a while to work out that you do not chain the bike to yourself as it makes getting to the bar a tad more awkward than necessary.
A couple of cool Thatcher’s and a large helping of Bread Pudding and we were on our way, but  I had failed to realise that the way there had been predominantly downhill and thus the return would be UP !
Feck, Feck !
The App says the Brewery at Ironbridge is open he says, so we can stop for a swift one if we get a move on….. It was closed
Feck, Feck, Feck !
Err, we have two choices here: the long steep road climb or we can go up Paradise said Dale… so a no brainer then I said 

 I made him stop at the Coalbrookdale Inn  (which his App insisted either didn’t exist or was closed even as we stood at the bar ordering.
The rest of the journey, using the new “take me home NOW” App took us up every 1:2 hill in Shropshire and predominantly through housing estates littered with burnt out cars and  populated by children all looking very similar to each other.

I was proper pooped when eventually I got home and had to phone the Not so Bad Lady Wife (who was lounging in the garden) to help me off the bike as I had become welded to it in the heat. 
 
"Life is like riding a bicycle. to keep your balance you must keep moving"