Tails From The Riverbank

Who could have predicted what today had in store?! So many events in such a short space of time! We began this morning with a nice little lie in, and eventually hit the road by 10 in search of our entry point, the other end of Harecastle Tunnel. Rather than the usual thousands cheering and shouting when we launch, today we had 2 grumpy fishermen complaining we were interrupting them trying to land what's most likely going to be a traffic cone or a shopping trolley.

After satisfying their complaints we headed south bound towards our finishing point, The Royal Exchange pub in Stone where we were promised a free pint each courtesy of Cheryl. Only hours into the journey and disaster struck, in the form of the Canal Sniper. Yet again, his target was the furry feline, Sid. Whether the sniper exists, or Sid just felt like taking a dip in his natural habitat, either way it lead to a wet dress and an angry rat. We decided to take a drinks break along the towpath to let Sid dry out and chat to some of the locals. Unbeknown to us, chaos was just round the corner in the form of a young girl on a bike quickly closing in on us. We'd taken our break next to a metal frame which acts a cycle restricter to slow bikers down. Whether it was being greeted by a 6ft 2 cornish wooly mammoth in a dress or the sight of Sid on the hunt for some cheddar, she completely forgot to brake and misjudged the width of her handlebars. All of us bit our lip as she came within inches of wrapping the handlebars round her head permanently. A quick flash of an embarrased smile and she went on her way. As we approached the finishing line for the day a mysterious figure stood staring through an iron fence on the canal bank. All of us would have placed a years earnings, betting it was a scarecrow, when suddenly it spoke. What it said, we have no idea as we were still suffering from shock and trying to stay afloat, unlike Sid who longed for the dirty water to be running through his rat veins again.

Eventually we reached the finish and mouths watering, we set off in search of our free pint. The drink barely touched the sides as it had been a long day for everyone, especially Dave on the bike who is now the proud owner of the most horrendous tan lines known to man/woman. We headed back to the TA centre for a hard earned shower and something to eat. All the while, our concerns growing over Sid's changing features which now include whiskers and a slight tail sprouting.