On the run....

We had made a connection with a native Englander, Mark Fenner, via my cousin Stephanie, and he had graciously offered to help us while we were here if we needed it, and also wanted to meet us while we were in the Peak District, as he lives near here. We had planned to meet up with him on Friday, on our way to Edale, and he was planning to bring us a traditional English picnic and ride with us for a bit.

Well, it didn't really work out as we had planned. When we awoke in Bakewell on Friday morning it was raining. We figured we had plenty of time to get to Miller's Dale, where we had planned to meet Mark, since it was only about 10 miles away. Since it was raining, we decided to hang around in Bakewell for awhile, and maybe the rain would stop. It wasn't stopping, so we finally just headed out. We got on a bike trail that I had seen on the map and it appeared to just go directly to Miller's Dale and it was a flat converted rail bed, so we figured we'd be there in no time.

Then Mary got a flat - it was a nail and we had to find it in the tire and remove it. It was still raining, so we had to find some cover to get the flat fixed. We started walking, and found a railroad overpass to work under along the bike path. 30 mins later we were on our way. And then, we saw the sign: "Last chance for cyclists to exit the trail - no exits for cyclists are ahead due to closed tunnels!"

Oy, now we were really gonna be late to meet Mark. We looked to the right - a steep set of stairs leading to a road. We looked to the left - a gate that said "Private Property - No access". We really didn't want to remove all of our gear to get our bikes up the steps. I suggested that Mary go and ask the home owner if we could use their driveway to get to road, because it was quite rideable and would save us a good 30 mins. The unflappable Mary approached the house. The side door was standing open. She knocked, and yelled - but no response. We decided to just go on and beg if the homeowner came out. Well, he saw us and started yelling at us to go back. He was on the phone, and was going back and forth between yelling at us and talking on the phone. Then he went back inside and Mary and I decided to make a run for it, riding like bandits to get into the next town, where we hid for a bit. I was convinced he would be chasing us. But Mary knew this guy was just giving us a hard time.

Rain continued, and we went into the town pub and we found a phone and called Mark. He managed to find the pub and we had our picnic outside there under their tent. It was pouring so hard that Mary and I decided to take him up on his offer of a ride to Edale. It was about 15 miles away, with lots of ups and downs - I figured doing this in the pouring rain on a loaded touring bike would not be any fun. We arrived at Edale totally soaked and cold, even with the car ride there. As I speak, our gear is still drying out! But today, the sun came out and we did a beautiful 10 mile hike up Mam Tor!

Tomorrow, we take the train back to Gatwick, and then on Monday, fly home. We're ready to return.....