Success! (Flavours of Portugal, Brandon)

 Flavours of Portugal,

Brandon,

Open Tue-Sat 9-7, Sun 10-3

It had been a while since I had done a train bike ride as I had had a couple of bad railway experiences when I hadn't been allowed on the planned trains as they had too (two) many bikes on already. However Big George had noticed there was a strong wind from the West so had suggested that on Thursday we caught the train to Ely so we could be blown back. This sounded like a good opportunity to check out how easy bike train travel was now but in the end this was the least of our worries when we found ourselves in the middle of a field with one of our bikes in pieces.

The day had started badly. I arrived at Norwich station to find that there were now some posters up clearly stating only 4 bikes were allowed on the train to Cambridge (the one we wanted) on a first come first serve basis. As there was no sign of Big George I thought it best I got both our tickets so we could get to the front of the bike queue. When Big George turned up he was furious, he had recently got an old persons railcard and had been looking forward to using it today. The disappointment of not being able to try it out coupled with having to pay 50% more for his ticket than necessary made for a very frosty journey but much much worse was to come.

As there were never more than 4 bikes on the train at any point (more luck than judgement) then the train experience had been very straightforward as we arrived at Ely station on time.

Successfully arriving at Ely Station on time

We were soon off to a flying start down long straight roads with the wind pushing us along. However when planning the route I knew I needed to keep it as short as possible as I had a sports massage booked for 4.00pm. 

A typical long straight Fenland road to whizz along

Unfortunately the shortcut I had planned turned out to be down a heavily guarded private road. Never wanting to turn round it looked like a left turn down a muddy track a little further on would keep us on course. This was a bad plan as the muddy track turned into a field that ended in a ditch. 

The mud track had run out of track so we had to turn around

There was no choice but to turn round and go the long way around instead. Big George was struggling as his rim brakes kept clogging with mud jamming his wheels. With my disc brake bike I had got a long way ahead and was just wondering where he had got to when I heard my phone ring. It was Big George to say his wheels had jammed up again but in trying to force them his derailleur had broken off. 

You may remember that a couple of weeks ago my derailleur had also broken off on the way back from Cambridge and that I had tried, and failed, to convert my bike to a single speed meaning that embarrassingly, it had to be transported home in the support wagon. So when Big George told me what had happened I pretended to be upset and alarmed (as we had no support wagon available) but really I was very excited as I would have a chance to bury the demons of my mechanical failure and do the repair successfully. It was almost like I had taken him there on purpose so this would happen.

With the experience of my previous chain shortening failure and subsequent YouTube research then this time I was confident of successful. I remembered the 3 key things when trying to get the bike to work with no derailleur in one gear: use the little cog at the front, the middle cog at the back and don’t make the chain too tight. After a bit of fiddling we had the chain the right length on the right cogs and it seemed to work. Well done me!!

Big George's bike now in single speed mode

With bike now rideable, at least in a single speed mode, then we were off again, or were we.

Cycling Guest Cycling top tip No 69: If your cycling host has just spent 30 mins getting your bike back on the road with a miracle repair then don’t cycle it straight through thick mud jamming it up again, as it is both rude and delays your journey by another 15 minutes.

Once Big George had un jammed his wheels and brakes from the latest mud clot then progress was good if a bit slow as Big George's legs were whirling round in the only gear now available to him. We decided to aim for Brandon as the nearest big train station. I was very proud of my handiwork as the chain never came off and it looked like we would successfully make it to the station in time for me to get to my massage.

But showing little regard for my deadline Big George decided to have a puncture. As I tutted, looked at my watch and sent texts, Big George got down to business and to my surprise got it fixed in record time.

When we got to Brandon (which was not on the original route) Big George insisted we went to his favourite Portuguese cafe which he has wanted to take me to for many years. It was almost as if he had arranged todays series of events on purpose so this would happen.

Flavours of Portugal has a continental style pavement seating area whereas inside is part shop, part cafe and this is where we choose to sit.

Todays unplanned cafe stop

There was a different sort of cake selection here which were mainly pastries rather than big sponge cakes. I obviously went for the classic portuguese tart.

Unfortunately I spied a tin of chocolate Nesquik so rather than bother ordering a hot chocolate and giving it 5 out of ten, I gave it that mark anyway and had a nice cup of tea.

Big George believed his coffee was one of the best in Norfolk, which is why he likes it here so much, and my portugese tart was excellent so it was a very good stop on such an eventful day.

Refreshments at Flavours of Portugal

While we enjoyed our refreshments Big George checked the train times and realised the next one left in 10 mins. I had a decision to make; if I went for the train and missed it I would have to cycle flat out for 30 miles to Wymondham to make my appointment. However If I went from the cafe then I could finish my tea and cake and have a more leisurely and shorter cycle there which is what I opted for.

So Big George downed his coffee and dashed off to the station (leaving me to pay) and here his story ends, I assume he got home at some point. I, on the other hand finished up and set off for an incident free ride across Breckland ending in a very pleasant sports massage before completing the trip home.

All in all it turned out to be a good day.

1. I had proved I could do an emergency fix on a bike with a broken derailleur.
2. Big George was very excited that he was able to use his old persons railcard after all and had eventually got me to his favourite Portuguese cafe in the Brandon area.
3. I still managed my 60 mile ride as well as my sports massage.

In fact I have decided to always have a massage towards the end of a ride as my legs felt great for the final few miles home.
Scores

Hot Choc Quality	Guest Hot Drink Quality	Effective Cake Selection	Cake Quality	Ambiance and Atmosphere	Café Rating
5	8.5	4.8	7.8	6.5	6.44

No route as it all got a bit disjointed