I started about 3pm just for a few hours.  A bit of headwind, slush, and a forbidding sky, did not add to the cheery aspect.  As I reached Barton Swing Bridge (over the Manchester Ship Canal [Ed: See below for a contemporary picture]) I was stopped by a ship going up the canal – the ‘San Toddonto’.  On to Stretford, and over the station bridge I scudded, when suddenly I felt my back wheel slip to one side.  For an hour I struggled, and then I fixed it.  The hub had broken.  I decided to return, but I had not gone two miles when it slipped again.  After another titanic struggle, I remounted and sailed into the gathering gloom towards home.  Upon lighting up (or trying to) I found that the carbide was done.  After refilling, I needed water.  After that I wanted a new burner before I could start.  At last I was right and all went well until I got in the lanes around home.  I spent a lively time in getting out of the mire and finished the run with the wheel scraping away on the forks.

24 miles, 4.5 hours

NOTE: My routes do not imply the shortest way! All distances taken from a Veeder Cyclometer