Leeds United was undergoing a face lift and was fairly uninspiring. No wonder Cloughie surrendered after 44 days.
The trip to Barnsley from Leeds did not offer the same delights as crossing the Pennines the day before but it did offer less hills which was much appreciated. Despite not having been in contact with Barnsley FC before the trip they could not have been more welcoming and gladly issued us with pitch side passes so we could get a photo inside the stadium. We entered via Gate 1 to see the groundsman supervising the water sprinkler and cursing the fact that in a short space of time 22 players would ruin a whole summers work!
The Dearne Valley Parkway seems to a cyclist like the Santa Pod Raceway and the lorries are perilously close to you as you progress. Avoiding them and the pot holes at the same time is often a task too many and the survival instinct kicks in at the expense of a bone shuddering visit to the bottom of the pothole!
Eventually the heaviest trsffic disappears on to the A1M and you can then comfort yourself with dealing with the local traffic on the run down to The Keepmoat Stadium and Doncaster Rovers FC.
The stadium is in the middle of an industrial estate but is quite impressive. We tried to blag it inside the ground for a look but were thwarted on grounds of elf'n safety. Our way in was barred by the fact that they were constructing the set and stage for the Westlife concert taking place in the stadium tomorrow evening. They did say no very nicely though.
So we are now ensconced in our sixth Premier Inn - still no sign of Lenny Henry. We could offer ourselves to the Whitbread Group as top class mystery shoppers on the venues that we have visited.
The complicated lives that we lead even impacts on these two weeks and my Dad has just picked up Rebecca to take her to an important rehearsal in Chertsey tomorrow ahead of a concert she will be involved in at Wembley Arena early in 2012. She will be delivered back to us on Sunday at the home of the twice European Champions at the City Ground.
Mum - if you are reading this and if you are not I cannot see that you have any reasonable excuse- I hope you are having a great time visting our Canadian family and you really enjoy the wedding. Please give my best wishes to all of them.
Today was, in comparative terms, a short one in the saddle being a total of 41.6 miles bringing the aggregate up to 264.1 miles. The legs could definitely have gone further but I wish someone would remove the porcupine that seems to be able to occupy the saddle before me. This is making my journey a little uncomfortable at the moment.
Tomorrow has a trip down memory lane as we visit Sheffield where I lived for three years whilst studying and met the future Mrs Hallam. Where have those thirty or so years gone. Fade out with violins playing.........
Today's photograph is for my Barnsley supporting mate at work. For anyone interested if you visit the virginmoneygiving site the photos of the trip so far are available as a slide show.
Tune in again tomorrow.
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