Travel Reference
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'Why don't you see if they can do anything to fix The Falcon here? It's getting ridicu-
lous. The chain is falling off every few hundred metres,' said Ben.
'Fine. If it shuts you up for a bit longer.'
We wheeled it into the shop and the man agreed to take a quick look at The Falcon's
chain.
'Nah, I can't fix that. You're going to need a new rear derailleur,' he said.
'Here we go again,' muttered Ben.
'Do you have any of those?'
'Nope, not for a bike like this. I could try to order one, but they're tough to get hold of
and it would take several days to arrive.'
'Is there anything that can be done to it, to make it last a bit longer?'
'Nope. It's properly broken.'
'I think it's time to start looking for a new bike, George,' said Ben smugly.
'I don't think we've really got time to start hunting for a new bike today. Why don't we
just keep going and if we see somewhere that looks like a possibility along the way we can
stop,' I suggested, with no intention of stopping whatsoever.
'But we're in a big town now. Surely this is the best place to try?'
'Yeah, but I'd rather get going. The chain's not that bad.'
'IT FALLS OFF EVERY FUCKING MINUTE!' he shouted.
'But I'm the one that has to put it on. It only takes a few seconds. I'm not slowing you
down so why does it bother you?'
'It bothers me that you're continuing to ride such a piece of shit when we could get a
decent bike,' said Ben as he cycled off.
'It was hard enough to get these bikes. The Falcon has made it from Cornwall to Lan-
caster so it can't be doing too badly.'
I climbed onto The Falcon and pedalled after him. The chain fell off straight away.
'Keep going!' I shouted. 'I'll catch you up!'
The route followed the busy A6 for half a mile before turning onto minor roads through
the pretty villages of Nether Kellet and Over Kellet. We reached the small market town of
Milnthorpe at about 6pm. I was confused as to why some towns are described as 'market
towns'whenothersdon'tboastaboutthefactthattheyhaveamarket.Ididsomeextensive
research (Wikipedia) and it seems that the phrase is a legal term originating in medieval
times, which gives a particular settlement the right to hold a market. It doesn't mean they
have to. But they can if they want.
It was 6pm on a Tuesday and there was no sign of a market in Milnthorpe. But it could
have had one, you know, if it wanted to.
We reached the main square, which was also presumably known as the 'market square',
as it looked like the sort of open space that could host a market, should Milnthorpe decide
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