The Meat Van Man

What’s that all about then? Wellllllll…………. I’ll explain.

I don’t know if you, dear reader (as if anyone is reading this dribble), watched Michael Macintyre comedy show on BBC1 last night…well it came from Birmingham and stared a comedian (forget his name) who told a story about a meat van at Bilston Market…well, I needed to pop down to Halfords (is that a swear word on this forum….it is on Bike Radar) to get a seat post clamp. Well, I had two choices for a return trip….either go straight back or head out along the disused railway line, then the ringroad before taking the canal back towards home….well, as the weather seemed okay and my legs felt okay, I thought I would take the slightly longer way back (about 7 miles against 3 miles… not great but it helps build up my monthly distance).

Well, the disused railway line goes by Stafford Common, the venue of Stafford’s weekly car boot sale. Not sure what you think about car boot sales, but I have only been to one once…and that was pants. Anyway, I wasn’t planning to stop but… a voice came floating over the airways…yes, there was a meat van!!!! And do’h, they were selling £85 worth of steak for £20…. I swear I saw a bloke around the back scrapping maggots off the meat…. And yes, I am a vegetarian.

So there I was at the car boot sale and as the weather was fine…said that already: Do’h, I thought I would take a wonder about. What a pile of poo. Why on earth would anyone want an K-tel album from 1973? Most of it belongs in the “recycling” centre.

I did however see a right scoundrel trying to sell a Raleigh rust bucket bike for £130!!! This bike wasn’t worth £20. I felt sorry for the bloke he was trying to rip off as obviously had no idea how much the “bike” (I use the word only loosely as it was a pile of poo) was worth, or what they could get new from say Argos or Halfords for the same money. Okay, the bike they will get from there for £130 will be basic but it would be new and not a pile of rust. Should I have said anything… not sure but at least the bloke said he would think about it and return with the money if he decided to buy.

Anyway, back to the ride….it was all going lovely until I got back to Radford Bank…about 2.5 miles from home, where the skies opened and it started to rain…and rain…and rain…sigh. At least it took me only 10 minutes to get back but it was nasty and unpleasant.

The ride….

http://gb.mapometer.com/en/cycling/route_190224.html