28°C, strong, humid sun, turning into thunderstorms later.

Ride to work day: set off early this morning giving time for a more relaxed pace. At the end of the day, I got the bike out and found a flat tyre. After changing the inner tube, the tyre was reluctant to take much pressure.

After a mile or so, it was obvious that I’d have to walk. At 3 miles, I got to a garage and phoned for a taxi. I baulked at £45 to go 11 miles no way! So off I went. As the hours rolled by, the clouds thickened and began to rumble. By the time I was passing Hesketth Bank, there were frequent lightning strikes including at least 20 ground-strikes.