Four of us followed Paul Nine Fingers on a circuitous route out of Uxbridge which finally ended up on the Grand Union Canal. The weather was rubbish. It was a scenic if a little bumpy route. We were making a fair pace when just after Rickmansworth my chain came off. As all the men had cycled off into the distance Margaret and I were forced to get our hands dirty. Once back on I realised that the front gear cable had snapped. Back with the pack, and after investigations, it was agreed I would be constrained to the granny gear and that we would detour to a bike shop to buy a replacement gear cable. We continued on our way, but within minutes were stopped again as Margaret had a rear puncture. Much disheartened by all this standing around in the rain, we continued on to the bike shop. As it was still raining and no-one (apart from Paul) was keen to continue to our planned destination, we headed to Watford Town & Country Club for an early lunch. We were a bit of a bedraggled and motley crew so fitted in perfectly. Whilst parking the bikes I managed to lose the gear shifter dust cap and Paul broke the zip on his jacket. What a rubbish day we were having! Lunch was excellent value but unfortunately the beer was off. Still uninspired after lunch we agreed to head to Rickmansworth Golf Club for tea. There we were much heartened to see Bread & Butter Pudding and Custard on the menu, and four of us parted with our £1.95 and waited in anticipation. It was worth the wait, on the Bread & Butter Pudding scale it was a resounding 10 out of 10. After this highlight we headed back out into the relentless drizzle back to Uxbridge.