Up for It

Training, training, training…………Over the past couple of weeks I’ve managed to complete a couple of 50 miler’s which has been extremely satisfying to say the least. I’m averaging about 110 miles a week now. I’m feeling pretty good about the whole thing. In fact I can’t wait!! Also had some contact with some of the other riders and it seems that we're all 'Up for It'

Also, touch wood; I’ve had no falls lately either. I seem to have the unclipping of the feet and the balance just right now. I do get a bit of a panic on sometimes when I’m careering down hills at a rate of knots, especially as many of the road surfaces leave an awful lot to be desired!! My top speed to date is 58.9 km/hr which is 36.5 mph. I know it doesn’t sound fast but when you’ve got the wind whistling in your ears and your flesh exposed to bugs flying the opposite direction at a similar speed, believe me, it’s fast!!! Have you’ve seen what happens to them when they hit your windscreen? Bloody hell they really leave a welt on your skin!. And don’t even get me started on ‘thunder flies’ they’re bad enough when you are just walking along, but on a bike, you feel like you’re covered with them!!

I must admit that I’ve been very inspired by the Tour de France these last couple of weeks! In fact Martin called me ‘AN ANORAK’? How dare he when he watches rugby and athletics whenever it’s on. At least the Tour is only a once a year thing! In fact, Martin has told me I can’t do anymore challenges after this one because everything is going to pot!! The housework, (I do all the washing, ironing, dusting & cleaning), the garden, (I dug it all over, planted it apart from the greenhouse, weed it & water it), the dogs, (don't get me started on them),and the cooking!!! This is all because last Wednesday I went out for a ride and ended up going a little further than I’d planned too. However, everything was in hand for dinner. We were having Cottage Pie. I put the mince in the oven with some veg, gravy etc to cook whilst I was out and all I had to do was boil & mash the spuds, assemble it and grill the cheese top off. Well, as I said I went a bit further than anticipated and ended up doing 26 miles. I got home at 6.40pm and Martin arrives home at 7.05 pm. It was like the mad chase scene that used to play at the end of the Benny Hill Show (I’ll bet you’re humming the tune now!). The spuds cooked, the mince was ready, but I didn’t have enough time to assemble it into a Cottage Pie, so we had mince, potatoes & beans. Martin said it was ‘Crap’. That’s nice isn’t it? I would like to have thrown it all over him, but restrained myself!! Anyway, that’s the reason I can’t do anymore challenges!! NOT!! I’ve found something I really enjoy doing, that really doesn’t take up too much time, and it's good for me at the end of the day. He has his birds & his Rugby. I have The Beast!!

Stabilisers

My dear ‘friends’ here at Cummins namely John Izzard & Stephen Brentnall have now come up with one or two safety measures that I should have fitted to my bike or myself. Not content with putting up pictures of the Eurostar & fold up bicycles, which they are convinced I’m using, they now feel I should have these stabilisers fitted ‘just in case’. Ideally they should be hydraulic ones that slowly lower as my speed drops so that they are fully grounded when I come to a complete stop!! Secondly the other safety feature they have suggested is actually fitted to me. Izzy reckons that I should have a helium balloon fitted in a back pack that will inflate as I slow down, a keep me upright should I fail to uncling my feet! Bless them they are funny. NOT! Grant Glover, who used to work here and nicknamed me ‘Stinka’ (why? I don’t know) said I’ve actually got a motor on my bike…. It charges up on the down hills & kicks in on the uphills so I don’t have to pedal!! There are some many witty people around aren't there?

Would you like my Autograph?

From the Daventry Post Weds July 9th. Text reads as follows:-

Daventry's mother and daughter cycling duo
A MOTHER and daughter from Daventry are getting ready to face the challenge of a lifetime as they cycle from London to Paris in four days.Linda Davies and Emily Eldershaw are raising money for Breast Cancer Care and have already raised £3,000 but are hoping to double this by the time they start their bike ride on Wednesday, September 3.Linda is also taking part in the challenge to celebrate her 50th birthday. She said: “I can’t let this year pass without achieving something momentous. “We’ve only ever cycled for fun before. “The last time I did any serious exercise was in the early 1990s when I used to be an aerobic and swimming instructor, but the only serious exercise I do now is walk my dogs.”The pair have been following a strict routine set by Discover Adventure, the organisers of the event and are now cycling more than 100 miles a week to prepare to take on the challenge.Both ladies are Daventry born and bred and are hoping local businesses will get behind them and support them in raising money for their chosen charity.Linda said: “We have never been affected by breast cancer but it is the largest known killer of women.”As little as £5 will allow one person to access the online chat forum on the charity’s website and share experiences with other people affected by breast cancer.You can sponsor Linda or Emily by visiting their online fundraising pages on www.justgiving.com/lindadavies1 or www. justgiving.com/emilyeldershawLondon2Paris.

Turbo Trainer

No, this is not some rocket fuelled footwear as the name might suggest!! I am borrowing a ‘Turbo Trainer’ (see picture above) which enables you to train without actually leaving the comfort of your own home! Em uses rollers, because they actually require balance and mimic the road , but Grant took great pleasure in pointing out, that with my history of tumbles I’d perhaps be better of with a fixed turbo trainer than investing in a couple of mattresses to put either side of the roller!! Git!! Anyway the logic behind this is as the weather is so bloody unpredictable at present and the time is just rattling by I need to be able to train regularly. We’ve got a rowing machine at home, which Martin keeps trying to get me to use, but I said I’m cycling not rowing! I know we’ve got to cross the channel, but I think that’s on a ferry, not under our own steam! I also decided that the rollers may not be such a good idea as I’ll have to train in the extension at the back of the house where our dogs are and I may keep falling off if I have to kick them out the way! (Wouldn’t kick them really) (yes I would)………………

Bloody Weather

Rain rain go away come again some other day .........

What is with this weather? It’s awful and so depressing! I haven’t been out since last Thurs!! I was going to go out on Sat but I had people coming to stay. Martin & I had a joint 50th birthday party, yes I know mine’s not until Dec, but I wanted a summer party, as I thought the weather would be better than a winter one, YEAH ROIGHT (as my dear friend Mike Carney would say!). Anyway, to coin a phrase from a Fast Show character, ‘I’m afraid I was very, very drunk’ on Saturday night and consequently the ride Emily, Grant & I had planned to do on Sunday morning went out the window!! However I don’t think they were up to it either!

8 Weeks & Counting

OH MY GOD!!!! Its only 8 weeks until we go!!!! Where the hell has the last few months gone? Ah well, I’m prepared for it, NOT! The training is going steadily! I went out with Emily just over a week ago. With her house move to Milton Keynes she’s been a bit pre-occupied, but is now focused on the matter in hand again I’m pleased to say. We had planned to do around 35 miles, but her sense of direction had gone on strike and we ended up heading back towards MK instead of going to Leighton Buzzard and only did 23 miles. However, it wasn’t a bad thing really considering she hadn’t been out for a while. I think when she goes out with Grant she simply follows behind him and doesn’t pay attention to the roads, bit like a sheep, (I’m not calling you a sheep Em honest) however she has done the Woburn route on her own!

I went out again on the following Tuesday night, but should have got a slapped wrist for it!! I didn’t take a drink with me!! I had prepared a couple of bottles, but left them on the wall at home! I realised my error at Everdon (only 2 miles away), so I rang Martin who was at home and asked him if he could pop out with it, guess what he said? ‘Of course I will! darling’ NOT! He actually said ‘Oh Bloody Hell! I’m busy now’, so I decided, rather stupidly, to carry on. The problem was it was quite warm! Anyway, 24 miles later a very hot, sweaty and shaky Linda arrived back home! I felt awful, I had a headache and my legs were really wobbly (no, not because of all the fat). Guzzled a whole litre of PSP (an energy drink) down in one go. Won’t be doing that again in a hurry!! We (Martin & I) went out for something to eat at Charwelton coz I was too knackered to cook and had a couple of ciders of which the first one didn’t touch the sides!!!

Had a rest day Wednesday and then went out on Thursday. Had a brilliant ride got up to 37 mph going down Staverton Hill! I also managed to stay either just ahead of or just behind the rain. I got to the A45 Willoughby/Barby cross roads and there was a huge clap of thunder!! All I could think about was ‘I’m ok! I’ve got rubber tyres’ anyway I needn’t have worried, because the rain & thunder passed right in front of my very eyes, so by the time I had climbed up Longdown Lane, (this is the hill I reached 35 mph going down) it was blue sky! However, one problem, WET ROADS, BIG PUDDLES, this is the fist time I’ve been out on my bike in the wet (told you I’d become a fair weather rider) and I hadn’t realised how much spray these tiny little tyres can kick up. When I got home I’d got soaking wet legs and bum. When I took my shorts off I was horrified. My shorts are blue, but not any blue, they are PALE blue, and there was a vertical brown line right up the middle of them. Can you imagine what that must have looked like from behind? I’ll bet people thought I’d shit myself!! But that’s another story………………(Only Joking!!!)