My first OFFICIAL fall...........

Sorry........

I've been a bit lax in posting recently, but that doesn’t mean I have been sitting around doing nothing!! Far from it.

I’ve had my first official fall. Hurrah!!!! Yes I know, why celebrate a fall, and what makes it official? Well, apparently (according to Dr Grant Phillips) you can’t call yourself a cyclist until you’ve had 3 falls and an official fall is a) done at speed & b) you loose skin. And I did both! I also banged my right tit, which is also what I felt too as I quickly leapt up from the ground checking to see if anyone had witnessed it and listening for sniggers behind garden walls!!! I had a humdinger of a bruise appear as well, but that’s all gone now. So no harm done there.

The weather has been a little against me over the last couple of weeks. It’s been bloody awful in fact. However I did manage to get out last week between downpours, whilst we were on holiday from work. I clocked up 94 miles!! In fact on Saturday I did my furthest distance so far, 45 miles!

On Monday I went round Draycote Water three times which is 15 miles total. Got dive bombed by the ‘golden plovers’ (impressed that I know my ornithology eh?) that seemed to think I was some sort of threat!! I went out on Martin’s MTB as it had been so wet and I wasn’t sure what the road surface would be like there. It was really nice actually. Do you know, I’ve lived round here, give or take 10 years, all my life and this was my first visit there!!

On Weds, I did 34 miles; it was a gorgeous day so I went out in the morning, early ’ish’, well I was on holiday! I went to Dunchurch/Southam/Priors Marston/Hellidon/Staverton/Badby. I had a really scary experience going down Braunston Hill though. I was overtaken by a speeding lorry, which was so close I could have touched it and it almost sucked me underneath it! I must admit after I had gesticulated furiously at the driver (I’ll bet he wasn’t even looking), I had a little weep it frightened me that much! Anyway during the ride, I was passed by a couple of fellow cyclist. They came by me going up a hill like I was standing still!!! They shouted ‘Morning’; I simply opened & closed my mouth! I wimped out on Priors Marston Hill though! Got halfway up and thought, sod it! I’ve since spoken to my dear friend Bex who’s recently started going out on her MTB with her husband Neil and they got all the way up that same hill on Saturday. I’m now utterly ashamed of myself. However, in my defence there are not so many gears on ‘The Beast’ so it is harder work!

So on Saturday it was longer distance ride day. I’d set my sights at cracking 40 miles, especially as Em had done 46 the other week. We’re very competitive you know. In fact we’ll probably be fighting on the approach to the Eiffel Tower to see who crosses the line first! Remember Em, ‘AGE BEFORE BEAUTY’!!! Anyway, I digress; I went to Dunchurch/ Princethorpe/Leamington/Southam/Staverton/Home. 45 miles in 3 ¼ hours. Bloody hell, I was knackered!! 3 horrible hills, but on the whole not a bad ride. I really don’t like this loneliness though. When I got home, because I hadn’t been talking, but I had been breathing so hard my voice had cracked!! Martin thought it was great! But it soon came back with lubrication!

Anyway this week amongst other things I’m taking part in the 50 mile ride at Rugby for Leukemia. Em & Grant MAY be coming but I doubt it somehow especially as it’s Emily belated birthday BBQ on Sat!!

Ah well, me on my lonesome again……………………

Oxford Bike Ride

Sunday 11th Em, John Hunter & I had all signed up for the Classic Oxfordshire Bike Ride which set off from Harwell, Oxon, on a course of either 30 or 60 miles. John & I had almost arrived when Em called to say she was just leaving the M40 (around 20 mins behind us) but she’d forgotten her cycling shoes. DOH! Plus, she was only wearing flip-flops!! Not the ideal footwear for the tiny pedals we have fitted on our bikes! So John set off to do his 60 miles and I waited for Em to arrive.

After she had gone to a different car park we finally rendezvoused and decided she would have a ride up and down to see if it was possible to ride in her completely unsuitable footwear or not. I must admit I felt really sorry for by this point because we were both really looking forward to doing this ride. Anyway she decided that it was going to possible, we’d just have to take it a little steadier than normal. Hurrah!! So we got sorted and set off to the start.

There were around 75-100 people milling around the start area as we pulled up and guess what? Yep! I fell off!! Again!! FEET!!! I just think I’m an attention seeker really! What a Wally!! I couldn’t believe it. Em just looked at me in complete and utter disbelief. She also asked me to stop doing that as Grant has no more spare handlebars.

Anyway, we were set on our way by Lucy Rudedski, Greg was there too. He’s quite a hunk in the flesh! The rest of the ride (30 miles in total) was quite uneventful really apart from a little cycle rage on my part! Some silly blond woman with a total disregard for the Highway Code, and her friend who had a really squeaky bike, got right up my nose. There was NO WAY she was going to finish in front of me! My competitive edge came out and so it was head down, arse up and I was gone!

I had to lend Em my socks after a while as her feet were being rubbed. She looked like a Japanese woman, but we managed to complete the course in about 2 hours, we can’t be sure exactly how long or how far because our on board computers weren’t working for the first few miles because we’d put our front wheels on the wrong way round so the wheel sensor wasn’t being picked up!! It was a great day though. Sunshine and nice breeze = sunburnt shoulders for Emily! But she did really, really well considering she did it in her flip-flops! Well done Em :O)

Anyway the highlight of the day had to be ‘The Beast’ came home!!! Yay!! Martin was really impressed with it. He’d seen photos of it but I don’t think he realised how good it was going to be!! I keep going out to have a look at it!

The next organised ride Em & I are doing is 50 miles around the Rugby/Coventry area on 8th June. That should be fun!! Carry on Cycling!!!

P.S. For those of you that were worrying, John isn’t still out there cycling!! He actually finished his 60 miles in about 3 ½ hours. Well done him.