Green Cross Code!!

Training is progressing really well. Once I get out and get warmed up, I just want to keep going. At the moment my warm up is walking up Bridge Hill out of Badby, but my goal is to be able to cycle up it!

We have just 10 weeks to go before we depart at the ungodly hour of 07:00. I’ve been clocking up regular miles each week, trying different routes to keep the interest up. I’ve only had one fall in the last couple of weeks (well two really). They weren't serious ones though. I came to a standstill on a hill coming out of Weedon. It was a little steeper than I anticipated, and unfortunately I’d run out of gears on my bike. I thought about getting off and walking up but as I changed my mind and decided to stay on, oops, I fell over! Nice graze on my knees. I haven’t done that since I was a little kid! Then as I pulled up outside home I unclipped my foot, bumped up the grass verge and fell over!! There were a load of little kids whizzing up & down the path on their bikes and they all looked at me gone out!! I jumped up put my hands on my hips and said, in the manner of the ’Green Cross Code Man’ (remember him?) ‘STOP! Now that was a demonstration of how NOT to get off your bike!!!’ Don’t think they bought it somehow?......................

50 Miles.....

5o chuffin' miles!!!! In the blazing sun!!! On my own!! Well almost there were about 1000 other people taking part, but that's not the point! Emily had hurt her foot the night before (drunk, dancing, stepped on her cat Mickey's scratching post! a likely tale!) But undeterred by the loneliness (are you weeping yet?) I set off. Rider number 215 through the start post at 10.00am Sun 8th June.

You'd have thought they'd have started us off gently, but no.. straight into Newbold Hill!! Excellent, a hill, my favourite . We headed out of Rugby towards Pailton, where the route split (oh, I forgot to say there were actually 3 routes; the 10 mile Tootle, 26 mile marathon & 50 mile marathon), the marshall waved us to turn right for the 50 miles straight into? Yep a bloody great hill!!! Someone was definitely having a laugh and it wasn't me!

The first check point was about halfway round the course at The Shilton Arms, a pub! how cruel. Here I bumped into, not literally, my executive manager from Cummins, Dave Barker & his daughter Sophie. I spotted him as I came into the car park and started praying that I wouldn't fall off as I stopped. I didn't, hurrah! Had my card punched, a cup of squash and set off again towards Brinklow.

The 26 & 50mile routes merged at Brinklow and pandemonium reigned for the next 5 miles or so the 'cycle in single file' request went completely out the window. There were 2, 3 and even 4 abreast, but it was just a case of head down, arse up and get by them. The road out to the next check point at 'The Royal Oak' at Brandon, yet another pub! was a single track country road with the most enormous, long hill I've done to date. A lot of people had got off to walk up by this stage but I battled on, my thighs and lungs were fit to burst, but it was all worth it at the top because there was an absolutely belting descent!!

At Brandon there were people finishing, as this was two start/finish event. Medals were being doled out and people were wheeling their bikes off to the pub for a well deserved beer, but not me. I still had about 8 miles to go.

The next section of the ride was a little bizarre to say the least. It went over some cattle grids and through a farmyard!! By this point I was beginning to think I'd gone the wrong way as there were no other cyclists in view, anywhere! Even the cows were looking at me gone out. Especially when I asked them if they'd seen any one else on two wheels go by! But there was a light at the end of the tunnel, or at least a marshall at the end of the road in a hi-vis vest, last check point 400m, finishing post 4 miles! Hurrah!! The lady at the check point told me where to go (in the nicest possible fashion) and just threw in at the end that there just happened to be one large hill. Are you ahead of me yet? Do you know which one it was? Remember the belting descent I spoke about above? Yep, we'd done a loop and had to go back up. I could have cried! But gritted my teeth and got up it. From there on it was pretty straightforward, thank god.

I did suffer with a touch of road rage thanks to some young lad who was 'pulling wheelies' on his MTB right in front of me. I shouted 'Oi! Stop being such a twat! If you come off, I'll hurt you more than the road will, coz I'm going to ride straight over you!!!!!' He made some comment about me being a moody bitch and rode off.

Just a few miles later the finish line was a wonderful sight! Newbold School Playground, I got my medal and I felt such a sense of achievement. 50 miles in 3 hrs 13 mins. I was elated. Even more so the next day when I discovered that my boss and his daughter who are 'seasoned' cyclists finished just 13 mins ahead of me!!!

So that's the furthest I've done in one ride so far, half the distance of the first day of 'Paris for Bust'!! What have I let myself in for...........................

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……………………

Happy Birthday Frogspawn!!!

Em's birthday is 23rd May so to mark the occasion I'm sending her an appropriate card!! (from MoonPig of course!!)

15 weeks and counting!!!

That’s all there is until we embark on this ‘epic’ journey. (Well I think it’s epic anyway). Training is continuing at a pace. I did a total of 112 kms in 3 rides last week.

Tuesday, I thought I’d try the route set out for the inaugural ride of the ‘Cummins Daventry Cycling Club’. It’s a variation on a ride I have done but takes in an extra village. I decided to do it the other way round, (no, not facing the back of my bike,) the opposite way round the route I mean. I really enjoyed it to start with, but the wind seemed to be in my face whichever way I turned! I really believe someone up 'there' has it in for me when I go out. I think a committee gets together and they decide to make it as challenging as possible! The route was 22 miles and at one point going down Longdown Lane, I was actually doing 58.4 km/h that's around 35 mph!!! When I got to Flecknoe things slowed up considerably, there's a long hill up to the village, it was a corker to trot up on horseback, but when it comes to your own leg power it's a different matter, as is Staverton Hill which followed almost straight away after. Blimey that's a long hill!!

Thursday I went to Everdon, Weedon, had to get off and walk the last 100m of the hill that comes out at Dodford (I'm a failure!!) Daventry all round the ring road, out to Staverton & back home. Quite an steady one, but met some real gentlemen. Three huge lorries all waited until there was nothing coming the other way before pulling out to pass me.

Then Saturday, Em & I with some friends of ours, Sally & Sue, went for a 2nd session of bag packing in M&S Food Hall in Milton Keynes. We raised £185 in 2.5 hrs. It was really quiet for a Saturday though, perhaps it was something to do with the Cup Final? Still, we did very well and that money has now been deposited into out respective Just Giving accounts. A BIG thanks to Sally & Sue for their sterling efforts. Sue was like a rottweiler with a bone, she wouldn't let go and Sally said she now knows what rejection feels like!! But thanks to one man, she does know a vast amount more about plastic than she did before we went. Bless her!!! Oh, and thanks to the very kind gentleman who gave me £5 just to go away!!!

Sunday was long ride day as Saturday afternoon was a wash out. It was a lovely day & I did 34 miles, via Daventry, Rugby, Barby, Welton, Norton, Badby. I think I hit 'The Wall' at Barby, or it could have been the short, but really steep, sharp little hill I had to climb, but I have to say, I LOVE the road surface just outside Barby, it's so smooth! I'll bore you all about road surfaces another time shall I?

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.

Stinging Nettles & The 'Beast' comes home (well, nearly)

I said in my last post how I thought country roads were quieter, well let me explain. On bank holiday Monday I decided that after work (yes, unfortunately some of us had to) I would go out on a new route, from Badby to Preston Capes, Canons Ashby, Eydon, Woodford Halse, Byfield, Hellidon, Catesby, Badby around 22 miles.

I set off in a really good frame of mind, and was psyching myself up to scaling ‘Bulls Hill’, which is just the other side of the village, when I heard in the distance the now all too familiar sound of the boy racers bass beat. They came screeching around the bend on my side of the road, heading straight for me! I swerved out the way only to end up sprawled in a hedgerow full of stinging nettles!! OUCH!! They didn’t even stop the bas****s. I was stung all up my left arm & leg and through my shorts!! And if you have ever been stung by nettles then you know how much they can hurt. I spat on the nearest dock leaves and rubbed frantically but there were just too many. So I decided to take my mind of the pain by carrying on regardless. What a trooper!! However, I did cut the ride short as I was by now a little shaken up and prickly. So I didn’t go as far as I’d originally planned, but still did 18 miles. I put some vinegar on the stings when I got home on Mum’s recommendation and smelt like a big chip!!

I went out again on Tuesday and did about 13.5 miles. I love this weather, but it makes the cycling a little harder!! Have to make sure that I take on enough fluids as I sweat like mad!

On Thursday I was so excited!! I went to Milton Keynes to ride with Emily, Grant & my boss John Hunter came for a ride out too. The thing that was making me excited was that after the ride I was bringing 'The Beast’ home! So we set out and went out on the Woburn ride we’d done the other week. It was definitely a little easier this time and managed the hills better, but they weren’t easy (I suppose they’re not meant to be really!). Anyway, it was a beautiful sunny, warm evening. We did 22 miles in about 1 ½ hours, pulled up on Grant’s drive in the following order, Em, Grant, Me, John. I pulled on my brakes and promptly fell over sideways because I forgot to unclip my feet!!! These bloody cleats!! John wondered what the hell I was doing, Em said one minute I was there, and next I was gone! I just lay on the floor in hysterics!! I’ve got a corking bruise on my leg (see the photo above). It still doesn’t count as my ‘first blood’ because I didn’t lose any skin & it wasn’t at speed! I think Grant is making the rules up as he goes along! I think I’m going to write on my hands next time so I don’t forget. Anyway as I said I was excited because 'The Beast’ was coming home with me, and as a good friend would say, ‘Yeah Roight’, because during my acrobatics, I had managed to bend the handle bars! So Grant had to keep it to change them over. So I returned home Beast less but it’s definitely coming home with me on Sunday after our ride at Oxford and thereby hangs another tale…………