I want to ride my bicycle!

The training weekend was brilliant!
Jayne and I set off on Friday evening to find the B&B and arrived quite late. I've never stayed in a B& B before so didn't really know what to expect. WELL... this place was something else, I think Dawn French should go and stay there to gain new material for a brilliant Fawlty Towers kind of sitcom. If ever you want a nice break and an hilarious trip try 'Brymbo' B&B in the Cotsworlds. It was faultless BUT only if you stuck to the rules!

Anyway, saturday morning came and Jayne and I nervously set off, we didn't have a clue what to expect...men in lycra, skinny young women...well it was fine, it soon became clear that everyone was in the same boat. 31 complete strangers from all walks of life, all ages and backgrounds in a field with a bike and an enthusiastic cycle trainer (Ed was billiant, although the sideburns are a little scary!).

We set off sharp at 09:30 with the first toilet stop in 9 miles... all fine, the hardest thing was not being able to get a steady pace going as we were all riding too close and having to keep breaking. But we soon all spread out and onwards and upwards to lunch stop at 26 miles. The scenery was brilliant, a good amount of chat along the way. After lunch the pace quickened up and we finished early after adding an extra 10 mile loop making it 50 miles for the day.....Feeling good.

A few of us met for dinner at a pub and had a few sherry's...some had more than others and by this time it was clear who was going to struggle tomorrow!

Up again nice and early with a slightly changed group the following day, but it was quite clear that we were going to have a laugh. There was more hills on the Sunday, but Trish managed to put a little electric motor on my bike by simpley raising my saddle by 6 inches...amazing! I can't believe my saddle was that far too low...no wonder my knees have been hurting, I flew the rest of the way (well not quite flew but it did make a difference). We ended the day on 45 miles.

All in all a brilliant weekend and I am so looking forward to getting out on my bike again and also going to Egypt!!!

Hills, Hills and Spin!

Yesterday Jayne and I set of at 8am to do her EASY 40 mile run....Easy....my bottom! But, we made it and didn't have to get off and walk at all!
We went from Dover, up Whitfield Hill, through Whitfield to Sandwich, then round Fowlmead off road track then to Deal, stopped for a bacon sandwich and cup of tea, then back along the coast road to Dover Castle, UP Burgoene Heights, through Whitfield, DOWN Coldred Hill through Lydden (there's a reason why the race circuit is called Lydden Hill!) back in to River and UP Jayne's Road to her house.
The weather was beautiful, there was a Spitfire stunting over the white cliffs as we rode along the coast road, so something to take my mind off the fact it is a 4 mile steady climb!

Then this morning I did my first spin class - what a buzz! I have never sweated so much, but I was rubbish, I couldn't rise out of my saddle, even though my bum really ached from the ride yesterday. I spoke to the instructor after and she said they you're not meant to rise of the saddle until the third session, that made me feel a little better!

Egypt is getting very close now, I've re-read my packing list and thinking about that and I've also booked my jabs for next week.

40 Miles in 3 Hours!

Wow, how chuffed am I??

I was absolutely determined to get out on the bike this morning, so set the alarm for 7am, had a bowl of rice crispies and a cup of tea, pumped my tires up and off I went.

It was lovely, no wind, no cars, a few people to nod to! I went to Faversham, Seasalter, Whitstable then up the crab and winkle way to Canterbury, cycled around the university until my speedo hit 20 miles and then turned back.

All sounds good, steamed back down the crab and winkle way, then hit a wall!!! (not literally, I'm done with all the accidents thanks). So then my head kept telling me evil things...like....catch the train, let one of my tyres down and call Dave to come and get me...even, stop at Tesco and do the shopping so Dave has to come and get me! But I ploughed on, the trouble was, the wind had got up and I was now cycling straight in to it.

Still I made it to the cafe at Seasalter and stopped for a nice cup of tea! I got chatting to a couple of other cyclists who inspired me to carry on, they had done 55 miles, albeit they had road bikes! I only had 8 miles to home so what was I wimpering on about.

Anyway, I did it!

So now I'm going to sit in the garden and read my book, I may even have a Pimms, not too many though, I want to go out again tomorrow morning, I want to do 15 miles tomorrow.

Scratching Around!

Getting the money all in is hotting up, although the official deadline was last week, obviously I'm a bit short so the deadline has been extended. Any offerings would be greatly received.

Getting The Money In

Well, the money has to be in this week! Arrrh! I think I'm getting there and then I can really concentrate on the training!

Jayne and I have booked our training weekend in the Cotswolds at the end of September. Plus, my foot is better (not sure I wrote about that, but I slipped on a water balloon in the kitchen and completely buggered my ankle up, x-rays showed an inversion injury but no break, 2 weeks rest was prescribed, that was last Thursday but after a day of canvassing for work yesterday proved that I am better!).

This weekend is bank holiday and we're off camping, taking the bikes and will do a couple of 20 mile rides this weekend.

Update

Well I have been useless at keeping this up to date. I can't believe May was the last post!

Since then...... I've been holidaying in Turkey, during which I experienced a number of 20km MOUNTAIN bike rides...wow, that was an experience! I won't pretend I enjoyed it, in fact I hated every single ride, but Dave kicked me out of bed at 07:30, hangover or not to go and do the rides (this was meant to be my holiday!). The reason I didn't enjoy it was it was pure off roading, mountains and tracks, rocks and jumps and most scarily of all, angry dogs!

So back to the UK roads and I'm happy again. One thing Turkey did teach me was that I needed to do some spin classes. Even the oldies were beating me up the hills, purely because they do spin classes and never even been out on a bike. So a week after getting back from holiday I sign myself up for the 06:30 spin class, mid week before work. All geed up to go and then the night before I end up in A&E having sliced my little finger on a wine glass (alcohol and getting fit really don't mix). (A&E was another experience which I won't go in to, but core blimey it was horrible). My finger is all healed now, but still no spin classes! Next week, I promise!

So how's the training going otherwise - OK, on track with the schedule they provid to ensure you can do the trip, although it doesn't say anything about the blood pressure tablets I now have to take since a trip to the doctor last week. Something to do with stress - apparently!

Now I am getting slightly stressed at the lack of sponsorship I have, all of which has to be in by end of August, so please give a little if you haven't already done so, there is a link at the bottom of the page, alternatively post be a cheque made payable to 'The Big Heart Bike Ride'.

Got to dash, my lager glass needs refiling.....only kidding!

12 Leisurely Miles with Family

Yesterday we decided to cycle to the treasure hunt which was being held at the school. I wasn't looking forward to towing Lewis again so was quite releived when James was adamant that he wanted to try and cycle on his own!

We set out at 12:00 and got there at 12:30...5.5 miles and James had done brilliantly. It is uphill mostly to the school so we flew back after the treasure hunt, stopping for a drink at a pub on the way.

I am conscious that I haven't done too much this weekend so I'm going to try and go out for an hour after work tonight....we'll see, it's quite windy out there today!

42.5 Miles (with a hangover) and 40 Miles Today

I forgot to write up last weeks trip! So starting with last Sunday..... Jayne stayed over and we had a nice saturday night down the pub and topped it of with a lovely Indian (it really was lovely I woke up in the morning and realised I had been dreaming about eating the prawn thing Jayne ordered...delicious! Needless to say we woke up very weary on Sunday morning. We had had an email from Sharon and Dave saying they are free to join us so we made arrangements to meet them somewhere on the A2 between home and Gillingham. So we set of at about 09:15, everything was going fine and we met up with S & D at Newington (8 miles away). So that's where our trip started... we went the back roads out of Sittingbourne, then Teynham, Faversham and Whitstable. We stopped for a coffee and cake then came back the same way. That's it easy trip....Oh No! Amanda didn't stop whinging the whole way, poor old Sharon and Dave must have thought that I was a right girlie, I felt faint, my heart was beating too fast, I had stitch, I had stomache cramps, I had cramp, my thumbs heart and then I got a headache! AND I told everyone all about every ache and pain! Dave and Sharon were brillliant, I learnt something about gears and how to use them! And most excitedly...I made it up Bysingwood Hill!

So now it's today, not feeling with content with killing my legs last weekend (it took till Wednesday before I could walk up the stairs without whincing!). Jayne wanted to do it again! So, really hating last weeks trip out I was determined not to have too many sherberts the night before. So I went to bed last night at 9:00pm!

Jayne and I were up at 06:00am, and on the road by 06:20. We're not mad, I promise! Going early is much better, there are less cars and people about. We went the same way as we did last week, but we didn't stop and Whitstable, we carried on up the Crab and Winkle way to Canterbury. We got to Canterbury and then turned around and came back....AND Bysingwood Hill wasn't too bad at all!

Note to Self: Cycling is much more fun without a hangover!

20 Miles

Easter Monday! No easter eggs for me...just a great big fat KFC! Oh plus a cheese burger and chips at the rally cross! Oh and a chinese! So when Jayne text earlier today to say she had just done 26 miles I put my book down and got off my fat beeehind! Left the house at 5pm, was OK for clearance til 6:30, Dave and boys were making a garden gate (like you do!). Went up Lynsted Lane to bottom of Norton, down Sharsted Hill to Newham, through Doddington up to Milstead through to Frinsted then Bredgar, Tunstall back up past Shell Research and then across to Kingsdown and back down Lynsted Lane. Lots of hills today but didn't get off and walk any! instead tried Jayne's theory of stop catch your breath then carry on cycling....my legs burnt every time!

I didn't really enjoy the evening cycling, much prefer the morning. My KFC gave me stitch, the cars drive faster, the mad people are out with guns across fields and you find dying horses in the road...Yep that's what happened, I got to the top of the hardest hill and there was a horse lying in the road, it was still alive but couldn't get up...Oh Shit, I hate horses but only when they are alive, not too sure how I feel about a dying one, poor thing. Then some old tweed bloke came by in a pick up truck with a barking dog, got out the car and said it was OK he was the local game keeper. Oh good, we've already taken in a wild rabbit this easter I'm not sure how Dave would feel about a horse! He get's on his phone and starts talking to the land owner saying he has come across a horse and needed permission to shoot it, he has his gun in the truck...OMG! I thought he was calling a vet! I decided to re-focus on my cycle ride and headed off, there was nothing I could do, the horse was in a bad way. I didn't get far enough away not to hear the shot!

It made me think that maybe cycling alone was not such a good idea, the horse had been dumped, I had actually seen the van and horse box go up the hill ahead of me, what would I have done if I had come across them off loading the horse!

Note to Self: find out how to apply for a gun licence!

12 Miles - Towing!

I remember when Lewis was very young we used to go out on the bike, him in the baby carrier on the back. We used to go and check out the sheep with their lambs, watch the traffic on the motorway bridge, trying to get the lorry drivers to honk! So when I started all this cycling stuff Lewis would get himself dressed early in the morning and think he was coming too...It was heart breaking seeing his little face when I couldn't take him, although he can ride his own bike there is no way he could do any distance! We have a tow along bike but it is attached to Dave's bike. So on Saturday we got one for my bike!
James put the new bike together and Dave finished it off. So on Sunday we set off, all of us! It wasn't until we were a mile from home when it dawned on me that Lewis wasn't actually helping us to cycling and I was not only pulling Lewis but also another half of a bike!
I could see James and Dave way up in front with James cycling like mad! So, I thought I'd have him instead of the dead weight...Big mistake, he didn't stop singing, which was lovely but not much effort was going in to cycling with all that singing going on. James decided enough was enough when I refused to lean in to the bends... "Dad, we're swappingback, mum is no fun!"
But we did it, 12 miles, great fun, a little picnic half way round.
Dave reckons that if I get used to pulling Lewis during training then the actual cycling on my own will be easy....Yeah right!

15 Miles on a School Night

I got home from work and no kids, no husband and no dogs - they must have gone out for a walk with it being a lovely evening, so I jumped on my bike and set off.
Jayne is right getting through the first 8 miles is a pain, with thoughts of why am I doing this, the wind is stronger than I thought, I want my tea, it's getting dark too quickly and I want to just go home! But I ploughed on...went up Lynsted Lane to Kingsdown, along towards Newnham, then up to Faversham, across to Luddenham, down to Oare and then back to Teynham Street and up Lynsted Lane. I got home before it was dark, it took 50 minutes in total which I was pleased with considering the head wind half way round.
Got home and the house was alive...kids, dogs, husband, dinner and bath waiting! had dinner and then settled down for The Apprentice....FELL ASLEEP!
Note to Self: There are more flying bugs around in the evening than there are in the morning...keep your mouth shut!

Sunday 29th March 2009

Well my first post so a little update of training so far.....

About a month ago I went out for an hour to see how far I could get, did 8 miles in an hour, then went straight out with the kids for a further 5 miles...was knackered and went to sleep for the rest of the day.

Then went out the following weekend and did 16 miles, again went to sleep for the rest of the day. By this time I'm thinking I might not be able to do this!

My bike was rubbish, I had some suspension thing on the front wheel which I couldn't lock, every time I tried to dig in and go uphill the suspension took the effort...so in typical Kent fashion I bought a new bike!

Jayne and I went to pick up my new bike on the train and then cycled back from Canterbury via Whitstable and Faversham....23 miles and I felt great!

The next weekend I wanted to do 2 days on the trot. Jayne had been complaining of a sore bum and I hadn't experienced this yet so thought she must be doing more than me. So I did 15 miles on Saturday and 14 miles on Sunday! I very nearly gave up on Sunday, 100 yards up the road I realised I couldn't sit on the saddle!

So now we're up to date....Sunday 29th March, Jayne and I planned our route on Saturday night over a couple of vodkas! The clocks went forward so 7am was really 6am, we had to be out early, the plan being that Dave would look after all 4 kids and the earlier we went they'd still be in bed and Dave wouldn't mind so much............ We left at 8.15am with well baggy heads.
What a great day to pick the hilly route....NOT! Up and down dale, Jayne suffered with lack of breath and I just gave up! But we did it, 21 miles! And what was even better, I don't have to sleep for the rest of the day! Now we have the lighter evenings I plan to go out a few times in the week for 10 mile stints...... Watch this space!