@ Monday, Jun. 30, 2008 – 08:42:35 pm
I am not as nervous as I thought I would be - so I guess the glass or two of PINK CHAMPAGNE may be helping!!! Hope that by this time tomorrow night I will be on ferry to Dieppe having cycled to Newhaven from London.
Plan at the moment is to go to bed now and get some sleep before leaving at 0200. Will hopefully be able to blog as I am on the cycle - if not will be writing when I reach France and upload photos of trip.
Take care and stay safe
@ Friday, Jun. 27, 2008 – 02:38:23 pm
It is at this time you sit down and think why, why, why? Only 3 days and I start my unsuported cycle from London to Paris. Round about Chistmas time when the decission was made to do the cycle it seemed a long way ahead, plenty of time to train, get fit, lose weight etc etc. Now with 3 days to go the reality is - not enough training, still unfit and no or very little weight loss. How is that the distance between dreams, wishes, hopes and reality is about 12 million miles!!!
I know that the money raised for Wilthsire Air Ambulance is good and will make a difference, and a big thank you to all who have sponsored me - still time for those who wish to add something to the kitty.
Weather is not very nice today so hope it improves for 0600 on Tuesday 1st July. Bike panniers are packed (at least 30 Soreen Go bars) tent and sleeping bag organised, large pump ready, spare tube OK, repair kit organised and tools checked so in theory I am ready for the 4 days. New flag pole and I have a Nemo on the top with a pirate flag just below. Waiting for my Scottish flaf and I hope it comes in time.
Must stop as I have just realised the time as I have to take my car for MOT test - hope it is OK.
Take care and stay safe.
@ Monday, Jun. 23, 2008 – 10:30:05 pm
On Sunday I took part along with about 5,000 others in the largest cycle ride in the UK. Great day out, fantastic marshalling and signage, and in my opinion (although some others differ) great patience and driving by motorists in the area. A variety of routes to tackle and everybody finished in the same place with side shows, food, displays etc. Well done to Bristol for organising this and please keep doing it.
I opted for the 38 mile cycle and did this at an average of 9.2mph. The wind they say was in the region of 28mph - I do not beleive this I think it was nearer to 500mph!!! This route I chose was hilly in places and with the strong wind I am confident for my cycle from London to Newhaven should be able to average a comfortable 10mph. Many people finished much quicker than me but overall I was impressed with the variety of ages and fitness of people who cycled. Well done to everyone. My bike attracted a lot of attention and comments and some people thought I was just nuts!!!
Two downsides to the day - after about 20 miles I was slowly climbing one of the many medium hills and I got severe cramp in both thighs and shins at the same time. I ended up on the road in agony and was helped by two other cyclists - after about 10 minutes I was fit to cycle again. 2 miles from the end the cramp came back again = let me tell you I think I used all the swear words in the world and made some up as well - pain is undescribable. Would love to know the cause of the cramp and what I should or could do to prevent it.
Will upload some photographs tomorrow.
Take care and stay safe.
@ Saturday, Jun. 21, 2008 – 08:41:04 pm
Went to the Berkeley steam rally today and was disappointed. Did not seem to be so many exhibitlors and not very many people. It could be the unsettled weather put people off but I think it is the location. This is the second year at Berkeley - use to be at North Nibbly and certainly more people appeared to attend. It is great to see the old steam engines, classic cars, lorries and vans, and many stalls selling everything you can imagine.
I cycled to the show and then cycled round all the events and the bike certainly got photographed a lot, asked many questions and a lot of people just shaking their heads. I have will upload some photos tomorrow of some of the old pushbikes I saw at the show.
I got a new flag pole and a skull and crossbone flag and a bee spinner - will put pictures on line tomorrow. The stall holder from Devon when he heard I was cycling for charity knocked £3.00 of the total price - much appreciated.
Sam Walker from McCambridge group donated £10. Thank you very much Sam and all the best for the future. The money is appreciated and will make a difference.
I need to buy a lead and then will be able to use my eBay GPS to plan routes - will keep you updated on progress.
NOT LONG UNTIL JULY 1ST WHEN I START MY CYCLE WITH ALL MONEY RAISED GOING TO WILTSHIRE AIR AMBULANCE.
TAKE CARE AND STAY SAFE
@ Monday, Jun. 16, 2008 – 09:36:51 pm
Only 14 days until I start my unacompanied charity cycle from London to Paris. Leave London at 0600 on July 1st and arrive in Paris at 1300 July 4th (with good luck and a stron tail wind).
On Saturday had a gentle cycle of 17 miles at an average of just over 12mph. This comiong Sunday I am cycling 34 miles as part of the Bristol Bike Ride 2008 - this is the largest cycle ride in the UK and is great for all levels of cyclists and families. Looking forward to it as it will give me some idea of fitness and times etc. Not looking forward to some of the hills and had to walk up them 2 years ago - now 2 years older, several pound heavier should be interesting.
A kind Company has agreed to sponsor me by supplying a Scottish flag for my cycle ride - if it arrives before Satuday I will have photos on my blog site for you all to admire and see during the Bristol ride!!!! The company is on eBay and is called FRUITSALAD RETRO which if you type into shop search you will find them. It is a great site - they do everything you can think of including: mugs, magnets, Keyrings, Flags, Rubber Ducks, plasters, lunch boxes, badges, patches and more. I specialise in retro items, cultural and historic, cute rarities, Superhero chic, mod, punk and other cult items. Well worth a visit especially if you are looking for something different and affordable. Good to know businesses can still help in the present economic climate.
Was cycling on Saturday and this guy stopped to speak and ask about the bike - we were talking about how difficult it is to exercise etc, etc. he said to me "wait until you are my age 55 and see how hard it is then" I had great delight in telling him I passed that milestone 6 years ago. Vanessa is lucky she now has a toy boy!!!
Well must stop and get on and do some work - bills to be paid, dogs fed, Vanessa buys make up and stuff like that and still insisits on spending more than £1.00 on our weekly shop!!!!
Take care and stay safe
@ Friday, Jun. 13, 2008 – 05:15:42 pm
Driving through Bristol today and in one area noticed that nailed to the trees were Hazard metal plates (yellow and black stripes). I imagine this is for some perceived risk and that drivers have to be made aware that trees are at the edge of the road. Mind you not all the trees just in one area.
I know local councils are mad in many of their decissions and things they do but it seems they are going a bit far. Try and picture the "elf N safety" guru sitting in his office - lets call him Joe Safety.
Joe was walking through Bristol and thought how unsafe it was to have trees growing at the side of the road - close to motor cars. He obviously assessed the drivers as they passed him and came to the conclusion the drivers could not be trusted as they probably could not see the trees!!
In his office Joe Safety held a meeting with top officials and they agreed something must be done so metal signs were hammerred into every tree in the test area.
What happens next???? - Joe Safety will check on a daily basis to see if any cars, buses, cyclists, vans, lorries etc are smashed into the trees and if none are found will declare the safety initative a sucess. Sitting in his office and not worrying any more about the trees Joe Safety turned his mind to people - some of them walk close to the edge of the pavement so we must warn them silly drivers again of a dangerous situation. The solution is to issue all pedestrians with a High Viz vest that must be worn in certain areas of Bristol. Being a council official his first trial did not go very well - he issued High Viz vests in the pedestrian area (not a good idea)
Eentually the trial will go ahead and Joe Safety will sleep easy at night knowing the mad motorists of Bristol will be able to see pedestrians on the pavement due to the High Viz vests - another winner for Joe Safety.
Joe Safety is currently studying how the tops of all the trees, buildings and high cranes can be painted yellow and black so that aircraft passing overhead will be able to see them and will not mistake them for Bristol International Airport.
Please keep watching in Bristol and let me know if the signs on the trees are extendd to other areas, if High Viz jackets are issued and trees being painted. in the meantime Joe Safety is happy in his own world.
Take care and stay safe
@ Friday, Jun. 13, 2008 – 04:51:20 pm
Now have my route for the Dieppe to Paris part of omy unsuported charity cycle from London to Paris in aid of the Wiltshire Air Ambulance. Ride commences 0600 on July 1st and finished in paris 1400 on July 4th - with good luck, 1000mph wind behind me and no bike failures.
Route is: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=1979673 Route from Dieppe to Paris and from London to Newhaven is: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=1949765
I will keep you posted during the trip with short blog information and a more detailed report on my return.
Only 19 days to go so starting tomorrow will go onto my pasta based diet to try and help with energy, lots more Soreen Go bars and Soreen Malt Loaf and more bananas than common sense!!! May help to reduce weight as well by a couple of pounds - it all helps.
Take care and stay safe
@ Thursday, Jun. 12, 2008 – 05:48:38 pm
Anne Frank would have been 77 today but tragically her life was cut short in a German concentration camp. Through her diaries Anne has inspired many millions of people and even today her story continues to inspire and give hope.
While thinking about this today I once again am dismayed at mans inhumanity to man and find it unbelievable of what can and does happen. Look in any newspaper and it is filled with stabbings, murders, genocide and this is day after day. I recently heard a reference to the hollocaust and it was said that over 11million were killed with approximately 6000000 being Jews. The numbers for this vary quite a bit but this appears to be a standard figure accepted by many. Listening to the numbers the 6 million was just like any other big number that is hard for us to picture or understand.
If we take the death toll of the Twin Towers which is said to be 2752 then the killing of 6 million Jews equates to the Twin Towers happening every day for over 5.5 years. That helps to give us some understanding of the scale of the killing of human beings by other members of the human race. When you look around at the trouble spots in the world we have not learned our lesson and in many countries/areas treat members of he human race as either obstacles or undesirables that need to be eliminated.
I hope that the younger generation will learn from our mistakes and will do more than we have to date to see peace across the world.
On the birthday of Anne Frank we should all take some time to reflect what can we do to make the world a better place and to help others less forunate than ourselves.
Take care and stay safe
@ Wednesday, Jun. 11, 2008 – 02:31:40 pm
Hope to go out training later today - but slaving over a computer is what pays the bills!!
Next job for the bike is to tighten the cones as they are slacker than I would like or want them to be. Hope this is as simple as I remember form my younger days - even although that is around 100 years ago!!
Over the years I have been a fan of Soreen Malt Loaf and have recently been eating a lot more as it is a great snack and good when out cycling. Not so long ago I discovered Soreen Go bar. This is a fruity cereal bar and is really great tasting - it is chewy and not dry like some others. Excellent for cycling, easy to carry, gives you a lift and healthy - what more could you wish for. If you haven't tried them for running/walking/sailing/cycling etc get out and buy some now.
Still working on my French route but will have it online this week.
Stay safe and take care - it is a mad world out there.
@ Monday, Jun. 09, 2008 – 01:41:11 pm
Have finally worked out the cycle route from London to Newhaven and you can view it on line at http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=1949765. This will let you see all of the route and give you some idea of where I will be cycling. The French part of the route will be available as well in the next few days.
Spent most of Sunday trying to fix the front gearing on my bike - could not get it to go on all three rings when I wanted - it was usually a combination of any two and on many ocassions only one. Did all the things that I thought you needed to do and it did not make any difference. Eventually I got it fixed and the thought came to me that if this happenned on the charity cycle it would have taken me some time to fix - now much more confident that I could fix it if needed.
Now come to understand that I will never lose 1 stone by the 1st of July so guess I willl be around the 12stone for the cycle. Heavier than I wanted with a bigger beer belly than I need but still confident I will manage
@ Monday, Jun. 09, 2008 – 11:13:02 am
As a Birthday/Christmas/Anniversary present - well it was one of them, vanessa treated me to a days Collie Dog Training at mainline - what a great day. As you know, Fly is my collie dog and I got him from a rescue centre about 9 years ago and he was about 18 months old when I got him. Took him to dog trainig classes and he is very obedient and a great dog to have.
At Mainline, you work with the dogs that they have and it is an incredible exoerience - to be able to get a dog to move three sheep towards you and at the end of the day have the dog take the sheep through an onstacle course is amazing. It makes you ralise how intelligent collies are and how necessary the are for farmers and many people to carry out their work. It made yo ualso realise how stupid we are as humans - irrespective of how many times I was told to keep walking when I was asking the dog to stop and "lie down" I stopped as well - it appears this is common with us humans. Tell a dog a couple of times and they learn, tell us hundreds of times and we still get it wrong!!!
Mainline can be found at www.bordercollies.co.uk/ and is run by Barbara Sykes - it was Vicky her daughter who took our group and she was excellent, with many stories about collies she had, has worked with or new about - trully fascinating. if you love dogs this is the day out for you. Very difficult not to rush out now and buy a young collie for training.
Good call by Vanessa on this day out - many thanks.
Take care and stay safe
@ Sunday, Jun. 01, 2008 – 09:28:59 pm
Saturday was a good day, weather was good the sun was shining and it was very warm. I decided that as it was not raining, no wind and it was not cold should probably go for a cycle.
Decided to cycle to CHeltenham and that is a round trip of 50 miles. I cycled at an average pace of 12.2mph and an average of 10mph if you count my lunch into the time. This is excellent news for me, I know the route was relatively flat but it still lifted me as the time is good for an unfit old man.
When I reached Cheltenham I decided to have a healthy meal and had pasta, asparagus, onions, cheese and sun dried tomatoes. As it was a healthy meal I decided to have some fruit and had a large glass of white wine!!!
My friend Noel has agreed to drive me to London so that I will be leaving at 0600 on Tuesday July 1st and my route to Newhaven is 60 miles so I should make it comfortably for 1800 ferry to Dieppe. I will find some way to put my route on line - not sure how yet but will do it.
Take care and stay safe.|
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