Bye Bye boat and Birmingham

I woke on Saturday morning, feeling slightly fuzzy headed after attending the birthday bash of Anomaly. Why did my calf muscles hurt so much? My mission for Saturday was to go and see my little dinghy...it had been sitting there, un sailed and sad and forlorn and finally I had found someone who was interested in purchasing her!


I trundled over to the tranquillity that is Rutland Water, relieved to get some fresh air after being surrounded by smelly dancing people the night before. I pulled my little boat out from the undergrowth and felt guilty by the clumps of moss forming on the buckles!

After removing the green cover (it should be blue!), and swatting off the sleeping wasps, I scrubbed her down with a big bottle of Muc-Off and a giant sponge, (trying to be brave in front of my potential purchaser with regards to the spiders scattering in all directions). Once rigged she looked marvellous, and the wind was pretty perfect for sailing…unfortunately I am still yet to invest in a dry suit and the prospect of capsizing in a summer wet suit, with hangover, did not appeal to me.

Not sure if I have sold her, but she looked mighty fine!

Exhausted and caked in mud I returned home to find we were then nipping off on the train to Birmingham to go to the Christmas Market. One frankfurter later and a trip down a helter-skelter, a few purchases and was ready to get home, feeling a little bit more Christmassy!

100 fight Kumite (oh my god!)

For children in need the Karate club, where I have been a member for a year, do a 100 fight Kumite (Kumite (組手) means sparring, and is one of the three main sections of karate training, along with kata and kihon. Kumite is the part of karate in which you train against an adversary, using the techniques learnt from the kihon and kata.)

It dawned on me in the morning what I might be possibly letting myself in for.  It was quite possibly the most physical thing I have ever done.

We arrived at the club for a quick warm up, and then the first fight started...I hoped that my yellow belt would shine out and speak out to some of the fighters (she's newish - please be gentle), but within minutes some stranger had kicked me in the chest and whacked me in the nose.  Realising that different types of karate (and there were some kick boxers in the mix) have different belt sytems and may not be aware that a yellow belt does really mean that I am not overly confident at blocking, punching and kicking.  I decided for self preservation, to start each fight with the following statement "please be gentle with me, have only been doing karate for a year" at which point I may receive a punch to the side of my head...I ended up getting a standard response too "nooo, you be gentle with me", as the black belted person in front of me did a jump turn back kick...

The whistle kept going and I soon lost count, it was then announced we would have a drinks break but only 25 fights had passed...I have never been so hot.

Finally, at 9.20pm, we finished.  I won two raffle prizes, one being a gum shield that I think may come in handy for next year's 100 fight kumite...if I dare enter it again!  I was a bit a wuss for the last 25 fights I think my challenge next year would be to keep the momentum up.  I drove home shaking but pleased that betweeen this and the kick-a-thon the week before we had raised over £1000.

This is towards the end, had to take helmet off as I was so hot

I think I am about to pass out - rather than bowing to my sparring partner

I've finally cycled more than 17 miles

Well, its been a while coming but I have finally cycled more than 17 miles.  The plan was to join two routes, but as I completed the first route - which is the 17 mile one...the rain started to pour.  I thought, as I passed my front door...do I keep going or stop?  The thought of simply stopping made me feel like I hadn't accomplished my challenge (well I know its not that far to some cyclists out there who do 70 miles a day but to me it is!)  Despite being completely soaked, water dripping off my bike helmet...I was determined to keep going.  To extend the route I thought I would add my trip to Baggrave Park but the prospect of the hill back up to Ingarsby filled me with dread!

Instead I decided to turn the corner and head straight down the A47, a nasty, fast road but fast for me too as I hit 29 mph towards the villages of Bushby and Thurnby.  So here it is, the evidence:

Not quite sure what to do next???

Sunday's Challenge

Finding 17 miles relatively easy now (cough...yeah right!), and have decided to set myself the challenge of linking up two routes...I will report back on whether or not the rain held off for me to achieve it!

Great Glen
Wistow
Kibworth Harcourt
Carlton Curlieu
Kings Norton
Gaulby
Houghton on the Hill
Ingarsby
Hungarton
Baggrave Park
Barsby
Gaddesby

and back again!

My love of coffee

Just a completely random, non cycling sort of thing...my love of coffee has turned me into a coffee snob.  I like it freshly ground, with steamed milk and not from Starbucks!  Going to create a gallery of coffee to share with my cycling friends!

In a cafe opposite tram stop in Hillsborough

Coffee at home

Coffee in Harrods

 

Sharing a coffee with Anomaly

What goes down...will go up

Do you ever look back on a hill and think "bloody hell I've just cycled up that"?  Seems to happen to me a lot these days and as the mileage clocks up on my bike (I have now reached 233) I am finding hills much much easier, getting into bigger rings on the front and not having to get out of the saddle so much.

This hill I do have to get into a smaller front ring, and get out of the saddle...I first tackled it on the very short 6 mile inaugral journey I did on my bike - I was so excited I had done 6 miles (!) - well you have to start somewhere don't you.  This hill was a nightmare then but has now become part of my Sunday route of 17 miles...and now I am finding it, well relatively short and easy! 

Unfortunately on the way down I do have enough fear still to apply brakes - now normally I would build up courage with reference to my speed on going down hills.  I think my maximum so far is 33mph, unfortunately at the bottom of this hill is a cattle grid and I have found that riding over them, in the wet, does cause wheels to slip slightly.  So one of my challenges, perhaps during a dry summer will be to complete this hill without applying brakes?

Cycling...at night...in winter

I think I may be bonkers...not only am I cycling in the pitch dark but in winter!  Last night I did my normal 14 mile route into town, away from the countryside heading towards the bright lights of the city.  Two things happened...firstly, as I left home with three layers (two thermal), overshoes, headband covering my ears and a flourescent top that is slightly too large and buzzes in the wind, and a scarf...the wind hit me.  Today it has been 24 to 28mph and I don't think last night was that different...I only managed to average a speed of 13mph - having difficulty to see through the tears streaming down my face!  I thought to myself "this is really not a good idea" but determined, and through gritted teeth to prove a point that if I am cycling in this...then come summer I will be having a ball.

The second thing that happened was the near miss by lady driving her Merc, around a mini roundabout without indicating whilst holding mobile phone to her ear (you know, in that way people do, with their hand flat against it so they think they look like they are resting their head on the palm of their hand?).  I knew what she was going to do but continued to ride across the roundabout as she headed towards me breaking...now I felt I was in a position to swear, gesticulate and saying something about using a mobile phone whilst driving
and not indicating...I was safe though and knew I could cycle out of her way if need be...I just wanted to make a point and feel so much better for it.

My final rant of this blog is how crap the cycle lanes of Leicester City are...in fact my next bike mission will be to photograph some of them.  Some are only metres long, some make you cross endless junctions of side roads, some stop just before roundabouts...I have tried and tested many of them and have decided to stay on the road regardless of cycle paths...I mean I have a right to be there as anyone in car...don't I?

Yup, I'm going out in this weather

I wish it would stop raining

I have been a little naughty in the last week or so - not getting out on the bike as much as I would like...I blame the rain of course (!).

Last Tuesday I planned to get out for my evening ride around town - and with the prospect of Fish and Chips for supper I felt I needed to clock up a few miles (I wonder how many miles = fish and chips?).  I often think about the bike ride I am going to do in the morning and plan ahead, it helps with the motivation to get out of the door in the blustery wind and cold of the winter.  However on this particular morning the heavens opened, this is a picture out of my office window:

I was really annoyed, I had missed my Sunday ride owing to the weather (well acturally I could have gone out but I was suffering slightly from the previous evening's Halloween party)...

On the way home the sun tried it's hardest to break through the clouds, and as I reached my village the rain finally stopped...I knew I could get my ride in and enjoy my fish and chips guilt free!

 

Nom nom nom!

Whizz into town and back

On Tuesday night I whizzed into town...I did think that the ride may be slightly doomed as I reached for my bike off the rack in the garage to find I had a puncture (how did that happen?).  Whilst my wheel was being changed for me...the clock was ticking towards 8pm now...I got changed into layer upon layer of clothing.  I got downstairs to pump up my new tyre only for it to "pop" again and rapidly deflate...two punctures? Was someone, somewhere trying to warn me against going out on a dark winters evening?  With third inner tube now in place and safely pumped up...off I went, once again into the dark abyss as I left the comforting orange glow of the street lights behind me.

I enjoyed the ride, there is something really great about being out there in the silence - in the distance I could see the orange glow of the city and decided to head towards it.  I cycled around the area where I was brought up, past old houses of friends and had lots of giggles to myself.  I sped towards the park in the middle of town but thought best to avoid an instead headed towards the bustling student area of cafes and bars and the smell of food...as I passed one street I was dazzled by the white lights on the exterior of the houses - obviously celebrating Diwali the "Festival of Lights".  I stood for a while and took this picture (the IPhone doesn't really do it justice!)...and wondered how quickly their electricity metre was whirring round when they flick on the switch!

I headed towards home past the old houses that have become student accommodation for Leicester University and the playing fields and astro turf of their sporting facilities, flood lit and buzzing with activity.  Leaving the playing fields behind me I reached the road towards home, not a single car passed me for about four miles...it was just me in the dark, with my trusty light (which by the way, is rechargeable and lasts for three hours on full beam and about 12 on partial beam...it has a light on the back you can see that goes from green, amber and red so you know you are reaching the end of the charge)...complete silence, just the whirr of my wheels on the road.  I was half expecting to see some wildlife - yet to see a Badger that isn't run over - but saw nothing.

I really enjoy that peace...on the last leg I stopped momentarily and looked back at the orange glow of the city and all of the lights.

Overshoes!

I have to say that when I have seen cyclists in the past - their overshoes have made me chuckle a little...why on earth do people need all this equipment to go for a bike ride?  How silly I thought...until about two weeks ago when I was on my journey to Gaddesby, the sun was shining, the winter leaves falling slowly to the ground, the crisp October air being drawn into my lungs as I huffed and puffed up a hill...who needs overshoes?

Then...the sun went in.  All of a sudden I was freezing cold, and had paused for some time by the church to take some pictures and see some departed relatives.  I had noticed the quiet babble of a near by stream, but the cold air and the noise of running water had a double effect on me and I knew I had to get home quickly.  By the time I got home my feet were freezing cold and my fingers.

So off I went to purchase "overshoes" with my colleague Pete...and some gloves...and a head band that covers my ears...and a gillet that was in the sale.  Went for wind proof rather than water proof thinking that I am less likely to go out in the pouring rain.

But they do make my feet look rediculous....don't you think?

My trusty bike

Well here it is, I'm not on all the technical stuff but have stuck a picture of the gears in...just in case you wanted to know!

It's a Carrera Vanquish with Campagnolo gears.  I'm getting much better at cycling further in the largest disc at the front - I sort of set myself little challenges with the gears when I am out and about.  Looking at my bike computer I see that one click of the gears ups my average speed by 0.5 mph.  I hit 24.5 mph on Sunday on a lovely long bit of road and its felt brilliant.  Unfortunately, with surrounding hills my averages is still only between 13 and 14 mph...something to work on I suppose!

My Sunday ride

I have had such a brilliant morning, riding in the sun, and wind around small villages and country roads I didn't even know existed.  Cycling is a great way to get to know your surrounding country side.  Other cyclists past me en-route and I notice the nods and the "mornings" similar to the camaraderie found amongst motorcyclists!

My route took me 17.23 miles across Leicestershire country side.  The first village I hit was Great Glen tackling the round a bout on the A6 and heading the "other side" towards Wistow.  A beautiful winding road surrounding by fields and sheep and dotted with little bridges.  I turned towards Kibworth and stopped on the bridge to take a picture of the locks.

Through Kibworth Harcourt I took the turning by "Jack's house?" to Carlton Curlieu - a village I don't think I have ever been through despite living in the surrounding area practically all of my life.  As I cycled into the village, coveting the houses and the picturesque views, I was greeted by a very large house with the most perfect hedges...I thought about my slightly scruffy cottage garden at home, and thought they surely have a gardener!  The picture doesn't do the perfect hedges justice!

I carried on my journey towards Burton Ovary but turning off before I reached there to head towards Kings Norton.  Now I don't know much about Kings Norton but its a very small village but as you reach the brow of the hill in the distance you can see this over sized church, almost Cathedral like, poking out from the houses.  I don't know who built it - but will find a little more out about it...

From Kings Norton I took the turning to Gaulby and then home.  Still not long enough at all for my Sunday ride so need to return to the maps and plot next Sunday's route.

Todays route took me 1 hour 18 minutes with a maximum speed of 28.59 mph, and an average speed of a measly 13.2 mph...don't laugh....it was windy honest!

Night Rider

No I am not talking about Kit and the bewildering "Hoff"...I am talking about what the best course of action is to maintain my "training" (laughing as I write that because any keen cyclist probably thinks my efforts do not constitute training), as the winter draws in.

I discussed the pros and cons of a turbo trainer with my brother in law who does lots of road racing.  I have to say the thought of going into my garage in the evening, plugged into my IPod and doing the equivalent of a spinning class on my own filled me with dread and the possibility of wasting lots of money! His recommendation was to spend the same amount of money that I would spend on a turbo trainer on a good light for my bike.

Which is what I did - I got the Exposure Joystick light - in pink of course (to match my handlebars and tyres).

Last night I did my first ride in the dark...as I got to the end of my village I could see a balck abyss in front of me and the added knowledge that on the hill out of my village I can reach the spead of about 33mph.  I was slightly nervous and felt I couldn't see much of the road ahead.  I was so dissapointed that I had spent so much money on a light that wasn't doing what it said on the tin...I thought I was going to have to turn around and go home...

I started moving the light, before I hit the hill, realising that is was pointing far too much towards the ground, and lifting it up I was able to see at least 100 metres ahead of me...I was off and it was brilliant.

I loved cycling in the dark, I managed 11 miles in 51 minutes.  Leaving the illuminated villages behind me, and re-entering the dark abyss in front it was quiet and eerie.  It was interesting seeing the shadows I cast and listening to the sounds around me, sometimes being illumiated by car headlights behind me casting a double shadow of me cycling away.

Feel confident now that I can carry on throughout winter, loving that hour on my own, in the darkness with the sound of the wheels on the tarmac - what a brilliant way to clear your head.

My training schedule

Tuesday, 20th October 2009 - 14 miles (1 hour 3 minutes)
Thursday, 22nd October 2009 - 11 miles (51 minutes) Night Ride
Friday, 23rd October 2009 - Karate lesson with Matrix Martial Arts
Sunday, 25th October 2009 - 17 miles (1 hour 18 minutes) very windy!
Tuesday, 27th October 2009 - 14.29 miles (1 hour 2 minutes)
Tuesday, 3rd November 2009 - 14 miles Night Ride
Sunday, 8th November 2009 - 17 miles
Friday, 13th November 2009 - Matrix Marial Arts - Kick-a-thon in aid of Children in Need
Sunday, 15th November 2009 - 17 miles (sunny but cold!)
Tuesday, 17th November 2009 - 14 miles Night Ride (think I was insane it was REALLY windy)
Friday, 20th November 2009 - 100 fight Kumite for Children in Need
Sunday, 29th November 2009 - 23.45 miles (1 hour 45 minutes)
Saturday, 26th December 2009 - 17 miles (500 calories!)
Sunday, 10th January 2010 - Karate grading
Sunday, 17th January 2010 - Back in the saddle then I get a puncture.  18.42 miles, 590 calories
Sunday, 7th February 2010 - Added up to Quenby Hall.  22.44 miles, 754 calories
Sunday, 14th February 2010 - To Carlton Curlieu a different way.  19.1 miles, 600 calories
Sunday, 15th March 2010 - The hill at Goadby.  23.2 miles

My first "long" ride

Well, now that I am looking back on it - it seems quite silly that I think 10 miles on my bike constitutes a "long" ride...but hey we all have to start somewhere.

There is something very glorious about cycling in the sun of an Autumn morning.  Every Sunday I am trying to get out for my "long" ride, extending routes and working out new ones too.

My first "long" ride took me through the villages of:

• Ingarsby
• Hungarton

and in through the gates of Baggrave Park where I stopped outside the house for a quick drink (now mastered drinking whilst pedaling but that has taken a while!).  This route is just under the five mile mark.

Baggrave Hall

For those of you interested in the conservation of old buildings you may be interested in reading this article about the hall http://www.ihbc.org.uk/context_archive/32/baggrave_dir/baggrave_s.htm

The ride through the park is fabulous with sheep, two beautiful horses and in the recent weeks children collecting the conkers (one kid had a massive bag full and I can only think he is going to share them with the whole population of his school).

The purgatory that is Ingarsby Lane

One of my favourite routes that I have been building on involves a road called Ingarsby Lane, it takes me about a nano second to get from the top to the bottom of the lane and higher speed of 33.45 mph.  Coming back it takes me 10 minutes exactly to get from the bottom to the top, with landmarks on the way that I mentally tick off as I pass them:

• The new house
• The bridge
• The area where there has been a fire
• The DMV (Deserted Medieval Village)
• The Hall
• The tree on the corner (I know I am nearly up the hill by then)
• The riding stables
• The first view of the first house
• The last hill...

Cycling past the wall of the Hall on Ingarsby Lane

It is my challenge to build on my ten minutes from bottom to top and to knock off a minute here and there - but it really is purgatory, particularly if you have just cycled 10 or so miles the other side of it.

How it all began

My husband comes from a family of keen cyclists...he knows about bike bits, you know, seat pins and stems (it's all just words to me). He spots a bike on Ebay which is a bargain...it's been messed about a bit, the handle bars changed, and its been stored outside (we think), but still a bargain. So around the end of July this year he gets it for me.

It arrives in all its slightly rusted glory, and immediately he changes the pedals for me so I can wear my proper biking shoes - what are they called, SB something? (You can see I am really into the equipment side)...and for those of you reading this, yes, I have had the experience of first wearing them and stopping and not getting my foot out quick enough and suffering the humiliation of tumbling towards the ground, still attached to the bike.

I take my bike with me all the way down to Helston for the summer holidays. Unfortunately little riding takes place (only one day on the Camel Trail to Padstow). However, staying in a fantastic location of Lower Pentire Farm, on the side of Loe Pool. I get some fantastic walking done along the cliffs to Gunwalloe and Church Cove.

Our other discovery whilst in Helton is a shop called Cycle Logic. I purchased some hard wearing tyres and a new "girlie" saddle. I was still not happy with the handle bars not being "drop" ones though. We visited Cycle Logic so many times that the kids even designed a "theme tune" for it, and would sing it as we pulled into their car park!

After returning home my trusty mount gets taken to local shop "On Yer Bike" where it is re-built from various components my husband has found in the garage. I am now ready for the off...