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