Back in the Saddle! Only 52k :-)

So the weekend started as a hectic rush, nothing un-normal in my life but this was more hectic than normal!  Jean kindly came over to mine to pose for newspaper pictures for us to get an article in the Durham times, Northern Echo and the Advertiser ....Result, Lets hope it brings us some much needed publicity and the foot in the door to a snowball of help fundraising :-)  Poor Jean has been feeling under the weather since her event yet still she summoned up the energy to make it across for the photos....big thank you :-)  We had a nice relaxing Friday nice with a homemade spag bol .... and to be fair an early night ready for our adventure. 

Amazingly after weeks of torrential rain and planning the need for an ark we awoke to a gloriously sunny and pleasant morning. So after a bacon sandwich and cups of coffee we were ready to set off but only after I had mastered the art of fitting Jeans bike computer.


We set of down on my normal route towards Broompark picnic area to start off along the Lanchester route,  Jean was nervous of her knee and after 3 weeks of inactivity due to bad weather I wasn't feeling capable of attempting anything harder. 

The route was nice and the weather was good, but after reaching Lanchester we continued on to Consett and I found this bit particularly hard as it was a contiuous mild incline, I just kept thinking about the amazing downhill section which must have been about to come at any moment.......it went on and on until we decided to stop for a quick Lucozade sweet and cereal bar as I was shaking and struggling :-(  Jean took some amazing pictures along the route and after getting a boost of energy (those sweets are amazing, I MUST stock up!!)  

We pushed on, eventually the amazing downhill section came and at the bottom we were lucky enough to find a beautiful little farm cafe, it may have been little but it was packed Im not surprised as inside there was the most astounding array of local cheeses, fresh meat, fresh vegetables and local produce it was amazing!!  The food looked totally astounding and mouth wateringly good, so we stopped for lunch, it even had bike racks so it must have been fate ;-)  Jean kindly treated me and we both ate a plate of fresh ham, beef and chicken with local cheeses and freshly made bread it was light and filling, just what we needed........Jean also bought us a cheeky fruity scone to pack in our bags for later on in the journey,  It tasted divine :-)  so Thank you :-) xx

After some master map reading skills and super detective work we managed to get onto the C2C route and evetually back onto the route for home.........there was a motorbikers party on in Lanchester, the music sounded good and the weather was amazing it was so tempting to stop for a cheeky beer, but we resisted the urged and pushed on towards home. Every now and again Jean was feeding me Lucozade tablets to keep me going as I was really struggling by this point!! (OH and extremely muddy!!)


The closer to home we got, the more tired I was getting and all I wanted to do was get home, have a nice bath and chill.........I got home to the welcome of hubby wanting me to load heavy stuff into the car to go to the tip, a mass of dirty dises, toys everywhere and the whole neighborhood of kids playing in and out of my garden (hubbys idea of looking after them!) and I had a total tantrum, through tiredness.  Thankfully  Jean put everything back into perspective made me a cup of coffee and made me realise the kids were the most important thing (and they were fine!) and the house could wait until tommorow (today!) probably the best idea since I was having extra kids overnight and all of my work would have been undone anyway :-)  Did I mention I got a tad muddy :-)

I managed to settle all 7 kids by 10pm and was looking forward to settling in my cozy bed for the night but my knees were agony and after the 3rd lot of deep heat I resorted to painkillers....at 2.35am when hubby returned home from a jolly in Durham with is best friend and long time friend he was extremely worse for wear and very loud!  At 4am I retreated to bed with Co-codamol taking its effect, only to be woken at 5.30 am with excited kids waking from their sleepover and ready to play :-/  anyhow I got up and amazingly I am not stiff or sore today and very happy with my achievements!

 I just need to master the art of not having a perfectly tidy house when leaving hubby in charge of the kids with many more long rides to come :-)  Wonder whether hubbys head will hurt when he finally makes it out of bed.......bacon and eggs at the ready :-)

Northern Crisis Event - Wetheral... great success!!

For the last few weeks I've been working towards an event of 'live music' with a Pie & Pea Supper, raffle and Auction... just as well really as it distracted me from not being able to get out on my bike (or do much at the gym) - well a bit!!

It all started at the gym actually, when an old colleague of mine told me he was in a band called 'Northern Crisis'and offered to play for me to help raise funds.. It took wings from there.... I wrote to all the local Village Halls and Wetheral came back with the best offer (£30 for the weekend).. fitting really as Trudy and I used to go to disco's there in our teens.

So I walked the streets of Carlisle and Wetheral and got lots of great donations - originally it was just going to be a raffle, but as the prizes got more extensive I decided it might be a good idea to have an Auction too. I wasn't too sure who to get as an Auctioneer but my choice proved to be a good one.. Sean Reed (who I've worked with and known for many years) was brilliant.. alternative carear awaits him if he ever gets fed-up with the 'day job'... I raised £535 from the Auction alone - I thought I'd be lucky to get half of that!!

As well as the band and the raffle/auction I had a 'Pie & Pea Supper' I wanted to keep it as local as possible so contacted my local pub The Bridge Inn, Penton unfortunately they had too much on to do it all, but kindly donated 3 large pies (enough for 24)... yummy!

The remainder of the pies came 'highly recommended' from a local butchers 'Wilsons' .. the pies lived up to the recommendation and everyone wanted to know where they came from!! The peas became a bit of an epic... with someone saying they'd get them - not coming good until too late, by which time I'd bought them and had them soaking!  Cooked them the day before .. 3 huge pans full - only forgot to switch off the last pan ... result - had to make more the day of the event!!! I also decided to make Cava Jellies and sell them - v successful .. but much fiddlier making 100 as opposed to the dozen or so I'd made previously!! Had to finish them off on the morning of the event too..

Just as well I had a larder fridge and hadn't been shopping!!!

Fortunately Lisa came down to help on the morning of the event.. with Jacqui and Guy's assistance we got the Hall ready.. by lunchtime... all that was left to do was the balloons to be blown up and the raffle tickets to be folded ..

Dashed back home via BikeSeven to buy Lisa a bike for her 30th birthday.. a surprise - she loved it!! 

 Then it was back to the hall to open up for Bars2u to allow them to set up.. not the easiest jobs as there were quite alot of stairs up to the Hall.. but they were brilliant - great bar, fully stocked and really pleasant, helpful people.. recommend them to anyone!! 

We then had to collect a homemade cake from the Village Cafe and take the pies to a friends to heat up in her oven.. got back to the Hall and Alex was waiting..  I had some balloons printed with the Cycle Cuba logo's on that I want to sell to others doing the trip - so this was an ideal opportunity to show them off!!

My friend Jill (who makes amazing bunting) and was making one for me .. only she forgot the date and two days from the event she managed to make and post it to me... maybe I can sell them too!!

So scene was set .. band were doing sound checks.. Ricky Beatty (or should I say 'DJ Downstairs') was ready to do his stuff and the girls (Lisa & Alex) had taken control of the kitchen... now all we needed were people!! Didn't start too well - first person to arrive brought back their tickets as they couldn't make it!! Then an elderly couple walked in, heard the band play - turned around and walked out... they did come back later and seemed to really enjoy themselves!!

Then they started to come and before I knew it the Hall was full and people were eating and having fun.. I bought a whisky bottle (a good one from a small shop in Keswick that closed) and people had to throw a £1 coin towards it... the nearest after 15 minutes won it - very successful.. and good fun.

So it was an evening of fun.. after days of stressing about not selling enough tickets.. not really for the fund raising side of it, but more because I wanted the band to have a good audience, Bars2u to make money and to have a good atmosphere for all the people who had bought tickets to enjoy themselves..  Fortunately it was..

The band were brilliant..

DJ Downstairs was great...

The food was yummy...

.. and one little girl loved the balloons..

.. and I raised a staggering £1,794!!!

Incredible - thank you so much everyone.. in particular Lisa, Alex and Jacqui who helped so much at the event.. and to Northern Crisis, Ricky, Sean, all those who donated prizes, bought tickets, bid at the Auction, bought the jellies and came along and supported me on the night... :-)

Now I just need to get fit again and out on my bike!!