10 Year anniversary.

Ok so its not cycling orientated but I think its worthy of a mention as an important part of my life!  10 years ago today I married my husband and my mum ensured it was certainly a day to remember!!  An all day party and loads of fun for everyone, thanks mum :-) !!

I managed another lonely 12k............not the longest of rides but my bike is in tip top condition for a longer one next week :-)

Bike at the Doctors.....

Ok so its only an update to say my bike is at http://www.directcarparts.co.uk/ in Durham as its very squeaky and the gears need some adjustment since they are not changing when I need them too, making it very annoying and harder than it should be!  I am actually eager to get back on it and out for a ride!  I dragged out the stationary trainer the other day since it was thundery and raining outside but I have officially decided that its not my idea of fun, I was shattered after 20 mins and even more bored than when I am out riding on my own...........so I definately need a gym membership for the bad weather days!

I must remember to brush my teeth!

Ok so its an oddly titled post I know but its true, glucose tablets are a cyclist best friend on a long journey but Jelly Babies are definately the way forward and my mum used to love Jelly babies too...........but I must remember to brush my teeth otherwise I will be toothless when I am doing my ride around Cuba!

No one will know its me :-)

I strangely felt motivated this morning and after convincing hubby to fix my bike computer and spending about 2 hours getting ready and making excuses to delay the inevitable a bit longer......off I went!  We were supposed to go camping this weekend but the weather forecast was not good so we decided to stay at home and leave the camping for another weekend, the cycling however I have decided needs to happen rain hail or shine.as long as I am wrapped up appropriately the worst I am going to get is a bit muddy and to be fair that can be quite good for the inner child :-)  Anyhow I decided to set off along my normal route on the railways paths through Langley Park and up to Lanchester, I have decided for now at least to stick with this route and distance until my speed picks up a bit and I will endeavour to go a bit further for now 15 miles ish seems like a comfortable distance for me to achieve. 

Riding along the weather was freaky, on one side of the path there was blue sky, white fluffy clouds and glorious blazing sunshine yet on the other side of the path the clouds were angry, black and the faint rumble of thunder nearly had me turning around after only 3 miles!  It was weird because it was so warm (21 degrees according to my bike computer) yet there was a cold wind swirling around me, a very odd feeling but I decided the fly fisherman were at a much higher risk than me and they seemed unpertured so I decided my mind was getting the better of me and I carried on.  After passing all my normal landmarks I looked down at my bike computer and was quite alarmed that my numbers were not as high as normal and I wondered why it was taking me so much effort to make the numbers go up and it took me a number of minutes to work out that my hubby had put the bike computer into miles instead of my normal km and when it should have read 5 ish it was reading 3 ish.........hmmmm I like km better as you see them clocking up quicker :-)

My New Best Friends!

Not easy to take a photo of yourself...

I felt a lot better than I did on Thursday and hope that my body will quickly recover the memory of exercise and it will get easier very quickly.  I rode well until I reached about 8 miles and my energy was starting to ease off and I felt a bit shaky so I had a couple of Jelly Babies and within a few minutes I felt much better.....good little babies!!  I soon picked up pace and the miles clocked up a bit more then by the time I got home I had clocked up a respectable 17.2 miles........pretty chuffed to be honest, I know I got a very long way to go.........need to be able to do at least 67 miles in one day........and at least 3-4 days running........its like riding from Durham to Carlisle on a bike :-o ...........scary stuff!!  Hopefully I will be like a twig before long :-)

11 Miles before my break....

My bike has got a horrible squeak and I think it might need a visit to the bike dr as the gears keep slipping or not changing when I want them to............. needs a good bit of lube and a couple of nuts and bolts altered, should be as good as new :-)  I hope!

Sun in my eyes.........Jelly Baaabieeeees!

Well that will do for now..........please share the blog with as many people as you can.......leave comments too...We still need to raise awareness of what we are doing and if the blog gets shared with the right people.........who knows what doors will open :-)  Thanks for reading ;-)

A lonely ride..........

Ok, so we all know its been  weeks since I have braved it out on the bike, but finally....I managed.  Its scary how time is flying and before I know it the challenge will be upon me!  6 months has passed since I signed up and in all honesty I havent worked as hard as what I should, I gave up Slimming World, hubbys shifts were erractic at work and this gave me the excuse I needed.  I gained weight surprise surprise, but I have rejoined and I am happy that although I gained I have still kept some weight off and I am not as heavy as in Feb, although I am sure I would have been so much better if I had stayed at Slimming world in the first place! 

I managed to get out on the bike, but boy it hurt!  It is unreal how a few weeks of not getting out can reduce your fitness by soooooo much :-s . I really struggled and when I got to Langley Park approx 4.5miles I really wanted to quit :-(  but my song came on my ipod, the song that spurred me on last time and the song I made my video too on youtube, and the pictures and the reason for doing this spurred me on......again.   I only managed to get to just before Lanchester, approx 7 miles from home but I felt lonely, sad and annoyed with myself.............I turned round and rode home.........a very lonely 14 miles or so...........

I got a letter from action for charity yesterday and although I have raised £2000, I still have £900 to go, but on top of that I need to raise money to pay for my airport taxes which is currently £305, my passport currently £96, any kit I need and my insurance!  OMG I still have a long road to climb and I cant let this opportunity go to waste especially when I have come so far........................I just need to use a tool which I have always struggled with in my life........motivation!