A brief history of me prior to 2014, and my love of being fit.
As a school boy I ran to junior school, in
suburban south London, with 2 other siblings, because I enjoyed racing (and
usually beating) the bus on the 3 mile route.
In the same school I played football,
right back, (keen, but no footballing brain, obviously - none taken) and the
same position for 11th Wallington, St Elphege’s Cubs, where with my (18 month)
younger, and annoyingly, overall more talented brother, Simon Lane, I was part
of a district cup win. Champions are made and the construction of this
low-level champion was in full swing.
As a family we took holidays in Whitsand
Bay in the modest family 'hut' perched on the edge of the cliffs of the Bay
with miles of cliffs, to climb, and sandy beaches from where we would swim,
surf and build fires...and throw stones at anything and everything ..... that
moved, or didn't!
As a teenager, after passing 11+ (bring it
back and let the brighter ones be pushed to their respective limits) I went to
the perfect school for me, sporting wise, where I found my love for running
around gyms, weights, rugby, football, tennis and basketball courts and cricket
pitches, but I shone very early on the pole-vault track.
At the age of 12, weighing in at nearly 6
stone and very short at 5' 3'', I was introduced, by my PE teacher, Dick Wyer a
lovely, gentle, caring Welsh man, who sought me out to suggest to me that I
should' have a go' - pointing across the school athletics track - at pole
vaulting, where I watched in awe at an older guy 19? 20? in a GB athletics vest
running along the track and then gliding seemingly effortlessly over the bamboo
bar to clear 9 feet or so. I was hooked.
I went on to represent Surrey Schools, not
very successfully, but all the same, I was there. After I had joined the RAF I
was posted for training to RAF Cosford, where the only indoor track in GB was
sited and where I was spotted by a fellow athlete who offered me the
opportunity to represent the UK leading Wolverhampton and Bilston Athletic
Club. I declined the great honour as I did not want the distraction, but the
offer was a huge boost to my confidence.
Later in to my RAF career I was caught, by
Warrant Officer Eunice Davies - head of all things female at RAF High Wycombe -
sneaking in to the female’s accommodation, which, in those unenlightened days,
was very much frowned upon.
She knew of me and my love of all things
sport, probably through me being in the all of the teams representing the
Section in inter-Section competitions as well as a keen participant in the
local rugby team at High Wycombe.
My punishment for breaking the rules was 2
weeks on night duty at the camp gate, as guard, or come to the squash courts
and get ‘beasted’ twice a week for a month. (She was the current Welsh Open
Champion). Prior to joining the RAF I had never heard of the sport of squash,
but I was aware of it at that point and warily agreed to meet at 19.00 that
night.....and was hooked immediately.
I went on to represent my Units wherever I
was posted until the day I left the RAF in July 1979.
By the time I left the RAF, aged 41 years
old, my running days were becoming increasingly painful and would soon come to
a halt so I reverted to cycling where I knew I would incur less injuries but
achieve the same Adrenalin fix and I could get to enjoy the wonderful
countryside of the local area. So a new cycle was purchased and I was once
again hooked....taking me back to my days as a would-be triathlete.
Which brings me to today, 5th April 2016,
and my love for exercise which remains. When the bruising and pain subsides I
shall once again be looking to enjoy the 'rush' obtained from endurance
exercise – sea-swimming, walking and cycling being the three sporting joys that
I like to enjoy with my good lady, Kathy.
Prior to the stroke, in May 2014, I was
able to cycle 22 miles at 17.5 mph (not bad for an old geezer) on a commute
to/from work. After 4 months of recovery and lots of walking I ventured out on
the bike and headed for my first commute to work - averaging 8 mph and was
exhausted. To add to the frustration of my lack of ability, I had to endure the
ultimate humiliation (common to all cyclists) I was overtaken!!!!! by an old lady
with shopping bags on her handlebars!
Since that day, in October 2014, I have
worked very hard and had, most satisfyingly, reached an average of 15.5 mph on
the commute and also reached, once again, the ability to comfortably complete
three 50 miles hilly cycle rides on the Purbecks.
On 2 April, Kathy and I were out for a 50
mile cycle (my 3rd of the week) circumnavigating Poole Harbour. Having stopped
at Wareham to see Suzie, Kathy's eldest daughter, working at the boat hire at
Wareham bridge, a quick bite to eat by means of a pasty, another sip of water
and off we went in to the 15 mph southerly breeze that we would soon pick up at
the top of Creech hill (1 in 5) and then turn left to head for home.
On the approach to the hill, I began to
feel a little woozy and, on reflection, I now realise, already unable to think
correctly, I cycled on through the weird feeling. The next 800 meters are blank
to me and as the road swooped down to a left bend, I didn't turn, but kept on
cycling across the road and in to a wrought iron fence.
According to Kathy who witnessed the whole
thing, she called me, 'Tony, Tony, Tony' - crash!
I smashed in to the industrial iron
fencing, rolled over the top, landed on my cycle helmet, then shoulder and lay
stiff on the floor. There are two positives that have come from this
episode and a huge piece of luck:
1. The 2nd car on the scene carried two
off-duty A&E doctors from Southampton Hospital who stopped called the
ambulance, diagnosed me and took care of Kathy who was in shock.
2. I have an explanation for the 2
previously-unexplained 'events' over the last 18 months.
3. We agreed between the two of us that
work must stop, a few adjustments to home life must be made and travelling to
enjoy our plans must start very very soon.
Blue lights were ordered and the hospital
beckoned - nothing broken - but epilepsy is diagnosed - which is manageable
with medication - and I now sit at home very cut up and sore, nursing my aching
body back to recovery.... and WHAT a hangover-type headache.
Once medication is organised and proved to
be working, I shall be off to the great cycle shop here in Pokesdown,
Bournemouth Cycleworks, buy a replacement cycle helmet and get back on the bike
to once again play in the lanes and on the slopes and hills of the Purbecks.
Our plans for long distance trips will be dusted off and the respective
challenges will be gleefully worked through by Kathy and myself.
We have wondered what on earth would have
happened to me if I had NOT been wearing a cycle helmet when I crashed. My
message on that is - wear one....you just never know when you will need that £25
/ £50 'extra' with your £1,000 toy.
Meanwhile, the turbo trainer will be put
to good use once again, when I can get my leg slung over the cross bar. Until
then, I shall have to sit down and make firmer plans for:
Cycling the Camino de Santiago and maybe a
few of its sister routes in Spain
Cycle LeJog - this time with Kathy
Cycle West Wales to Great Yarmouth
Cycle Rome to London
Walk the six routes of Snowdon
Complete the long-planned cycle around
France - maybe miss out the 5 iconic mountain passes.
Buy a caravan for wintering in Portugal
Time waits for no man, they say. Come on
body, get fixed......fast!!!!
Meanwhile, the plan for completing Ride
for Del is cancelled and the 10 day expedition in June (cycle around Normandy)
is postponed....but only postponed.
LeJog in September is likewise not going
to happen for us.....
but 2017 will be busy :-)
So, 6 days in and the injuries are healing
- as always - very fast, thankfully. I can now stand without pain in my right
leg and can raise my left arm to scratch my head without pain. The bruises are
going yellow and my head is no longer throbbing as if I had drunk 10 pints of
Guiness.....Mmmmmmm Guiness.
So I sit at the computer desk and gaze out
at the lean-to and my two road bikes, one hanging in it's rack, thankfully
undamaged from the 'mishap' and the other, the commuter bike, locked in to the
turbo trainer. I am not yet ready, physically, to climb back on and spin my
feet, but tomorrow ..... there is always tomorrow.
POSITIVE THINKING
Over the last few days - and indeed, 2
years, with Kathy's help and care, I have recovered to being quite strong,
getting stronger by the week and certainly able to realistically make sensible
plans for our post-work life. (see above).
We have jointly, unconsciously? approached
the aftermath of the stroke, and now the crash, with an 'OK, that's a bummer,
let's recover, rebuild and get on with it'. Kathy has that as a natural part of
her make-up, maybe due to her Mum's very early passing when Kathy was only 17.
Who knows? We have spoken many times about others who have had it worse, have
lack of cash, lack of well-paid employment, lack of good health and certainly
an uncertain future.
We know folk who have MS, cancer,
Parkinson's and a few others I have forgotten for now, but we could be in a far
worse situation. As my Dad used to [annoyingly - at the time] say to us, count
your blessings. Wise words, Pa. Wise words, indeed.
For Kathy and me, yes, the strokes and now
this bloody crash/epilepsy are both unwanted but they are/were both out of our
control. We like to control the controllables. While these blips are taken
seriously and we will do what we can to avoid repeats by following doctor's
advice and prescriptions we shall follow the wise words once spoken to me after
a rugby match while I nursed another knock. The fine (Welsh - ofcourse) rugby
coach told me, while nearly spilling his pint of bitter, problems are a
roundabout on your journey in life. Approach them sensibly, work out how to get
around them, and get going because there is an adventure out there waiting for
you on the road ahead.
Kathy has taken her cycle to work today,
for the first time since my accident ..... a sign that she too is healing. Stay
tough, my lovely and special lady. xxx
So my thoughts turn to my little brother,
Damien, who was training very hard as the date approached for him to compete,
once again, in the London Marathon 2016. He was expecting / hoping to achieve a
PB. If you don't know what a PB is, log off! He is now recovering from his only
set back, his own roundabout, the PB won't be happening, no 2 hours 45 for that
49 year old. But I do know that already he will be thinking about recovery,
maybe a little physio treatment and then the first post-injury jog and then the
increase in efforts. The setbacks are a roundabout - find a way around them and
there is always going to be a bright warm light at the end of the tunnel....if
you care to look for it, ofcourse.
So - my cycles await me receiving a consultant’s
diagnosis and treatment and then the plans that Kathy and I have, currently on
hold, will be put back in to place.
Stay happy folks and mind those
roundabouts, they can be dodgy things.
Crash + 6 days
The bumps are going yellow and blue so in
my view that means the recovery of the body is going well and for the first
time my head is not hurting. My right leg and left arm are still sore but
useable and today I have been on the turbo trainer. I have decided to do
7 minutes at a time but hard burst stuff with HR going up to no more than 145
bpm by minute 5 and then ease back to get off on 6.59.
After a spin session I attack the stack of
pallets and chop them up to sensible sizes for storing and further sawing when
the woodburner needs topping up. It's all about occupation of time.
Before I had the stroke in May 2014, I was a very keen guitar player - if
rather rubbish - and as with book reading and piano playing, I have last the
interest which is a little disappointing as I used to wile away many an hour
with those 3 pastimes. So spinning, sawing pallets and sudoku are the
main source of entertainment with an hour's walk to the beach, along the prom
and home again chucked in for good measure.
It all helps to ease the annoyance of the
crash and ban from using road/bike/car and gets the sweat glands up n running.
Bring on the endorphins :-)
The boredom / frustration of sitting
around is beginning to set in, and I am now looking forward to going back to
work - probably 3 days too early - on Monday, but rather that than eating,
dozing repeat.
Crash day + 8. Today I have opened a
jar of coffee and my left arm did not hurt! Progress!
Crash day + 11. Today after another two
Ibuprofen my arm is not hurting and I have, at 8.30 already been on the turbo
and 'done' 8 minutes. I have a day's off routine building, built around sawing
pallets for the winter stock and turbo trainer time.
Having had a chat with a chap in work, it
appears that a first-time fit is known as a seizure and may or may not be
epilepsy. If clear of more fits for 6 months I am able to drive again and will
not have to consume medication. How comfortable I will be back on the
bike on the road, who knows. Time will tell. The idea of not (confident
in my safety) cycling again is far tougher to deal with mentally than the
seizure itself and the painful aftermath.
And walking just isn't the same but I am
beginning to accept that walking may well be the direction in which I shall
have to achieve my daily exercise.
Crash Day + 16. Kathy and I have enjoyed a
lovely weekend, taking in a 10 mile walk from Poole back to the house, following
the coast line. A nice stroll which has encouraged us to alter the expedition
plans for summer 2016.......and bring forward the intended date for me to
retire.
Instead of cycling around Normandy in June
and then Land's End to John O' Groats in September - hopefully delayed until
2017, we now intend to walk the coastal path of Isle of Wight in June,
and in July, Offa's Dyke (the Welsh/English border).....both after I have
retired in early June.
This morning the sky was blue and with
barely a breeze blowing I took in a 2 hour stroll. After a post-stroll doze I
completed the first of two 15-minute efforts on the turbo, set up in the back
garden, followed by some more breaking of pallets.
I tried a very gentle cycle to the cliff
top and I am rather disappointed to tell you that my left arm is still very
sensitive and every bump is a sharp reminder of our 'interesting' cycle ride
that ended up with a visit to hospital.
All I need to complete today is the letter
to the boss to inform him of my intentions to have a 30 year holiday starting
mid-June.
So ..... evening meal prep time - must go.
Crash Day + whatever - that's the last time to mention it. From now on, it's all about stronger. I have not needed pain relief for 2 days so apart from an occasional bump my leg and arm are back to normal - I have yet to test them out with circuit training though. The bruising is all but gone and I am not sure whether or not I want the scarring to disappear. A true war hero, lol
So I sit in the house, having waved off Kathy as she cycles her way to work, the wood-burners doing their best and I look out at the garden where the turbo beckons me for my first efforts, hopefully 3, of the day await me.
It's 6.00 am on 21 April 2016 and I am preparing for my commute to work, not by cycle, as I would prefer, because I believe the ride would be uncomfortable for my still-sore arm, but by car with my good friend and work colleague, Colin. I am about to start one of my last days of working with my intention to retire on May 31 allowing me to be retired on my birthday June 2, aged 57 ..... smiles all around.
As I already am on a 3 day week, I estimate that I have, including today, 17 working days to complete before I am done. I have 6 days holiday and atleast two hospital appointments to cram in to that, so in effect, I have 11 days to do, then the holiday of a lifetime (retirement) will begin in earnest. Bring it on.
24 April
I have been out on the cycle to the cliff top and back but have no desire to go further. I am walking for 2 hours at a time and using the turbo 15 minutes at a time so my legs are being kept in good shape, hopefully.
On my third visit to the cliff top, by cycle, while putting on my crash hat, I noticed a split in the foam protection. Had I not been wearing a cycle helmet - that could easily have been a split in my skull. What a lucky guy I am.
While at the cycle shop (Bournemouth Cycleworks - the best shop in the area, without a doubt) buying a replacement hat, the technician who looks after all of our bikes looked over the cycle on which I had suffered my accident and noticed a crack in the forks (carbon fibre) and that the front pannier rack is not firm. So, as lucky as I may have been physically, the £40 for the new cycle helmet may yet be added to with a replacement rack and set of forks - which could easily be £250 in total. As I look around for a positive in that, I would rather have to pay a large bill than being smashed up myself I guess, eh?
As I already am on a 3 day week, I estimate that I have, including today, 17 working days to complete before I am done. I have 6 days holiday and atleast two hospital appointments to cram in to that, so in effect, I have 11 days to do, then the holiday of a lifetime (retirement) will begin in earnest. Bring it on.
24 April
I have been out on the cycle to the cliff top and back but have no desire to go further. I am walking for 2 hours at a time and using the turbo 15 minutes at a time so my legs are being kept in good shape, hopefully.
On my third visit to the cliff top, by cycle, while putting on my crash hat, I noticed a split in the foam protection. Had I not been wearing a cycle helmet - that could easily have been a split in my skull. What a lucky guy I am.
While at the cycle shop (Bournemouth Cycleworks - the best shop in the area, without a doubt) buying a replacement hat, the technician who looks after all of our bikes looked over the cycle on which I had suffered my accident and noticed a crack in the forks (carbon fibre) and that the front pannier rack is not firm. So, as lucky as I may have been physically, the £40 for the new cycle helmet may yet be added to with a replacement rack and set of forks - which could easily be £250 in total. As I look around for a positive in that, I would rather have to pay a large bill than being smashed up myself I guess, eh?
p.s. After a few cycle rides to get used to being out on the roads once again, I noticed a split in the front tyre running about 1/8th of the circumference of the tyre. A little more collateral damage from the 'incident'. So, £28 * 3 we have replacement / spare tyres on the way. Once again I have to be very grateful for the huge tyres that were able to soften the blow saving the need to replace the wheel as well. The glass can be half full....or half empty.
6 May
My last working day is completed and I am now, age 56, retired. Wee Haaaa. To celebrate we have been out to collect a caravan with which we hope to enjoy many holidays around the UK and mainland Europe.
On the list we have a visit to UK tour consisting of Wales, Isle of Man, Ireland, Scottish Western Isle and then home via the east cost of UK.
That trip will be after the intended cycle rides of; Land's End to John O'Groats (2017), Tour of France (2018), Barcelona to Compostella de Santiago (picking up Camino de Santiago) (2019), River Danube source to Vienna then up to Berlin (2020) ........ with a few holidays in between.
That trip will be after the intended cycle rides of; Land's End to John O'Groats (2017), Tour of France (2018), Barcelona to Compostella de Santiago (picking up Camino de Santiago) (2019), River Danube source to Vienna then up to Berlin (2020) ........ with a few holidays in between.
As a brief tester we are heading a week of carvanning in Wareham before we head off for Isle of Wight, with the caravan, and once sited we intend to walk the 70 miles coast paths and, no doubt, enjoy a few routes inland too. Gotta love life......live it with a smile on ya face.
Mid May
We are home from our 'tester' session with the caravan and we had a lovely time and met some lovely people.
The 'van' is very comfortable and surprisingly spacious....for a 'van' and with a few inexpensive purchases we believe that we will be able to spend lots of the future travelling around Europe. The plan is to go to a caravan site and park up for a week or so filling the time with walking and cycling to get a look at the local area and then push on.
But back the 5 days away. We haev agreed that we shall travel without a TV so we are left with the radio / MP3 player rattling on in the background while we read, do the Sudoku, play cards, backgammon or scrabble.
On our first evening we played Scrabble, Kathy playing a winning hand by adding FA to MOUSE to make a word letting the world know she is very very well known.......close enough for a dyslexic, I guess. That was soon followed by REGAE (music) and we have giggled about both often since. Good times can come soooo cheap.
We enjoyed a some walking on Purbeck Heath and a couple of good cycle rides, 'turbo cycling' as we sped (for us) along the road arriving at an allotted goal breathless but very content and when we checked we found we had reached 22 mph on our fat mountain bike tyres, so naturally, we were / are rather pleased ourselves and have agreed that 'turbo-training should be part of our cycle training.
Kathy is very happy as she has now successfully towed the 'van' 3 times and loves the 'macho-ness' of the task.....10-4 big buddy! So far, I have cycled each time the van has been towed but should we venture further, maybe the train will be employed to get me some of the distance, we will see, but one thing is for sure, I won't be passenger. I get sea-sick when Kathy is driving - Kathy employs a strange (to me) method of accelerator-use......Press / lift.... press / lift .... press / lift .... I think you will have got the picture. Not for me, ta.
So the 'tester' session has been a success and we have a short list of tasks that we need to tick off before we venture further afield which should allow us to hop on a ferry just after New Year and head on south through Spain for a couple of months while the UK endures the nastiness of Jan/Feb and Mar. That's the plan anyway, and as a Jewish friend told us recently 'if you wish to make God laugh, make a plan'. I wonder what He will do to alter our plan. Time will tell.
Late May and all is going well.
I have an increasing amount of appointments to attend at Poole Hospital who have been amazingly speedy in arranging for the various tests to take place. I have had 1 session this week and another next, with more to follow until the cause of the crash is discovered and remedial action taken. Our hope is that those appts do not interfere with our play time that have been arranged.
Until then, we shall continue with the strength-building of our legs with 50 mile hilly cycle rides and 10 mile walks and 'rest' days where the house / caravan / cycle admin can be completed.
Today I have been told that one of my brother's, Simon, is due in the UK from Singapore on a working visit and will join us for a meal on my birthday. How very cool is that.
End May
Kathy has had the sad news that her father has passed away and while the passing is very sad, in some ways it is also a relief and release for everyone, including himself. For many years he has been slipping towards complete disability brought on by Parkinson and spend the last 6 months in a near vegetative state. So Kathy has flown to Mallorca to join her step-sister to attend Dad's cremation and then fly home the following a day. A flying visit indeed!
The plan is to then return, with many others of the clan and friends-of, for a scattering of the ashes, in the local harbour, of Skipper O'Keefe. That will be a 2 week visit and a good look around the island by foot and cycle hopefully with a few others in tow.
Today, even though it is a Bank Holiday, all alone..... I had to attend a clinic at Poole Hospital and endure 25 minutes inside the MRI machine. I could have done with Kathy being with me after. I was a little knocked around. The MRI event is not something to be taken lightly. 30 minutes after finishing I was OK to carefully climb back on to my cycle and pedal very very slowly home along the promenade, enjoying the early morning sun and looking at the beaches strewn with litter from yesterday's visitors. Peasants!
Once breakfast is done and dusted I shall continue with the packing of pannier bags with a view to taking a couple of days away with the bikes and a tent and test out our equipment for the forthcoming trip to Bristol and soon after to Normandy.
1 June and Kathy is home from Mallorca and with only a night's sleep we are off to Wales to celebrate the life of Aunty Mary with my cousins. We are hoping for a smooth train journey and a pleasant gathering of The Lane Clan.
We will be back home late on tomorrow when the bikes and panniers will be fully loaded and tested with a 20 mile cycle to a campsite near Sway in The New Forest for a 2 night stopover. Then its home for an ultrasound test on my heart....the tests continue - so does life.
3 June
Yesterday we attended the funeral, in Neath, of my Aunty Mary who's passing was, though she was of a good age, unexpected. The gathering was very well attended was pleasing, even consoling?, to her children, grand- and great-grand- children.
The gathering after the church and crematorium was held in The Twelve Knights in Margam and there was much laughter and renewing acquaintances of cousins and their immediate families. Kathy and I very much enjoyed the company of two of those cousins and hope to be able to remain in touch and see each other more often than at family funerals.
Yesterday also saw off my 57th birthday and after a the gathering in Port Talbot/Neath/Margam we caught the train home to Bournemouth and meet up with two of my brothers, Chris and Simon, for a beer and a couple of hours of light-hearted chatting which is always good.
9 June. We have just returned from a cycling/camping trip to Sway, New Forest. We enjoyed wonderful weather going there and the 16 mile route was completed with not much to report.
On arrival in Sway, we stopped at the village shop for some necessary items and as I was paying, I noticed a hot meat pie..... May I have two please'. They are 1.85, but half price, so that will be.....ERM....ERM lets call it 1.84. Brilliant
The following day, having been awoken by a very spirited blackbird, we took a walk into the Forest for 2 hours and met a lovely chatty chap sitting on the edge of a brook enjoying his dog's antics.
Day 3 took us out on the bikes, stopping just outside Brockenhurst to offer assistance to a cyclist who had suffered a puncture. He mumbled that he could do with a decent pump, so we offered ours.....only to find it was split at the pumping end and his tyre deflated even further. Oooops. On we went to Lymington and bought a new pump and then grub for a picnic in Lymington Park eating yummy food while we watched the boats and yachts moving along the river to/from the Solent.
Final day came all too soon. We offered our farewells to our fellow campers, lovely chatty folk all, and headed off, loaded and happy. We passed through Brockenhurst, Bieulieu, Bucklers Hard, Lymington, Keyhaven and 15 miles along the coast to home.....tired but content.
We are already looking forward to the the next adventure to the Isle of Wight, with the caravan, but only after a couple of hospital appointments to contnue the search for the reason for my fit/crash.
Mid-June. We are recovered from the efforts last week and have made the required adjustments to kit carried for camping/cycling. We are content with our level of fitness so only minor adjustments to our training schedule which will only be interrupted, occasionally, with Kathy's desire to go to work.
The training will continue to be focused round cycling and walking, with slowly increased efforts, twice a week, circuit training type exercises involving holding body weight in stress positions rather than the normal sweaty and jerky exercise routines one is able to see on a visit to the local gym.
Yesterday we enjoyed???our 2nd swim of the summer and that will be a top-up of any training we do, so hopefully, by September and our trip around Normandy, we shall be able to complete several continuous days of cycling, without suffering too much mentally or physically. Only time will tell. ☺
18 June and all is well. We have just arrived home from a cycle trip to Portsmouth.
We left in glorious sunshine and warmth, heading for Lymington, Beulieu then Hythe. As we approached Milford on Sea, and while pulling in to a layby to allow a couple of cars go by, Kathy fell off her bike after her front wheel dug into some gravel, once again causing her to crash to the ground and once again, hurting her ankle! Fortunately! no long term damage was done, so we had a sip of water and pushed on.
As we approached Beulieu, the sun disappeared and that was soon followed by rolls of thunder......It then went rather dark, and without warning the clouds unleashed an unholy gush of water upon us. Rather than dig out wet weather gear.......mine was back home!!!! .... we took shelter beneath an oak tree and stood admiring the ability of the wandering cattle and ponies to ignore the rain while they continued to crop the kerbs. The rain soon stopped, as fast as it started.
We soon arrived in Hythe, found the ferry terminal.....at the end of a very long (200 metre???) pier but before heading on our walk over the sea, we picked up some pasties at the local bakery. V yummy indeed.
It was not long before we were off the other side and 15 miles later, seemingly in no time at all, we arrived at Hamble ferry and again, before engaging the services of the skipper, we purchased more sustenance, this time in the shape of bacon n cheese rolls. Mmmmm. Yummy. Yummy, yes, but only after a 25 minute wait, Kathy queueing/waiting for an order in the haven cafe.......50 metres from where I was stood looking after the bikes. A wave of one hand, two hands, one hand.....was I supposed to leave the bikes? provide more cash? wait two hours? I mentally shrugged and went back to admiring the many, very pricey and beautiful sail boats moored on the river.
Finally Kathy, with food, appeared and we headed for the tiny ferry. The chap in charge holding one, bandaged, hand gingerly to his chest welcomed us on board. I had to know 'what's with the hand'?.....I sliced through to the bone ....would you like to see the photos......( Not really) ..... Oooo yes pls. Yuck.
So over the Hamble river we went with our personal one-handed 'pirate' boaty-chap and, all too soon, we were back on to terra firma and on our saddles.
Only another 10 more miles and then we would arrive in Gosport. As we followed the flatish speedy route, from behind me there was a loud bang and a screech of brakes. I imagined the worst as I quickly braked to a halt. Turning around, I could see white-van-man stopped immediately behind Kathy's pannier bag that had become dislodged from its rack. Sigh of relief. Once collected, a smile and wave of apology and we returned the guilty bag to it's rightful place and then bunjied it on tightly before we set off yet again.
Onwards we travelled taking only one wrong term (due to my failure to note whether or not to turn left or right at a T Junction) so I guessed, incorrectly! We were soon back on track, cycling along the edge of the Solent, making good speed but beginning to feel weary ..... We had left home some 5 hours previously .... and with 56 miles done we arrived at Gosport ferry and soon after we we knocking on the door of Kathy's cousin with whom we were staying that night.
After a sip of water, a shower in our luxurious ensuite for the night, we sat down to enjoy a wonderful meal with Coralie, her brother Patrick and Coralie's chap, Cliff. A very pleasant 2 hours passed before we all headed down town to old Portsmouth to enjoy an evening in the Guildhall and a tribute band called The Simon and Garfunkel Story. A great sing-along evening was had by all, and then home for a chat and some much needed kip.
We were woken to the sound of sizzling bacon and after a read of the paper, a couple of cups of coffea, we sat in the sunny garden eating, chatting and laughing our way through breakfast before departing for home via Spinnaker Tower and HMS Victory both of which are, in my opinion must-sees, but overrated, and then the train home.
As I sit and type up this mini report, I am very aware that time is ticking as we prepare for a cycle along the prom to visit a friend who has recently opened an eatery near Bournemouth gardens.
Suzie and Sophie joined us for a bite to eat and drink at Monty's (in the square). They were dressed up for a night out on the town and after a couple of hours of fun chatting and laughter they tottered off in their heals for some teenage fun. As we unlocked the cycles for a pedal home, we watched the young ladies go and Kathy said 'I bet we catch them up'. We did :-) The end of a fabulous family weekend.
Tomorrow we are up bright and early to assist with timing at the Wareham off-road cycle race ... No peace for the wicked ...... And we is WICKED Man ☺
This retirement mullarky is exhausting 😂
Today we have woken to an annoying breeze which is bring a constant drizzle. Thankfully it is expected to blow through and become dry and warm again. With such a positive forecast, we now are packing for a week on Isle of Wight with cycles, walking shoes and caravan before coming back four me to endure another test on my head to discover the reason for the crash.
Hoever, the test may cause another fit which, while that would be a pain, would be, in one way be a bad thing because it would delay the day when i can drive again being able ......until December ...... but it would hugely increase the chance of discovering the cause. Discovery of the cause would hopefully bring reassurance from a doctor's diagnosis / medication and further peace of mind for both Kathy and me, not that it stops us doing much; abseiling, kayaking, coasteering, as I said, not much.
.........................................................
Put up new awning.......no harsh words!!! Kathy likes awning. That'll be a double win then. Its a surprisingly very quiet campsite site with only 2 other campers. Perfect. We enjoyed a yummy lunch followed by a circular ride thru freshwater - a fave beach of ours. Home for eats. Chill, plan tomorrow ....10 mile walk.
The 'van' cupboards have been altered from a space for hanging a few jackets to a shelved storage area for bags and the awning rail is fixed and reattached to the 'van'. We have one final fault (waterpump) to fix and all will be well for our next trip away.
The kit, car and van are prepped and we are ready to gooooo 😊
Once we had hooked up the caravan to the car, I cycled off heading for Salisbury....atleast I headed for Salisbury after half a mile when I realised I was heading for Poole!
I quickly got in to the ride and after passing through the lanes around Ringwood, I had some pleasant flashbacks to the days, 15 years ago, when I would occasionally commute to Wilton using the same route as today.
25 miles later I joined the cycle route heading for the centre of the city and with my mind drifting as I paid more attention to the spire of the Cathedral than to where I was going, I narrowly missed being knocked off by a moron-van-driver who, parked on the pavement, opened the door as I was just coming alongside the van. A wobble and stop, shake of the head and look of bemusement was enough to let him know that he had 'erred somewhat'. He looked at me and then said 'what?'. I left him standing, hands spread out wide yelling 'what' once again. As I said, moron.
Despite the best efforts of Wiltshire's favourite moron, I arrived on time at the station and climbed aboard a very busy and extremely badly ventilated train and stood for the whole trip to Exeter - kindly folk had stacked cases in the the area for cycles. Maybe the cousins of the van driver were going on holiday, no doubt leaving their respective villages without an idiot during their absence.
On arrival at Exeter I soon found my way down to the River Exe and followed the cycle path downstream towards Dawlish. After 2 miles I was directed left and in to the Devonshire countryside.....and hills!
After 4 'cheeky' slopes I arrived at the campsite, dead on 16.00 expecting to see Kathy any minute. 10 mins, 15 min half an hour passed. The mobile rang - 'It's me, I am stuck in a traffic jam and I don't know where I am!' Kathy had taken it upon herself to ignore the pre-planned route AND sat-nag and made up her own route on the spur of the moment. V exciting, I am sure, adventurous for sure, but not much use to the other half of the household :-)
I suggested she should type in the post-code for the campsite and do as sat-nag says, and to our joint pleasure, Kathy arrived 15 minutes later, safe and slightly apologetic. A hug and some sarcasm put that incident to bed - until now :-)
Once on site we discovered that neither of us knew how to level a caravan and parked up laughing at the listing caravan 'on a permanent port tack'. We have since used Google to discover the correct/accepted method and shall ensure we are correctly equipped in the future.
The watching campers were no-doubt disappointed that the putting up of our awning caused us no stress, tension or arguments - well not much anyway. The awning survived the next 4 days intact and the repairs carried out the previous week all held during the 25 mph rain and winds that night.
Day 2 took us back to the cycle path running alongside the Exe - which is a heavily used by both cyclists and walkers and a massive pleasure to use. After 10 miles we arrived in Exmouth, a sleepy version of Southbourne (without the nice sandy beach), a spot of lunch and am amusing half hour chatting with a scouse ex-postie who was seemingly determined to pass on to us the story of his life. His wife rescued us and home we headed feeling that we have got it right. Nice food, in a nice place and chatting with nice folk through the day's trip.
As we came back in to Exeter we were stopped by two young folk who were plugging the Sustrans (people who managed NCR) and after a brief chat the 'plugger', probably 25, said that Exeter is a nice place, but they would have been so much wiser to have built the town .... IT'S A CITY (I didn't want to interrupt him) ... built the town around the quay which is such a cool place with the coffee bars and wine bars. 'Ye, those Romans, they had no idea about town planning, eh. No wonder their Empire failed'. Someone, Seasick Steve??? once sung, education is wasted on the young, certainly British history didn't sink in with that chap, nice guy though and he did laugh at my bit about the Romans.
Day 3 took us the the home of The Exeter Chiefs and some 7-a-side rugby and a pleasantly lively and amusing crowd. I didn't need to offer Kathy much in the way of explanation as to what was going on - but she took great interest in the lineouts (men hitching up their shorts) and warm ups going on right infront of us.
Day 4 we headed back down to Exmouth, very early, heading for the Exmouth/Dawlish (Starcross) ferry. On arrival we found we were 30 minutes early and while we grabbed a coffee from the local cafe we met a couple of our age who were spending 3 days a month chipping away at the circumnavigation of the UK by cycle.
After a great many laughs and swapping of cycle stories we left them with the advice that, if we were to do such a trip in small portions, or large, we would be cycling with the wind on our backs (heading north east) rather the direction they were doing it, in to the wind....as we all know the wind blows mainly from the SW during the UK summer.
The chap looked at me with bemusement, probably wondering why he hadn't thought of that himself. I assured him that I had to be given that very useful snippet of information myself, and waved him goodbye as we cycled off through the leafy cycle lane back towards Exeter and more rugby....with the wind on our back and the wind in his face.
Late that evening I concocted the loose plan to cycle home to Dorchester on the Nation Cycle Route 2, which runs the length of the south coast of UK. A slightly envious Kathy made sure I had sufficient food for the 70-odd mile trip and we turned in early, in preparation.
Day 5 - what a day I had ahead of me. I was up at 6 and quietly prepping my gear for the day's ride. By 7 I was good to go and having dropped the awning and re-positioned the caravan and car for Kathy, I was waved off......keep in touch - 'I will send you a text at Lyme Regis - probably 3 hrs.....an air kiss and wave ' and off I went. 3 hrs - ye right, you haven't seen the hills yet, Laney.
The first 10 miles were easy, down to Exmouth and then left on to NCR2 and keep the sea on the right - what could be simpler and it looks flat on the Kindle :-)
I was soon huffing and puffing and during some of that puffing I obviously missed a turn and was on my own, but the road wasn't too busy so I stuck with it. 5 miles further on and the NCR 2 cut across my path and mercifully I was taken on to a lovely leafy, very quiet, little used lane - that was the last bit of the 75 miles I was to enjoy.
The next 50 miles involved climbing very very long and very very steep hills, though the Sidmouth - that hill still hurts now, the hill DOWN in to Beer and only politeness will stop me commenting on the hill out of Beer, and immediately up and back down in to Sidmouth before losing NCR 2 yet again.
At that point I gave up on NCR 2 and followed a reasonably quiet B road to Lyme Regis and yet more long long slopes. The hill down in to LR was painful on my forearms as I once again found myself squeezing tightly on the brakes before weaving though the tiny picturesque town and the 2 mile hill back out.....huff puff
Once at the top of the climb I joined the A35 down a long hill towards Charmouth and while looking for a turn off, Kathy passed waving and blowing kisses as she sped on her way.....
Cheered on greatly with her smiley enthusiasm I headed left on to a pleasant lane, where after 10 miles I encountered my first cyclist for the day.
'You have come from where?' he asked in amazement, 'why?'
'My wife wouldn't give me a lift in the car after beating her at backgammon last evening so here I am' was the lie I presented in my defence. I would not admit to doing this trip voluntarily.
I was soon to pay for my lie as the hills reappeared in earnest and for the very first time in my life, I had a fleeting moment of 'shall I get off and walk', only deciding to carry on as walking is probably harder while pushing a cycle.
Through Broadoak, Dottery, Bradpole and Loders I went, beginning to hate the weakness in my legs.....or was it the hills I was hating? Another first, as reached what I thought was the peak of the hill, I saw a twist in the road and another 3/4 mile or so of steeper hills. For the first time in my life I swore out loud at a hill! Time to re-think one's hobby? Not a chance!
Onwards and upwards, accept the challenge, adapt to the circumstance (change to granny gear)only ever stop at the top - most importantly .... overcome the obstacle. Yes you can, yes you can, yes ..... you get the idea.
Somewhere in my fatigued state of mind I took a wrong turn, diverting through Wynford Eagle, pretty name and nasty hills surrounding before seeing my first sign for Dorchester - 12 miles to go! Brutal.
It wasnt long before I found myself on top of the ridge, heading towards Dorchester now 6 miles away and the train station, with the wind blowing on my back and I was [nearly] enjoying the ride.
I arrived at the station, nearly out of water, the food all but consumed and 5500 calories burned up over the 75 miles in 7 hours. I was hoping to achieve 10 mph but it wasn't to be... 9.9 the speedo reported to me. I didn't care then nor do I now, I survived the hardest ride of my life, harder than the climb through Andorra to ride over the Pyrenees, twice as hard as the tour of Isle of Wight - exhausting.
As I stood in the kitchen with Kathy, sipping a chilled tonic water explaining how tough it was, she looked at me with sparkly eyes and said 'aw, now I want to do it' .... I nodded tiredly, adding 'OK, but not tomorrow' as I shuffled off to shower.
Today - the day after, I feel reasonably, surprisingly OK and joined Kathy with a short cycle ride to Sandbanks to meet Suzie. Determined to outdo my cycling exploits Suzie crashed enroute to meeting us, and on arrival, sought first aid by the hunky lifeguard and gained some sympathy and a plaster on her knee as just reward by jumping off her bike at 20 mph. Kids!
Exeter plus 4 and I have recovered enough to complete, with Kathy, a 45 mile cycle ride going around Poole and Bournemouth, and I feel OK ☺
Training efforts will continue to increase with cycle rides alternating with days of walking/swimming to ensure our build up to next summer's LEJOG ride will be comfortably achieved.
,......................
Bristol, Porthcawl, Cardiff, Brecon trip.
Woohoo. We are up early and prepped for a ride that will take us to Porthcawl via Bristol and returning through Cardiff and Brecon. The Cardiff to Brecon trip will be a fantastic ride with many miles up hill climbing the valley mainly following the Taff Trail, through Aberfan (of coal-mining disaster in the mid 60s), Merthyr and then swoop down from Pen Y Fan to Brecon.
The bikes are loaded with clothes and camping gear, each of the 4 panniers weighing in at 5kg plus tent. Cameras, route maps and food come as a necessary extra and get stacked on top if the rest.
The forecast tells us that today we can enjoy a 15 mph wind in our face the whole of the 40 miles. C'est la vie, mes amis ☺
We are home from our 'tester' session with the caravan and we had a lovely time and met some lovely people.
The 'van' is very comfortable and surprisingly spacious....for a 'van' and with a few inexpensive purchases we believe that we will be able to spend lots of the future travelling around Europe. The plan is to go to a caravan site and park up for a week or so filling the time with walking and cycling to get a look at the local area and then push on.
But back the 5 days away. We haev agreed that we shall travel without a TV so we are left with the radio / MP3 player rattling on in the background while we read, do the Sudoku, play cards, backgammon or scrabble.
On our first evening we played Scrabble, Kathy playing a winning hand by adding FA to MOUSE to make a word letting the world know she is very very well known.......close enough for a dyslexic, I guess. That was soon followed by REGAE (music) and we have giggled about both often since. Good times can come soooo cheap.
We enjoyed a some walking on Purbeck Heath and a couple of good cycle rides, 'turbo cycling' as we sped (for us) along the road arriving at an allotted goal breathless but very content and when we checked we found we had reached 22 mph on our fat mountain bike tyres, so naturally, we were / are rather pleased ourselves and have agreed that 'turbo-training should be part of our cycle training.
Kathy is very happy as she has now successfully towed the 'van' 3 times and loves the 'macho-ness' of the task.....10-4 big buddy! So far, I have cycled each time the van has been towed but should we venture further, maybe the train will be employed to get me some of the distance, we will see, but one thing is for sure, I won't be passenger. I get sea-sick when Kathy is driving - Kathy employs a strange (to me) method of accelerator-use......Press / lift.... press / lift .... press / lift .... I think you will have got the picture. Not for me, ta.
So the 'tester' session has been a success and we have a short list of tasks that we need to tick off before we venture further afield which should allow us to hop on a ferry just after New Year and head on south through Spain for a couple of months while the UK endures the nastiness of Jan/Feb and Mar. That's the plan anyway, and as a Jewish friend told us recently 'if you wish to make God laugh, make a plan'. I wonder what He will do to alter our plan. Time will tell.
Late May and all is going well.
I have an increasing amount of appointments to attend at Poole Hospital who have been amazingly speedy in arranging for the various tests to take place. I have had 1 session this week and another next, with more to follow until the cause of the crash is discovered and remedial action taken. Our hope is that those appts do not interfere with our play time that have been arranged.
Until then, we shall continue with the strength-building of our legs with 50 mile hilly cycle rides and 10 mile walks and 'rest' days where the house / caravan / cycle admin can be completed.
Today I have been told that one of my brother's, Simon, is due in the UK from Singapore on a working visit and will join us for a meal on my birthday. How very cool is that.
End May
Kathy has had the sad news that her father has passed away and while the passing is very sad, in some ways it is also a relief and release for everyone, including himself. For many years he has been slipping towards complete disability brought on by Parkinson and spend the last 6 months in a near vegetative state. So Kathy has flown to Mallorca to join her step-sister to attend Dad's cremation and then fly home the following a day. A flying visit indeed!
The plan is to then return, with many others of the clan and friends-of, for a scattering of the ashes, in the local harbour, of Skipper O'Keefe. That will be a 2 week visit and a good look around the island by foot and cycle hopefully with a few others in tow.
Today, even though it is a Bank Holiday, all alone..... I had to attend a clinic at Poole Hospital and endure 25 minutes inside the MRI machine. I could have done with Kathy being with me after. I was a little knocked around. The MRI event is not something to be taken lightly. 30 minutes after finishing I was OK to carefully climb back on to my cycle and pedal very very slowly home along the promenade, enjoying the early morning sun and looking at the beaches strewn with litter from yesterday's visitors. Peasants!
Once breakfast is done and dusted I shall continue with the packing of pannier bags with a view to taking a couple of days away with the bikes and a tent and test out our equipment for the forthcoming trip to Bristol and soon after to Normandy.
1 June and Kathy is home from Mallorca and with only a night's sleep we are off to Wales to celebrate the life of Aunty Mary with my cousins. We are hoping for a smooth train journey and a pleasant gathering of The Lane Clan.
We will be back home late on tomorrow when the bikes and panniers will be fully loaded and tested with a 20 mile cycle to a campsite near Sway in The New Forest for a 2 night stopover. Then its home for an ultrasound test on my heart....the tests continue - so does life.
3 June
Yesterday we attended the funeral, in Neath, of my Aunty Mary who's passing was, though she was of a good age, unexpected. The gathering was very well attended was pleasing, even consoling?, to her children, grand- and great-grand- children.
The gathering after the church and crematorium was held in The Twelve Knights in Margam and there was much laughter and renewing acquaintances of cousins and their immediate families. Kathy and I very much enjoyed the company of two of those cousins and hope to be able to remain in touch and see each other more often than at family funerals.
Yesterday also saw off my 57th birthday and after a the gathering in Port Talbot/Neath/Margam we caught the train home to Bournemouth and meet up with two of my brothers, Chris and Simon, for a beer and a couple of hours of light-hearted chatting which is always good.
9 June. We have just returned from a cycling/camping trip to Sway, New Forest. We enjoyed wonderful weather going there and the 16 mile route was completed with not much to report.
On arrival in Sway, we stopped at the village shop for some necessary items and as I was paying, I noticed a hot meat pie..... May I have two please'. They are 1.85, but half price, so that will be.....ERM....ERM lets call it 1.84. Brilliant
The following day, having been awoken by a very spirited blackbird, we took a walk into the Forest for 2 hours and met a lovely chatty chap sitting on the edge of a brook enjoying his dog's antics.
Day 3 took us out on the bikes, stopping just outside Brockenhurst to offer assistance to a cyclist who had suffered a puncture. He mumbled that he could do with a decent pump, so we offered ours.....only to find it was split at the pumping end and his tyre deflated even further. Oooops. On we went to Lymington and bought a new pump and then grub for a picnic in Lymington Park eating yummy food while we watched the boats and yachts moving along the river to/from the Solent.
Final day came all too soon. We offered our farewells to our fellow campers, lovely chatty folk all, and headed off, loaded and happy. We passed through Brockenhurst, Bieulieu, Bucklers Hard, Lymington, Keyhaven and 15 miles along the coast to home.....tired but content.
We are already looking forward to the the next adventure to the Isle of Wight, with the caravan, but only after a couple of hospital appointments to contnue the search for the reason for my fit/crash.
Mid-June. We are recovered from the efforts last week and have made the required adjustments to kit carried for camping/cycling. We are content with our level of fitness so only minor adjustments to our training schedule which will only be interrupted, occasionally, with Kathy's desire to go to work.
The training will continue to be focused round cycling and walking, with slowly increased efforts, twice a week, circuit training type exercises involving holding body weight in stress positions rather than the normal sweaty and jerky exercise routines one is able to see on a visit to the local gym.
Yesterday we enjoyed???our 2nd swim of the summer and that will be a top-up of any training we do, so hopefully, by September and our trip around Normandy, we shall be able to complete several continuous days of cycling, without suffering too much mentally or physically. Only time will tell. ☺
18 June and all is well. We have just arrived home from a cycle trip to Portsmouth.
We left in glorious sunshine and warmth, heading for Lymington, Beulieu then Hythe. As we approached Milford on Sea, and while pulling in to a layby to allow a couple of cars go by, Kathy fell off her bike after her front wheel dug into some gravel, once again causing her to crash to the ground and once again, hurting her ankle! Fortunately! no long term damage was done, so we had a sip of water and pushed on.
As we approached Beulieu, the sun disappeared and that was soon followed by rolls of thunder......It then went rather dark, and without warning the clouds unleashed an unholy gush of water upon us. Rather than dig out wet weather gear.......mine was back home!!!! .... we took shelter beneath an oak tree and stood admiring the ability of the wandering cattle and ponies to ignore the rain while they continued to crop the kerbs. The rain soon stopped, as fast as it started.
We soon arrived in Hythe, found the ferry terminal.....at the end of a very long (200 metre???) pier but before heading on our walk over the sea, we picked up some pasties at the local bakery. V yummy indeed.
It was not long before we were off the other side and 15 miles later, seemingly in no time at all, we arrived at Hamble ferry and again, before engaging the services of the skipper, we purchased more sustenance, this time in the shape of bacon n cheese rolls. Mmmmm. Yummy. Yummy, yes, but only after a 25 minute wait, Kathy queueing/waiting for an order in the haven cafe.......50 metres from where I was stood looking after the bikes. A wave of one hand, two hands, one hand.....was I supposed to leave the bikes? provide more cash? wait two hours? I mentally shrugged and went back to admiring the many, very pricey and beautiful sail boats moored on the river.
Finally Kathy, with food, appeared and we headed for the tiny ferry. The chap in charge holding one, bandaged, hand gingerly to his chest welcomed us on board. I had to know 'what's with the hand'?.....I sliced through to the bone ....would you like to see the photos......( Not really) ..... Oooo yes pls. Yuck.
So over the Hamble river we went with our personal one-handed 'pirate' boaty-chap and, all too soon, we were back on to terra firma and on our saddles.
Only another 10 more miles and then we would arrive in Gosport. As we followed the flatish speedy route, from behind me there was a loud bang and a screech of brakes. I imagined the worst as I quickly braked to a halt. Turning around, I could see white-van-man stopped immediately behind Kathy's pannier bag that had become dislodged from its rack. Sigh of relief. Once collected, a smile and wave of apology and we returned the guilty bag to it's rightful place and then bunjied it on tightly before we set off yet again.
Onwards we travelled taking only one wrong term (due to my failure to note whether or not to turn left or right at a T Junction) so I guessed, incorrectly! We were soon back on track, cycling along the edge of the Solent, making good speed but beginning to feel weary ..... We had left home some 5 hours previously .... and with 56 miles done we arrived at Gosport ferry and soon after we we knocking on the door of Kathy's cousin with whom we were staying that night.
After a sip of water, a shower in our luxurious ensuite for the night, we sat down to enjoy a wonderful meal with Coralie, her brother Patrick and Coralie's chap, Cliff. A very pleasant 2 hours passed before we all headed down town to old Portsmouth to enjoy an evening in the Guildhall and a tribute band called The Simon and Garfunkel Story. A great sing-along evening was had by all, and then home for a chat and some much needed kip.
We were woken to the sound of sizzling bacon and after a read of the paper, a couple of cups of coffea, we sat in the sunny garden eating, chatting and laughing our way through breakfast before departing for home via Spinnaker Tower and HMS Victory both of which are, in my opinion must-sees, but overrated, and then the train home.
As I sit and type up this mini report, I am very aware that time is ticking as we prepare for a cycle along the prom to visit a friend who has recently opened an eatery near Bournemouth gardens.
Suzie and Sophie joined us for a bite to eat and drink at Monty's (in the square). They were dressed up for a night out on the town and after a couple of hours of fun chatting and laughter they tottered off in their heals for some teenage fun. As we unlocked the cycles for a pedal home, we watched the young ladies go and Kathy said 'I bet we catch them up'. We did :-) The end of a fabulous family weekend.
Tomorrow we are up bright and early to assist with timing at the Wareham off-road cycle race ... No peace for the wicked ...... And we is WICKED Man ☺
This retirement mullarky is exhausting 😂
Today we have woken to an annoying breeze which is bring a constant drizzle. Thankfully it is expected to blow through and become dry and warm again. With such a positive forecast, we now are packing for a week on Isle of Wight with cycles, walking shoes and caravan before coming back four me to endure another test on my head to discover the reason for the crash.
Hoever, the test may cause another fit which, while that would be a pain, would be, in one way be a bad thing because it would delay the day when i can drive again being able ......until December ...... but it would hugely increase the chance of discovering the cause. Discovery of the cause would hopefully bring reassurance from a doctor's diagnosis / medication and further peace of mind for both Kathy and me, not that it stops us doing much; abseiling, kayaking, coasteering, as I said, not much.
.........................................................
Isle of Wight – Jun 2016
Day 1
We set off from home at 8 pm
heading for Lymington with the intention of kipping overnight at the loading
area and awaking, for the 6.30 ferry, at 5.45.
We were woken
at 4.45 by Kathy’s alarm. Kettle on, teeth brushed etc....... to find the ferry
terminal still closed because Kathy’s timer was on Mallorca time and we had an
hour to burn. Grrrr
The crossing on the ferry was very calm and once unloaded we parked up till local shops had opened, bought a few necessary and then headed to campsite.
The crossing on the ferry was very calm and once unloaded we parked up till local shops had opened, bought a few necessary and then headed to campsite.
Put up new awning.......no harsh words!!! Kathy likes awning. That'll be a double win then. Its a surprisingly very quiet campsite site with only 2 other campers. Perfect. We enjoyed a yummy lunch followed by a circular ride thru freshwater - a fave beach of ours. Home for eats. Chill, plan tomorrow ....10 mile walk.
Day 2
Woke at 7.30 to distant rumble of commuter traffic. Glad its not me. I am sure the lack of stress and early
rises will lengthen the time the years which I have left to do the walking, cycling and general travelling.
The walk was OK but we discovered that we need to carry much more food than had been packed. How did
we get that wrong....no idea.
Day 3
Woke late to find the overnight storm had caused awning rail to separate from caravan probably because
of the weight of water. (I had not set up the awning frame correctly). A connecting hinge was broken -
soon fixed with metal coat hangar......what will we do when we can only get plastic hangars? And the awning
rail will have to wait until we return home. After a little awning fixing we took a hilly 20 mile ride in to
Newport to purchase some storm-strapping. Back for a yummy pasta twists and kip zzzzzzz
Day 4
Started well with no overnight dramas a planned 66 mile cycle ride to look forward to. I loaded yummy food in
to a lunch box and, handing it to Kathy, asked her to load the container on to the bike. 5 seconds later there was
a yelp and some rude words. When I peered through the window, Kathy was crouched on floor collecting, by
hand, today's lunch and throwing it back in the general direction of my bike and the lunch box. Despite the
addition of the farmer’s field, the food was most satisfactory thank you, dear reader. Leaving aside the
pre-ride drama with the food, we enjoyed a good ride including the off-road track through the golf course
at Freshwater. The ever-calm and polite Kathy’s only comment was ‘It’s an interesting route so far Tony,
but can we now stick to the road now’. Some folk are just so fussy, eh....but we stayed on the road
thereafter!
We following no planned route just kept turning left with the coast line, following our noses and found many
inclines, some quite sharp as at Bonchurch. Cheeky, that, eh?
At Cowes we were sent in the wrong direction by an incorrect sign which directed us inland to Newport rather
than on the tracks and lanes we had followed previously around the edge of the Isle. We arrived home
disappointed with the shortening of the route but agreed to ‘do’ the bit we missed out another day.
We discovered that the boxed food is not satisfying the needs of Kathy on long trips so some changes will
need to be made for her – yummy. More of the nice stuff for me then while Kathy can nibble on sweeter
stuff.
We were flashed for speeding TWICE......once doing 35 in a 30 zone and once doing 25 in a 20. V cool
indeed J
Day 5
Wow, did it rain overnight?.......but the awning and frame stayed intact
this time....progress, indeed! As planned we took a bus to Ryde ....
we've gotta ticket to rydeto see a Mardi Gras parade. We arrived in
Ryde to be greeted with a light drizze, but, over the Solent, we could
see that the Bellinger cousins, in Portsmouth, were really suffering..
..but we managed to take some nice photos anyway. The drizzle soon turned to rain which became ever heavier, the promenade and streets emptied and we also abandoned ship
and caught the bus back to the campsite.
Today we are reading VERY expressive' and angry words on social media
from the referendum losers. Adults sounding like v stroppy teens who
are very angry because they didn't get what they wanted ....... angry
at everyone it would seem; at the older folk, the middle class .....
And 'why can't the minority have it their way!' I find it rather sad
that folk are soooo selfish that they think its OK to be vile when they
don't get the answer/result they hoped for.
Arriving back at the caravan we took a shower, changed out of damp
clothing and settled down for the evening with a plate of curry, glass
of wine and a game of backgammon followed by scrabble. I lost. Now where
us that template for expressing my dissatisfaction at losing. See
Facebook, Tony. Our evening was accompanying us with tunes and chat from
BBC folk at Glastonbury. While listening to the closing hours of the
Glastonbury we switched off the caravan lights and lit up the mobiles and Kindles
and waved them to the tune of Adele ..... overgrown giggling kids!
Day 6
Today was walking day with an early bus ride to The Needles and then
footpath up on to Tennyson Downs down to Freshwater Bay, lunch and home
via the old railway track. No dramas. Amazing.....All is good.
Day 7
We cycled on the quiet lanes to
Cowes, lunched and the prom and then headed back satisfied in the knowledge
that we have ‘done’ the Isle again......if a little differently to normal. We will
be back for more circumnavigations....the hills make for great training sessions.
In the evening we cycled down to
Yarmouth Ferry to greet Suzie who had sailed over to stay for an evening, which
was very pleasant and enjoyed by all
Day 8
We all got up early for a fried breakfast all round and then jumped on
the bikes for a cycle ride up to see The Needles......which Suzie will
be sailing past on the weekend as she enjoys the Round The Island Race
in a 45 feet sailboat – lucky lass – undertaking the tasks of 1st Mate,
thereby overseeing the visitors made up from London Wasps squad.
We enjoyed The Needles, taking a little time to take some photos and
enjoy a chat with fellow visitors before heading back down the hill,
stopping for a picnic-shop enroute. The three of us spent a couple of
hours enjoying the afternoon sun and before large storm clouds came over
and unloaded on the campsite – cue for Suzie to grab a lift to the ferry.
...wise lass.
Luckily, we took the precaution of breaking camp early and loaded the
car and caravan only to find the caravan and then car stuck in the
mud/clay. The son of the campsite owner brought out a tractor to tow us
off and sent us on our way to catch the ferry.....but only just.
Tomorrow, I have a hospital appointment for another post-seizure test,
this one is an EEG. Keep em crossed for me.
Holiday over, bring on the end of next week when we head off to Exeter
for some cycling trips and watching some 7s rugby at the ground of The
Chiefs. Retirement is sooo exhausting, but I strongly commend the idea
to you all
..................................
Exeter trip - July 2016
The 'van' cupboards have been altered from a space for hanging a few jackets to a shelved storage area for bags and the awning rail is fixed and reattached to the 'van'. We have one final fault (waterpump) to fix and all will be well for our next trip away.
The kit, car and van are prepped and we are ready to gooooo 😊
Once we had hooked up the caravan to the car, I cycled off heading for Salisbury....atleast I headed for Salisbury after half a mile when I realised I was heading for Poole!
I quickly got in to the ride and after passing through the lanes around Ringwood, I had some pleasant flashbacks to the days, 15 years ago, when I would occasionally commute to Wilton using the same route as today.
25 miles later I joined the cycle route heading for the centre of the city and with my mind drifting as I paid more attention to the spire of the Cathedral than to where I was going, I narrowly missed being knocked off by a moron-van-driver who, parked on the pavement, opened the door as I was just coming alongside the van. A wobble and stop, shake of the head and look of bemusement was enough to let him know that he had 'erred somewhat'. He looked at me and then said 'what?'. I left him standing, hands spread out wide yelling 'what' once again. As I said, moron.
Despite the best efforts of Wiltshire's favourite moron, I arrived on time at the station and climbed aboard a very busy and extremely badly ventilated train and stood for the whole trip to Exeter - kindly folk had stacked cases in the the area for cycles. Maybe the cousins of the van driver were going on holiday, no doubt leaving their respective villages without an idiot during their absence.
On arrival at Exeter I soon found my way down to the River Exe and followed the cycle path downstream towards Dawlish. After 2 miles I was directed left and in to the Devonshire countryside.....and hills!
After 4 'cheeky' slopes I arrived at the campsite, dead on 16.00 expecting to see Kathy any minute. 10 mins, 15 min half an hour passed. The mobile rang - 'It's me, I am stuck in a traffic jam and I don't know where I am!' Kathy had taken it upon herself to ignore the pre-planned route AND sat-nag and made up her own route on the spur of the moment. V exciting, I am sure, adventurous for sure, but not much use to the other half of the household :-)
I suggested she should type in the post-code for the campsite and do as sat-nag says, and to our joint pleasure, Kathy arrived 15 minutes later, safe and slightly apologetic. A hug and some sarcasm put that incident to bed - until now :-)
Once on site we discovered that neither of us knew how to level a caravan and parked up laughing at the listing caravan 'on a permanent port tack'. We have since used Google to discover the correct/accepted method and shall ensure we are correctly equipped in the future.
The watching campers were no-doubt disappointed that the putting up of our awning caused us no stress, tension or arguments - well not much anyway. The awning survived the next 4 days intact and the repairs carried out the previous week all held during the 25 mph rain and winds that night.
Day 2 took us back to the cycle path running alongside the Exe - which is a heavily used by both cyclists and walkers and a massive pleasure to use. After 10 miles we arrived in Exmouth, a sleepy version of Southbourne (without the nice sandy beach), a spot of lunch and am amusing half hour chatting with a scouse ex-postie who was seemingly determined to pass on to us the story of his life. His wife rescued us and home we headed feeling that we have got it right. Nice food, in a nice place and chatting with nice folk through the day's trip.
As we came back in to Exeter we were stopped by two young folk who were plugging the Sustrans (people who managed NCR) and after a brief chat the 'plugger', probably 25, said that Exeter is a nice place, but they would have been so much wiser to have built the town .... IT'S A CITY (I didn't want to interrupt him) ... built the town around the quay which is such a cool place with the coffee bars and wine bars. 'Ye, those Romans, they had no idea about town planning, eh. No wonder their Empire failed'. Someone, Seasick Steve??? once sung, education is wasted on the young, certainly British history didn't sink in with that chap, nice guy though and he did laugh at my bit about the Romans.
Day 3 took us the the home of The Exeter Chiefs and some 7-a-side rugby and a pleasantly lively and amusing crowd. I didn't need to offer Kathy much in the way of explanation as to what was going on - but she took great interest in the lineouts (men hitching up their shorts) and warm ups going on right infront of us.
Day 4 we headed back down to Exmouth, very early, heading for the Exmouth/Dawlish (Starcross) ferry. On arrival we found we were 30 minutes early and while we grabbed a coffee from the local cafe we met a couple of our age who were spending 3 days a month chipping away at the circumnavigation of the UK by cycle.
After a great many laughs and swapping of cycle stories we left them with the advice that, if we were to do such a trip in small portions, or large, we would be cycling with the wind on our backs (heading north east) rather the direction they were doing it, in to the wind....as we all know the wind blows mainly from the SW during the UK summer.
The chap looked at me with bemusement, probably wondering why he hadn't thought of that himself. I assured him that I had to be given that very useful snippet of information myself, and waved him goodbye as we cycled off through the leafy cycle lane back towards Exeter and more rugby....with the wind on our back and the wind in his face.
Late that evening I concocted the loose plan to cycle home to Dorchester on the Nation Cycle Route 2, which runs the length of the south coast of UK. A slightly envious Kathy made sure I had sufficient food for the 70-odd mile trip and we turned in early, in preparation.
Day 5 - what a day I had ahead of me. I was up at 6 and quietly prepping my gear for the day's ride. By 7 I was good to go and having dropped the awning and re-positioned the caravan and car for Kathy, I was waved off......keep in touch - 'I will send you a text at Lyme Regis - probably 3 hrs.....an air kiss and wave ' and off I went. 3 hrs - ye right, you haven't seen the hills yet, Laney.
The first 10 miles were easy, down to Exmouth and then left on to NCR2 and keep the sea on the right - what could be simpler and it looks flat on the Kindle :-)
I was soon huffing and puffing and during some of that puffing I obviously missed a turn and was on my own, but the road wasn't too busy so I stuck with it. 5 miles further on and the NCR 2 cut across my path and mercifully I was taken on to a lovely leafy, very quiet, little used lane - that was the last bit of the 75 miles I was to enjoy.
The next 50 miles involved climbing very very long and very very steep hills, though the Sidmouth - that hill still hurts now, the hill DOWN in to Beer and only politeness will stop me commenting on the hill out of Beer, and immediately up and back down in to Sidmouth before losing NCR 2 yet again.
At that point I gave up on NCR 2 and followed a reasonably quiet B road to Lyme Regis and yet more long long slopes. The hill down in to LR was painful on my forearms as I once again found myself squeezing tightly on the brakes before weaving though the tiny picturesque town and the 2 mile hill back out.....huff puff
Once at the top of the climb I joined the A35 down a long hill towards Charmouth and while looking for a turn off, Kathy passed waving and blowing kisses as she sped on her way.....
Cheered on greatly with her smiley enthusiasm I headed left on to a pleasant lane, where after 10 miles I encountered my first cyclist for the day.
'You have come from where?' he asked in amazement, 'why?'
'My wife wouldn't give me a lift in the car after beating her at backgammon last evening so here I am' was the lie I presented in my defence. I would not admit to doing this trip voluntarily.
I was soon to pay for my lie as the hills reappeared in earnest and for the very first time in my life, I had a fleeting moment of 'shall I get off and walk', only deciding to carry on as walking is probably harder while pushing a cycle.
Through Broadoak, Dottery, Bradpole and Loders I went, beginning to hate the weakness in my legs.....or was it the hills I was hating? Another first, as reached what I thought was the peak of the hill, I saw a twist in the road and another 3/4 mile or so of steeper hills. For the first time in my life I swore out loud at a hill! Time to re-think one's hobby? Not a chance!
Onwards and upwards, accept the challenge, adapt to the circumstance (change to granny gear)only ever stop at the top - most importantly .... overcome the obstacle. Yes you can, yes you can, yes ..... you get the idea.
Somewhere in my fatigued state of mind I took a wrong turn, diverting through Wynford Eagle, pretty name and nasty hills surrounding before seeing my first sign for Dorchester - 12 miles to go! Brutal.
It wasnt long before I found myself on top of the ridge, heading towards Dorchester now 6 miles away and the train station, with the wind blowing on my back and I was [nearly] enjoying the ride.
I arrived at the station, nearly out of water, the food all but consumed and 5500 calories burned up over the 75 miles in 7 hours. I was hoping to achieve 10 mph but it wasn't to be... 9.9 the speedo reported to me. I didn't care then nor do I now, I survived the hardest ride of my life, harder than the climb through Andorra to ride over the Pyrenees, twice as hard as the tour of Isle of Wight - exhausting.
As I stood in the kitchen with Kathy, sipping a chilled tonic water explaining how tough it was, she looked at me with sparkly eyes and said 'aw, now I want to do it' .... I nodded tiredly, adding 'OK, but not tomorrow' as I shuffled off to shower.
Today - the day after, I feel reasonably, surprisingly OK and joined Kathy with a short cycle ride to Sandbanks to meet Suzie. Determined to outdo my cycling exploits Suzie crashed enroute to meeting us, and on arrival, sought first aid by the hunky lifeguard and gained some sympathy and a plaster on her knee as just reward by jumping off her bike at 20 mph. Kids!
Exeter plus 4 and I have recovered enough to complete, with Kathy, a 45 mile cycle ride going around Poole and Bournemouth, and I feel OK ☺
Training efforts will continue to increase with cycle rides alternating with days of walking/swimming to ensure our build up to next summer's LEJOG ride will be comfortably achieved.
,......................
Bristol, Porthcawl, Cardiff, Brecon trip.
Woohoo. We are up early and prepped for a ride that will take us to Porthcawl via Bristol and returning through Cardiff and Brecon. The Cardiff to Brecon trip will be a fantastic ride with many miles up hill climbing the valley mainly following the Taff Trail, through Aberfan (of coal-mining disaster in the mid 60s), Merthyr and then swoop down from Pen Y Fan to Brecon.
The bikes are loaded with clothes and camping gear, each of the 4 panniers weighing in at 5kg plus tent. Cameras, route maps and food come as a necessary extra and get stacked on top if the rest.
The forecast tells us that today we can enjoy a 15 mph wind in our face the whole of the 40 miles. C'est la vie, mes amis ☺
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