It took me an hour and a half to get home tonight – mostly because of the second Take That concert in two days but also because of a break down/ fire on the M4. A good job I had already decided not to go to the gym or out on the bike and only go for a sun bed instead!
The weather was something of a mixed bad anyway, nice sunshine by the end of the day but rain galore throughout which made the road wet and huge puddles everywhere and that was not something I wanted to be involved in! After my time on the tanning bed I am not quite brown but at least my skin is getting a bit weathered and should be able to stand a little bit more of the elements than it would otherwise!
Dave suggested that on Saturday we put the bikes in the car and go off and find somewhere to have a bit of a burn. (My words not his!) I think that if the weather is nice this could be a really nice thing to do! Getting ready for the great outdoors but as I say, I am only going if the weather is nice! I wonder if I could use this thought for the bike ride as a whole – I’m only going if the weather is nice!? Something to think about!
So, tonight – as long as there are no hold ups on the motorway, people dancing in the carriageway of the A470 or chickens dancing the birdie song on the Port Road I should be home at a reasonable time. Be able to get changed PDQ and get up to the gym by 5.30! (This would be cutting it very fine but there is always a slim chance!) The plan this evening is to do 50km/ 30 miles and be back by 4 for tea and buns with the chaps in the mess! (Or a cup of tea and a biscuit with my granddad as he’s not very well!) Will let chas know how I go tomorrow -
So, until the next time; take great care and don't forget our fundraising page www.justgiving.com/joandpenni
Loadsa love, Jx
Thursday, 18 June 2009
Wednesday, 17 June 2009
Take That have sooo much to answer for!
Well, I left work with all good intentions of going straight to the gym, I had my training shoes, trousers and shirt with me but two things I didn’t have were my membership card and TGS key! I couldn’t go in without them and so thought that I would change at home but I would still go.
I left work at quarter past 6 expecting a clear run home as rush hour should be over by that time but something I wasn’t counting on was the traffic going into Cardiff to see Take That. So, after spending 40 minutes to travel a distance that should have taken about 10 – I wasn’t in the mood for the gym. Not content to do nothing I did go out on the real bike.
This was quite good because it was the longest I have been on the road for ages and it was the first time out on my own. Every other time I have been with David or Penni but last night I was alone! I left at about 7.10 and was back having done 6 and a half miles by 7.40. Did the old route that Penni and I used to do (left out of my street, over and around the island, back along the Parade, down to the Knap, along the prom, up the bas*ard hill in front of Romily Park, over the top into the one way system, down the down hill and back over the island to repeat the route) done twice this makes 6.5 miles. I was quite pleased with my performance – didn’t need to stop at all on the way around (even to blow the old hooter!) and the new tyres certainly made peddling easier – although there is not so much comfort in them and you definitely feel every single bump! Had it not been so late in the day I would have stayed out longer, but the evening was beginning to draw in and as it was my first time out on my own I didn’t want to push it!
The biggest worry I have now is that my bike may be too small after all! I really hope that we can find a way of putting my seat a bit higher because I couldn’t stretch my leg fully on the pedals yesterday and it was not the most comfortable thing I have ever known! I tried standing up and leaning forward to try and stretch my legs a bit, as I would do on the bikes in the gym but this proved to be a very bad idea! Balance is usually a problem for me and this showed that it would be a bad balance thing!
On another positive, I found that cycling wearing contact lenses is a lot easier than wearing glasses! I found that when I am cycling, to relieve tensions in various areas I lean forward but look up and this often meant that I was looking over my glasses, not the best thing to do when I need to see where I am going, what is coming towards me etc, but with the lenses this isn’t a problem! I think they are fantastic and although I don’t think I will wear them every day – they are perhaps the best £75 I have spent in a long time!
Although I am really starting to worry and hope to goodness that the training I have been doing will be enough, I am not planning on going to the gym or out on the bike tonight – instead I am going to have a few minutes on the sun bed! The other thing that has been worrying me a bit is the possibility of getting so burned that the pain from the cycling is the last thing on my mind! I burn so easily that I really think I need to give my body a fighting chance and hope that a couple of 3 minute sessions on the sun bed will be enough to help avoid this! If only I had given this much thought to the rest of it! Ah well – something to tell the grandkids hey!?
So, until the next time; take great care and don't forget our fundraising page www.justgiving.com/joandpenni
Loadsa love, Jx
I left work at quarter past 6 expecting a clear run home as rush hour should be over by that time but something I wasn’t counting on was the traffic going into Cardiff to see Take That. So, after spending 40 minutes to travel a distance that should have taken about 10 – I wasn’t in the mood for the gym. Not content to do nothing I did go out on the real bike.
This was quite good because it was the longest I have been on the road for ages and it was the first time out on my own. Every other time I have been with David or Penni but last night I was alone! I left at about 7.10 and was back having done 6 and a half miles by 7.40. Did the old route that Penni and I used to do (left out of my street, over and around the island, back along the Parade, down to the Knap, along the prom, up the bas*ard hill in front of Romily Park, over the top into the one way system, down the down hill and back over the island to repeat the route) done twice this makes 6.5 miles. I was quite pleased with my performance – didn’t need to stop at all on the way around (even to blow the old hooter!) and the new tyres certainly made peddling easier – although there is not so much comfort in them and you definitely feel every single bump! Had it not been so late in the day I would have stayed out longer, but the evening was beginning to draw in and as it was my first time out on my own I didn’t want to push it!
The biggest worry I have now is that my bike may be too small after all! I really hope that we can find a way of putting my seat a bit higher because I couldn’t stretch my leg fully on the pedals yesterday and it was not the most comfortable thing I have ever known! I tried standing up and leaning forward to try and stretch my legs a bit, as I would do on the bikes in the gym but this proved to be a very bad idea! Balance is usually a problem for me and this showed that it would be a bad balance thing!
On another positive, I found that cycling wearing contact lenses is a lot easier than wearing glasses! I found that when I am cycling, to relieve tensions in various areas I lean forward but look up and this often meant that I was looking over my glasses, not the best thing to do when I need to see where I am going, what is coming towards me etc, but with the lenses this isn’t a problem! I think they are fantastic and although I don’t think I will wear them every day – they are perhaps the best £75 I have spent in a long time!
Although I am really starting to worry and hope to goodness that the training I have been doing will be enough, I am not planning on going to the gym or out on the bike tonight – instead I am going to have a few minutes on the sun bed! The other thing that has been worrying me a bit is the possibility of getting so burned that the pain from the cycling is the last thing on my mind! I burn so easily that I really think I need to give my body a fighting chance and hope that a couple of 3 minute sessions on the sun bed will be enough to help avoid this! If only I had given this much thought to the rest of it! Ah well – something to tell the grandkids hey!?
So, until the next time; take great care and don't forget our fundraising page www.justgiving.com/joandpenni
Loadsa love, Jx
Tuesday, 16 June 2009
2 Weeks or 13 Full Days and 14 Sleeps to go!
You don’t need to say it – I know what you’re thinking! You’re thinking will she be ready to go in 13 days 14 sleeps and the answer is an unequivocal, yes of course I will what a thing to say! (eek!)
OH I JUST DON’T KNOW! I feel a little happier about a lot of things – I have now spent a king’s ransom on padded shorts and bum bags for the trip – I even managed to come away from one shop paying £7 less than I thought I would have to – it’s only seven quid but ‘every little helps’ and when you are spending a load of cash £7 can go one of 2 ways – either think to yourself it’s only £7 and what is that against £100 or as I am spending £100 I am pleased that I was able to spend £93 and save £7 – whichever way you look at it, it’s a bit of a bonus!
I am also reasonably happy with the training. On Sunday I did 50 miles/ 80 kilometres in the gym. I got there at just after 9.15 and I left about 12.40 so I was there for the best part of 4 hours but I also did some time on the cross trainer in between my 2 sessions of 40km. The thinking was that if I ask the bike to let me ride for 80km straight it might seem like a never ending task and I find the exercise bike boring enough as it is – 80km might have seen me giving up and thinking ‘to hell with it!’ 40km x 2 was difficult enough. While in stage 2, I was pleased to bump into a girl that I was at school with as I wasn’t doing so well when I saw her, I couldn’t get comfortable on my bike, there was not much left in my legs, I had filled my water bottle up twice and was still like a prune and things were not going my way at all! But chatting to Heledd gave me a boost at the right time and sometimes a bit of company and conversation can be the best thing. I think that is what I will miss most without Penni – besides the looking out for each other thing that would have happened, conversation with someone you know can really be a lifesaver – especially as it can be so boring when you don’t know anyone and you know you have a huge hill to climb or, in my case try and ride your bike up! I know there will be other people on the ride and so I won’t be alone and I used to be able to make friends quite quickly and I generally find it easy to speak to people – I just hope that everyone is as chatty as I am (because, let’s face it, I don’t shut up) and I hope that I can find someone in the same situation as me. I have a feeling that most of the folks will be!
I am off to the gym from work tonight – have my tracky bums, trainers and tee to get changed and go straight, it is too hard to go to the gym if I have been home first! Too easy to sit down and watch Neighbours or Diagnosis Murder on the Hallmark channel and think ‘tomorrow, I’ll go tomorrow’. Tomorrow has its own set of tasks and chores and things to do that you again end up thinking to yourself, ‘tomorrow’, what I need to do is remember that I will be just as bone idle tomorrow as I am today, so better go now while I think about it!
The one bonus of doing long stints in the gym like the one I did on Sunday is that it gets you ready for long days on the bike and now that I have done 50 miles in under 4 hours I know I can do it again, because I have already done it! Albeit in the gym and not on the road – I know that it is going to be very different, but I am doing more training than I would be doing if I was relying only on the open road! Penni said ages ago that dad had offered to pay for us to use the gym, although he never mentioned it to me I wish we had taken him up on his offer and that I had been doing this for longer – still, every little helps hey and I am certainly glad that I am going, can you imagine if I wasn’t? Doesn’t bear thinking about really does it?! I do know that when I had done the 40 miles the other week, I really felt like I had worked my legs and they were, I don’t mind admitting it – rather tender! This time when I had done 50 – I felt completely fine and after a bit of a break and a change of scenery I think I could have carried on for a while! That has to be a good sign! Doesn’t it? I am going to aim for 50km tonight which should make it just over 30 miles, only hope I am home in time for the news at 10! (Working until 6 so won’t get there until about quarter to seven!)
The other BIG news I have about the ride is that I have finally found the right glasses to wear – none! That is not as bad as it sounds, I have moved to contact lenses and I love them! They are taking a little time to get used to and so I am practising now, but no more messing about worrying that if it rains I will be stopping every 2 seconds to wipe my specs and if I play my cards right, David might buy me a pair of fantastic designer sunshades! (He might not but there is always the chance hey!)
Sponsorship is still on the slow side and we won’t be having the jewellery party before I go after all. We may still have one and do it as a fundraiser but closer to Christmas. Otherwise, the online donation page is still at £3,475 but the form at my desk is now worth £130, I have collected the penny pots from the various places in which they were left, David now has one on his desk at work and I have been promised some cash from various members of the family – all in all, I think we can be proud of the money raised and happy in the knowledge that the MS Trust desperately need it and will use it well!
So, until the next time; take great care and don't forget our fundraising page www.justgiving.com/joandpenni
Loadsa love, Jx
OH I JUST DON’T KNOW! I feel a little happier about a lot of things – I have now spent a king’s ransom on padded shorts and bum bags for the trip – I even managed to come away from one shop paying £7 less than I thought I would have to – it’s only seven quid but ‘every little helps’ and when you are spending a load of cash £7 can go one of 2 ways – either think to yourself it’s only £7 and what is that against £100 or as I am spending £100 I am pleased that I was able to spend £93 and save £7 – whichever way you look at it, it’s a bit of a bonus!
I am also reasonably happy with the training. On Sunday I did 50 miles/ 80 kilometres in the gym. I got there at just after 9.15 and I left about 12.40 so I was there for the best part of 4 hours but I also did some time on the cross trainer in between my 2 sessions of 40km. The thinking was that if I ask the bike to let me ride for 80km straight it might seem like a never ending task and I find the exercise bike boring enough as it is – 80km might have seen me giving up and thinking ‘to hell with it!’ 40km x 2 was difficult enough. While in stage 2, I was pleased to bump into a girl that I was at school with as I wasn’t doing so well when I saw her, I couldn’t get comfortable on my bike, there was not much left in my legs, I had filled my water bottle up twice and was still like a prune and things were not going my way at all! But chatting to Heledd gave me a boost at the right time and sometimes a bit of company and conversation can be the best thing. I think that is what I will miss most without Penni – besides the looking out for each other thing that would have happened, conversation with someone you know can really be a lifesaver – especially as it can be so boring when you don’t know anyone and you know you have a huge hill to climb or, in my case try and ride your bike up! I know there will be other people on the ride and so I won’t be alone and I used to be able to make friends quite quickly and I generally find it easy to speak to people – I just hope that everyone is as chatty as I am (because, let’s face it, I don’t shut up) and I hope that I can find someone in the same situation as me. I have a feeling that most of the folks will be!
I am off to the gym from work tonight – have my tracky bums, trainers and tee to get changed and go straight, it is too hard to go to the gym if I have been home first! Too easy to sit down and watch Neighbours or Diagnosis Murder on the Hallmark channel and think ‘tomorrow, I’ll go tomorrow’. Tomorrow has its own set of tasks and chores and things to do that you again end up thinking to yourself, ‘tomorrow’, what I need to do is remember that I will be just as bone idle tomorrow as I am today, so better go now while I think about it!
The one bonus of doing long stints in the gym like the one I did on Sunday is that it gets you ready for long days on the bike and now that I have done 50 miles in under 4 hours I know I can do it again, because I have already done it! Albeit in the gym and not on the road – I know that it is going to be very different, but I am doing more training than I would be doing if I was relying only on the open road! Penni said ages ago that dad had offered to pay for us to use the gym, although he never mentioned it to me I wish we had taken him up on his offer and that I had been doing this for longer – still, every little helps hey and I am certainly glad that I am going, can you imagine if I wasn’t? Doesn’t bear thinking about really does it?! I do know that when I had done the 40 miles the other week, I really felt like I had worked my legs and they were, I don’t mind admitting it – rather tender! This time when I had done 50 – I felt completely fine and after a bit of a break and a change of scenery I think I could have carried on for a while! That has to be a good sign! Doesn’t it? I am going to aim for 50km tonight which should make it just over 30 miles, only hope I am home in time for the news at 10! (Working until 6 so won’t get there until about quarter to seven!)
The other BIG news I have about the ride is that I have finally found the right glasses to wear – none! That is not as bad as it sounds, I have moved to contact lenses and I love them! They are taking a little time to get used to and so I am practising now, but no more messing about worrying that if it rains I will be stopping every 2 seconds to wipe my specs and if I play my cards right, David might buy me a pair of fantastic designer sunshades! (He might not but there is always the chance hey!)
Sponsorship is still on the slow side and we won’t be having the jewellery party before I go after all. We may still have one and do it as a fundraiser but closer to Christmas. Otherwise, the online donation page is still at £3,475 but the form at my desk is now worth £130, I have collected the penny pots from the various places in which they were left, David now has one on his desk at work and I have been promised some cash from various members of the family – all in all, I think we can be proud of the money raised and happy in the knowledge that the MS Trust desperately need it and will use it well!
So, until the next time; take great care and don't forget our fundraising page www.justgiving.com/joandpenni
Loadsa love, Jx
Tuesday, 9 June 2009
OH MY WORD!!!
Can you believe it? This time next month it will all be over!
This event has been in the pipeline for so long that it almost doesn’t seem real anymore but here it is 3 weeks (and 1 day) to go! This time, three weeks from now and I will be in London (or very near it if not there yet!) ready to leave at silly o’clock the next day! My dad has bought a bike carrier for the back of the car and the other day, we tried it out. Now, considering that we are both (reasonably) clever people (and that dad is an engineer) it still took us the best part of 2 hours to put the thing together and assembled on the car! Could have been worse (especially with the instructions that were provided!) we could have left it until the day we left!
Penni, my mum and dad are coming to London on the Tuesday and are going to try and follow the ride to Dover. Then, when I am on the boat they are going to my aunt’s house in Kent for the night and are going to travel to Paris the on the Thursday. There was talk about 6 months ago that they were going to hire a Winnebago and follow the ride all the way (although I didn’t ever expect that to happen!) but instead they are going to make their way straight to Paris, stay at my cousin’s flat and I will meet them there (hopefully!) on the Saturday. David has arranged a flight over on the Saturday morning and a hotel for that night and the plan is for the 5 of us to go for a meal that night as it will be Dave’s birthday before travelling home on the Sunday. So, one way or another we are sorted. It is nice that my parents, sister and Dave will be there when (if) I arrive under the Eiffel Tower but it seems to have been one of the most difficult things in the world to organise! It has made the training seem reasonably easy!
On that subject, training has been going well. I am averaging 20-25 miles every time I go to the gym as well as doing some of the other exercises to try and build up some other muscles and the other day I did 40 miles but that is the furthest I have done and I know that I need to build the distances that I do, but my heart has really not been in it – especially since I found out that Penni can’t come too! Don’t get me wrong I am over the moon at being aunty Jo, but we were spurring each other on for the bike ride and it would have been brillo to do it with her – but as I said in my last post, this is the only thing that I would let her off for!
Fundraising has taken a slow turn recently – my mum is planning a jewellery party to raise funds but we are still waiting for the lady who runs them to get back to us with a date – hopefully it won’t be too long – but I am still being delighted by people’s generosity! The just giving page is up to £3,475, I have a sponsorship form at my desk with £75 worth on it, there are still donation pots to collect from 2 shops in Holton Road and a pub run by the sister of one of my colleagues and the receptionist at the campus I used to work in has a form for me as does the campus office of my current campus so I think we should more than meet the £3,500 target we set when we broke the last one of £2,500 – but as you can imagine, (and as I always say) I want to raise as much as I can!
Still – I can’t be too down hearted, the money side of things is looking very good, the folks are going to meet me in Paris and it is a very worthy charity that is getting the money! Although I am really starting to worry about the physical act of getting there! It certainly will be a challenge – I think I will jump out of a plane next time; at least it would be all over and done with, no preparing mentally and physically for months!
Oh, enough – I’m sure it will be fine – in 3 weeks I will be wondering what in the world I was worried about and will be enjoying going to the gym to get thin and fit for the wedding instead! 300 miles in 4 days – I ask you, what kind of fool was I in the first place? Penni said last year when I came out with the idea that it wouldn’t be as easy as I thought – why didn’t I listen?!! Ah well, no good thinking like that now – need to be the train in Dumbo (I feel like a Dumbo!) “I think I can I know I can”!
Right, until the next time; take great care and don't forget our fundraising page http://www.justgiving.com/joandpenni
Loadsa love, Jx
This event has been in the pipeline for so long that it almost doesn’t seem real anymore but here it is 3 weeks (and 1 day) to go! This time, three weeks from now and I will be in London (or very near it if not there yet!) ready to leave at silly o’clock the next day! My dad has bought a bike carrier for the back of the car and the other day, we tried it out. Now, considering that we are both (reasonably) clever people (and that dad is an engineer) it still took us the best part of 2 hours to put the thing together and assembled on the car! Could have been worse (especially with the instructions that were provided!) we could have left it until the day we left!
Penni, my mum and dad are coming to London on the Tuesday and are going to try and follow the ride to Dover. Then, when I am on the boat they are going to my aunt’s house in Kent for the night and are going to travel to Paris the on the Thursday. There was talk about 6 months ago that they were going to hire a Winnebago and follow the ride all the way (although I didn’t ever expect that to happen!) but instead they are going to make their way straight to Paris, stay at my cousin’s flat and I will meet them there (hopefully!) on the Saturday. David has arranged a flight over on the Saturday morning and a hotel for that night and the plan is for the 5 of us to go for a meal that night as it will be Dave’s birthday before travelling home on the Sunday. So, one way or another we are sorted. It is nice that my parents, sister and Dave will be there when (if) I arrive under the Eiffel Tower but it seems to have been one of the most difficult things in the world to organise! It has made the training seem reasonably easy!
On that subject, training has been going well. I am averaging 20-25 miles every time I go to the gym as well as doing some of the other exercises to try and build up some other muscles and the other day I did 40 miles but that is the furthest I have done and I know that I need to build the distances that I do, but my heart has really not been in it – especially since I found out that Penni can’t come too! Don’t get me wrong I am over the moon at being aunty Jo, but we were spurring each other on for the bike ride and it would have been brillo to do it with her – but as I said in my last post, this is the only thing that I would let her off for!
Fundraising has taken a slow turn recently – my mum is planning a jewellery party to raise funds but we are still waiting for the lady who runs them to get back to us with a date – hopefully it won’t be too long – but I am still being delighted by people’s generosity! The just giving page is up to £3,475, I have a sponsorship form at my desk with £75 worth on it, there are still donation pots to collect from 2 shops in Holton Road and a pub run by the sister of one of my colleagues and the receptionist at the campus I used to work in has a form for me as does the campus office of my current campus so I think we should more than meet the £3,500 target we set when we broke the last one of £2,500 – but as you can imagine, (and as I always say) I want to raise as much as I can!
Still – I can’t be too down hearted, the money side of things is looking very good, the folks are going to meet me in Paris and it is a very worthy charity that is getting the money! Although I am really starting to worry about the physical act of getting there! It certainly will be a challenge – I think I will jump out of a plane next time; at least it would be all over and done with, no preparing mentally and physically for months!
Oh, enough – I’m sure it will be fine – in 3 weeks I will be wondering what in the world I was worried about and will be enjoying going to the gym to get thin and fit for the wedding instead! 300 miles in 4 days – I ask you, what kind of fool was I in the first place? Penni said last year when I came out with the idea that it wouldn’t be as easy as I thought – why didn’t I listen?!! Ah well, no good thinking like that now – need to be the train in Dumbo (I feel like a Dumbo!) “I think I can I know I can”!
Right, until the next time; take great care and don't forget our fundraising page http://www.justgiving.com/joandpenni
Loadsa love, Jx
Wednesday, 13 May 2009
7 Weeks Today!
Oh my word! Today is Wednesday, May the 13th and I leave London on Wednesday, July the 1st! What was I thinking? I think I should have had a serious word with myself on the day I thought it was a cool thing to do to ride a bike 300 miles from London to Paris!
I was in an information day on Saturday in London which was supposed to put your mind at ease but I am not sure if it did or not! There were some people there who think of this as an easy time – who are so used to cycling for miles and miles who actually asked how for ahead of the group they could go on! All I could do was sit, listen and think of all the other things that I could have done – as I always say, if I had jumped out of an aeroplane I would have done it by now and it would all be over! There were a number of people who didn’t look very fit at all and some who looked a bit like me – sort of rabbit in the headlights thinking is it too late to say forget it, and how much have I raised so far and is it possible that I could reclaim the money from the charity or pay everyone back myself? Although nobody actually said these things, I know it wasn’t just me who was thinking them!
There were some handy hints passed on by the organisers, things like don’t forget your high visibility jacket because if it rains while you are cycling in France and you don’t wear it they will charge you €35 and make sure you have a ‘bum bag’ at all times so that you can carry your passport, money, camera, water, sun cream, waterproof jacket, a jumper if you get to the rest stop and have to wait for any amount of time because you don’t want to catch cold, inner tubes and a tyre pump. Is it me, or does that seem like a lot of stuff to fit into a bum bag? Other handy hints included my personal favourite – “wear padded shorts, go commando and plaster yourself in ‘sudocream’”! Nice!
The best thing that was said and the thing that will be the spur for me to get on and do it is the way that the finish was described! She said that there will be 127 people going on the ride and setting off in groups of 10 we will all go at our own pace and just enjoy the ride (apart from on day 1 when you must be in Dover by 4pm – no question, hence leaving between 6.30 and 7!) but at the end of the ride, everyone meets about 5 miles before the finishing line and as a huge group everyone then cycles around the Arc de Triomphe, down the Champs Elysees around the Plas de Concorde and around to the front of the Eifel Tower. Now, that does sound fab doesn’t it!?
When I get there I know that David will be there and I hope he has a really unhealthy sort of cake and a giant glass of sherry (or, as I am in Paris, perhaps Champagne!) because I think I will need it! The only other thing on that point that would be brillo would be if Penni was there too! Yep, you have guessed it – my little sister is going to make me a real aunty Jo! (She must have known that the only way she would get out of the bike ride and the only reason I would forgive her for not coming would be if she was pregnant!) But if she can’t make it – on this occasion, I will forgive her! It will still be Jo AND Penni's fundraising event!
Otherwise, training is going well, but there are a lot of things going on this month which I know will have some sort of impact on the number of hours I can put in at the gym but it will be fine! Donations are up to £3,315.00 but we still need more – please keep telling everyone!
So, until the next time; take great care and don't forget our fundraising page www.justgiving.com/joandpenni
Loadsa love, Jx
I was in an information day on Saturday in London which was supposed to put your mind at ease but I am not sure if it did or not! There were some people there who think of this as an easy time – who are so used to cycling for miles and miles who actually asked how for ahead of the group they could go on! All I could do was sit, listen and think of all the other things that I could have done – as I always say, if I had jumped out of an aeroplane I would have done it by now and it would all be over! There were a number of people who didn’t look very fit at all and some who looked a bit like me – sort of rabbit in the headlights thinking is it too late to say forget it, and how much have I raised so far and is it possible that I could reclaim the money from the charity or pay everyone back myself? Although nobody actually said these things, I know it wasn’t just me who was thinking them!
There were some handy hints passed on by the organisers, things like don’t forget your high visibility jacket because if it rains while you are cycling in France and you don’t wear it they will charge you €35 and make sure you have a ‘bum bag’ at all times so that you can carry your passport, money, camera, water, sun cream, waterproof jacket, a jumper if you get to the rest stop and have to wait for any amount of time because you don’t want to catch cold, inner tubes and a tyre pump. Is it me, or does that seem like a lot of stuff to fit into a bum bag? Other handy hints included my personal favourite – “wear padded shorts, go commando and plaster yourself in ‘sudocream’”! Nice!
The best thing that was said and the thing that will be the spur for me to get on and do it is the way that the finish was described! She said that there will be 127 people going on the ride and setting off in groups of 10 we will all go at our own pace and just enjoy the ride (apart from on day 1 when you must be in Dover by 4pm – no question, hence leaving between 6.30 and 7!) but at the end of the ride, everyone meets about 5 miles before the finishing line and as a huge group everyone then cycles around the Arc de Triomphe, down the Champs Elysees around the Plas de Concorde and around to the front of the Eifel Tower. Now, that does sound fab doesn’t it!?
When I get there I know that David will be there and I hope he has a really unhealthy sort of cake and a giant glass of sherry (or, as I am in Paris, perhaps Champagne!) because I think I will need it! The only other thing on that point that would be brillo would be if Penni was there too! Yep, you have guessed it – my little sister is going to make me a real aunty Jo! (She must have known that the only way she would get out of the bike ride and the only reason I would forgive her for not coming would be if she was pregnant!) But if she can’t make it – on this occasion, I will forgive her! It will still be Jo AND Penni's fundraising event!
Otherwise, training is going well, but there are a lot of things going on this month which I know will have some sort of impact on the number of hours I can put in at the gym but it will be fine! Donations are up to £3,315.00 but we still need more – please keep telling everyone!
So, until the next time; take great care and don't forget our fundraising page www.justgiving.com/joandpenni
Loadsa love, Jx
Monday, 4 May 2009
2 Months to Go!!!
Well, the light evenings are here but I am still finding it a bit too easy to not go out on the bike and the ride is 2 months away!!!
I am getting a fair amount of time in the gym though and so I don’t feel like I am doing nothing to prepare for this. I am gradually improving my times and distances on the old exercise bike – did 20km so approximately 12.5 miles in 47 minutes the other day and am getting more of an all over work out by using the arm bike, stepper machine and the cross-trainer as well as the bike. I am using the treadmill but I can’t run very well on it but as I mentioned in the last post I am doing well walking very quickly up hill!
The other news is that I have now changed my tyres from the mountain bike treads that I was using for training to some semi slicks and yes – I can feel the difference! I didn’t think that I would but it is strange just how much better (and easier) it is! Tidy! My dad begged me to put a mud guard on there as well and so to keep him happy I have! It doesn’t look too bad but he was disappointed that I only put one on the back – he said that I would be grateful for it if it rains because it would help to keep me dry; to which my response was that if it rained, as I am not in a car or under any kind of cover I would get wet regardless!
The online donation page http://www.justgiving.com/joandpenni is up to £2,988.00 and so we have more than exceeded the set target of £1,250 each and there is still the greatly anticipated Arriva Trains money to go on to that but we still need more! Please keep spreading the word about the bike ride and sponsorship page as every little really will make a huge difference! We are also planning a jewellery party to be held towards the end of May/ early June so there could be another few quid there but as I always say, this is such an important charity to my family and I that we really want to do as much as we can and your help is greatly appreciated!
So, until the next time; take great care and don't forget our fundraising page www.justgiving.com/joandpenni
Loadsa love, Jx
I am getting a fair amount of time in the gym though and so I don’t feel like I am doing nothing to prepare for this. I am gradually improving my times and distances on the old exercise bike – did 20km so approximately 12.5 miles in 47 minutes the other day and am getting more of an all over work out by using the arm bike, stepper machine and the cross-trainer as well as the bike. I am using the treadmill but I can’t run very well on it but as I mentioned in the last post I am doing well walking very quickly up hill!
The other news is that I have now changed my tyres from the mountain bike treads that I was using for training to some semi slicks and yes – I can feel the difference! I didn’t think that I would but it is strange just how much better (and easier) it is! Tidy! My dad begged me to put a mud guard on there as well and so to keep him happy I have! It doesn’t look too bad but he was disappointed that I only put one on the back – he said that I would be grateful for it if it rains because it would help to keep me dry; to which my response was that if it rained, as I am not in a car or under any kind of cover I would get wet regardless!
The online donation page http://www.justgiving.com/joandpenni is up to £2,988.00 and so we have more than exceeded the set target of £1,250 each and there is still the greatly anticipated Arriva Trains money to go on to that but we still need more! Please keep spreading the word about the bike ride and sponsorship page as every little really will make a huge difference! We are also planning a jewellery party to be held towards the end of May/ early June so there could be another few quid there but as I always say, this is such an important charity to my family and I that we really want to do as much as we can and your help is greatly appreciated!
So, until the next time; take great care and don't forget our fundraising page www.justgiving.com/joandpenni
Loadsa love, Jx
Friday, 10 April 2009
Training is defo going better!
Well, I mentioned a few posts ago that I was joining the gym – all I can say is ‘typical’! I join the gym because the weather was so bad that I couldn’t get out on the bike, as soon as I sign up to the £25 a month subscription we start having an early summer! Ah well, at least I am protecting the young, elderly and sparing anyone who isn’t visually impaired the completely undignified sight of me in lycra!
The training programme that I have says that I should be able to cycle 8 miles within 40 minutes – the day before yesterday (Wednesday) I did 13km, so as near as damn it 8 miles in 26.22 minutes and I could have gone on for a lot longer, but I had to get back for something! I have been doing a few other things as well as the bike, the treadmill is good, but because of the strange sensation in my legs I can’t run in the machine and I have a nightmare trying keep my ‘tracky bums’ from falling down, (I mean, if I am keeping the lycra image away from the innocent folks of South Wales the last thing I need to happen is that the lower half of my anatomy is exposed and my £25 a month membership suspended, that would never do!) the arm bike and the cross trainer just to try and build up as much all over strength as I can and I am certainly feeling better for it! I do fancy doing some exercises to work my stomach/ tummy muscles and one day when its quiet in there I will ask one of the staff how I should go about this. Fair play, by the end of the summer I will need a whole new wardrobe to show off my new extremely sporty and super fit physique!
On the fundraising front, the on line donations page, http://www.justgiving.com/joandpenni is up to £2,829 which is fantastic, but we still need more! Although the target is well and truly exceeded we want to raise as much as we possibly can, so please keep telling everyone about this blog, the justgiving page and the Facebook group, Jo and Pen’s Trip of a Lifetime.
So, until the next time; take great care and don't forget our fundraising page www.justgiving.com/joandpenni
Loadsa love, Jx
The training programme that I have says that I should be able to cycle 8 miles within 40 minutes – the day before yesterday (Wednesday) I did 13km, so as near as damn it 8 miles in 26.22 minutes and I could have gone on for a lot longer, but I had to get back for something! I have been doing a few other things as well as the bike, the treadmill is good, but because of the strange sensation in my legs I can’t run in the machine and I have a nightmare trying keep my ‘tracky bums’ from falling down, (I mean, if I am keeping the lycra image away from the innocent folks of South Wales the last thing I need to happen is that the lower half of my anatomy is exposed and my £25 a month membership suspended, that would never do!) the arm bike and the cross trainer just to try and build up as much all over strength as I can and I am certainly feeling better for it! I do fancy doing some exercises to work my stomach/ tummy muscles and one day when its quiet in there I will ask one of the staff how I should go about this. Fair play, by the end of the summer I will need a whole new wardrobe to show off my new extremely sporty and super fit physique!
On the fundraising front, the on line donations page, http://www.justgiving.com/joandpenni is up to £2,829 which is fantastic, but we still need more! Although the target is well and truly exceeded we want to raise as much as we possibly can, so please keep telling everyone about this blog, the justgiving page and the Facebook group, Jo and Pen’s Trip of a Lifetime.
So, until the next time; take great care and don't forget our fundraising page www.justgiving.com/joandpenni
Loadsa love, Jx
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