Story 30: Drop at the Top (should actually read 'middle') Safari

This is our first day back at work after a short break up in Aberfeldy last week. As ever after time away from the office, it's hard to get my brain back into work gear. So, I'm sitting looking at the pile of paperwork but my mind keeps wandering back to the fun we had on some of our cycles while we were away.

During one of our road cycles we passed through a village that, I'm sure, makes every tourist smile when they see the road sign for the first time:

As it turned out, Dull is anything but! It's a lovely little place and it's home to Highland Safaris, which offers some fantastic attractions for visitors...especially of the cycling variety...

Story 29: A first, and last, Ride the Night training cycle with Gemma

It's been a gloriously sunny Easter Weekend in my neck of the woods. My daughter Gemma couldn't have chosen a better weekend for a visit home and we couldn't have had a better weekend for our first (and probably last) cycle together before we take part in the 100km Women V Cancer Ride the Night event at the end of May.

Gemma's, em, a bit behind in her training as she's busy with many other things, but she's as determined as I am to manage the 100km and I have absolutely no doubt that she'll rise to the challenge.

I'm delighted to report that I coped OK with the toe-clips and managed not to fall off (it's early days though...) We all thoroughly enjoyed our 22 mile cycle and our bit of Jam Jar breakfast thrown in for good measure.

The next time Gemma and I cycle alongside each other will probably be on the 31st of May when we head off from Windsor Race Course into the night to ride 100km round London with 2000 other women. It'll be an incredible tour de force against cancer and it'll be brilliant to be part of it with my daughter by my side.

All we need to do now is get more cycling in so that we're fit enough to meet the challenge. Me up here in Scotland and Gemma down south in London.

Geographically apart but determined together.

Story 28: Mulling over another challenge

I'm fair enjoying this cycling-on-the-spot malarky. I mean, it's not the same as getting out and about on the bike but there's a lot to like about sitting on the saddle in my living room - or in my garden - and going nowhere!

'Why not just get on your bike and go for a cycle on the roads or paths?', you might ask. Well, I would definitely rather do that, but I'm not really up for going cycles on my own (I'm ashamed to admit that I still haven't bothered to learn how to change an inner tube...) so - until I get off my ass and learn how to sort a puncture - the turbo trainer's going to be ideal for those occasions when Alex isn't free for a ride, or when the weather's rubbish, or when my hand is still sore from a wee fall and I can't work the brakes properly... (see last post!)

I've not spent more than an hour on the trainer yet, but I'm still mulling over the idea of having a go at cycling 100km on it during Scribbler's Picnic (a music festival in Stirling that raises heaps of money for our local hospice and other cancer charities). One of  my fellow Night Riders did it, sitting outside her local bike shop, last weekend to boost her fundraising - though, she's a much fitter and more experienced cyclist than me - and I just found it so inspiring!

Lots of people, whose advice I value, have told me that I'm nuts to try it.

And that sounds like just about as good a reason to try it as any...

Story 27: Learning the hard way...

Every time I get on my bike I learn something new. The thing I learned today was:

After you've spent a few days cycling on a turbo trainer in your house it is easy to forget, when you're back cycling outside again, that you have to keep the bike moving while you're trying to clip your feet into your cycling shoes. You have to remember that the bike will fall over, taking you with it, if you clip one foot in then lift the other foot off the ground before you've pushed off. You must remember that your bike is not attached to a turbo trainer any more and it is only you pedalling that will keep it upright when both feet are off the ground. If you forget this you will fall over, before you've even left your driveway, and leave yourself with a dented body and a dented pride.

Oops...!

Story 26: Cycling on the spot

I've got this cycling event coming up soon, the 100km Women V Cancer Ride the Night in London, in 54 days time. Since registering for it, at the end of last year, I've been out on my bike, em, four times. I've put loads of effort into raising funds for Women V Cancer (I've even written a little book!) and I've put a lot of effort into trying to raise awareness of the signs and symptoms of cancer. But, I've only been out on my bike four times. And the longest cycle was 22 miles. Oh dear.

So today I sprang into action! Spurred on by an invitation to perform at an Eve of Festival music concert (reciting rhymes from my wee book between bands..) which preceded the decision to host a stall at said Festival itself (the infamous 'Scribbler's Picnic' - Stirling's answer to T in the Park...) where I'm considering setting up one of these bike stand thingys and pedalling 100km while I pedal my book, I got on my bike and went for a cycle! 

And I didn't move an inch from my lounge floor.

Kenny, my friendly local bike shop owner, has given me a loan of one of these bike stand thingys (I think 'turbo trainer' is its proper name but I didn't feel very turbo-propelled...) so that I have no excuse not to get on my bike and train. He thinks I'm mad for even thinking about trying to cycle the 100km on a bike stand while the Picnic's on. But I'm tempted! 

I'll give it some thought over the next week or so while I'm cycling on the spot (and hopefully getting outside for a whirl too) before deciding whether my butt (never mind my legs and lungs) could manage it.

But, I have to say, there's just something really tempting about the idea of a possible not-so-serious story of a static cyclist's exploits at Scribblers...!

Story 25: Sun, wind, sand and snow in one Sunday cycle

Story 24: Getting on my bike, no matter the weather

Well, we managed to make it out today for only the second ride on our bikes since the start of 2014. And a lovely ride it was too. The twenty two mile route we followed was one that we've cycled a fair few times now, taking the back road from our house to Bridge of Allan and back again, but I don't think we'll ever tire of it. We don't have to venture much on to the main roads, the surrounding scenery is gorgeous and the half way point is marked by one of our favourite munch stops, Jam Jar in Bridge of Allan. What more could a pair of leisurely Sunday cyclists ask for?

 It was raining when we set off this morning, and it was very cold, but we'd promised ourselves that, no matter the weather, we were getting back into our Sunday cycles by the beginning of March - and I'm so very glad that we kept that promise. Alex and I have decided that we're definitely fair weather cyclists. There have been a few Sundays, since our last jaunt out on the bikes in January, that we didn't have anything planned and we could easily have wrapped up and set off for a cycle. But we didn't. It was either too wet, too cold or too windy and a morning with our feet up in front of the fire instead was always too appealing. 

Thankfully though, the rain wan't too heavy today and didn't last too long. In fact, the sun popped out just a few miles in. It was still bitterly cold, but we were so well wrapped up in our balaclavas, waterproof socks, thermal gloves and umpteen layers that it was really only the tips of our fingers and toes that were numb. In fact, I was having a bit of a hot flush by the time we reached the cafe and I had to head off to the loo to strip a few layers off (and, as usual, fix my helmet hair so that I looked at least a wee bit more presentable for sitting on a Sunday morning in amongst many of Bridge of Allan's finest...!) 

So, hopefully today marks the start of getting out more regularly for a cycle, whatever the weather. Having said that, we've been toying with the idea of buying these roller thingy's or a turbo trainer that you can set your bike up on for a cycle inside the house. Then we could cycle whatever the weather! 

Hm, a Sunday cycle at home in front of the fire when it's p*****g down outside...? Now, that just might be my kind of rainy day ride! Watch this space for 'Stories from the saddle of a not-so-serious-cyclist-who-sometimes-stays-at-home-to-cycle', possibly coming soon!

Story 23: Bloody loving getting back on my bike

I actually posted this on my 'What's Making Me Feel Good Today' blog, but I think it deserves a place here too!

'I managed to make it out for a ride on my bike this morning for the first time in over two months. A long drawn out bout of laryngitis followed by some rubbishy weather along with a wee dose of cannae-be-bothered-itis resulted in a bit of a hiatus from cycling. But, aw man, it felt so great to be back in my saddle today. In fact, one of my favourite Christmas presents from Alex probably sums it up best:'

Story 22: Giving myself a kick, with Santa's help

I still haven't been out on my bike, at all, since October so it seems a bit cheeky calling myself any kind of cyclist at the moment, never mind a not-so-serious one! The weather's been rubbish, but that's only been recently and it just seems that the longer I stay off my bike the more reasons I come up with for not getting back on it. Which is kind of weird considering how much I've loved every single cycle I've been on since I first got hooked back in July.

I actually remember this feeling well from my running days; I knew how much I loved running, but if I didn't do it for a while I simply lost my motivation. No rhyme nor reason. Getting up off my butt to go for a run just seemed to take too much effort and I would make all sorts of excuses for not putting on my trainers and stepping out the front door. Then, when I actually couldn't run any more (for health reasons) I was absolutely gutted and I rued all those days that I should've been out pounding the roads when I had both the physical ability and the opportunity to do so.

So, I'm giving myself a good kick up the backside and reminding myself that I'm lucky to be able to cycle at all. I'm determined not to let myself fall any further into a state of 'cannae be bothered-ness' and I'm sure that, with a bit of an improvement in the weather, it won't be long till I'm happily back on my saddle.

And, considering the effort that Santa and his helpers went to with my Christmas presents this year, it would be extremely rude not to....

Story 21: Being given our marching orders by the military

A combination of busy weekends and a lingering cold have been keeping me off my bike, but those are poor excuses for the absence of blog posts as there are still plenty of wee stories from the saddle to tell.

My last post referred to us being ordered off a military base while we were in the States. Now, that might have been a slight exaggeration...but we were stopped, searched, ID'd and told we could go no further on our bikes! 

Alex had read that there was an old lighthouse nearby, called Fort Story, that was worth a visit and we'd figured it wouldn't take us long to cycle there from our hotel. Sure enough, after a pleasant jaunt along the boardwalk and then on through the leafy suburbs of Virginia Beach, we arrived at a big set of gates on the road beside a sign saying 'Fort Story'  However, instead of being met at the gates by your local friendly guardian of  the lighthouse, we were met by your local not-quite-so-friendly gun-carrying guardians of a military base! Had we examined the guide book and map a wee bit closer, we would've realised that Fort Story is the name of the base, and not the lighthouse contained within its grounds. Undeterred, we pedaled to a halt at the gatehouse and smiled at the two soldiers walking towards us. For a tense few moments we thought we were going to be turned back but - after a bit of negotiation, close scrutiny of our ID (which, luckily, we carried with us everywhere) and the securing of our bikes to a lamp post outside the entrance - we were allowed to pass through. We had to leave our bikes behind as cyclists were only allowed on the base if they had a helmet on. 

There was, of course, a list of conditions attached to our permission to enter: don't step off the road, don't approach anyone, don't go past the fire station and, of course, don't dare take photographs or videos until you reach the lighthouse...



The most exciting thing we saw on the walk through the base was, em, well, nothing really. A few buildings and an empty road. That was it really. So, we passed the time by concocting all sorts of crazy scenarios about what might happen if we dared to step off the road, or if we were spotted filming, or if we said the word 'b--b'. It was all a bit of an anti-climax when we finally - and uneventfully - reached the lighthouse.

Is that it...?!

There was a nice view from the top, especially of that busy, busy road that we'd walked along. Good job we didn't cycle along there without a helmet on, eh...?!

Since there wasn't much else to do, we wandered back along the road and out of the base. I was really happy when we were back on civilian soil, and even happier to be back on my bike. And, as you can see, it looks like we weren't the only folk that day who'd been given their marching orders by the military!