Story 39: Getting excited about Tanzania

I'm so excited! A recce group from Action for Charity has been in Tanzania for the past few days, sussing out the Cycle Africa route, and Ann Frampton (the organisation's director and contributor to a certain little book...)  shared some of the details and photographs on Facebook. Aw man, it sounds so much more challenging than I was expecting but it also looks even more fantastic than I could possibly have imagined! 

In one of her posts Ann reminded us that we're not going to Tanzania next October for a holiday; we'll have to train hard in preparation for cycling at altitude over some pretty rough terrain, we'll have to be all set for camping out in the wild for a couple of nights (I'm trying not to think too much about that aspect of the trip just yet...), we'll have to be fit enough to cycle 217 miles over the course of a few days and we'll only reach the finish line if we can manage a 25 mile uphill slog on the final day of the trip. 

Ann's right, it won't be a holiday. It's going to be tough. But it will be incredible! We'll see some amazing sights (like Mount Kilimanjaro), we'll cycle alongside wild animals (like zebras, baboons, giraffes and maybe even lions!!) and we'll have the privilege of meeting some of the locals along the way (like Maasai villagers). It's all so exciting!

October 2015 seems like a long way off, but I've got a lot of money to raise, and a lot of saddle hours to clock up, before I set one foot in Tanzania. It's absolutely right that it's going to be tough (did I mention the camping...?). Just like the woman who runs a Race for Life, or the man who doesn't shave, or the child who parts with her pocket money for Pudsey - I committed to Cycle Africa because I wanted to raise money and raise awareness for Women V Cancer while rising to a personal challenge.

And, after looking at the photos today, I know for sure that I've picked the perfect challenge to rise to.

(Photo courtesy of Ann Frampton)

Story 38: Sunny Sunday Cycle

We had another great local Sunday cycle today! I'm taking the lazy option of recording it with details of the ride here on Map My Ride and a little video rambling below, just to add some meat to the stats...

(And, for anyone who's interested, here are the stats for Friday night's cycle from Callander to Balquhidder)

Story 37: Keeping it local

I'd wondered if my first few cycles after last weekend's exploits in Arran would feel like a bit of an anti-climax. Nope. I've had yet another weekend of good fun in the saddle during two 'keeping it local' rides.

Yesterday we clocked up 34 miles. We cycled from Stirling to Falkirk, stopped for coffee and cake with the Kelpies, then cycled a different way back again. If you're interested, the stats are here on Map My Ride

We came home and settled down to watch the Tour de France. It would've been great to be in Yorkshire joining the thousands of other folk who lined the steets to cheer those superb cyclists on, but instead we made the most of it and simply brought the Tour to our garden...

Then this morning we clocked up 25 miles and conquered a local hill in the process. Again, the stats are on Map My Ride but this clever little app can't quite manage to capture my thoughts. I'm sticking to my wee video bletherings for that... 

Story 36: Arran revisited ... and conquered

(A wee bit more information, for those of you interested in the fine detail, here on Map My Ride)

Story 35: A Saturday cycle, and most enjoyable it was too

Today was my first time out on the roads since Ride the Night, and what a lovely day it was for it too!

It wasn't long till the Gala Parade came along, and what a lovely sight and sound it was too!

The cycle to Callander was hard going, with a few tough hills, but the village band were out when we arrived and what a lovely welcome it was too!

We slipped up with the pub we chose for refreshments (the cleaners clearly hadn't been in for a week or six...) but we did enjoy our visit to Galleria Lutia; a fantastic little gallery that's owned by my friend Sandie and her family. I spotted a pile of my wee books on one of the shelves and what a lovely feeling it was too!

By the time we arrived back home the Gala barbeque was in full swing, but we opted instead for a quiet night in...and a very nice evening it was too...

Story 34: From Arran to Africa...

Last July Alex talked me into going for a wee cycle in Arran. We ended up cycling 53 miles in two days all the way round the island, and I ended up hooked on not-so-serious cycling. 

After that, and following some lovely rides through the summer, I managed to raise some money for the STV Appeal by cycling 47 miles from Glasgow to Edinburgh in the Pedal for Scotland event. 

I enjoyed it so much that I immediately looked for another challenge, which came in the form of Women V Cancer Ride the Night, and last week managed to cycle 62 miles through the night from Windsor to London and back to Windsor again. 

I loved the whole experience so much that I've already signed up to do it again next year - but it won't be as much of a challenge next time around as I'll already have cycled the distance. I am, however, passionate about the Women V Cancer organisation and definitely want to continue supporting them.

So, I've signed up for another challenge. In October 2015 I'm aiming to cycle 220 miles across a mixture of dirt tracks and tarmac, starting in the shadow of Mount Kilimanjaro and finishing at the Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania. I'll be raising funds again for Women V Cancer, sharing the experience with some incredible women, and hoping to see some lions and giraffes and elephants along the way! It's a serious challenge, but I'm seriously up for it. (Well, as seriously as a not-so-serious cyclist can be).

From Arran to Africa - who would've thought...?! 

Story 33: Oh What A Ride

(I'll apologise now for the over-use of superlatives in the post you're about to read!)

While I was still on my adrenalin-high after completing Pedal for Scotland back in September, I Googled 'cycle rides'; I was desperately keen to sign up for another 'fun' cycling event. One of the first things to come up on the search list was the Women V Cancer 100km Ride the Night. I had absolutely no idea what I was letting myself in for when I clicked on the link and registered.

My daughter Gemma had just moved to London and I was looking for any excuse for visits, I had just managed to cycle 47 miles and was looking for another cycling challenge, I'd just finished my latest fundraising venture and was looking for ideas for my next one, and I was looking for something constructive to do to help raise the right kind of awareness of the signs and symptoms of cancer. So, registering for this new event seemed like the perfect solution to all of the above!

Since registering, I've had a blast. I've had some great fun on training cycles with Alex, I've discovered that cycling when it's raining can be fun after all (thanks to the turbo trainer...), I've resolved a fair few of my cycling issues (found the perfect saddle, found the perfect riding position, found the perfect bum cream...), I've found many new friends (thanks to a Facebook group set up so that participants could lend each other support before the event and, in doing so, get to know each other a wee bit better), I've been inspired by so many of those women, I've written a little book that's been published and continues to raise money and awareness - and, I've cycled 62 miles through the night alongside 2000 other wonderful women with Gemma by my side!

Altogether it's been a truly fantastic ride!

A blow by blow account of the actual cycle is maybe for another time. Briefly though; the distance, the cycling through the night, the double puncture after hitting a humongous pot hole only 6 miles from the start (I, em, supervised from the sidelines while Gemma and two wonderful Ride Angels sprang into action), the London traffic, the volume of cyclists, the wee fall (so embarrassing - we came to a stop at a red traffic light, I put my foot down, was standing waiting, somehow lost my balance, and fell sidey ways with the bike following on top! No real damage done apart from a broken light, a few bruises and a small dent to my pride...), the bunching up, the varied nature of our cycling experience, and the varied nature of etiquette on display (from cyclists and drivers alike) all made for quite a challenge!

And, as with any inaugural event - especially one that takes place in a big busy city, is supported mostly by fantastic volunteers and attracts participants with a very wide range of experience and expectations - there were a few wee teething problems. However, Action for Charity, with the truly inspiring Ann Frampton at its helm, did an incredible job of organising Ride the Night.

Many of us weren't very experienced, or very serious - I have to hold my hand up to not knowing every rule of the road as a cyclist; some of the others have pointed out that we should've been calling out 'passing on the right' when we were overtaking a group - I didn't know that and I hope it's the only thing I got wrong on the night from a safety point of view. I usually did shout things like, 'We're going great ladies!' or 'Keep it up folks!' or 'Are you doing OK?' on the occasions that I did cycle past anyone and I did only pass when I felt it was safe to do so! I did always shout out if there was a pothole, or if I was going to stop, or if there was a speed bump, or if there was a car needing past etc etc and I like to think most of us on the Ride did the same.

The event's raised over £850,000 so far for three fantastic charities and everyone taking part had to do their bit in contributing to the fundraising effort. If the ride and fundraising had felt like a walk in the park it wouldn't have felt like I was doing everyone - who bought the book, who donated to my Just Giving page or who inspired me to raise funds and awareness in the first place - proud.

I had so many mixed emotions throughout the night; mostly I was excited, happy and - especially when Gemma and I cycled back into Windsor to the sound of the dawn chorus and Alex cheering - chuffed to bits! But the night was also tinged with some sadness; thoughts were never far from the reason why we were all there, or from the women who'd had to pull out of the event due to illness or injury.

One of those women was Sandhy Robinson-Jones.

Sandhy survived ovarian cancer six years ago, is one of Women V Cancer's biggest supporters, encouraged many of us novice cyclists during the lead up to the event with her wit and wisdom, helped many of us with our fundraising efforts (she is the designer extraordinaire of my wee book) and had a massive brain haemorrhage a few weeks ago. She faces a long, hard fight back from the brink, yet again, and she was sorely missed on Saturday night:



This was my first cycle without Alex by my side as Ride the Night was the first 'women only' London night ride event. Having said that, Gemma and I found it a bit, well, strange that there were some men cycling in amongst the women. They appeared to be there supporting their partners but I guess I kind of felt that part of the challenge was to show that we could manage the 100km as a collective group of strong (in many different senses of the word) women. On the other hand, I don't know those particular women's stories; maybe it would've been impossible for them to take part without their men-folk there to assist.

Although he wasn't cycling with me Alex was still a massive support; not just for me and Gemma, but for many of the other women too. He stood, for four hours solid, around a mile from Windsor and clapped every cyclist that passed. My hero! It was really great for my confidence to know that I can go out and manage on my own (well, OK, not quite on my own as I had 2000 other women and Gemma by my side...), but I'm now really looking forward to getting back to our Sunday cycles!

My Hero!

I was proud of my wee girl (..nearly 23 but will always be my wee girl!). She's so very busy with many other things and had very little time to train for the cycle. After only six times on her saddle (for the first time since she really was a wee girl), with most of those times being for her 3 mile commute to work, she did incredibly well to finish the ride. Gemma also did well to put up with her auld maw's bletherings all the way round...

Get back on our bikes we did, and finish the ride we did. Ocht, it was just brilliant! And, it was my longest cycle to date! Hooray! So, I'm off now to hit Google, look for my next 'cycling event' and, of course, to register for Ride the Night 2015....!

(photo of bikes on racks courtesy of Judith Stoker)

Story 32: A birthday plea from a bloody cyclist

I mentioned in my last post that I'd had a few scary moments with wobbles on the road during my last cycle. Now, I understand the many reasons why some drivers don't like cyclists (OK, why most drivers don't like cyclists...) so I can handle the fact that I might not be liked when I'm on my bike and I can accept that the person driving up behind me might be muttering under their breath 'Shit, there's a bloody cyclist ahead!'

That doesn't frighten me. I mean, I don't like not being liked. But it doesn't frighten me. What does frighten me is the fact that many, many drivers don't leave nearly enough space when they overtake.

It's so easy to knock a cyclist off their bike. And, if you do knock them off, the cyclist (maybe me!) will probably end up with lots of broken bones and might die.

I guess I've been thinking about this as it's my birthday today. Hooray!! I've clocked up another year!! And I'd really love to be here to celebrate many more years to come!

So, this is my birthday plea to all drivers out there; no matter how much you hate the fact that cyclists are allowed on the road, please please please move out and give them plenty of space when you pass them.

...and, em, just for the record; I don't particularly like being stuck behind bloody cyclists either! But, I do bide my time and make sure I'm giving them plenty of space when I overtake. I'm ashamed to say it wasn't always that way...

Bloody Cyclist!

I’m a bloody cyclist

Who loves to ride her bike,

I’m loathed by many motorists

Who see me as a blight.

They see me cycling on their road

Then all they see is red,

Their temples pulse, their voices rise:

‘There’s a bloody cyclist ahead!’

‘What gives them the bloody right

To use the bloody road?

They don’t pay any taxes,

They don’t know the Highway Code!’

‘Folk on bikes are idiots

They always jump the lights,

They never wear the proper gear

On dark or foggy nights!’

‘Those Sunday cyclists; they’re the worst!

You know the sort I mean;

Spread across the bloody road

In lycra-wearing teams.’

‘And roundabouts – don’t start me!

Cyclists don’t have a clue!

“Which lane is it I should be in?

Oh, I don’t know what to do!”’

‘Bloody cyclists! MOVE YOUR ARSE!

You’re causing a delay!

Go cycle in a Velodrome,

Get out my bloody way!’

On and on the driver goes,

With angry vitriol;

Venting their frustration at

Us cyclists one and all.

Though, if I’m being honest,

Then I guess I should admit

That I was once that driver,

And I’m quite ashamed of it! 

Before I loved my bicycle

I’d only use my car,

I was that bloody driver

Who would just take it too far.

I’d curse at every cyclist

Who’d dare to cross my path,

I’d rant and rave behind my wheel

With fierce and angry wrath:

‘Get out my bloody way’ I’d shout

I’d criticise and scorn,

I’d overtake before I should

I’d even hoot my horn!

I was that bloody driver,

I too thought I knew best,

I too thought every cyclist

Was a royal bloody pest.

I’m really quite embarrassed

That I thought it was OK,

To treat all cyclists on the road

In that bloody awful way...

So, if all this sounds familiar

And you’re that driver too,

There’s something, as a cyclist,

That I’d like to say to you:

I know you get frustrated

When you want to overtake,

I understand your anger

When I make a wee mistake.

I know I’m often in your way

And slow you in your tracks,

I understand your carping

On the issue of road tax!

I get your irritation

With the cyclists who break rules,

Who jump the lights, don’t look behind,

Behave like bloody fools.

But please, I beg, remember

That we’re not all one the same,

That numpties who jump lights and such

Don’t do it in my name.

And, yes, we sometimes get it wrong,

We make the odd mistake,

But drivers sometimes do that too,

Pull out, don’t indicate!

And if you check your facts about

The tax disc you display,

You’ll see that you don’t own the road

Or have the right of way!

Is it too much to hope for,

Or too much to dare expect,

That we could treat each other

With a little more respect?

I wonder if it’s possible

That you could change your mind,

Could be much more accepting

Less frustrated and more kind?

Can’t we just be buddies?

Can’t we use the roads in peace?

Put up with all our nuances

And let the griping cease?

I hear what you are saying,

That you’d like me out your hair,

But just like tractors and their loads

I’m not going anywhere!

So, please accept my slowness,

And I’ll accept your slips;

Bikes and cars are here to stay

Let’s make the most of it!

Lastly, here’s my pipe dream,

My wish on which to end:

That every bloody driver

Be the bloody cyclist’s friend...

 ©Jane Milne

This is one of the rhymes from my little book 'One Woman's Verses vs Cancer'. All of the profit from sales is being donated to Women V Cancer. Click on the photo of the book opposite for more information!

Story 31: Mostly loving my longest ride

I managed my longest, and toughest, cycle to date today. Aw man, I absolutely loved it!

Well, actually, I didn't love it all the time... I swore my way up some of the hills, and I didn't like the taste of the extra protein provided by the flies, and I was frightened by some of the cars and lorries and buses who made me wobble when they overtook me too fast and too close...

But most of the time I really did love it...the sense of achievement when I managed to cycle all the way up some really steep or never-ending hills, the thrill of whizzing down the other side of said really steep or never-ending hills, the views, the not having a sore ass (thanks to Alex's time and patience helping me find the perfect saddle position and handlebar height last night when most normal folk would either be out enjoying themselves or sitting in front of Saturday night telly...), the best hot chocolate I've EVER tasted (in The Cocoa Mountain, Auchterarder), the camaraderie with other cyclists en route, the chit chat and laughs with Alex and the ice cold beer at the end of our 53 miles...yup, I absolutely loved it.

It's only two weeks now till the Women V Cancer 100km (62 miles) Ride the Night in London and, after today's cycle, I'm feeling much more confident about being able to manage it. This time last year I hadn't really been on a bike much since my kids were little and I never would've thought that I'd manage a fairly long ride.

I don't think I'll ever consider myself to be a serious cyclist, but I seriously do love getting on my bike. Especially when one of the stops involves a very yummy hot chocolate...

(For anyone who's interested, you can see today's cycle in more detail on my Map My Ride page)

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...