A week of ups and downs

I've had my new bike for a week now and it's been a week of ups and downs, but ultimately pretty positive. We had a bit of a disastrous attempt at a ride last Sunday when we tried to follow a map towards Uffculme. Sadly we spent the morning taking a couple of wrong turns, going round in a circle and finding ourselves back between Woodbury and Woodbury Salterton when we were aiming for Aylesbeare! We were both feeling tired and rather wind beaten, so we headed to the park in Woodbury to have our lunch and then came back home again. My arms and shoulders were hurting and I was really struggling with the brakes, having a couple of hairy moments when I really couldn't slow the bike down at all, as well as a few entertaining moments where I'd just overshot where I was aiming to stop! I tried to tell myself I'd done ok given that I had a new bike and was getting used to it, but I actually felt rather disappointed and defeated. Later in the evening we decided to try and drive the route instead so we'd know where we needed to go next time. Even in the car we got a bit lost a few times and by the time we'd done half of the route, we were feeling so tired and hungry we found the nearest main road we could and headed back home! The route seemed to go on forever even in the car, so I think we were being a bit ambitious on this occasion...

We took a day off on Monday to enjoy the bank holiday. I felt we should be cycling again, but also felt in need of a rest. Sometimes it seems really hard to get the balance right. On Tuesday we had plans for later in the evening, so we decided we'd just do a short ride but with a big hill. We headed along the river, up to Topsham Road, then up Pynes Hill and up around the back of the Estate. I coped surprisingly well with the climbing on my new bike, apart from a moment when I changed gears in the wrong direction! Amazingly I managed to stay on the bike, keep cycling and recover the situation, but it really slowed me down. After all the climbing, we inevitably had a big downhill to come. Normally I would look forward to such a reward, but with my not very effective brakes and the down all being in one very steep hill, I had a horrible descent and was rigid with fear by the time I got to the bottom. I had tried stopping so I could get off my bike and walk down the hill, but I couldn't actually apply the brakes enough to stop. It was clear I needed to do something about this and soon!

So - into the Bike Shed I went on Wednesday lunchtime and they fitted some shims for me. These bring the brakes a bit nearer and make them easier to reach. However, after riding my bike home, it was already clear this wasn't enough. So in again I went after work on Thursday and this time they loosened off the brakes for me. I'm pleased to say this has made the bike more managable and I'm now much more confident going down a hill. I still have to work hard if I want to stop, but at least I know I can stop when I need to!

With the bike back in my good books again, we decided we should try and get a couple of decent rides in over the weekend. This was slightly ambitious given that we'd stayed up late to watch the election results on Thursday and then went to a birthday party on Friday night. We didn't really get moving before lunchtime on Saturday and we both still felt really tired, so we decided we'd take the familiar route out to Bickleigh and then try a longer ride on Sunday. It felt like we'd been really fast on our route, but sadly neither my watch nor the GPS reading seemed to agree! We had been cycling into the wind a lot of the way though, so that's my excuse! Luckily we avoided a downpour, despite extremely threatening clouds and a few drops of rain that seemed to indicate we were about to get soaked. As usual, we had a lovely stop at Bickleigh, this time staying inside in the warm, before heading back home again.

Today we went to join the CTC ride for the first time since my accident. I was rather apprehensive about joining the group as I wasn't sure if we'd be able to keep up with everyone. I'd had a restless night too and had woken up at one point due to a pain in my left wrist. Fortunately, the thought of doing the ride was worse than the reality! It was only a small group as there was also a 'Bluebell Ride' today, so 5 of us set off from Broadclyst. For the first part of the ride I felt quite comfortable and really pleased to be out riding with the group again. I was struggling a bit to keep up as I was nervous along the gravelly twisty lanes, but on the whole thought I was doing ok. However, climbing the hill into Talaton nearly finished me off and if the rest of the group weren't stopped at the top of the hill waiting for me, I would have got off and walked. Feeling red in the face and completely exhausted, I hoped Escot was just round the corner. To be fair, it pretty much was, but there was another small section of hill to climb first and once more, I really thought I was going to have to get off and walk, but somehow managed to push on through and make it over the brow of the hill. From there it was all downhill to Escot and a very welcome cup of tea and delicious slice of chocolate cake.

Over tea Mike gave us some tips on our training plan and on pedalling technique, which were very gratefully received. I feel like we're at a stage now where we can take this information on board which is great. When we first joined the group we didn't really have a clue about cycling and we were a bit overwhelmed by everyone's advice on what sort of bikes we needed and what we should be doing. Now with a bit of experience under our belts and much more suitable bikes, everything makes a bit more sense and the whole world of cycling doesn't seem quite so alien! I still haven't got over the fact that I found myself in a bike shop after test riding a bike saying 'it was ok, but it just feels a bit slow...!' I never would have said that when I first started cycling! Pippa also kindly offered to send us details of a route to Uffculme which gives directions, so hopefully that will help next time we find ourselves helplessly meandering through the lanes in East Devon!

From Escot, we took the easy option and Bob kindly led us on a nice leisurely ride to Tipton St. John whilst Mike, Pippa and Robin headed off to do more miles on a hillier route. We seemed to be at Tipton in no time and enjoyed our packed lunches at a picnic table in the park. Bob told us tales of his End to End ride, during which he impressively covered the Isles of Scilly and the Orkneys. At one point we were joined by a friendly alsation. Not long after this his owner came along and started chatting to us about the park. It's owned by the community who rallied round and bought it from the council to ensure it's future. It was a lovely spot and as requested, we left some coins in the collection box as we left.

I was somewhat dreading the cycle back from Tipton as I didn't really know how hard the route back would be and I'd not cycled this far since getting back on the bike. The fact that a road on our route into Aylesbeare was called 'Aylesbeare Hill' did give us an incling that it must be hilly enough to warrant naming it so! This was a bit of a long slog, but after that, the rest of the ride was down hill or pretty flat and rolling, so it was a pleasure to find ourselves at the airport so soon. At Clyst Honiton we said goodbye to Bob who was heading back to his car in Broadclyst and we called in at my mum's to request a cuppa. We found her doing some planting in the garden, but luckily she was happy to come in, wash her hands and make us a lovely cuppa. She also gave us a nice big cheque towards our sponsorship money, which was wonderful - thanks mum!

Dragging myself out of the comfy sofa, we cycled back through Clyst St Mary and home. Although I was feeling tired on the last stretch, I was also delighted that we'd managed such a good day of riding. I'm not entirely sure what route we cycled, but having a guess at it on bike hike, we seem to have covered around 36miles, so that's not bad going. I was quite pleased that we'd covered 62 miles in total this weekend, but then it's hard to stop that nagging voice in my head which says: 'but you've got to do 87miles on the first day of London to Paris...'

Welcome to Trixy the Tricross!

Ok, so Trixy isn't a very imaginative name for my new bike, but it stuck and I kind of like it, so Trixy it is. I picked up my new bike yesterday and we went out to do a short test ride in the afternoon. I'm delighted to say I love it!

Sitting drinking a cup of tea, I tried to steel myself for the first ride. The rain was pouring down outside and it wasn't inspiring me, but I was determined to go out regardless. Luckily by the time we were ready to go and I had packed and fitted my panniers to the bike, the rain had stopped. After a couple of rides up and down the road and quick stop for Ant to readjust a pannier, we headed off towards Topsham.

We set off via Old Rydon Lane so that I could try out a bit of a hill and make sure I was happy with the gears and set up before doing a longer ride. It felt like we were in Topsham in no time and when we got back to Countess Weir we decided we'd go on down to the Turf Locks, despite the impending grey clouds that were looking ever more threatening. On getting to Turf the clouds were looking like they were ready to burst, so we had a very quick stop and headed back towards Exeter and the more promising lighter skies.

My new bike makes such a difference and I am delighted at how lovely it is to ride. I can't wait to get out and do more cycling today! There are a couple of teething problems. I'm struggling to brake fully, which is a bit of an issue! It's difficult to bring the bike to a stop if I'm on a downhill, so I either need to get a lot stronger, or to make some adjustments. My neck, shoulder and arms are also rather sore from the very different riding position. However, I'm pretty confident that I'll get used to this and it's not putting me off going out again. We're hoping to do a much longer ride today...so watch this space!

Three steps forward and two steps back...

Thanks to Kirby we have been re-introduced to some hills and a short route that we have no excuse for not doing in the evenings after work! We set off a week ago on Tuesday for a 20km ride, which I thought would be nice and leisurely. I should have remembered that Kirby's 'not too bad' usually means steep hills that I will struggle to get up and that I'll be red-faced and panting by the time I get to the top! Despite the hills, it was good to be back out and starting to do more challenging rides again. I know we really need to increase our training now, both in terms of the hills and intensity of the rides as well as the length of the rides.


Feeling determined to conquer this, Ant and I set out on the same route again two days later. This time the route didn't seem too bad and not as far as I'd remembered it. Hooray - we're getting back on track! Or so I thought... The next Monday we set out to do the same trip again and I really struggled from start to finish. I felt tired from the start and felt terrified of coming off my bike through the lanes, so I was cycling ridiculously slowly even on relatively easy sections. I was hoping I would get more confident again the more I cycled, but the reverse seems to be happening.

Following that ride I went down with a cold and cough, so I'm hoping it was the onset of the bug that got me down on that ride. We've not done any rides in the last week as we were away at the weekend and I've still been feeling poorly this week. However, in more upbeat news, I am going to collect my new bike tomorrow and we're planning to fit in some more riding this weekend, so fingers crossed it will go swimmingly well (hopefully not literally, having seen the forecast for this weekend!)

I'm afraid I've managed to delete the photos I took on the three rides we did (we did go, honest!) so instead I'm including some photos of our weekends away when we weren't cycling!

Petrifying profiles, a phonecall and a parrot!

The weekend began with a newsletter from the organisers of our London to Paris trip. The sun was shining and we already had an evening ride planned, so the newsletter was initially a welcome e-mail on a Friday afternoon. There are currently 54 people signed up for the trip...details of booking accommodation etc, how exciting! The excitement then turned to worry (and I see it had the same effect on Kate too from her blog...). How are we going to get ourselves and our bikes to Blackheath? Are we really going to be up to speed for the challenge? Our initial briefing will be at 6:15am, which means we need to breakfasted and ready to go before then and ready to set off at 7am. The first day is 87miles with some tricky hills and we've got to be at Dover by 4pm...that is a tall order. 10 miles an hour is managable - but not without a break and not with all those hills! Then there was the page of route profiles...that brought me right back down to earth again.

Anyway, ignoring the seemingly impossible route profile and logistics of the trip, we set out into the sunshine to get on with some training. We headed down to the Turf Locks again, this time out through Exminster to add a bit of a hill and make it a slightly longer route. It was a beautiful evening and we decided to stop for a drink and enjoy the peaceful surroundings...until the phone rang! It was Ant's mum so we had a pleasant chat, finished up our drinks and headed home. The journey back home was excellent! The light was starting to fade, the cycle paths were once again free of families and dog walkers and for the first time I felt able to put some power into my pedals and enjoy speeding along. This may have had more to do with the cider I'd just drunk than any improvement in my knee, but I was having a great time!

On Saturday morning we took a trip out to Bickleigh. Enjoying another beautiful morning and getting an early start so that I could get back for work in the afternoon, we headed out on the road to Stoke Cannon. There was a definite chill in the air, but we soon warmed up and it was lovely to find ourselves in the quiet lanes after passing over the railway line. My legs were feeling tired from the previous night's ride and I was dreading the hills on the main road which had completely beaten me on my first trip out with the CTC. I needn't have worried as we took a couple of wrong turns and it was ages before we made it to the hilly section! The detour gave us the pleasure of entering into the territory of a ploughing competition! Thankfully I think we were too early for that and we didn't have to face lots of tractors in the narrow lanes! The stretch along the main road out to Bickleigh was much longer than I'd remembered. I coped quite well with the first couple of hills, but it got tougher as I went along. However, my spirits were lifted by a whole load of sheep and lambs being herded along by a family and as usual by the promise of a lovely cup of tea!

In Bickleigh I had a few too many cups of tea and the most delicious millionaire's shortbread that I've had in a very long time! It was surprisingly warm sitting out in the sunshine and I was glad I'd thought to put suncream on before heading out. Despite being delighted to have made it and enjoying the wonderful resting spot, we were both all too aware that we still had to cycle back again...with a hill out of Bickleigh to start us off! I took it slowly along the main road and we soon found ourselves back in the lanes again. The journey home seemed a lot shorter, despite a few unsuccessful detours to find a toilet! We were soon back home and enjoying a picnic lunch down by the river. I was very encouraged that I'd been able to manage two fairly decent cycle rides two days in a row. I was also, however, shattered! We'll be continuing with some mid-week rides this week and I'm just going to ignore those pesky profile pictures for now!

Finished with physio & an Inspiring Young Man

I am delighted to announce that I had my last physio appointment today! Hoorah!!

Although I still need to continue with some strengthening exercises, my knee is almost mended and I don't need to go back to the physio again unless I have any unexpected problems. This is fantastic news and now I know I can really start to build up my exercise routine again. I did an aqua aerobics class last week and I'm planning to go again this week, as well as continuing to cycle as much as possible, whether that's out on the bike, or in the gym when time and the weather are against me.

Also, I've just realised that I forgot to mention our trip up to Barnstaple last week to see Mark Beaumont. This amazing chap, also know as 'The Man Who Cycled the World', broke the World Record for cycling around the world. He has also just returned from a trip cycling across the Americas. His documentary of the Americas trip is currently being shown on the BBC and I would highly recommend watching it if you get chance. It did make me feel as though my efforts to cycle just 30o miles are bit pathetic in comparison, but everyone's got to start somewhere! Mark started with a cycle across Scotland aged just 11 years old and then did an End to End ride at just 15! It's fantastic to see someone so inspiring and I can't wait to see what adventures he comes up with next! For more info, visit Mark's website at: http://www.markbeaumontonline.com/mbo/

Bought a Bike!!!

I have finally bought a bike!!

Last week I took Specialized bike with a carbon fibre frame for a test ride. I had no intention of buying it, but I was trying it for size. I also had road tyres put on it as the first time I'd tried a Specialized bike, I found it a bit slow going. The carbon fibre frame was not surprisingly a lovely bike to ride and it seemed to be a good fit, so the Bike Shed ordered in a slightly less posh version in my size! On Saturday I went in to try the Specialized Tricross Sport. It obviously wasn't quite so light and nippy, but on the whole it seemed like a nice bike to ride, so I decided to go for it. Eeeek! It was all a bit scary and it's a bit of a long way from the steel touring bike in racing green that I'd had in mind, but hopefully this will be a solution that will work for me. I chose new tyres, a rack and panniers to kit out the bike ready for our trip at the end of May, so fingers crossed I'll be ready in time! Unfortunately I couldn't bring it home with me as I'm putting it through the cycle scheme...but hopefully I'll have my nice new shiny bike soon.

We took a short trip out to Topsham yesterday. Unfortunately we decided to go a bit later as the forecast was for heavy showers which would be clearing later. We left a bit later having not seen any showers and made our way out to Topsham. The ride out went fairly smoothly and we seemed to be there in no time, which was great. We sat on the Quayside for a bit appreciating the warmth of the sunshine and watching the ducks waddle by. Just as we decided to move on and lock our bikes up to have a wander around town, the weather started changing and it suddenly became very cold. We had a look around a few shops and then headed into Route 2 for some coffee and cake. Yum! We took a back road out of Topsham as Ant had promised me it was a bit more hilly...lucky me! The route was fine, although I was finding I was feeling nervous on downhill sections where the road wasn't too smooth. As my initial rides were all on the flat, I hadn't realised that I had lost so much confidence, so I'm going to have to try and get over that as quickly as possible - especially when changing to a new bike which is going to be more bumpy than my mountain bike! As we came past the Double Locks, the rain poured down and we got absolutely soaked. I arrived back cold and wet and wondering why I'm so determined to put myself through all this. The weather is looking nicer for today though, so hopefully we can get out and enjoy some more pleasant riding! I had hoped to rejoin the CTC rides again this weekend, but although I am building up the distances I can cycle, I am still just far too slow and would never be able to keep up with the group. It's going to take a lot longer than I'd hoped to get back up the level we were cycling at before and I'm beginning to realise just what a challenge we have up ahead. Hopefully with some lighter nights, better weather and the arrival of my new bike, I'll start to enjoy going out cycling a bit more.

28th March - Exmouth

Following the success of the ride to the Turf Locks, I decided I needed to do another long ride and one which included some hills. We decided to head towards Exmouth as it's a route we've done a few times and which definitely includes some hills along the way!

We set off late morning and headed out towards Clyst St Mary. Despite the forecast being for heavy rain, the weather was holding so I was keen to carry on and get as far as we could. I thought I was doing quite well until we were overtaken by two cyclists speeding up the hill past us calling out a chirpy 'good morning'. Determined to keep on, we carried on through Woodbury and out to Lympstone to join the cycle path into Exmouth. At this stage I thought I'd made it as we'd conquered some hills and it was all flat into Exmouth from here. However, I really struggled along this last section. I was really starting to tire and the path seemed a lot longer than I'd remembered it!

Fortunately we were soon heading along the road towards Exmouth station. We needed to get back to Exeter for a birthday do, so I went and asked about the possibility of putting our bikes on the train to go back. The guard was happy for us to do that and although there was a train due, we decided to wait an hour for the next one so that we could go down to the sea front and enjoy our sandwiches by the sea. Arriving on the sea front I felt delighted that we'd made it and felt re-energised after some lunch and a nice warming cup of hot chocolate.

Arriving back at the train station we got our bikes settled on the train and then looked out of the window to see another four people with bikes heading up the platform. We are extremely grateful to the nice ticket man on the train who decided that everyone could put their bikes on the train as long as we shared the space nicely! Normally they only let two bikes on at a time, but as the train was quiet, he wasn't too bothered. Phew!

Sitting on the train, I started to feel really tired and I was glad we weren't cycling back again. The weather had started to turn, it was getting cold and the predicted rain had arrived. Cycling back from the station to home felt like a real struggle, despite being a short flat ride. I was tired and had probably reached my limit for the time being. After showering, we headed off to the party and I felt completely exhausted - but that was nothing that couldn't be fixed by a nice cup of tea and a generous helping of birthday cake! (Thanks Holly!)