Well we made it!! We saw the sea on one side of the country and then saw it again on the other side! We made it in one piece too! I have no back brake left on my bike and had to take the final, very steep hill into Sandsend with extreme caution, but apart from that – all good!. I’m not sure that I can really put into words what an epic and brilliant experience it was. It was definitely one of the best things that I have ever done. It was so worth all those hard, muscle killing training rides in the snow, wind & rain (and all the tears at the top of particularly tough climbs when I thought I couldn’t do it anymore!!) I would so do it all again – like a shot! It was actually a bit of a come-down on the Monday morning when we no longer had to kit up & get on the bikes. We had been training and working towards this weekend for so long & it was such a fab three days that I was quite sorry when it was all over.
The first day (Friday) started early in the morning as we set off from Rob’s parents to Grange over Sands. When we arrived it wasn’t long before the heavy rain started, and that was pretty much the theme of the weekend. I have never ridden in such constant and torrential rain as we did on that day. We had to lift our bikes over trees knocked down by the weather, we rode through flooded roads and tracks. Near the end of the ride for that day, we passed over a bridge where the water from the river had flooded it, a van was coming towards us and created such a ‘wash’ that was very hard to pedal through. Five minutes after passing the road was closed as it was deemed too dangerous. It was a long, hard ride with lots of climb, but I really felt that the adverse weather had really bonded the group together. That evening we dried everything out on radiators in the youth hostel and went to the pub next door to get warm in front of the open fire! The next day was more miles (just under 60) but less climb and fortunately less rain! Rob’s parents brought the girls to see us at the lunch stop and it was a great boost to see them, and some other friends who came to offer us their support. The final day was a number of hard climbs, rocky hills, icy rain & muddy fields as we made our way over the North Yorkshire Moors and down the other side into Sandsend near Whitby.
The people that we met were absolutely fantastic, the banter and laughter really made the whole thing a wonderful and unforgettable experience. The Purple Mountain Crew and the guides were absolutely brilliant and we had nothing to worry about excepct to ride the ride. We spent the Sunday night in a spa hotel & had a lovely meal, speeches and dancing – the perfect finish to a totally awesome weekend! All the training definitely paid off and I found that I was able to enjoy the riding. We made lots of good friends and I really hope that I see them again for more riding! It’s great that I got to do it with Rob too, spending that time together was great & now we have that experience in common, if just one of us had done it, it would be hard to look back and reminisce about all the fun times! I would definitely do it again, show me where to sign up!!....
Friday, 29 June 2012
Wednesday, 20 June 2012
Girly Shopping!
18th June 2012
So Abbie wanted to go ‘girly shopping’ with her birthday money, so on one of the wettest days of half-term we set off together to Meadowhall. Fortunately Rob was at home so the others all stayed with him. It’s much easier in a shopping centre without four kids who all walk in different directions to look at different things and Georgia wandering off constantly and climbing on every railing, bench and feature that she sees. As it was Abbie’s day, I let her choose where we went. On arrival we duly headed straight for Build-a-Bear. Abbie was in her element, she couldn’t quite believe that we were in her favourite shop and she had money in her purse! I tried to take a step back and not influence what she bought and I was pleasantly surprised, she actually chose sensibly, all those years of nagging her about wasting money on things she didn’t need must have paid off. When she got to the till the lady told her that she’d spent enough to get a free towel – well, she couldn’t hide the excitement on her face! She turned to me and whispered, “Mummy, I saw that offer, but I NEVER thought I’d spend enough to get it!” We looked round a few more shops and she purchased some Moshi Monster items, and in Primark she bought herself a pack of two shorts and a pack of two vests. She then asked if we could go for a hot chocolate. So we found a cafe and she sat at a table. By the time I returned with the drinks and cake (of course) she had opened various toys and packets and they were spread around her on the table! She was having a fantastic time and so was I. It was really nice to be spending time, just the two of us. I should make sure I make more effort to do something individual with all of the girls, although of course that’s a lot easier said than done. When we nipped to the toilets later she asked if she could change into her new vest and shorts (she was so excited, she couldn’t wait until we got home!) She stripped out of her trackies and t-shirt and emerged from the toilets in a blue vest and a pair of pink shorts. As we began to head for home she sighed “I wish I had some flip flops” so we decided to nip back to Primark while we were still there and take advantage of their bargain prices. She left Primark with a new pair of flip flops (£1.50 can’t beat it!), sunglasses and a new swimming bag. Once outside the shop she took off her trainers and changed into the flip flops, she put her sunglasses on her head. She wouldn’t have looked out of place on the beach! As we stepped outside the doors into the car park she realised that it was ABSOLUTELY chucking it down with rain – with much giggling and shrieking we made it to the car and we headed home with presents for all the others. I am looking forward to many more happy shopping days with my girls.....
So Abbie wanted to go ‘girly shopping’ with her birthday money, so on one of the wettest days of half-term we set off together to Meadowhall. Fortunately Rob was at home so the others all stayed with him. It’s much easier in a shopping centre without four kids who all walk in different directions to look at different things and Georgia wandering off constantly and climbing on every railing, bench and feature that she sees. As it was Abbie’s day, I let her choose where we went. On arrival we duly headed straight for Build-a-Bear. Abbie was in her element, she couldn’t quite believe that we were in her favourite shop and she had money in her purse! I tried to take a step back and not influence what she bought and I was pleasantly surprised, she actually chose sensibly, all those years of nagging her about wasting money on things she didn’t need must have paid off. When she got to the till the lady told her that she’d spent enough to get a free towel – well, she couldn’t hide the excitement on her face! She turned to me and whispered, “Mummy, I saw that offer, but I NEVER thought I’d spend enough to get it!” We looked round a few more shops and she purchased some Moshi Monster items, and in Primark she bought herself a pack of two shorts and a pack of two vests. She then asked if we could go for a hot chocolate. So we found a cafe and she sat at a table. By the time I returned with the drinks and cake (of course) she had opened various toys and packets and they were spread around her on the table! She was having a fantastic time and so was I. It was really nice to be spending time, just the two of us. I should make sure I make more effort to do something individual with all of the girls, although of course that’s a lot easier said than done. When we nipped to the toilets later she asked if she could change into her new vest and shorts (she was so excited, she couldn’t wait until we got home!) She stripped out of her trackies and t-shirt and emerged from the toilets in a blue vest and a pair of pink shorts. As we began to head for home she sighed “I wish I had some flip flops” so we decided to nip back to Primark while we were still there and take advantage of their bargain prices. She left Primark with a new pair of flip flops (£1.50 can’t beat it!), sunglasses and a new swimming bag. Once outside the shop she took off her trainers and changed into the flip flops, she put her sunglasses on her head. She wouldn’t have looked out of place on the beach! As we stepped outside the doors into the car park she realised that it was ABSOLUTELY chucking it down with rain – with much giggling and shrieking we made it to the car and we headed home with presents for all the others. I am looking forward to many more happy shopping days with my girls.....
Sunday, 17 June 2012
Coast to Coast is here......
17th June 2012
Well the training is done! In so much as we are now out of time!! What is done is done, that’s it, time is up! The real thing is upon us. I have run, swum & cycled for miles, in some quite extreme weather conditions (snow, icy rain and wind that meant we had to pedal hard to get DOWN the hill and the uphill’s were virtually impossible – to the point where I was swearing under my breath and vowing never to get on a bike again!) in an effort to be match fit! I even went to ‘Kettlercise’ (exercise whilst holding weights) to try to strengthen my cycling leg muscles, but instead it resulted in me being unable to walk downstairs for about a week and as for standing up and sitting down – forget it! At Easter time we were on top form, we managed long, hard, off road rides followed by the same again the following day. We went on an official training ride with the Purple Mountain team (who are organising the Coast to Coast) and it was really great to meet some of the other people hoping to take part in this great event. But then we got back to work, school and life in general and inevitably the training tailed off a bit and had to take a back seat to life, kids and all that goes with it. However, last week we managed to get babysitters in order to get out for one last Peaks training ride and we set off to tackle long, hard, rocky hills. About half an hour from the end of the ride my legs were really starting to struggle and I started to worry about what lies ahead. While I have no doubt that I will complete the challenge (one way or another) what began to worry me was whether I would be able to actually enjoy it along the way, rather than just enduring it! But only time will tell on that one! We have also been very lucky with our fundraising for Marie Curie, our very generous family and friends have done us proud and shown us great support, so I really feel that others will benefit from us putting ourselves through this. The bikes are prepped; the gear is waiting to be packed. So all in all, I feel that I am ready, I just want to get on with it now, bring it on....let’s get started!
Well the training is done! In so much as we are now out of time!! What is done is done, that’s it, time is up! The real thing is upon us. I have run, swum & cycled for miles, in some quite extreme weather conditions (snow, icy rain and wind that meant we had to pedal hard to get DOWN the hill and the uphill’s were virtually impossible – to the point where I was swearing under my breath and vowing never to get on a bike again!) in an effort to be match fit! I even went to ‘Kettlercise’ (exercise whilst holding weights) to try to strengthen my cycling leg muscles, but instead it resulted in me being unable to walk downstairs for about a week and as for standing up and sitting down – forget it! At Easter time we were on top form, we managed long, hard, off road rides followed by the same again the following day. We went on an official training ride with the Purple Mountain team (who are organising the Coast to Coast) and it was really great to meet some of the other people hoping to take part in this great event. But then we got back to work, school and life in general and inevitably the training tailed off a bit and had to take a back seat to life, kids and all that goes with it. However, last week we managed to get babysitters in order to get out for one last Peaks training ride and we set off to tackle long, hard, rocky hills. About half an hour from the end of the ride my legs were really starting to struggle and I started to worry about what lies ahead. While I have no doubt that I will complete the challenge (one way or another) what began to worry me was whether I would be able to actually enjoy it along the way, rather than just enduring it! But only time will tell on that one! We have also been very lucky with our fundraising for Marie Curie, our very generous family and friends have done us proud and shown us great support, so I really feel that others will benefit from us putting ourselves through this. The bikes are prepped; the gear is waiting to be packed. So all in all, I feel that I am ready, I just want to get on with it now, bring it on....let’s get started!
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