Mules In Manchester

Since getting back on my bike over a week ago I have cycled 201 miles. Not so bad considering I was all set to put my bike away for the winter.

Last Sunday Philip and I cycled in Manchester. Being a little disappointed that I have not cycled any organised rides this year I decided to do the 100k ride while Philip did the 100m. Last year I did the 100m with Philip. This year Philip has done a great deal of cycling, I could of opted for the 100m and would of finished but if I was to ride it with Philip I would of ended up slowing him down towards the end so decided upon a ride on my own.

It was an early start as we were up at 04.00a.m. to drive to Manchester. Philip set off an hour before me as he was doing the longer ride. As I patiently waited for 08.00. I had it set in my mind that I was going to enjoy this ride, even though I was doing it alone.

I set off amongst numerous other cyclists wondering which ones I would leave behind and which ones would leave me behind!

Cycling on my own I found that I was cycling too fast and so stayed with a few groups for a while to even out my pace. At one point upon looking at my map I thought that I had gone terribly wrong, even though I turned off at the point for the shorter ride. Mentally trying to prepare myself for the 100 miles that I thought I had to do instead of 100k I picked up my speed. Confirmation at the next glance at my map told me I was on the right road phew!

I finished my ride at 12.05 and felt fantastic. Four hours and five minutes I was pleased with.

I had to wait a couple of hours for Philip to complete his ride and watched the riders as they came in. When Philip arrived over the finish line riders too were also crossing from the 100k ride. I think I did ok!

I Ride Again

I woke early this morning which is always the case when you do not have to get up. Already the sun was streaming through the blinds at such an early hour. My thoughts turned to Philip and I looked at the clock and counted back the hours to determine the time in his part of the world.

Midnight, yet only 7 hours away from the big ride. Today Philip is riding the "Hotter n Hell" in Wichita Falls Texas. A 100 mile endurance ride braving the hot Texas sun. Survival is definitely a badge of cycling honour.



Rather than re-arrange the duvet and my half awakened body to drift back off to sleep I decided to get up and wondered what I was going to do with my day.

As my morning began my mind was on the clock counting down the time until such an hour that I could imagine Philip and the rest of the Mules waking and getting ready for the big day. I tried to imagine such a feeling of been only hours away from such a huge event. An event that you have trained for all year. Such a challenge, so many people, such a journey. What a high they will be on.

I suddenly had a desperate desire to be on my bike too. I have not cycled for about three weeks now maybe more. Scott thinks I have abandoned him as he stands propped up against the wall his pedals having not turned for such a long time.

Last night I put away cycling clothes that have been hanging around the ironing basket for weeks. Usually they don't get to see behind closed drawers as they are normally in use. I already knew by now that today I would be taking Scott out and reacquainting myself with him. As I came downstairs dressed in attire Scott recognised only too well I knew that he was on his way to forgiving my temporary lapse. He was just as eager to get out as I was. Big girls pants hovering somewhere around the knees up they came and out I went.

As I have not been on my bike for some time my legs felt very strong. I knew I was going to enjoy my ride. I overtook two men climbing up Westwood, I smiled and Scott remembered the way we roll.



my ride was overcast and the roads were lacking wheels. I only saw four cyclists today, one of them being on my climb up the devils chimney. A man overtook me turned and said "get on my wheel" I laughed to myself, his wheel was going way too fast for me up the wretched hill.

I cycled 30 miles today. I did think that that I may struggle a little. Today I did not struggle. I am booked in for spin tomorrow morning and nine, Scott will also be spinning straight after my class.

I have been making use of the gym that we pay for each month but never seem to use. I have a little green card that I somehow forgot about tucked away in my purse. Every time I seem to be searching for my cash card at the garage this little green card always seems to be the one to show itself. A gentle reminder of signing on the dotted line months ago full of enthusiasm and vowing to attend on a regular basis.

So the little green card came into play. Circuit training, body pump, and spinning. It all came back to me at spin. I had forgotten how much I enjoyed it and how much it helps when out on the road.

As I have not done a great deal of cycling of late It has had me thinking along the lines of summer is nearly over and winter is around the corner. Spring time will be a good time to pick cycling back up. My thoughts went back to last year and I remembered Philip and I training in the snow and rain.

A picture from one of last years 67 mile cycle rides in the snow.

I will not be putting Scott away for winter. I will be looking forward the challenge of winter training along with spinning and running for next year will be very different.

Puccini and Raindrops

For a long time now I have being promising myself to start each day with a run. The problem is that I am not so good with mornings. For as long as I can remember I have always set my alarm clock an hour before I have to get out of bed. This gives me plenty of time to hit the snooze button a dozen times before actually managing to open my eyes and make my way from beneath the duvet.

Over the last few weeks I have driven Philip mad as the alarm on my phone has been going off at 05.00a.m. every morning, needless to say I have not made it out of bed but simply fumbled for the snooze button again and again. For good measure the main alarm then blares at 06.00 which scares the life out of both of us as it so loud to make sure that it actually wakes me up. I think it actually wakes up all the street!

Realising how unfair this is as Philip does not need to get out of bed until 07.00 I did promise last week to try and get out of bed as soon as the alarm went off at 05.00. I managed this twice! and did three mile runs. It's a start.

Running has taken a back seat as I have been doing a lot of cycling of late, however, I would really like to run every day which is why I thought that the early morning starts were a good idea to get me running again. I will try again this week!

Yesterday we cycled to York. Around trip of 76 miles. Our bikes went in for a service and while we were waiting thought we would spend a few hours wandering round York and go for some lunch. We packed a change of clothes and set off at 08.00. The forecast was not good and showers were expected, however, we didn't expect them to last all the way to York.



We arrived in York soaked to the skin with our change of clothes equally as wet. The rain stopped and a short appearance was made by the sun. We sat in very wet cycle clothes and had a pub lunch. A little different from the afternoon we had in mind.

The sun was still shining as we set off back to Beverley but no sooner had we turned the pedals and the heavens opened again. We spent much of our our journey home in and out of bus shelters and underneath trees waiting for the downpour to calm.

It was a very cold and wet 76 miles and the thought of a hot shower and my dressing gown kept me going. We were soon revived warm and dry watching Armstrong climb.

I found some great new tracks for cycling and running "Classical Cardio" Puccini and Vivaldi funked up certainly kept me going today.

Last week I cycled 128 miles. Next week we are cycling London to Cambridge fingers crossed it will not be in the rain.

Always A Girlie Girl

I have always being a girlie girl with a love for shoes, dresses, bags blah blah the list of girlie things goes on.

I am a great fan of Internet shopping and often trawl ebay looking for vintage finds. It occurred to me the other day whilst surfing the tangled web for potential purchases that the images looking back at me were not 4" inch killer heels or the latest wiggle dress.

Bicycle tyres!

Whats happening to me? Dressing my bike whats that all about? I have to say however they were pink tyres!

Seems I have being neglecting the girl in me. Gone are the days of looking for perfume and St Tropez tan, this seasons summer selections and all things that shout female. I now find myself looking at tyres! cycling attire, running attire and cameras (with a love of images strange and out of the norm I would one day like to be capturing life through a lens).

So I just had to give myself a little shake and remind myself that I am still girlie girl and what do you know?

within minutes I came across these fab shoes that were a must.

Carrie Bradshaw you can keep your Manolo Blahnik's I am skipping all the way down the yellow brick road!

Saturdays Treat Looks Like This

Allowing myself a treat once a week (Saturdays) I am counting down the days!

So I managed to complete the nine day detox and lost 8lbs in total. Another week has passed and I have stuck with the healthy eating, running and I am feeling good.

I am not stepping on the scales for another two weeks as I am hoping for a nice surprise, maybe like another 6lb gone!

My nephews birthday last week meant birthday cake all round and I figured it would of being rude to refuse the piece of chocolate Caterpillar goo given to me and so I accepted it as my treat for the week (even though it was only Friday) I ate it very slowly and savoured every mouthful. It had been nearly three weeks since I had indulged and it was fantastic! I could of easily eaten half the Caterpillar cake but that would of just being darn right greedy so I was grateful for the minuscule piece I was given and when it was gone my thoughts turned to the next seven days ahead of me until I was able to indulge again.

I work 12hr shifts, the last four which have been nights and so to fit my running in is always a bit of a testing time, however, I have been out there despite the weather. I forgot how much fun running in the rain is. To set off on your run when the heavens have opened is no fun at all but once you are actually out there legs going music playing its great embracing the downpour. It felt so liberating to run in such conditions whilst everyone I passed scurried around trying to push up umbrellas, darting into shop doorways, all huddled over afraid of what the sky had to offer whilst I was soaked to the skin running to the rhythm of the rain.

"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst, for they are sticking to their diets"

Low On Energy

My long levers were in for a treat on Saturday. I was to straddle Philips "Scott" to see what it's got!

Philip is now dancing on the pedals of a new Scott Addict and so I was to find my feet on Philips Scott Speedster.

Again yet another day of high winds and with energy levels running low due to the detox plan I am following (now on last day yay!!) I knew that even speedster assisted the power in my legs was just not happening.

We cycled 40 miles with winds against us all the way though despite the hard ride I did get a feel for Scott, however, I am looking forward to better weather and being fully loaded with energy to reap the huge benefits I know I will gain from these two wheels.

Today I ran 6.51 miles in 1.09 with 10.39 minute miles. There has not been much consistency of late with my running therefore I did expect my pace to be around the 12.00 mark. I was pleasantly surprised at my 10.39 though I know I can improve greatly on that. I have invested in a Garmin Forerunner and am excited at the prospect of running further and faster.

72 miles cycled this week which is not great but energy levels have being low due to detox.


"Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there."

A Spoon Full Of Sugar Helps The Medicine Go Down

Not being too familiar with “taste of toad” though I would imagine equally as disgusting as the flavours that have tested my pallet in the last six days.

Don't you just wish you were one of the lucky ones able to eat anything and stay super slim? If however you fall into the category of inches added instantly at the mere glance of anything outside of the daily recommended calorie intake you will be all to familiar with ongoing battle of the bulge.

For those of us wishing to lose weight we are all in search of that quick fix miracle diet that will enable us to shed the lbs instantaneously. The reality is that it does not exist or should I say the initial weight loss at the start of any diet/detox plan does but must be followed as we all know by an ongoing healthy diet and exercise plan. Whilst the calorific content of the smallest of treat is probably equivalent to your recommended daily intake consuming a few days worth of calories in one day is easily done when unhealthy life choices are so often made.

So I am looking for a kick start to my diet. Tried and tested by four known people who have all shed an amazing stone in nine days I am sold to the Aloe Vera detox plan. I am on day six with three more days to do and let me tell you it is grim!

Whilst taking the prescribed concoction of psyllium husk which states on the label “mixes instantly and has a great tasting natural flavour” its all lies!! It does not mix, it floats. (I defy anyone to agree that this product is by any means of a great tasting natural flavour. This must breech the consumer care trading standards I am sure!!) It tastes vile and if you do not down the mixture the second you add the last drop of water to it then it solidifies to the consistency of wallpaper paste and has you gagging all the way down the glass, not pleasant at all.

Aloe Vera Juice which again tastes disgusting though not so bad as is lump free. If you hold your nose whilst drinking followed by a big gulp of water the taste goes almost straight away.

Bee Propolis tablets, well after braving the above three times a day this is a doddle.

A healthy evening meal is allowed along with meal replacement milkshakes for breakfast and lunch so not all bad.

Cleansing is a tradition amongst us humans, throughout all ages and cultures. For thousands of years, body purification has been a part of our rituals for health and well-being. It was used in ancient times as a way to reconnect with the divine. Detoxification nowadays if often used as a springboard to weight loss and the hope of reconnecting with that thinner you that's crying to get out.

The scales tell me I have lost 6lbs and with only three days to go I am under no false illusions that I will be a stone lighter when my nine days are up though I will be happy with 7lbs+ that I hope to eventually lose at the end of it and certainly will be the kick start I need to continue a healthy eating plan and lose weight. I would like to lose a stone and half and with almost half a stone gone the remaining stone has got to be down to will power, discipline, healthy eating and the ability to say NO to the vast array of goodies my eyes come across each day.

And while all this detoxing has been taking place not a great deal of cycling/running has been going on for fear of keeling over through lack of nutrition, however, we have cycled a few nights this week but with lack of energy and head on winds of 25-30mph it was tough.

"A diet is the penalty we pay for exceeding the food limit"