What? June Already?

Time is really whipping along this year - can't believe tomorrow is the 1st of June!

So what's happened since my big newsflash at the end of April?   Not much to be fair - Shaun celebrated his 50th birthday, although I wouldn't really call it celebrating.  He's not one for massive birthday celebrations for himself - didn't want a party and told me to not spend loads as he'd rather keep the money for Aus!   So birthday day consisted of me going to Boxercise and him coming home to an empty house and cooking dinner.   I did organise a cake which was made by my friend Julia (she made Danni's 18th & our joint wedding anniversary cakes), and we went out for a nice meal the following day.

At the weekend we trundled off in Tribby for the weekend to the Newbury Motorhome Show.  We booked a lovely quiet site just outside Didcot called St Peter's Farm.

 It was a lovely weekend, with lovely weather, and we spent far too much money on stuff we didn't really need.  Since then Shaun has been working most weekends so not much chance of getting away!   Lots in the planning stages for the latter part of June and our 2 week break in July and going on into August.

So that's just about it!   What's next?   Juneathon starts tomorrow - I'll probably not do a proper full blown blog every day but micro blogging on Twitter (@Lilbeeloo67) and the Facebook page - maybe a weekly round up on the blog, and I'll be logging all rides on Strava.    If you're taking part good luck - I hope you've got all your Juneathon essentials ready - blister plasters, washing powder, frozen meals for the family to heat up quickly etc.

NEWSFLASH !!!!!

Some very exciting news and something to tick off the "To Do" List.   AUSTRALIA IS BOOKED

We leave the UK on 9th January and our first stopover will be Kuala Lumpur - it's only a couple of hours, just enough time to stretch our legs & maybe freshen up.   We decided to stay in Sydney for a couple of days before heading to Melbourne to stay with Lou & Andy.  

Andy's very excited about the whole thing and has started making plans - there is talk of a road trip to Adelaide to take in a couple of stages of the Tour Down Under and also take part in the BUPA Challenge, even if it's only the short one!

Now we start on all the planning - where to go, what to see.   We might even try and fit in a couple of days on Tasmania.   So many things to think off - and all very exciting.   To be honest I don't think it's actually sunk in yet, we've only paid a £50 deposit each plus the Sydney hotel - maybe it will be more real the closer we get.

A Big Adventure

Last weekend we spent the weekend away in Tribby - our annual pilgrimage to Roubaix for the Hell of the North bike race - Paris Roubaix.    For the last 2 years we've had the comfort of staying in a hotel, but now we have Tribby we were really keen to head away from the finish at the velodrome in Roubaix and spectate on a cobble sector (or pave).

Before we left there was the small business of picking up my birthday present - a brand new Specialized Dolce Triple,

 which was then stored away carefully in the man cave until we returned on Monday!

On the Friday, having dropped the dog off at my parents, we drove to Dover for our overnight stop before crossing over to Dunkirk on Saturday morning.   We stayed at a lovely site not far from the port in Martin Mill called Hawthorn Farm , lovely big pitch with electric and very clean facilities which we used instead of using our own - why not it's all included in the pitch price!

The next morning we headed to the port for our crossing, parked on the ferry and headed for the first class lounge - oh how I love the first class lounge!   Piece and quiet for a couple of hours and endless cups of tea and coffee and snacks and a selection of newspapers to read.   There's supposed to be free WiFi but I've yet to work out where the best place to sit in the lounge is.   An uneventful crossing and 2 hours later we were on the road to our weekend spot in Rumegies at a lovely site called Camping Le Petit Clos .

When we arrived at the site we had a choice of pitches - all on grass (or mud in one case) with electric hook up and water serving each pitch.   We chose the smallest one !

Our home for the next 2 nights!   It was very peaceful and the dawn chorus the next morning was lovely!

Sunday morning we were up early to drive to Beuvry La Foret where we'd decided to watch the cyclists come through Sector 14.   First of all we parked up on the kerb but whilst I was cooking breakfast the Gendarmes asked us to move as we were in the wrong place!

Before breakfast we went for a wander towards the start of the sector

Those cobbles kill your feet walking up them!   Breakfast consumed and Tribby moved to a safe parking spot we packed our snack bag and headed for our spectating spot

One thing we've missed the last two years is the passing of the event partners with all their freebies - we managed quite a stash for our first year on the course including two new baseball caps and a drawstring bag.

After the cavalcade the junior teams cycled through - a good warm up to the pros cycling past.

 After the excitement of the cavalcade and the junior race there only remained the passing through of the pro peleton.

Bradley Wiggins

Geraint Thomas

It's really hard to convey the excitement of the peleton cycling through and the team cars thundering past trying to keep up with them!   The noise is phenomenal, even from the bikes and the shouts from the cyclists when they hit a bad patch of pave or shouting instructions to team mates.   Watching the riders is always exciting and being on the pave was as good as sitting at the velodrome.   We had no idea who won until we got on the boat the next day.

Being on the course meant I could pick up a souvenir (no, not a cobble - although tempting for next time)

The only other excitement was witnessing migrants being removed from the back of a lorry in a service station on the way back to Dunkirk on Monday!

An absolutely brilliant weekend as usual - can't wait to do it all again.

To Do Update

Can't believe I haven't blogged for nearly 3 months - where has the time gone?

I thought I'd update the blog on how the To Do in 2015 list is going.

On the losing weight front I've lost 5lbs.   Not entirely sure whether this is due to starting Intermittent Fasting (or 5:2), or if it's a mixture of IF and exercise.   I've been taking part in Jantastic so have had the motivation to get out and do sprint sessions and interval training on the turbo and do a 10 mile ride once a week.   I've also started a spin class one night a week (I may be a little in love with indoor cycling) and I'm still doing the Boxercise class once a week.  I really need to find some motivation to do some free weights at home as well.   The secret of getting through fasting days is to eat tasty and filling food but keep the calories down.    Starting 5:2 has enabled me to cook more - ok so it's only 2 nights a week but that's a start, and normally I'm the one who cooks Sundays.   So that's 2 "to do's" in one.  To add on to that I've also been cooking more.   I'm in charge of cooking dinner on fast days !

On the reading front this has been a bit hit and miss, and I really must try harder to fit in more.   I started reading "Inside the Peloton : My Life as Professional Cyclist" by Nicolas Roche,

but I was finding it a bit hard going so I've put it to one side and started reading the next Peter James book on my Kindle.

We're now getting Tribby ready for the first big trip of the year - Paris-Roubaix bike race.   We put all the seating back in a few weeks ago and used the van when Shaun did a sportive.   It was great to send him off on his 50 miler and go back to the van and have a cup of tea and read for a while.  When he got back he was able to have a decent hot cup of tea and some recovery cake for free.   It also meant he could get changed out of his cycling kit & travel home in his civvies. I'm sure there will be other trips out soon although there don't seem to be many weekends that Shaun is off!

I still haven't braved any running - I'm going to wait until it's a bit warmer.   I've been going out once a week and doing a 10 mile ride and even one week managed 23 miles so hopefully when the weather gets a bit better we'll be getting out on longer rides.   I've just signed up to take part in the Diva Sussex event with my buddy Nik.  40 miles around Sussex in a ladies only event, so I'm going to need to get out and do some serious distances soon.

Our trip to Australia is still on for January 2016 - we're keeping an eye on the flights.   We've finally decided it's either going to be Cathay or Malaysian Airlines, stopping off in either Hong Kong or Kuala Lumpur.  Hopefully it won't be too long before we get booked up.

So the to do list is going fairly well.

New Years Resolutions - No Thanks

I've always been pretty rubbish at sticking to New Years resolutions and most years I haven't bothered making any.  I'm not a "plan" person, I'm more of "wing it" and in the last couple of years I've learnt to go with the flow.  Plans get screwed up, life gets in the way and then you have to make new plans, there's not much point in plans! 

I'm always being told I should plan my meals during the week but I can't do that, I never know what I want until I want it, and neither do Danni & Shaun.    The only plans we make are holidays - that's it, all that's on the calendar is Shaun's rest days and when we can go on holiday!

A couple of days ago I found an email in my inbox from Pinterest inviting me to start a board showing the things I'd like to do in 2015 - that sounds far more like me.  Nothing is set in stone, these are the things I've chosen :-

1. Lose weight - yes I know this is probably a given, but rather than a NY resolution I'm going to try a different approach.  I have yet to work out what that is but I have to lose this weight.
2. Read more books - I love reading and up until I got married if I wasn't out I was reading - a proper bookworm.   I need to find time, or maybe use my time more wisely and get through a few more books than currently.  At the moment I'm reading my third Peter James but also have lots on my Kindle and some paperbacks in the house which haven't been read yet.  I've got quite diverse tastes in reading material but I love autobiographies and have a couple of cycling ones to read.   I also love crime books, hence the Peter James.
3. Now that we've got Tribby I'd like to explore Great Britain  more - we've spent a lot of holidays in the South, South East and the West Country.  Very few holidays north of London (apart from York last year).  I've never been to Wales, which at nearly 49 years old upsets me.   Shaun's never been to Scotland apart from Stranrar and I'd like him to see the Highlands.
4. The next one is obvious - to get running again which will probably kind of tie in with No 1!
5. I'm going to increase the mileage on the bike this year.   Last year's highest mileage was 37 miles.  I'd like to get to 50 this year, or somewhere near it.
6. I have a whole load of cookery books which I've collected over the years.  This year I'd like to try a few more recipes from those books and the piles of paper I've torn out of magazines.   At the moment Shaun does a lot of the cooking so I think it's time I took back control in the kitchen!
7. The biggest to do on this year's list is planning our trip to Australia.   At the moment we're going in January 2016 so that we can spend as much time with Lou, Andy and the girls and maybe even take in some of the Tour Down Under (the first Grand Tour on the calendar).  Having looked at flight prices we may have to amend that and go slightly later before winter sets in.

Here's a link to my 2015 board I might add some more stuff over the next couple of months as I think of things.  

So that's it, not much but it will be nice to see where the "To Do List" has gone in 12 months time.   Hopefully this time next year I'll be updating the blog with posts from the other side of the world !

It's Been Quite a Year

It's got to that time again, where I look back over the year and think about what next year might bring.

The start of 2014 wasn't the best - Shaun's parents were flooded on Christmas Eve so Christmas Day was cancelled and we spent the holidays sorting out the house and getting them moved into temporary accommodation.

On 17th January came the extremely upsetting news that Sam had collapsed the night before whilst out running and had passed away that day.   All very sudden and certainly not expected.  We're still struggling to come to terms with it but doing the various events in Sam's memory has helped in a small way.

In late April we went through the horrible experience of my mother in law who suffers from Alzheimers going missing.  Thankfully she was found safe and well 2 days later after a massive search by the Police and Surrey & Sussex Search & Rescue.

There were some enjoyable highlights.   We returned to Roubaix to watch the finish of the Hell of the North (and celebrated my birthday)

celebrated Shaun's birthday at the Giro d'Italia which started in Belfast

went to York to catch the Grand Depart of the Tour de France

 and stayed at home for the Tour of Britain.

Personally I've absolutely loved getting out on my road bike - I've cycled as much as I can, great training rides

a Sportive

and an endurance event at the Brighton Velodrome

which has seen my cycling mileage go from zero to 37 miles.

We've had some big celebrations - Danni's 18th birthday

 our silver wedding and my parents gold wedding anniversary.

and my eldest nephew Phil got married

In July we bought Tribby our campervan which enabled us to spend weekends away, during August and into September.

We're still enjoying the campervan now - taking Archie out for walks further afield at weekends, it's been lovely to get back to Tribby and put the kettle on for a nice hot drink.   We even slept in Tribby over Christmas when we stayed at my parents - far more comfortable than their living room floor - if a little cold.

As for running front I'm not quite back on the comeback trail - having visited an NHS physio for a second opinion it looks like I have compartment syndrome.   I've been advised to return to a private physio for regular massage, ultrasound and acupuncture which will help relieve the symptoms.   It doesn't look like the NHS wants to treat me unless they can operate, which I don't really want to do as it sounds horrible!   I'm carrying on with the Boxercise and the Pilates and obviously the cycling and will return to running a bit later in the year.

We already have lots planned for 2015 - it's Shaun's 50th birthday in May so I have to find something amazing to celebrate.  I've got a couple of ideas so watch this space!

In February we're heading to London to the Cycle Show.  I'm also hoping that we can use the vouchers we got from my parents for a trip up the Shard and a special lunch.

In April we're heading back to Roubaix - but this time we're going in Tribby and hopefully spectating at the pave (cobbles).   It's also my birthday weekend !

In July we're heading to Brittany to watch a few days of Tour de France - in Tribby.

We've got a long list of cycling events we want to do but can't join any yet as we don't know what Shaun's rest days are.

The most exciting news is plans for a trip to Australia in January 2016.