Back in the saddle.

 

Ok I’ll admit it’s been a while since my last post. I have been very busy, whoever said leaving teaching would be quiet must still be doing the job. Last night I met with some former colleagues, from what they told I’m so glad I’m out of it.

Which takes me onto why I have been so busy, in January I finished my journalism course! Also, I have been published – both online and in print. In May I even went to London to cover the RHS Chelsea Flower Show. What an event that was, I never expected to meet so many famous people.

Now biking has been very mixed, the winter was awful and doesn’t appear to be over yet. The number of cancelled rides due to bad weather may have outnumbered the number I spent on the road. I’m no wimp when it comes to riding in bad weather, but flooded roads are a different matter. On top of this we’ve had family illness to contend with.

Then May was mad. One week in Mallorca where we watched the MALLORCA 312. I didn’t enter due to the technicalities of getting the bike there, but finding out there are really good hire shops near a friend’s apartment may see next years event on the list. After Mallorca it was off to Almeria, followed by Chelsea and then 5 days at Weston Park teaching water sports to members of the Caravan and Motorhome Club.

I have completed one 100Km Audax so far this season. My next one is the Rosliston Roller in Staffordshire. Last year I did the 100km version, but this year I’m taking an old friend and cycling partner who is in his 80s. Hence we opted for the shorter version.

I will be back with more news of how that went and plans for the rest of the year very soon – promise!

Gravel reel

Brave New World

My retirement from teaching was meant to herald a new dawn of cycling and mountaineering; with a little bit of journalism and photography thrown. Instead, we’ve been served up a diet of ill parents and medical appointments. I sincerely believe in the NHS, but we now have a deliberately failed system in which the prevailing professional ethic is one which Col. Potter of MASH fame; would have described as meatball surgery. Patch up and pack off, only do what is necessary. Given the DNR notice that was served on my mother-in-law, it appears that even keeping a patient alive is no longer a priority. This goes against all principles of medicine – preserve life, promote recovery and prevent the situation from worsening. Working in the hope that the patient might die in order to free up a bed is not good practice or are we just making way for an insurance led system where patient need is secondary to the cost to the insurer. One doctor even advised private medicine if we were unhappy with the service. 

On the cycling front, the mileage has dropped while the world has revolved around medics who fail to understand that a world exists outside the confines of their concreate box. Consequently, the blood glucose levels have increased. So far this year I have completed 600km in Audax events and 550.74km in training – a total of 1241.49km (771 miles). 

In addition to cycling, I have begun my second career as a journalist. I am close to completing a NCTJ qualification and have conducted my first assignment. I’m now just attempting to get it published. I’m reading The Devil Wears Prada and have now started to understand Andrea. Unlike Andy, my editor doesn’t call every five minutes, she’s currently incommunicado on a yacht somewhere. Oh, the glamour of it all. So different from education, if I wanted to talk to my boss and he was unavailable, it was usually because he was in a meeting to discuss an adolescent mental health issue, drug dealing or teenage prostitution. Covering the RHS Tatton Flower Show and having your editor on a yacht seems so much more glamourous. 

RHS Tatton was a world that I could never have imagined. People actually wanted to talk to me! I met some amazing designers and growers, many of whom I spoke to in their own show gardens, I was no longer just public looking in. Some of them have even kept in touch in the vague hope of gaining some publicity. 

Next week I also start running adult cycling sessions in our local park for the Friends of Dawley Park. This has been funded by a DoT grant and Cycling UK. How the world seems so different once you are on the outside of large institutions. Depending how this month turns out, the cycling and journalism blog might separate or just get a new name. Watch this space. 

Gravel and Mr Michael

 Yesterday saw a bit of an epic. After a wet weekend, I decided that it was time to get Lance (Specialized) the gravel bike out. Partly because he has mudguards, also it meant I could cross the Severn Valley and not have to come back via Ironbridge (Jiggers) and the increasing number of traffic lights and roadworks. Or risk the by-pass which I didn't fancy after an earlier encounter with a fire engine. 

Going south of Bridgnorth means hills and they're particularly horrid. Navigation is also an issues, with intermittent phone signals and hidden or missing road signs. At one point I nearly missed a turning as the sign was buried in a hedge. Not wanting to descend and then re-climb a hill I got off and found the sign in a hedge - only readable from the uphill direction.

Perhaps that's the attraction of south Shropshire. It is like being in the middle of no-where. Once back on the road I headed for Bridgnorth. The road down Oldbury has been a favourite since my school days. It now has one of those smiley face signs to regulate traffic speed. I felt a sense of achievement when it turned red. Not bad for an aging diabetic on a gravel bike.

I then followed the Severn Way and Silkin Way home. Might not have been step, but the unsurfaced path was a pain in the butt - literally.

Today saw me back out of Herman-the-German-flying-machine with Michael. An old friend and yoga teacher. Michael has just started to emerge from lockdown. This is in part due to his wife needing serious surgery and follow-up treatment. In normal circumstances she would have needed to isolate to avoid colds and flu, but the Covid situation has made matters worse.

Michael can still hold his own on a bike, despite his advancing years. However, not having ridden any hills for over two years we managed to find a gentle route (if such a thing exists) around the Wrekin. Only issue with living on top of a hill, it is always hard work getting home.

The new wheels for Herman still haven't arrived and I hope to get something sorted soon. Bad news from the London-Edinburgh-London organisers is that Yad Moss is off due to road works. So they have found a steeper and longer detour. Great!

Fund raising and Willey

 The fund raising side took pride of place last weekend (2/7/22) when we held our afternoon tea. A fantastic effort from Pam and Auntie Pattie saw funds pass the £700 mark. So many people contributed to the day, not just in cash, but also in the kind gifts for bring and buy etc.

We still have Miriam's handcrafted lucky dip envelopes  if anyone fancies a punt at £1 each. Not only do you get the chance to win a random prize (badges and various bits that include the odd £5 note), but every envelope comes with it's own handcrafted cycle paperclip. A unique prize for any cyclist.

The last week saw my mileage plummet when I was forced to take time off work and the bike to deal with a sickness bug. Only advantage is it stripped me of 1.5Kg of weight and any sense of dignity, as my stomach deposited its content and lining down the pan at regular intervals. This has now cleared and yesterday I was back out on the road.

I went out to the village of Willey.

Last time I was here I was on an Audax and didn't have time to take the obligatory schoolboy photographs. It caused some amusement on Facebook. In addition to the village hall there are a few spinoffs, such as the Willey Wanderers Football Club.

 I'm not obsessing with the place, but Pam's family (through mother) are related to the local estate owner, through the marriage of Lord Forester of Willey's sister to a Mr Keay around 200 years ago.

After Willey it was onto Bridgnorth. The ride was not without incident. The drug dealing motorised teenagers of Telford now see trying to knock cyclists off as a new sport. I'm so glad I did some race training a few years back with Newport CC. I'm well equipped to delivering a Mark Renshaw type response should they get too close. Why our wonderful intelligence lead police forced haven't made the link between expensive e scooters and drugs beggars belief.

My wheels are also becoming an issue. After having a new set fitted following the destruction of my freewheel, the new set had loose spokes and lost true after only 200 miles. The bike shop sorted this, but now the bearings are rattling. The response to this one will be interesting. I may have to bite the bullet and just get a decent set that will last the 1500 Km. 

If you haven't donated, but like to. Then please follow the link below. You will change a life.

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/andrew-rudge4

Half-term boot camp.

When I left work on Friday, a colleague said, "I know what you're doing next week. Lots of cycling."
She was correct. Saturday was on the river with a SUP customer, but then it started. A damp Monday saw me taking out the mountain bike, that way I had the option of heading into the woods to escape the rain. I headed down to Ironbridge and along the Severn towards Bridgnorth. This included passing my old school.

Not Hogwarts, more Stalag 13 meets the Shining. I've included a @FATMAP for this ride as it may be something visitors to Telford might enjoy. The MTB was a mistake as there was a fair bit of tarmac to get back to Broseley.
The end of the week saw Pam and I staying with friends in South Shropshire. I rode down on Thursday afternoon and back on Friday. Progress was slow. The gravel bike although welcome on the worn out country lanes is far from a speed machine. The average speed is far too slow for the L-E-L, so this week I'm going to start riding Herman-the-German-Flying-Machine.

This was my Ride London Surrey 100 bike back in 2015/16. This bike is light and fast, just need to see how it handles the longer endurance type rides.
I'm not into the monarchy and the Jubilee passed. We did go to watch the fireworks on Caradoc while in the south of the county. An underwhelming experience, but at least someone was trying.

So this week is back to work and the start of preparations for our fundraising afternoon tea in July. If you would like to come along, please message me for details. Obliviously you tea and scone will require a donation, but there will also the chance to be insulted by Dawley's answer to Mrs Brown, who unlike the weather is always guaranteed - to offend.
The glucose levels are also coming down. The weekly average is below 10mmol/L - even after food. However, my blood pressure nearly hit a new high today, when a woman with obesity issues bragged about her husband getting a continuous blood glucose monitor. They both take no exercise and she had the nerve to tell me that us type 2s do not deserve expensive equipment because it is our own fault. My mother and two aunties on my father's side had diabetes. Hence probably a genetic link, but I'm not going to fight it with insulin, chips and daytime telly. If I had seen this coming I would have taken preventative measures.
In 1998 I realised my weight was becoming an issue, with regular cycling I managed to get it down from 19 stone to 16 stone in 3 months. I have cycled the London Surrey twice and managed in 2017 to pass the swim test for the PADI Divemaster assessment (similar to a lifeguard test). I am now 15 stone 3 lbs, I've not been this light in years. Then the fat lump before me had the nerve to suggest it was my lifestyle. When I was tested for diabetes I had already begun training for the L-E-L. This chase for remission won't end here, type 2 diabetes is a state of mind and not a permanent condition.

If you would like to donate to my nominated charity, please used the following link:

Shelter