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

Shropshire Lad

 I remember a teacher at school talking about A. E. Housman and A Shropshire Lad, how he was talking about, "the deep countryside of Shropshire." Where I rode on Sunday qualifies as this and would have been recognised by Houseman. Sandstone lanes, trees, the sharp Edges rising out of the flatlands and The Lawley. 

This wasn't the longest ride I've done in training, but the 807m of climbing was tough. The good news was my speed is increasing and the average speed is getting somewhere near what will be needed for being in with a chance on the big ride. Unfortunately even a tough ride doesn't appear to be hitting the glucose levels like it did when I first went back into training. Time to try something different.

This week it will be back into commuting, but the GCSE season and and after school meetings are eating into the time available. 

As I been a bit secretive about the summer ride, I haven't collected any donations for Shelter yet. If anyone would like to be the first please use the link

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

If you have aspirations to be a main or lead sponsor, please get in touch.