Sunday 29 April 2012

Pride before a fall?

I put it down to hubris. Others have put it down to accidentally filling the water bottle with gin....but in any event after combining a quick round the block with a visit to the dental hygienist I had another blank, ended up on the floor and hit the poor old elbow again. Big ouch. Patched it up once more at home with the copious supplies of dressings given to me by the lovely nurse at the Doctor's surgery and thought no more of it.
Very sadly my father in law died the next day. En route to see his widow , my husband and his siblings at the Nursing Home where he had died I realised that my arm was quite sore and a bit swollen. I think as a distraction from their grief everyone asked to see the war wound and my sister in law casually said - " are you sure it's not infected?"
Obviously we all had far more important things on our minds for the rest of that day and I had to whizz to Norwich to collect my children. By the time everyone was home and settled it became clear that my arm was making a bid to outgrow my thigh and was giving off enough heat to keep a family of 4 warm all evening. All normal GP surgeries were shut by this time so my poor husband had to conclude one of the worst days of his life by driving me in to Norwich to the out of hours GP then scouring the outer suburbs for an open pharmacy. The GP was very kind and confirmed that we did the right thing to come in as I had developed cellulitis and hastily prescribed 2 kinds of horse sized antibiotics.
Tracking down the pharmacy meant dipping a toe into the world of Norwich night working . We found it a strange and discomforting place and felt like we should be starring in an American road movie. We wondered how the CCTV footage would look as we scurried back to the car with me clutching a dubious paper bag , leaping into the passenger seat as soon as the car was unlocked and hastily swallowing several pills all the time with a feverish glint in my eyes.....The contrasts and incongruities of the day's events did not escape our notice and did, at least, provide ample opportunity for dark humour.
The timing was atrocious. I needed to be operating at 150% not feeling and looking like a comedy extra in a Wallace and Gromit animation. I did some research and discovered that if not treated or unresponsive to antibiotics cellulitis can lead to septacaemia. Bit scary really. Obviously the bugs which cause it need a wound to be able to get into the system but thereafter they really love it and will multiply like mad if, inter alia, the victim's immune system is at a low ebb and/or they have poor circulation. Ho hum.
So for lots of reasons no bike time for a while. BUT elbow pads have now been purchased and the label on the gin is in very BIG WRITING indeed.

Thursday 19 April 2012

Hailstones hurt

Having managed a couple of solitary excursions during the preceding week it was good to look forward to another Sunday and another family outing on to which we managed to tag a cycle and a lift home. This time the destination was Long Melford and the Hall.
Another freezing start which is becoming something of a pattern regrettably and off we peddled due South. Luckily we benefitted from a tail wind and were beginning to feel quite confident in cruise mode when Uh -oh another pedal miscoordination moment struck and my beleagured right elbow hit the tarmac again. I resolved not to look until we reached our destination ( 35 miles or so away at that point).
So, having picked myself up, congratulated myself on still being on the right route , nature decided that 2 miles from our intended lunch stop she would test our mettle by chucking hail at us. The good thing about hail is that it is less wet than torrential rain. The bad thing is that it hurts particularly on prominent places like the end of one's nose. Another lesson learned in the field.
Woolpit was a delightful place to stop for lunch. It was exciting to think that we were in the spot where the last wild wolf in England had been slain allegedly (Wolf Pit , not Wool Pit).Having thought that a bowl of soup would suffice for us both we ended up demolishing a whale sized portion of gravadlax and 2 crab cakes between us.The hail held off all the time we were inside and reappeared whenever we were on high ( for East Anglia ) portions of the second leg. I had another of those " Is this really what I do for fun? " moments when indigestion (served me right) and hail struck at the same time. The answer is still "yes" by the way!
Long Melford in sight we were interrupted by a jubilant text from the welcome party who discovered both a good pub for lunch and a motorbike show. Definitely something for everyone when combined with the historic Hall and ridiculously cute lambs AND tea and fruit cake.
I checked the wound in the loo and I had managed to add to the previous injury in a reasonably spectacular fashion. I may even have a scar that Lesley's very gung ho son , Dougie, would be proud of.


All in all another good outing.
PS Shaun has promised to fit stabilisers to the bike and I have bought elbow pads......

Sunday 8 April 2012

Made in Essex?

We did our best to take advantage of Matt's knowledge and skill and tried to think of intelligent questions to ask about our preparation and "training" for the Norfolk 100 and for France.He agreed that our carefully worked out regime of a couple of 20 miles ish rides during the week and a longer ride of 50 to 60 miles at the weekend is about right. Phew. At least our intentions are good even if living up to them is sometimes problematic.
Bearing all this in mind when Shaun expressed an interest in visiting the Munnings Museum in Dedham it seemed like a an ideal chance to head in that direction and cadge a lift home. We reassured ourselves that we would go as far as we could and that Shaun would always pick us up if we got stuck/exhausted. Of course we are both fuelled by stubborn determination as well as cereal bars and bananas...so in our hearts we knew it was Dedham or bust!
Despite the clocks springing forwards we managed to leave pretty much on schedule. Relevant maps had been consulted and packed and a hit list of villages to pass through drawn up. Having basked in bright sunshine for several days it was disappointing to set off in chilly cloudy conditions. I was glad I opted for winter style layers including the obligatory 2 pairs of socks. Even with those precautions both of us suffered frozen feet for most of the journey.
The trip can be described in 3 sections. The first third to South of Diss was fine - we knew where we were going and cruised happily along despite the feet.
The middle part involved Stowmarket which , to be honest , was a bit grim. We hit our 30 mile customary wall , had to consult the maps more times than we like and ended up cycling the length of the High Street several times before alighting on a Costa for caffeine and croissant ( a crucial part of the France training regime). We opted out of a visit to the Wimpy. Neither of us had seen one for several decades let alone been in one.
The sun came out at last and we found ourselves in mid Suffolk proper. Our spirits sank a little as we realised that this part of East Anglia is by no means flat and our route was dominated for some time by RAF Wattisham. We had visions of being tailed by a drone as we skirted the intimidating perimeter fence- stopping several times for map consultations to ensure we didn't end up in a minefield..
The hills surrounding Hadleigh looked daunting from a distance but were fine in reality.The town is delightful and further endeared itself to us by providing a flat section of route on a disused railway track which is part of National Route 1.
Much happier now we glided down to the Stour Valley admiring the chocolate box cottages accessorised with Porsch Cayennes. We narrowly avoided heading down the A12 in the wrong direction and before we could think major East Anglian artists we were in Dedham. Despite being fed misinformation about some of the welcome party being in Flatford ( the wrong side of the river) we managed to rendez vous in the car park by Dedham Mill. Lesley and I had first done a tour of the village and ascertained that the Museum doesn't open until April. I also did my first splat with grown up pedals in another part of the car park. No one saw so it doesn't really count ?  My pedals had engaged when I hadn't asked them to , I panicked, couldn't disengage , had to choose between a soft landing on a BMW 4x4  or a less soft one on tarmac sprinkled with gravel. For insurance reasons I chose the latter and a small part of rural Essex will be forever in my elbow...
That's life and bikes and we made it ! Hooray!

Thursday 5 April 2012

The Bike Man

I met a chap at a party. No this is not going the way you think...I had "met " him previously when he sailed past me as I huffed and puffed along a section of the Cambridge to Norwich ride. Naturally we got talking about bikes and journeys and he told me I must go and see a marvellous man who will ensure that my bike and I are as compatible as Brangelina. I have to admit that I was very sceptical about this idea as I am Mrs Amateur with (shock horror) only one bike which will have to do come what may.
After many months of prevarication I was given a firm nudge in the direction of making the call by my chiropractor who once again relieved my aching back with acupuncture and by my family who are becoming tired of my stressing about whether I am up to the France trip physically.
So off I trotted with Lesley for moral support to a converted garage in a nearby village. Had to go by car given lack of daylight but it was completely in keeping with my amateur status anyway!
Matt is a total star. He helped to sort out my position within the limits of my equipment and I didn't even flinch when he took a hacksaw to my handlebars. He is following up the visit by sorting some more bits of kit and has arranged a meeting with a local retailer who can give us the best advice about lightweight essentials for our travels. I hope he found our visit a bit of light relief after an afternoon of dealing with serious cyclists whose primary concern is performance - sod the comfort. Obviously our priorities are skewed differently!
His advice has been worth every penny so far. His details are:
Matt Jackson - Advanced Cycle Science
Tel : 01508 531769 /07795 424671
Email : thefootlab@me.com
Website : www.thefootlab.co.uk