2017 really was a mixed bag of incredibly good and incredibly bad things. Frankly I'm glad it's over and I'm hoping that 2018 will be a lot less challenging. Some of the bad things were wrapped up in good things. For example I discovered I really like the Friday Night Summer Series MTB races, however one of those races chucked me off my bike and resulted in a tiny bone fracture an 12 weeks in a cast.
That's an x-ray of my left wrist. If you look on the right side (left if any doctors are looking!) you will see are black line going through my scaphoid. It's a tiny troublesome bone. I still get a dull ache from it now but it's not stopping me.
I wish I could say the same for my shoulder though. 12 weeks in a cast have wrecked my flexibility and strength. I'm having physio but it's going to take a few months to correct. For cycling it's not too bad but I struggle to make left turn signals!
Whilst I had my cast on I won some American classics wheels. They finish my road bike nicely. I also got some bonus money which added to money my family gave me for my birthday, meant I could buy that beautiful new MTB. See it's a bit ying and yang and I haven't even started really!
My new MTB has allowed me to give SuperSam (pictured above,) the focus that served me so well. He's very pleased with it. We continue to enjoy riding together and he's even started turbo training whilst I'm on the rollers in the morning.
More good things have happened. Our new black Labrador, Bruce, really is filling his predecessors boots better than we could ever imagined. Ben will always be our first family dog and he is still the best dog I ever met, but Bruce, he's special too! It's hard work though with a new puppy. You get back what you put in so it's worth the effort!
As a family we have had a lot to deal with. Lots of family members have been very ill. That despicable disease cancer has been very prominent. Then Niamh had a week on a children's ward after her appendix was removed. Secondary school for Niamh and Sam is also not a bundle of laughs! The opposite of that is our oldest son Joe is doing well with his sports coaching apprenticeship.
In the middle of all of that we had our second fantastic month in Australia. We're very lucky to be able to do that. I'm aware it's beyond the budget of many or that their work would never allow the time off. If you're wondering, we really really enjoyed swimming with dolphins!
Work has also been a challenge. Mostly in a good way! My promotion has stepped me up to a level I really enjoy but you really know you've stepped up! I have to be careful with my energy levels and MORE cycling is definitely the answer. Lee and I both did post graduate courses at Reading University. This was more pressure. I enjoyed my course and got a lot out of it. Lee enjoyed the first part but not the second so her experience wasn't as good. In addition she was away from home most weeks for a few days. It was hard!
All that leads us to today! I've been gradually getting back into cycling. As per usual my weight is an issue and I'm back on myfitnesspal with renewed determination. At Christmas I topped 15st again. That's way too heavy. I'm hoping to be at 13st for the kick off of this year's FNSS. I haven't been out much but I have done a lot of work on the rollers. That's good for a lot of things but it doesn't do the whole job. I'd been considering a return to C&D Cycles CC for a few weeks but kept finding excuses. The excuses stopped today!
I arrived at C&D Cycles at 08:30 this morning for an off road adventure on a route created by Andy Pendred. When I arrived Andy was the only one there but we were then joined by Marcus, Mark, Bairdy, Ken, Andy Brown and Graham. A lovely group of great people to ride with. They welcomed me as if I'd never been away and then, in the time honoured fashion of the C&D brothers, the piss taking began!
First order of the day was to question the road pedals on Bairdy's tiny wheeled retro Scott.
Then it was noted that Ken doesn't discriminate, all of his bikes are filthy!
Graham quickly removed his single glove but mate those shorts! Andy I think we captured you mid snigger!!!
Things started well as we headed through Prologis Park and down the track to Rushton. We had some tarmac time over to Newton and then the first hint of things to come. Any time we crossed a field it was really claggy. The mud seemed to double the weight of our wheels and slowed our progress. It was quite a heavy grind.
Llamas or Alpacas, I'm not sure which
Memories of a school field trip in 1986!
For reasons best known to us, we thought Geddington Chase would be a good idea. Up to a point it was! This tree didn't help but it was nothing compared to the boggy bits. Andy Brown had a tubeless fail and had to stop to put a tube in. I really like tubeless but when it fails it is a complete pain!!!
Here's Bairdy who was posing for his picture on #Ihatemountainbikes. He did way better than me today though so I need to keep quiet!!! Mark C took a tumble and proudly announced that his camelbak saved his life! Andy P then demonstrated his extensive lyrical knowledge.
Andy Brown may have had mechanical issues but that face says it all. We were having a good day. From Brigstock we head to a familiar route towards Lieveden New Bield. My legs were destroyed in that section by more claggy soil and a horrible wind! We were heading downhill but you would never have known.
On the way round today we tried some new routes. The trail through Fermyn Woods may have been soggy in places but it was some good riding. That route was punctuated by a pitstop and a slab of malt loaf each from Ken's impressive lunchbox!
Not long after that we swapped sports and took up bog snorkelling. Andy P told us there was some downhill in a minute but it was no respite! On swampy rutted trails there were multiple tumbles. My pedals were clogged with mud and this prevented unclipping and I landed in a big puddle. I was riding through the puddle to try and clear the mud which was now stopping my wheels from turning. It was suggested that if I was going faster the mud would clear itself. Harsh but fair!!!
I really was broken as we emerged back onto the tarmac heading towards Slipton. I was also getting cramp in both legs every few minutes. Just before we headed back into the muddy lanes, Ken and Graham made the totally sensible of continuing home by road. I perhaps should've done the same thing. It was just clag and grind and cramp. The cramp got so bad I kept getting stuck like a turtle on it's back. I couldn't get off the bike and I couldn't peddle. The mud forced my back wheel off. I got off to put it back on and my thigh cramped every time I tried to do it!!! I'm sure it would've been quite funny to watch. I cramped several more times on the way back to the shop.
I'm not convinced that Chris was that pleased to see the mud monsters in his shop. A Mocha Iced Coffee and Snickers were very welcome. Andy Brown insisted on giving me a lift home. His rationale was that I'd suffered enough for one day! I was grateful for this.
filthy beast
Not so filthy
I'd like to thank everyone today for putting up with my unfit self. It's not the first time that rule one "no one gets left behind," has been strictly adhered to in my name. I enjoyed the ride so much despite the suffering. As Eddie Merckx says: "Just Ride!"
The blog is back. Cycling with C&D is back.
Happy Pedalling!!!!!
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