Well what a week it's been. We had a crisis, a birthday, some tough stuff, some good stuff and a lot of activity! I'll start with Lee and end with all my cycling nonsense.
Lee's hair continues to be affected by her beta blockers. However with help from Brad at Queens and a new colour she did herself, she's got a nice short style which looks great.
My plan to get loads done at work before 11 days leave came to a grinding halt on Tuesday. I was out for a run before work when my phone went crackers. Lee was calling me to tell me that our daughter Níamh was in Leicester Royal A&E. She had been out clubbing with friends and ended up being picked up by an ambulance in a confused state. It's likely that she had her drink spiked. Níamh was in A&E for about 10 hours, after initially being treated as if she was just a drunk silly girl, they realised there had to be more to it. Tests were inconclusive so we'll never know the truth. However the thought that someone tried to deliberately harm my daughter fills me with dread! Niamh after some shaky days is doing better now but I think this will affect her for a long time.
Wednesday was a better day as it was Joe's 24th birthday. We had a lovely evening with a Thai Garden take away (locals will KNOW!) A good time was had by all and I got to make fire in the garden!
Our youngest, Sam, is very pleased his Mum can drive now. He'd been getting a lift to his girlfriend's house in Geddington with me before work. Now Lee can take him he can have a lie in! That's good for Lee too so she can build her driving confidence.
In other Lee news, we have picked up her new inhalers and are waiting to see what difference they make. Apart from that it's continued daily walks and recovery exercises. She's had a couple of days without an afternoon sleep and we've discovered this is NOT a good idea. Lee still needs that extra rest or she pays for it the next day!
Yesterday was a good example. I returned from my ride insisting we needed to head out to Scotch Farm, where I had stopped for coffee with the group. The kind lady running a hand made card stall, had given me a mask and I wanted to go back to repay her kindness. More on that in the cycling section...
Lee picked a few cards and then noticed these lovely pictures. With a generous discount that mask ended up costing me £214 with an order for Christmas cards at a later date! I don't begrudge a penny of that, the stall holder and artist Katy Dynes is a lovely lady. She had even sketched a picture of me whilst I was waiting for my phone to sort itself out (also more on that later!)
We went from Scotch Farm to Tescos and it was clear that Lee was exhausted. It's just so easy to do too much!
Onto the next section. It's "what the Lindsleys ate." You know we had that Thai Gardens on Wednesday. On Monday I arrived home from coaching to the nicest fish dish.
This is a lovely grilled Salmon with a delicious rice.
As well as the Thai food, Lee made this salted caramel cheesecake with toffee popcorn and pretzels. Just wow!
Sam is a lucky boy because I make these sausage rolls for him every week. Lee and I get one each for quality control. This week I added marmite to ours. Delicious! On Saturday night I made a pie with slow cooked beef in a red wine sauce. That worked well too, I didn't take a picture!
Lee and I have a few plans for next week. I think it will be a great week together. For now...it's time for cycling stuff!
On Monday we held a family ride for the cyclones. It was a lovely evening having a gentle spin around Stanwick Lakes.
I didn't get a ride in at all for the rest of the week but I did get all my walking and running goals ticked off with the dogs. My furry friends bring me so much joy. No matter how bad my mood is, it's always improved after a dogwalk/run!
On Friday I helped out at a Mountain Bike race. Here in Northants/Leicestershire we have the oldest MTB Cross country race series in the world - The Friday Night Summer Series. This week was at East Carlton Park - hosted by Rockingham Forest Wheelers. This was a superb evening with great racing and a lovely sociable barbecue afterwards. Well done to all involved.
On Saturday morning I woke up in one of those stupid moods which put me off cycling. However "Wise-Lee," knows better. She told me to go out, that I'd feel better for it and that I'd enjoy myself once I'd got going. Lee was absolutely right. I met up with The Cyclasylum for a 42 mile trip to the south of the county, taking in Bozeat at it's furthest point.
It took me a few miles to find my legs but once they warmed up I was having a lovely time. As ever the banter flowed as did a number of enlightening chats.
As previously mentioned we stopped for coffee and food at Scotch Farm near Earls Barton. Firstly I didn't have a mask and sensibly they're still insisting on those. As you know Katy came to my rescue. Then my Barclays app decided not to work. That's when I was being sketched. Finally I sorted that out only for the shop's card reader to stop working. Eventually I paid for a latte and piece of carrot cake with PayPal! Thankfully everyone else was having cooked food so mine was ready at the same time! What a ridiculous drama!!!
We had our usual race to Harrowden before splitting up. Four of us cycled on to Broughton before I ended up solo. Making light(ish) work of series of hills through to Loddington I decided I might as well keep going for another 100km fondo. On the way back I passed the Triangular Lodge at Rushton so I stopped to take a picture of this piece of history. It's a fascinating building...find out more
on the Triangular Lodge here
Sunday morning as usual was junior Parkrun duties. Myself and Matthew, the event director were on time keeping. So what could go wrong? Quite a lot actually, Matthew double hit start meaning we had an early time recorded. Then I hit the wrong button meaning I lost all my times after just two runners! What a pair of clowns!!! Luckily Matthew fixed it and we move on! I won't make that mistake again...
Needing just 27 miles to complete my 100 miles for the week I set off on my favourite route around the Welland valley. I took this 30 mile loop at a very relaxed pace. A bit of a recovery ride really!
As well as beautiful rolling hills there's lots of interesting features. I'd love to know the story behind this clock tower in Baston.
The bridge to the church has always fascinated me in Medbourne. I hadn't seen the plaque before but it explains that the structure is a medieval pack horse bridge.
Then just round the corner I saw this steam engine!
For me this is all part of the cycling experience. You see way more stuff on a bike!
Okay I think that is enough!
Happy Pedalling
