I am Still Alive!!!

Hello all,

So sorry I have not 'blogged' for ages!!! Things have been so busy at work that I just haven't had a chance to write!!
So here are a list of things that have happened since I was last 'blogging'!!

1) I managed to cycle 30 miles!!! Grant and I rode out to Winslow (15 miles away) and stopped in a fantastic cafe there called Cappos. They do the most amazing carrot cake ever and the lady that runs it is lovely and very friendly - i would highly recommend it! And then we rode 15 miles home and it was really good and i felt fine afterwards and I managed to get up a hill that once when Grant and I drove up it in the car I said "i'm never going to get up here on a bike!"

2) I fell off my bike - TWICE!! On the ride to Winslow we stopped at a roundabout and unclipped my foot from the pedal but shifted to the wrong side, a gust of wind hit me and down i went!! I cried - alot!! Grant was very sympathetic - he came back round the roundabout, stopped next to me ( a crying heap!) and said "come on, get back on your bike!" Nice ay??
Then when we came out of Cappos i bounced down the crb and a car came round the corner, i panicked, knocked my wheel on the curb and fell down like a sack of spuds!!
Sore hand, sore arm, sore hip, sore knee!! hay ho it had to happen some day!!!

3) we did a charity bag pack at Marks and Spencer food hall in Milton Keynes city centre!! Me mum and Nan packed peoples shopping bags for 2 and a half hours a couple of Sundays ago and we raised £200!!! It was a wierd day, some people are really funny about letting other people pack their shopping bags, they have systems and things!! But most people were lovely and asked lots of questions about what we were doing and why!! and they were very generous!! So we are doing it again on Saturday 17th May and we are hoping to raise lots more - so come and see us!!!

4) When Mum came to MK for the bag pack day Grant fitted her up on her road bike - very exciting!!! She had a little ride up and down the road on the Sunday and then she came back over on the Monday evening for a proper go on it. So we put the bikes on the roof rack and drove over to Cheddington to a do a little circuit over there!! Grant very patiently trained with mum and I cycled with Malcolm who met us over there!! It was a good ride and Mum did really well (well done you!!!) She is coming back over tonight for another go on it!!!

I think thats about it really!!! I have not been out on my bike for a week as I have been working in London all weekend but I am hoping to go out tonight if the black cloud dissappears and then I have Friday and Monday off work so I want to get out every day this weekend, weather permitting and providing I can bear to be parted from the new kitten that Grant and I are getting on Friday!!!

Anyway things are a bit quirter at work now so blogs should be a bit more regular!!

Thanks for reading!!

love
Egg

Sunday (Check me out in lycra!!urrghh)

On Sunday I managed 25 miles! Which put my total for the weekend at 48 miles!! I was so tempted to go off and ride another 2 miles so that I could say i'd done 50 but my knees were sore and to be honest so was my arse!!

There was a really horrible hill on the circuit and as you can see from the photo above I struggled on it! This was the 4th time i'd gone up it this weekend and I hated it at this point!!

While we were out on Sunday a random cyclist on a Bianchi overtook me and then Grant going down a hill, But then i picked up a bit of speed and started to catch him up again. Grant was egging me on and I think I was trying to prove something to myself, so I went all out and passed him - Yay me!! Then I realised I needed to maintain that speed otherwise I would look like a prize idiot!! So legs burning, head down I kept going and Grant and he sat behind me having a good old chat about me cycling from London to Paris! Then he came up to ride beside me - like I could chat, I was gasping for breath!! He seemed like a nice bloke though and told me just to slowly build my miles up!!

As much as I whinge while i'm out on my bike I am enjoying it. My recovery time is quite good now, so although I struggle going up the hills, I catch my breath quite quickly and manage to beat Grant on the sprint to the village side (Catch up fattie!!x)

I am going out on the MTB with mum tomorrow and maybe Thursday, then another couple of long rides planned this weekend!!

Wish me luck!!

Hollywood

Saturday

This weekend was a success!! In the pub I managed to collect another £90 sponsorship money, just by asking around! So thank you to Richard, Paul, Pete and even Stephen - who sponsored me £20 - it had to be seen to be believed, so we took a photo to prove it!!

Then I went out training on Saturday and Sunday on the bike. On Saturday we did 23 miles, it was windy, it was raining, it was hell!!! I was getting very frustrated! I couldn't get to my drinks bottle because everytime I reached for it the wind blew me, then I couldn't see to put it back in the cage coz my eyes were all watery - tears of frustration or the wind in my eyes, you decide!

To make matters worse on our second lap Grant was trying to pass me a muesli bar and I dropped it. You would have thought the world had ended!! Grant wouldn't let me turn round to go back and get it but luckily he had a back up bar in his pocket!!!

Therefore my new nickname is Hollywood!!

Winter SUCKS!!!

I hate winter, it's cold, it's dark, I feel miserable!! I just want to sleep, not train!! I want to eat all the carbs i'm supposed to when i'm training but sit on my sofa and grow fatter instead!

I got on my bike once over the bank holiday weekend because of the snow! And even that was inside on the rollers!! I got off after just under 20 minutes, and Grant said, Ok you can stop now but you're only letting yourself down!! Needless to say I got back on and did another 5 minutes!!

Roll on Saturday night and the clocks going forward! I am out on my bike on Saturday and Sunday and then I am bringing my dreaded mountain bike back to Daventry! Mum feels lonely when she goes out training on her own so I am going to go out with her in the week.
Grant said I can't bring the Bianchi back to Daventry because i'd spend half the time waiting for Mum to catch up with me (the bianchi is so much faster than an MTB). So until she gets her road bike I have to train with her on the mountain bike.
So the plan is on Wednesday, for me to cycle from Daventry to Badby and meet Mum and then have a bit of a training session and then i'll cycle back! Or Mum can come to Daventry and we can train there!

So on Wednesday if you see any cyclists please be kind and not gits - like the 2 guys I saw in a white van recently. They were on the opposite side of the road to me and they beeped their horn and stuck their fingers up! To them i say **** *** *** *******!!!Add your own expletives!!

Oh and I want to say thanks to Mello Office Supplies who have sponsored me!! I will be wearing a Mello t shirt for at least part of my trip!!

Thanks for reading!!

Em
xx

Keeping you up to date - Training on the rollers

Hi All,

Well this is my first blog - I figured I would write one to keep everyone posted on how things are progressing! For those of you that don't know, It is 24 weeks until I begin my trip from London to Paris - 300 miles in 4 days in aid of Breast Cancer Care.

So far I have raised £595 (www.justgiving.com/emilyeldershawlondon2paris) and am up to 19 miles at a time when I go out on my bike.

It was far too cold, wet and windy to go out on my bike this weekend so Grant has taught me to ride the rollers!! To any non cyclists, the rollers are a contraption that you balance your bike on top of so that you can ride your bike without actually moving anywhere. If the weather is crappy it means you can ride your bike in the house with the stereo on - seems like a much better option right?! WRONG! its bleeding hard work, you have to concentrate so hard on keeping the bike balanced because if you don't you come off - there is only one way that I would know this!! Thankfully Grant was helping me to keep my bike balanced so instead of landing on the floor I just fell against him! After 15 minutes I had had enough and wanted to get off, however with Grant holding my bike up and not letting me get off it I had to carry on!! I must say I prefer him as a boyfriend than as a coach (even though he does know what he is talking about and I would have quit if he hadn't been around!!)

So thats where I am with my training! Not going out tonight but if I get back from Peterborough on time tomorrow I might try Spinning!!

Fundraising wise - I am getting there slowly - still plenty more people to ask! I am doing 3 'bag pack' days in the local Marks and Spencer to collect peoples change when they get to the till and my boss has also said my 3 days salary while I am cycling can be donated to the cause!!

So thats your first update - roll on the clocks going forward in two weeks so that I can go out during the lighter evenings!!

I'll keep you posted.

Love
Egg