A timely reminder

It is just amazing how time flies. Its almost March and time is ticking down towards my challenge. I've got two months to get everything organised. I have had lots of encouragement from friends and family who have just been brilliant but there is still a lot of preparation and training to do and at times I wonder if I can do this. Getting out on the bike when its cold and wet and dark is hard. It's no fun but I know I have to get the miles in my legs.

 Erika and me at Merseybank nursing home

 Erika would always manage a smile however painful things were

Its funny but times like this when you have doubts and fears, something comes along to shake you out of it. Well I have just had a message from JustGiving to say someone has donated. I read the message and its from someone I don't recognise. Her name is Lisa Buxton and her message says :-


"Good luck in your hard work in raising funds and awareness of ATAXIA. Our family have been devastated by this condition - Best wishes Lisa"


Lisa hasn't left an email address so I can't reply to her personally to thank her for her generous donation. It was her message that struck a chord however. It has re-emphasised in black and white, the reasons why I took this challenge on and why I need to raise as much money as I can. Ataxia is out there and it is devastating lives, as Lisa has experienced with her family. I am only too aware of what she must have gone through.


So if you are reading this Lisa, thank you so As well as  your kind donation you have just given me the kick up the back side I needed. Its best foot forward once again.

There's a tube poking from Erika's collar. That is how she was took food in her last few years

Erika's smiles were genuine. Mine were hiding anguish at the pain I knew she was suffering

Please, please, please if you can spare anything at all I would be most grateful and it would be going to a very needy and worthy cause in Ataxia UK. My donation page is JustGiving

All change

I'm typing this post using mobile blogpost from the comfy seat of our new acquisition.

Rosemary and I are parked overlooking Ladybower reservoir, between Glossop and Sheffield. We've just been for a long walk around the three reservoirs, Derwent, Howden and Ladybower and are sat enjoying a cup of tea and a bacon and egg butty from our new camper van.

Our new pride and joy - going to have to think of a name for her?

The huge Howden dam...where 617 squadron practiced for the Dambusters raid 

Yep it's all change again. We've gone and bought ourselves a second hand van. It all happened in the blink of an eye too.
A month ago my car broke down and I had to get the AA to recover it to the dealer. It turned out to be the UK fitted immobiliser ECU that had gone faulty and needed replacing. When it went wrong again a week later I had to wait nine hours for the AA as it was that snowy cold Monday and probably the worst day ever to need the AA. I'd had enough and called Rosemary to say I was getting rid of the car. Rosemary sort of half joked that we could sell it and get a motor home. I thought she was joking.

What happened next was just weird. Whilst waiting for the AA, I got a call from Neil Coverley (my friend who has just done LEJOGLE). He wanted to know if I was interested in buying his camper van. I thought this was some kind of Deja Vu meets the Twighlight zone. Spooky stuff!

Its got a groovy bike rack too - perfect!

 He and Naomi love the freedom their van gives them and had decided to splash out on a brand new one. Neil had been offered a really good price if he paid with cash. This meant he could do with getting rid of his current van quickly, so he offered it to me at a really attractive price that was within our grasp. I had regularly looked at the price of motorhomes and some of the prices are just crazy expensive. The second hand market is very buoyant and vans hold their value well. I'd always considered it a bit beyond our budget, but Neil's offer was just too good to ignore. He offered to email me with the van details straight away. Rosemary and I had already seen it the last time we went to Neil's house, so I knew it was mint. Rosemary had remarked on the "camper van envy" she had felt after seeing it. I quickly spoke to Rosemary, expecting some major resistance. We would need to raid our savings and Motorhomes had never really been Rosemary's idea of fun in the past. Anyway within 30 seconds she had said yes. I couldn't believe it. "ok....err right then!...err I better call Neil back then"

I quickly called Neil back and told him we'd have it. He just said "bl**dy 'ell Brian, I've only just clicked send".

Wow! we had bought a Campervan.......in two minutes flat!

We then realised we would have to let Nick and Sarah Craig know as soon as possible. Avid readers of my blog will be aware that Nick had very kindly offered to lend us their fantastic VW camper van. However it needed some work to get it back on the road. It had been such a generous and helpful offer that Rosemary and I felt really quite unsettled and guilty about having to explain our change of plan. We were hoping that they had not spent any time or money getting it ready for us. So we popped round with a bottle of wine and flowers to say sorry and thank them for there kind offer. Luckily the old girl was still tucked away in the garage and Nick had not had time to get started on her as yet. So it was with a big sigh of relief when we explained our new plans. They were both very gracious and wished us well with our journey. A BIG thank you once again to both Nick and Sarah.

Rosemary, where all good wives should be..............I'm soooooo dead for that.

So there you have it. All change. Our savings have been replaced by tumbleweed blowing across the account statement. But we are the proud owners of a lovely Campervan. Its got a double bed that I can fit in, even with my legs all stretched out (I'm 6'5") There's a proper fridge freezer, an oven, a three ring hob, a shower, toilet, a TV & DVD player and central blown warm air heating. Its fourteen years old but has only  33 thousand miles on the clock. Its going to be our holidays for the next few years so we should get our money's worth. Monty seems to like it too. Rosemary got straight in this morning and drove it for the first time all the way over the Snake pass without any hassle. Its one of the most dangerous roads in Britain, so a great effort in a wide camper like this.

Stop press! ....can't get the blog post to upload.....no mobile phone signal at Ladybower! Hope it isn't like this when I am posting during LEJOG! Oh well, I'll put the kettle on again and save the upload till later.

p.s BTW - I promise I  have been training this week. I'll post on that soon TTFN

p.p.s - another BTW. All that was wrong with my car the second time was that the berks at Monks Heath had forgotten to put new batteries in my key fobs when re-programming the keys to the immobiliser. 9 hours waiting for the AA for a set of £2 batteries and no apology from Monks Heath Motors....love my car, hate the dealer.


Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Happy Birthday Mum - 80 years young today

Happy Birthday Mum

It's my Mums 80th birthday today - 18th February (she'll clip me round the ear for this). So I thought I'd show you the present we've had done for her. Dad is taking us all out for a meal tonight and we are going to present her with them there. I hope she likes them. I'm timing this post so that she can't get a sneak preview.

We've had a photograph taken by Sarah Jones Photography and had it enlarged on to a 30" canvas. 

From left - Me, Rosemary, my sister in law Jackie and brother Harvey 

with my nephews Matthew left and Ryan

In fact we had two done, including Monty and my brothers new dog Archie. This is the only shot where Monty and Archie sat still. The very next shot Monty...........

....jumped straight into my lap. He didn't like the sound of Sarah's flash system recharging. A big thank you to Sarah for the effort she put into to help us. She is based in a unit next to us at work and agreed to take our pictures last minute before she went away. I think she is a marvellously talented photographer and very reasonably priced considering her talent. She has a wonderful website at Sarah Jones Photography where you will see some of her work. She has recently photographed the Manchester Utd. players for the club and the results are stunning.

Superb portrait of Wayne Rooney by Sarah Jones - Taken from Sarah's website 

If Wayne or any other Utd players would like to sponsor me I am very happy to accept donations at Just Giving 

New saddle fitted - A Brooks B17

I have been slowly working out how to get my bike ready for the challenge. My thoughts have centred around having a comfortable riding position for long stints in the saddle. At the moment the bike is set up with the original saddle that, to be honest is a bit of a razor blade and only designed for shortish rides in my view. So I have gone and got myself a new saddle.
I always remember my Dad saying that the most comfortable saddle to have was a Brooks B17. Dad used to be a member of Marple wheelers when he was younger and regularly rode in local criterium races. I get the impression he was quite a sprinter back then. He used to tell me "I would take anyone on in a sprint".
So the other day I was in the Bike Factory in Whaley Bridge and speaking to Rob the manager about saddles. I noticed a Brooks B17 on display. Now these saddles look like they have come from a bygone age. Its an all leather design around a simple frame. Brooks have been in business since 1866 and at first glance the saddle looks like it was designed back then. Its a very dated looking unit compared to some of the modern saddles but on closer inspection its benefits become apparent. The design is very simple, with just one piece of leather moulded perfectly around the steel rails. With its hand riveting and Brooks badge on the honey coloured leather, it is a very handsome saddle in a retro sort of way. Rob said that he sold boat loads of them and that his customers swore by them, so I took the plunge.

A Brooks B17. The design is nearly 100 years old - sometimes you just can't beat experience.

I've been riding with it for a week now and after some adjustments am really getting to like it. It's way more comfy than the factory fitted saddle and you get the feeling it will just get comfier the more it beds in. I'm really pleased with it. £70 well spent as I think it will be staying put long after my challenge. Next up is a new handle bar stem to raise the bars just a little.

Where cyclists stand in the grand scheme - a picture says it all!

Don't really need to add anything to this

However this just makes me shudder

Memories of my Sisters part 5 - The demon dentist

I know I have said this before but it's strange how memories of my sisters have started to come back to me. This mental block that I seemed to have suffered has been slowly allowing recollections through. Maybe its just the way my brain works (slowly at the best of times).

Open wide - it won't hurt

The other day, Jane Smith who works for me....and I'm just trying to think of a suitable title that explains Jane's job...let me think?.......ok got it! 'Person who is responsible for keeping the ship afloat'. Anyway Jane has had some dental treatment recently. She had been extremely nervous about it as it involved root canal work. Jane had heard some horror stories of butchers masquerading as dentists. Anyway whilst listening to Jane, a memory of my childhood came flooding back to me.

"Don't worry - I'm just going to count to ten" - yeah yeah!

Do you remember 'THE GAS MASK' at the dentist? 'aaarrgh! It makes me cringe thinking about it. For a child it must be one of the most frightening thing you could go through.

'When I were a lad', if you needed a tooth extracting, you had to be put to sleep. I vividly remember the smell of the mask as the torturer, sorry dentist slipped it over my nose and mouth. I am positive he used to say to me "I'll count to ten and by then you will be asleep" but would then proceed to mess with my mind by counting one, two, three, seven, thirteen, as the incideous odour of gas seeped into the mask. I tried my hardest to stay awake and tell him he was wrong but the big gooey bed in La La land always got the better of me.

The nauseous feeling when coming round was just awful. That with the dribble pouring down my chin and the taste of blood in my mouth. No wonder Janet and Erika had nightmares about it. To top it all, I then remembered the counting to ten business. What the hell! After that my maths were shot. Am I too late to sue?

Actual picture of my dentist - honest!

Am I painting dentistry in a good light?

I remember Janet having to have the gas mask once. She was so nervous for days before hand, she cried and cried and didn't want to go. I think Erika was taking all this in and secretly must have dreaded ever having to go to the dentist.

Mum used to organise that all four of us had dental check ups on one visit. I suppose it was quite an efficient way of seeing us all and saved separate trips for Mum. Well this one occasion Janet, Erika, Harvey, Mum and myself were sitting nervously in the waiting room. The dental surgery in Marple was pretty much brand new when we were kids. It was a single story building and had a large waiting room at the front with various rooms to the rear for the dentists. I remember the waiting room had an old rocking horse, donated by someone or other and we loved it. I think over the years it got rocked to death by kids taking their fears out on it and was eventually removed. I also remember wondering if the dentists had a go after everyone had gone home (bet they did)

The photographer struggled with his tripod for this shot

Anyway where was I? Oh yes! Our dentist had seen Janet and I had just come back after my turn. Erika was then called through by Yvonne on reception (who still works there and is a lovely lady btw). Erika did not want to go, but Mum gently persuaded her it was ok.  She got up, opened the waiting room door and headed through. I thought "that was easy" as I practiced being Lester Piggott on the poor rocking horse.

At this point I would like to state that actually our dentist back then was a really nice chap. He was not really a torturer or butcher as I have made dentists out to be (much). His name was Fred Ferris and he retired a few years back. I have a new dentist now who quite frankly, is a complete nutcase. He is a maniac Manchester United fan. Not that that qualifies him to be certified however.

On the side of his bowl where you rinse out your mouth, he has some wipes in a small box. On the side he has written the inscription "Man City season tickets - please take one" which is actually quite amusing considering he must have plenty of blues fans visiting him on a daily basis.

However he has this infuriating habit of asking you really topical and interesting questions when he and his assistant have dental instruments stuck in your mouth. That suction hose thing the assistant holds whilst the dentist grinds a pneumatic road drill slowly into your skull. You know the one's I mean.

He will say something along the lines of "So what do you think of the England manager situation then Brian?" or "How's business at the moment? It must be very difficult in this economic climate" You think about a reply for a second, then realise there is no way you can utter anything apart from a muffled, spit filled grunt. He then goes on to give you his considered view on the matter, whilst you are quietly going out of your mind thinking of a way of responding. I considered sign language once, but even to do that you need some lip movement. Is there an iPhone app for responding to dentists? There should be! It is really frustrating. You end up thinking 'are you doing this on purpose?' Is this some kind of psychological torture? I did wonder if maybe this guy wrote the book 'How to screw with kids minds just by counting 1, 2, 3, 7, 13' (I just checked Amazon and there it is - Author Neil McGrogan)  I think Neil is a really nice chap btw and is actually a great dentist. Just don't go see him if you are a chatterbox. You will come out a gibbering wreck.

So you support Liverpool do you?

Anyway back to my memories!

Erika had gone through to see the dentist and had been quite a while, so we all thought she was maybe having a filling that Mr Ferris had found necessary. Just then Mr Ferris came in the waiting room and asked where Erika was? Mum jumped up and said something like "with you...isn't she?" "No she hasn't come through yet" replied the dentist. We all looked at each other. It must have been nearly five minutes since she'd walked through the door. We checked the toilets and the rest of the corridors but there was no sign of Erika anywhere. By now Mum was panicking. Mum didn't have a car and Dad was at work. I remember Mum thinking that she must have run home. We all trouped off as fast as we could. It was about a mile home and as a kid that seems like an eternity. Sure enough, there was Erika sat on the front step. She had managed to evade the demon dentist by running home. She knew she was in trouble. Mum was not best pleased with her to say the least. She was obviously relieved that Erika was ok and just gave her a hug. But from that point on Erika had accompanied visits to the dentists chair for quite some time.

Visitors to my blog

I just noticed the blog has just gone over 4000 visitors . Thank you to everyone for reading and supporting me. Next post coming very soon.

To sponsor me on my LEJOG challenge please click here

Training update - to the 4th Feb

So I take it all back! Winter has hit big time this week.

Ice crystals forming on a stream below Kinder

I'm typing this blog post whilst the snow is falling heavily outside. I think its going to be quite a covering. The birds are busily stocking up on the sunflower seeds, peanuts, nyjer seed and fat balls Rosemary has put out for them. They are eating us to of house and home at the moment.

Monty with South Head in the distance

When it's cold I always say to myself "well its not as cold as in Brandon, Manitoba" My friends Tim & Denise and their children moved out there some years back. The tales they tell of -50C with windchill of -75C puts our pathetic weather into perspective somewhat. They don't shut the schools until it hits -48C and even then they have to think about it. Schools shut over here if anyone even suggests snow. Apparently they are having a mild spell this year. Its only -25C at the moment.

Tea shirt weather in Canada

Riding to work this week has been exhilarating! I've been walking Monty in temperatures of -8 in the morning so had to wrap up warm for riding to work. Once in, it's taken an hour to thaw out, but the skies have been clear and the views stunning. The cold air gave my lungs a shock at first but once I got going and warm I have felt great. It got a bit too icy on Friday for my road bike, so I went on the mountainbike over the tops. The view over New Mills Golf course towards Kinder Scout was breathtaking (as was the climb up Watford Rd)

Beautiful clear skies across to Kinder Scout in the far distance

The previous Sunday I had arranged to go mountain biking with Neil Coverley (my new friend and LEJOGLE veteran). Well I got a call Sunday morning to say that he had invited Fred Salmon along. Regular readers of this blog will know Fred is the proprietor of the Bike Factory in Whaley Bridge and generous donator to my challenge. He is also an ex pro tour cyclist and cycle-cross champion. I was a bit apprehensive. I didn't think I could stay with them and was expecting a lonely ride trying catch them up. Well in the end I surprised myself. 

Mellor church overlooking the Cheshire plain

We climbed out of Hayfield on some great bridleways that were new to me. Past the old norman Mellor church and down towards Marple via the Roman lakes. We headed through the busy town centre and picked up the Middlewood way, which is a trail created after the main Marple/Macclesfield railway was shut in the early 70's. The idea was to go hard for 10 miles until we hit Bollington near Macclesfield. It was very muddy and we got absolutely filthy. We looked like three mud larks from a Dickensian novel. 

Just before Bollington we left the trail. We were climbing up a banking when a large group of OAP walkers spotted us. They thought it was very amusing. Three grown men covered from head to toe in grime. They asked us where we'd come from. So we told them we'd ridden over from Hayfield. One of the women said "I bet your wives won't let you in the house if you go home looking like that!" Neil, who I have discovered is a bit of a comedian, then pipes up with "It's alright love we're all gay"......it went quiet. 

With Fred Salmon in the store room of the cafe - ooh err missus. 

Waiting for our tea and glad to be warm

That sort of set the tone for the rest of our ride. We'd been out over two hours and we needed a rest. There was a little tea shop on the back roads to Adlington. I looked at the place, then the customers through the window, then at us and thought no way can I go in there looking like this. It was posh and full of families having a nice Sunday afternoon tea in quaint surroundings. The last thing they needed was a trio of muddy, sweaty mountain bikers bursting in. 

Well that is exactly what Neil did!  Fred and I reluctantly followed. The look on the waitresses face was a picture. First thing she said was "no - I can't serve you, look at you, you're filthy" I was happy to stand outside with a brew and was already on my way out when Neil called me back. I think he took this as a challenge and started to work on her better nature. "But we are cold and tired and need a warm drink - surely you wouldn't throw us out into the cold" I had to look away as I couldn't hold a straight face. Problem was the whole place was watching and listening by now. It was a kind of mexican stand off. Eventually the waitress to her credit, came up with a plan. We could stay if we went upstairs and she would serve us as soon as she could. She ushered us up to a sort of balcony store room. After placing three bin liners on chairs she told us to wait there and promptly disappeared. After what seemed like an age she reappeared with tea and toasted teacakes. Lovely! A result. I think I learned a good lesson there.  Don't assume the worst - oh and being cheeky can get you places.

Well after getting nice and warm in the cafe we had to venture back out. It was cold and getting late but we still had a few miles to get home. There is nothing worse than having to get going again when you've got yourself warm after being wet and cold.  But that is what I will probably have to do on my LEJOG ride at some point. So we headed up the back of Lyme park and cut through towards the A6 and home. It was a great ride and I felt quite a bit fitter. I am sure the lads were going easy on me but I managed to not get dropped all afternoon. 

Thanks again to Neil and Fred for a great ride out. I really enjoyed it.

Latest donation - from my mate Paul

This week I received a wonderful donation of £500.00 from my accountant and good friend Paul Summers.

I have known Paul since we were teenagers. He and I have been mates through good times and bad...and the odd dodgy club 18-30 holiday (a long time ago).  Paul has always been very diligent when dealing with money. Long before he became an accountant he would studiously work out the bill after a curry or in a taxi on the way home from a night out. He used to have triplicate keys to open his wallet and when he did, moths flew out! Just joking Paul! This donation means a great deal to me. I am absolutely chuffed to bits and genuinely moved by it.

This picture is not accurate - Paul doesn't have brown shoes!

Paul hasn't asked me to promote his business but I am very happy to do so.

Paul has worked for International firms in both Switzerland and the Isle of Man before returning home to build his own family firm in the UK.

His company Summers & Co. Accountants is based in Marple and is a friendly, well run business. Although sometimes when I pop in to his office his Mum Linda gives me a good telling off for not shaving....come to think of it, so does his sister Bev. But I do get a nice brew....oh and the occasional cream cake. (does your accountant offer you cream cakes? - bet they don't)

Cream cakes at Summers & Co - customer service at its finest!

Paul's expertise and experience in personal and corporate taxation is second to none and the service his company gives, in my view is as good as any slick city firm.

I can thoroughly recommend them for a first class and reasonably priced accountancy service. Its geared towards small to medium sized, owner run businesses. So if you are looking for a good accountant. Paul is your man. Oh and be sure to ask for a cream cake with your first consultation.