Saturday 22nd May
Deep underground, crossing the borders of France and Switzerland, lies the Large Hadron Collider – the worlds largest particle collider – searching for the elusive Higgs boson – the theoretical answer to the universe.
Is this the chain reaction that came so close to threatening the Pollicott Belles training activities?
No, more down to earth events took place today.
It was a beautiful sunny morning as The Belles set off at 7am – Vicky looking especially dapper in her new cycling attire – and not a chip, bacon sandwich, or dollop of tomato ketchup in sight.
I’d had a few texts in the week suggesting I’d been giving Sian (aka Morse Miller) a bad time of late and I was expecting some payback, so I was already a little apprehensive. Sian has become famous for her understanding smile though – usually up to the point of a gruelling four hour marathon. Payback can be so cruel.
We set off down Dorton Hill, out across the A41, cross over towards Quainton, and back up the hill through Westcott towards home. Not so bad, I can handle that.
Then…………crunch………….”what the heck was that” I wondered? Had we been in the old mans 17 year old winter banger (which is now the 17 year old spring banger and heading rapidly into the 17 year old summer banger) I wouldn’t have bothered, crunching of any kind merely replaces the usual rattles and bangs. This was a new experience for me – a cycling ‘crunch’ followed by some very easy peddling and not a lot of movement. The chain reaction had begun – in fact the chain had fallen off! “Oh bother”.
Fortunately Sian (bless her) had already covered this in earlier training - ‘Module III – Emergency Chain Replacement’ so I was up and away in no time. “Ah” I hissed “bring it on” – so it did……….crunch…………the thing came off again.
Maybe I hadn’t taken in as much of Module III as I thought. So I had another go.
This time it seemed to work but I was a little less flippant about my repair – I’d leave that until I got back this time! By now I was way behind and very much on a lonesome ride playing catch up – when I bumped into Derek – our lovely postman of many years.
Derek decided some help was warranted and provided a ‘rear guard’ for me in absence of the rest of The Belles and stayed with me back to Pollicott.
Back at Vickys I discovered there is something great about being ten minutes behind everyone else – the coffee was ready, along with cakes, not to mention the calculations had already been done – an impressive 15.5 miles!!
“Hey baby” as Diana Ross once sang “we’re at the beginning of a chain reaction”.
A week to go now………..stay tuned, it’s getting close.
Alex xx
It has been almost three years since the Belles set a challenge. We haven't stopped, we simply need to re-set and re-focus and find time to get ourselves back in the zone.
Monday 31 May 2010
Do you remember ‘Lift of in Pollicott’
Tuesday 18th May
January 17th 2010 – do you remember ‘Lift of in Pollicott’ “Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, (T minus 5), four, three, two, one…….Pollicott we have lift off”?
Well, in ten days time it is lift off, The Belles begin the 65 mile ride along The Ridgeway from Wiltshire to home. It really is that close so another mid-week training session was on the cards – time to squeeze in as much as we can.
Sian had a netball commitment down at Ashfold School and left early with Andy, leaving Vicky and me to meet up with them a little later at The Gatehangers pub in Ashendon (more about this later).
Tonights route took us out of Ashendon down the hill towards Brill on what has become known (to us) as The Dorton Loop – maybe one day it will become famous – see Wikipedia ‘Dorton Loop’ – a route of cycling agony and pain initiated by The Pollicott Belles!. Ah! – fame at last.
By recent standards an hour out on the road doesn’t seem like much, but speed is certainly picking up and The Dorton Loop is a decent run (see Wikipedia), so a stop off at The Gatehangers pub was the least we deserved. After such a brisk workout a drink was well deserved and trust Vicky to ‘max out’ at the first opportunity (well, old Morse Miller wasn’t about was she?) and two pints of lager and a bowl of chips later the damage was done.
Enter Sian – “hello hello – what’s going on here then”? Too late, empty glasses and chip bowl already in the dishwasher. “Hi Sian, fancy a diet coke” I said, waving my glass aloft. “Hick – yesh, a diet coke” added Vicky.
It appears our new Landlord at the Gatehangers, Andy (lets call him Andy II to save confusion with Sians Andy), has clearly been following The Belles progress. Deftly avoiding the subjects of lager, chips, and tomato ketchup, he was enthusiastic about our exploits as portrayed on our blog updates. Good going Andy II, and not a word to Morse Miller – we’ll sort a bung out later.
So another training session done, a fun night to the end the day, and now only nine days to go before we hit the road for real.
Alex xx
January 17th 2010 – do you remember ‘Lift of in Pollicott’ “Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, (T minus 5), four, three, two, one…….Pollicott we have lift off”?
Well, in ten days time it is lift off, The Belles begin the 65 mile ride along The Ridgeway from Wiltshire to home. It really is that close so another mid-week training session was on the cards – time to squeeze in as much as we can.
Sian had a netball commitment down at Ashfold School and left early with Andy, leaving Vicky and me to meet up with them a little later at The Gatehangers pub in Ashendon (more about this later).
Tonights route took us out of Ashendon down the hill towards Brill on what has become known (to us) as The Dorton Loop – maybe one day it will become famous – see Wikipedia ‘Dorton Loop’ – a route of cycling agony and pain initiated by The Pollicott Belles!. Ah! – fame at last.
By recent standards an hour out on the road doesn’t seem like much, but speed is certainly picking up and The Dorton Loop is a decent run (see Wikipedia), so a stop off at The Gatehangers pub was the least we deserved. After such a brisk workout a drink was well deserved and trust Vicky to ‘max out’ at the first opportunity (well, old Morse Miller wasn’t about was she?) and two pints of lager and a bowl of chips later the damage was done.
Enter Sian – “hello hello – what’s going on here then”? Too late, empty glasses and chip bowl already in the dishwasher. “Hi Sian, fancy a diet coke” I said, waving my glass aloft. “Hick – yesh, a diet coke” added Vicky.
It appears our new Landlord at the Gatehangers, Andy (lets call him Andy II to save confusion with Sians Andy), has clearly been following The Belles progress. Deftly avoiding the subjects of lager, chips, and tomato ketchup, he was enthusiastic about our exploits as portrayed on our blog updates. Good going Andy II, and not a word to Morse Miller – we’ll sort a bung out later.
So another training session done, a fun night to the end the day, and now only nine days to go before we hit the road for real.
Alex xx
Wednesday 26 May 2010
100% and beyond....
Just a quick celebrationary, flag waving, cheerleading, wey hey, woo hoo, break dancing moment - with less than 2 weeks to the big off we have hit our £1000 target. Thank you everyone who helped us achieve this amazing result - and there's still time to go beyond.
Monday 17 May 2010
A Recipe for Fundraising Success
You will need:
• A large dash of wine
• Plenty of nibbles
• Generous to a fault raffle prizes
• Clare Cook enterprises!!
• 48 People
• 2 Chefs• A large dash of wine
• Plenty of nibbles
• Generous to a fault raffle prizes
• Clare Cook enterprises!!
In the heat of the moment our 2 chefs conjured up some truly amazing pro vs. pamp 'ready steady cook' style dishes that just had to be tasted:
- PRO - John Rimmer - the legendary head chef from The Lambert Arms, Lewknor turned out not one, but two exceptional mains - Pan Fried Salmon with a cream and leek sauce (sod the roux - see below) and Poached Salmon with sautéed new potatoes, cherry tomatoes and courgette. Followed by a date sponge to die for.
- PAMP - Clare Cook - the tireless pampered chef from Ashendon put up an exceptional challenge with her Carbonara Pizza followed by Waffleberry Pudding.
On a more serious note, John shared a few tips with us like:
- Put a couple of teaspoons of bicarbonate of soda in cabbage to keep the green colour strong
- Place salmon in the (very hot) pan away from you so the oil doesn't spit back
- Don't bother with a roux sauce - use butter and cream instead
Then finally thanks to everyone for coming along, joining in the madness and handing over your hard earned cash so willingly. We love you. Latest (and almost final) fundraising result is £350 to be split equally between The Pollicott Belles Ridgeway Cycle for Macmillan Cancer Support and Edward Cook's Mount Kilimanjaro Trek for Marie Curie Cancer Care.
Tuesday 11 May 2010
A bit of an Apology!!!
As I hang my head low in disgrace I have to apologise to dear Sian as her text quite rightly had no mention of 'SWEET', so my creative writing got the better of me again! SORRY Sian, I hope your reputation is salvable!!!! xxxx
Monday 10 May 2010
'Short and Sweet'
These were the words that came through on a text from Sian on Saturday night for this weeks training. So as we met on Sunday morning and Sian explained the proposed route I thought it sounded fairly 'sweet', that was until we got going!!We headed off down the hill towards Watbridge, here we headed along the track and took the bridleway accross towards Windmill Farm up on the hill. Once on the bridlepath it became evident that this ride was going to be anything other than 'sweet'!!! Rutted, hard mud covered in longish grass hid a multitude of potential hazards as we all found out at various stages. I rather felt like I was on some sort of torture toning table being jiggered to pieces!!!
Once we ascended the hill we were re-routed onto an altenative bridleway route due to ongoing construction of Waddesdon Farm Centre, this was a most welcome SMOOTH tarmac road, total heaven after the ruts!!! Added to the smooth road were some of the most spectacular views accross the vale and as Sian reminded us if we weren't out training we would be missing out on all these benefits!!!
The bridleway took us down to the main entrance to Waddesdon Manor and into Waddesdon, where we took the route down Frederick street onto a farm track to pick up the Mid-Shires way, however we could not find this Mid-Shires way and after a detour past a very pungent sewer works we ended up asking a lady on a very nice horse if she knew where it was, she did not know but told us if we cycled out of Waddesdon at the cross roads there was a bridlepath that would take us back on to our scheduled route.
Upon finding this bridlepath I took one look at the hill we had to climb and gulped!! We ended up walking it as our bikes kept rearing up it was sooooo steep!
We came out on the lane opposite Waddesdon Stud and continued back to Pollicott on the roads, a welcome relief after all those bridleways!!! Sian's I-phone app told us we had covered 13.18 miles and burned 864 calories!! I like the calories burned bit best!!!
Back in Pollicott we had a much needed coffee and Sian's homemade mince pies (to replace those lost calories!!).
Tuesday 4 May 2010
Fair Cop Guv!
So we got our collar felt by Inspector Morse Miller! “We ain’t going down alone, ketchup there may have been but we have witnesses – go and speak to the De-Banks, they passed us on Dorton Hill acknowledging us with a toot and a wave”.
With that little misunderstanding sorted, on with the business of the weekend.
“Oh What a Beautiful Morning” – it was not. Seven thirty on a Sunday morning in the pouring rain dampened our enthusiasm – but not as much as hearing that someone close to us had received some very sad news. It was with heavy hearts that we set off on a morning that would have been easy to walk away from – but today rain and cold were pushed aside by renewed determination to do our little bit for Macmillan. It was a slow start and our usual cheery banter was subdued – but this was a time to dig a little deeper and the close reality of why we’re doing this pushed the cold and wet from our thoughts.
We needed a little something to get our minds back to the job in hand, and there he was - Harry Rand – getting stuck in to the stuff that Harry Rand does. To be honest I don’t know exactly what he does – but as always he was there, doing it. His cheery “hello girls” and welcoming smile gave the Belles an extra boost on a difficult morning. Thanks Harry – you may never know how important you were today.
With Harry fuelling the pedal power we arrived at Haddenham station – and I began to worry – any ride that involved taking our bikes on a train was surely going to be a severe test of our determination and resolve. I was not wrong!
By the time we got off the train at Princes Risborough Sian had briefed Vicky and me about our planned cross-country route. Our immediate thought was that this is going to be too much but today was not a day to give up – today the stark reality of why we’re doing this was brought home - today was a day to make a difference.
Our route, as best as I can explain, was a circular ride taking in Parslow’s Hillock, Flowers Bottom, Bledlow Ridge, Crowell, Chinnor, and Saunderton. Some 16 miles as I learned later.
It was pouring and Sian thought it would be inspirational for us if she sung ‘Rain’ by Mika – and it was, for a short while. Eventually Vicky threatened to remove vocal chords if she didn’t shut up. We continued our ride with the just the sound of bicycle wheels churning through sodden ground.
Chinnor and Crowell Hill were particularly memorable for me because I ended up flat on my face covered in mud. Cycling is a new experience for me, as is brake failure - something I’d prefer not to experience too often. But!! - looking for a positive, Vicky and I chuckled, surely this would signal an end to the mornings endurance. ‘Next around the corner’ we kept telling ourselves ‘would be Andy in his bright green car’ – bikes on the roof, and thirty minutes later we’d be back home in the warm.
Alas, next around the corner was Sian – toolkit in hand, ready to get me on the road again. “Where does this girl get all this stuff?” I wondered. The only thing I’d seen Sian with all morning was an everlasting Marmite and cucumber roll, a magical roll that seemed to last the entire day - no matter how many times she stopped to take a bite. Vicky and I had often wondered if she was superhuman - everlasting fitness is one thing, everlasting Marmite and cucumber roll something completely different. We wondered if she could make us an everlasting bacon sandwich.
Vicky was also on hand with a medical kit. My last tumble not only damaged the bike, I’d also picked up a few cuts and bruises. So here we had it, Sian with toolkit, Vicky with medical aid, and me with my trusty bag of boiled sweets. Clearly I had a long way to go.
Eventually we found ourselves back at Princes Risborough station: a very welcome arrival after the days events, particularly the hill at Small Dean - another demonstration of Sians incredible fitness.
I’m not a great fan of train journeys but today the carriage was like a warm oven, and I was almost on the verge of slipping into ‘girlie’ mode and having a little cry. Perhaps I’ll take up knitting once we’ve conquered The Ridgeway next month, at least I wouldn’t have to worry about chattering teeth, blue hands, and cuts & bruises.
With a difficult day behind us we stopped for tea and cake at Haddenham Garden Centre – a kind of ‘ritual’ now for us Belles, but we still had one dilemma to face. Which way back up through Nether Winchendon? As you’ll know from previous blogs the support and encouragement of Nether Winchendons ‘Big Cheese’ doesn’t stretch to letting us cycle on his land so we left it to Vicky to make the right decision.
Despite Vickys scant regard for the rules of the Manor (sorry mister Big Cheese) it was the professional cyclists who didn’t like us on their road today. Can you believe it – according to the Top Brass in charge – this was an ‘international’ event. Keep off the road –Belles not invited.
By the time we cycled back down into Pollicott it was a quarter past three – we’d been out since seven thirty and cycled a distance of about 27 miles. Vicky and I quietly wondered if we should tie Sian up and leave her out in the rain as a kind of ‘thank you’ for the days activities, but deep in our hearts we knew we’d achieved something we perhaps could not have done without her.
All I have to do now is get my bike back from the repair shop, wait for my bruising to disappear, and let my cuts heal – and we’ll be ready to go again next week!
Alex xx
With that little misunderstanding sorted, on with the business of the weekend.
“Oh What a Beautiful Morning” – it was not. Seven thirty on a Sunday morning in the pouring rain dampened our enthusiasm – but not as much as hearing that someone close to us had received some very sad news. It was with heavy hearts that we set off on a morning that would have been easy to walk away from – but today rain and cold were pushed aside by renewed determination to do our little bit for Macmillan. It was a slow start and our usual cheery banter was subdued – but this was a time to dig a little deeper and the close reality of why we’re doing this pushed the cold and wet from our thoughts.
We needed a little something to get our minds back to the job in hand, and there he was - Harry Rand – getting stuck in to the stuff that Harry Rand does. To be honest I don’t know exactly what he does – but as always he was there, doing it. His cheery “hello girls” and welcoming smile gave the Belles an extra boost on a difficult morning. Thanks Harry – you may never know how important you were today.
With Harry fuelling the pedal power we arrived at Haddenham station – and I began to worry – any ride that involved taking our bikes on a train was surely going to be a severe test of our determination and resolve. I was not wrong!
By the time we got off the train at Princes Risborough Sian had briefed Vicky and me about our planned cross-country route. Our immediate thought was that this is going to be too much but today was not a day to give up – today the stark reality of why we’re doing this was brought home - today was a day to make a difference.
Our route, as best as I can explain, was a circular ride taking in Parslow’s Hillock, Flowers Bottom, Bledlow Ridge, Crowell, Chinnor, and Saunderton. Some 16 miles as I learned later.
It was pouring and Sian thought it would be inspirational for us if she sung ‘Rain’ by Mika – and it was, for a short while. Eventually Vicky threatened to remove vocal chords if she didn’t shut up. We continued our ride with the just the sound of bicycle wheels churning through sodden ground.
Chinnor and Crowell Hill were particularly memorable for me because I ended up flat on my face covered in mud. Cycling is a new experience for me, as is brake failure - something I’d prefer not to experience too often. But!! - looking for a positive, Vicky and I chuckled, surely this would signal an end to the mornings endurance. ‘Next around the corner’ we kept telling ourselves ‘would be Andy in his bright green car’ – bikes on the roof, and thirty minutes later we’d be back home in the warm.
Alas, next around the corner was Sian – toolkit in hand, ready to get me on the road again. “Where does this girl get all this stuff?” I wondered. The only thing I’d seen Sian with all morning was an everlasting Marmite and cucumber roll, a magical roll that seemed to last the entire day - no matter how many times she stopped to take a bite. Vicky and I had often wondered if she was superhuman - everlasting fitness is one thing, everlasting Marmite and cucumber roll something completely different. We wondered if she could make us an everlasting bacon sandwich.
Vicky was also on hand with a medical kit. My last tumble not only damaged the bike, I’d also picked up a few cuts and bruises. So here we had it, Sian with toolkit, Vicky with medical aid, and me with my trusty bag of boiled sweets. Clearly I had a long way to go.
Eventually we found ourselves back at Princes Risborough station: a very welcome arrival after the days events, particularly the hill at Small Dean - another demonstration of Sians incredible fitness.
I’m not a great fan of train journeys but today the carriage was like a warm oven, and I was almost on the verge of slipping into ‘girlie’ mode and having a little cry. Perhaps I’ll take up knitting once we’ve conquered The Ridgeway next month, at least I wouldn’t have to worry about chattering teeth, blue hands, and cuts & bruises.
With a difficult day behind us we stopped for tea and cake at Haddenham Garden Centre – a kind of ‘ritual’ now for us Belles, but we still had one dilemma to face. Which way back up through Nether Winchendon? As you’ll know from previous blogs the support and encouragement of Nether Winchendons ‘Big Cheese’ doesn’t stretch to letting us cycle on his land so we left it to Vicky to make the right decision.
Despite Vickys scant regard for the rules of the Manor (sorry mister Big Cheese) it was the professional cyclists who didn’t like us on their road today. Can you believe it – according to the Top Brass in charge – this was an ‘international’ event. Keep off the road –Belles not invited.
By the time we cycled back down into Pollicott it was a quarter past three – we’d been out since seven thirty and cycled a distance of about 27 miles. Vicky and I quietly wondered if we should tie Sian up and leave her out in the rain as a kind of ‘thank you’ for the days activities, but deep in our hearts we knew we’d achieved something we perhaps could not have done without her.
All I have to do now is get my bike back from the repair shop, wait for my bruising to disappear, and let my cuts heal – and we’ll be ready to go again next week!
Alex xx
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