Everyone in the 'HOUSE' a winner...

Despite a lower turnout than we had hoped for, bingo turned out fun again last night and we raised a fabulous £131 for Helen & Douglas House. Huge thanks to Andy and Hilary Dale for allowing us to commandeer Gatehangers, Ashendon and a big up to everyone who came out on a cold night to join in the fun.

Vicky, Alex and Gill mustered up so many raffle prizes that, along with the bingo cash prizes (wooo), virtually everyone in the house was a winner. Only Amber was down on her luck but she gets the special award of a 7am start for training cycle tomorrow to cheer her up!

After his somewhat dodgy bingo calling last time, Andy (landlord) did his background research this time and came up with...hmm...a list of bingo terms from the Internet! They were spurious, but clean! Some tampering of his list during 'half time, drinks time' livened it up - honestly "one fat lady with a fat head" and "fat man snores" were (we thought) truly hilarious compared to "Torquay in Devon" and "saving Grace" (the latter was also tampered with and the strategically placed 'h' almost lost Andy to giggles!).

Our next fundraising event will be the Beautiful Belles Bargain Booth at Ashendon boot sale to be held on the car park at Ashendon Playing Fields 10-2pm, Sunday 12th March - please come and buy - all proceeds will go to Helen & Douglas House.

The Long and Winding Road

Well, as you will no doubt have learned from Sians last blog the next Belles adventure sets off on June 9th – plenty of time for us girls to get into shape and conquer the South Downs!!

You may recall my last training ride was not the happiest, with icy conditions causing me a few problems that I’ve not forgotten, so it was with a little trepidation I entered the weekend with training firmly in my mind. On that occasion events required me to leave my bike down at Amber’s house so, before I could even begin to take on Sundays training, I needed to go and get my bike back.

One of the disadvantages of living out in the sticks is nobody has a pick-up truck when you need one, so 10am Saturday morning Steve and I set off on the two mile walk to Westcott to recover my trusted steed. Despite the cold rain and wind the walk down was easy enough but I was reminded on the way back just how daunting the ‘long and winding road’ up to Ashendon looks like when you’re heading up from the bottom.

When we arrived back Andy was out in the driveway doing the kind of things men do in driveways on Saturday mornings – more to the point a jet washer was conveniently plugged in and ready to go. A quick flutter of the eyelashes and the promise of cold beer from the fridge and “Hey Presto” – my bike looked as good as new. All I needed to do now was repeat the charm on Steve and the bike would be oiled up and ready for Sunday.

Saturday night was never going to offer suitable preparation for Sundays training session – Claire Cooks birthday party down in Cuddington was always going to be a test, particularly as all of the Belles had been invited along with partners who didn’t have to get up and cycle the next day. In the end we all decided that the best thing to do was to take it easy. Whilst it was many months ago we all still remember the wild Saturday night that ended up with a rather hung over cycle the next morning.

The Sunday morning weather seemed to be a great improvement on Saturday as I headed up to meet Vicky on the bench at the top of the hill. Sian and Amber were otherwise engaged today so just the two of us – ‘do we cycle or do we go and sit in the coffee shop for a couple of hours and say we’ve just done fifteen miles?’

We threw the idea round for a while and having decided we’d never get away with it Vicky and I headed off down Dorton Hill towards Ludgershall – meet ‘Wimp’ and ‘Wimp’ the two new Pollicott Belles.

As we began to gather speed and enthusiasm I pointed out two positives to Vicky. Firstly the sun had come out and it was actually feeling quite pleasant, secondly Steve was going to have a Full Monty ready for us when we got back (the English breakfast kind, not the one where he whips off his underpants wearing a police uniform).

Vicky was perhaps even more impressed with the four men I’d managed to accumulate on my way up to meet her, and not just any old four men - men with tales of the South Downs. It turns out these guys had cycled the very route that the Belles were going to take on this coming June – in the words of Chief Brody in the film Jaws “we’re gonna need a bigger bike”.

In no time at all Vicky and I was powering our way back up Dorton Hill. So much power in fact that when we met a sweating, gasping, dehydrated, fellow cyclist at the top who was amazed we’d arrived so cool, calm, and collected – I quietly owned up to having a little walk. Oh well, I tried.

Soon we were back in Pollicott, bikes parked up, boots off, and into the kitchen ready for Steves Full Monty – da da da, da da da da, - what a disappointment, we thought we were getting bacon, eggs, sausage, grilled tomato, and toast.

Now before I go a quick, yet important, reminder – the Pollicott Belles fund raising bingo night is this Thursday 3rd March up at The Gatehangers, hosted courtesy of Andy and Hilary.

Eyes down, look in, and see you Thursday.

Alex

XX

On June 10/11/12 the Pollicott Belles will ride again...

Setting a date could be a bigger challenge than them there hills of the south themselves. Aside from a small matter of training, it takes a surprising amount of planning and effort to get four gals, four bikes and four sets of kit ready to do a long distance cycle ride so planning has started early.

We need support for home life commitments, travel and logistics on route so on one very chilly Winter evening last week we were looking forward to the sunshine of early Summer:

• Several diaries were carefully consulted and coordinated
• The Trainline.com was checked and checked again
• Car capacities were investigated
• Budget accommodation options were identified
• Follow up negotiation was agreed to be had with employers

Finally with all threads pulled together our window of opportunity was narrowed down to 10/11/12 June 2011 and it cannot be weather permitting!

Whatever the weather, we four Belles are travelling to Winchester by train on Thursday 9th June. We will be staying at the City Mill YHA at the start of the South Downs Way. We will be setting off on our mission AM Friday 10th June and finishing as early as possible on Sunday 12th June. We are still not sure how we will get home yet but several options are identified.

Last year we had a fabulous, pick up and drop, luggage service from our 'boys' but this year, due to life commitments, we are having to err on the side of the possible need for self-sufficiency. The plan is to pack one pannier each - one! Luggage priorities will be puncture repair and maintenance equipment, first aid kit, wet weather gear, phones and snacks. So clean knickers, toothbrushes and deodorant will be a luxury it seems.  And, definitely NO 'going out gear' or make-up (imagine!). Hope remains that someone will take pity on us and offer to meet us on route with (at least) a change of undies!

There is a lot of effort going into our adventure so please, if you can, support us in our efforts. Ideally help us raise some hard cash for Helen & Douglas House. Which brings me on nicely to remind you that next week is Ashendon Bingo night (8pm, 3rd March, Gatehangers Ashendon) and we are hopeful for an even bigger result than the last one.

All the Gear(s) and No Idea...

This week saw Vicky and me (Sian) flying (like little geese) up and down the hills surrounding Pollicott. Vicky set off to tackle 3 of our most notorious hills, I had 4 in mind and we actually managed 5 when Vicky suggested Barrack Hill in Winchendon as a special one off bonus.

Our 15 mile, 331 ft hill climb with NW diversion.

Well actually that’s not quite the whole truth. Vicky asked if I had seen the beautiful barn conversion in Winchendon. I had not and (as it happens) we could, with a little diversion, go that way!

We did well – climbing a total of 331 feet, almost twice what has become the norm for us Belles, and covering just over 15 miles. We also both managed to stay on top of our bikes and the tyres stayed inflated the whole way round.

Vicky did particularly well given the challenges she has with her bike gears. Said gears need to be selected before heading uphill which means she is losing momentum just where it is most needed.

 

This got me thinking Vicky may need new gears fitted to her bike. So I raised the subject later that day with one of our many technical advisors. I had no idea:

• “Are they derailleur?” – I stared blankly
• “How many gears has her bike got?” – blanker
• “Do they look like yours?” – and blanker still

The one thing I thought I knew about bikes was – they are simple!!! I thought it was a matter of taking the old ones off and putting the new ones on.

Despite wishing I hadn’t asked, the outcome of the conversation was positive because the advice from our advisor is this – they probably just need cleaning or a new cable. Cables tend to go. She is very unlikely to need new gears. And the best bit is our advisor (with some cajoling) has agreed to take a look (really, you did Andy!!).

Bad Wind Stopped Play

For 2 weeks in a row we Belles have not trained and last weekend’s excuse was ‘bad wind’. This was neither due to a fear of following flatulent fellow Belles nor a result of our ‘training’ excesses the previous week. It was simply that weather conditions were against us.

At this point, ordinarily, I would have said “it’s only a little bit of wind, come on girls” or something similar. But I knew better than that because:

1. I did that when it was just a little bit frosty and that led to a series of unfortunate events and
2. I was out pedalling in high winds a few weeks ago and it was an interesting experience...

I went for spin on my road bike in similar (but not as bad) weather conditions. It should have been a relaxing Saturday pedal and yet it became a battle of wits at every field gate. In fact, the wind whipped through any gap, in any boundary, and my journey through Bucks, Oxon (and a little bit of Northants) was a perilous game of chicken. Would I, or would I not, make it past the gap before the wind gusted? On more than one occasion I found myself passing a gap and making sudden, involuntary, lurches across the road on my wonderfully light carbon fibre machine. I didn’t come off but that was more down to luck than skill or judgement.

So this got me thinking – what do (dare I say it) (even) more committed cyclists do to combat bad wind?

Cycle Performance Tips tell us to:

• Keep a good mental attitude. Stay positive. Wind, day after day, can beat you down mentally. But head winds actually help improve fitness.
• Watch for cross winds. Especially on roads with truck traffic. When you're leaning left to maintain a straight line and a passing vehicle momentarily blocks the wind, you might veer into the lane. Fight the tendency by keeping your elbows loose and upper body relaxed.

Cycle Chat advice is:

• Hope drivers are aware that a sudden gust of wind can cause a sudden wobble.
• Follow a cyclist with a flag and use that to warn of coming gusts.

And finally Cycling Tips, Australia came up with the answer:

• Cycle as a group and be...
• ...like geese. This is the most efficient way of using the group’s energy to cut through the wind and maintain a high average speed. The riders in the echelon will rotate through from the sheltered side to the front and then pull off back on the windward side.

So be warned you may just see us gals cycling in an echelon formation with a flag flying, heads down, necks extended, flapping our floppy elbows and squawking (more than usual). And be aware that, despite our best efforts, we may suddenly veer into your path and blame it on bad wind.

And that's a fact...

Plenty of people take on challenges for charity and, compared to some, the South Downs Way may feel a little tame. Remember this however: we are busy girls with busy lives, squeezing our training in around careers, families, horses, voluntary policing, regular injury and bad weather. Also remember Alex had never cycled until the very end of 2009. On top of that the South Downs Way is no walk in the park - it's long, there are hills and pleny of distractions along the way.

Then, please put the following facts into that context and give us a little credit - you can do that at: www.justgiving.com/pollicottbelles2011 or at one of our forthcoming events.

The South Downs Way National Trail starts at City Mill, Winchester and finishes at the Western End of Eastbourne Promenade. I'm not sure we'll be up to promenading at the end.

How Far? The South Downs Way is 100 miles long  - we Belles have a slight advantage because the bridleway route is 4 miles shorter (though navigational error is bound to sort that out).

How High? in total there is 13,600 foot of ups (and downs) - we are currently climbing 170 foot on a typical training ride - so in 2 days we will be doing that 80 times over! Butser Hill at 900ft and Ditchling Beacon at 814ft will be the killers. A little (a lot) more hill training is needed methinks.



The elevation Profile of one of our training routes

  

The  elevation Profile of the South Downs Way

How Long will it Take? On average it takes 3 days to complete the South Downs Way on a bike - we have to complete it in 2 days (2 half days and one full day).

The Sights? Winchester Cathedral, Chanctonbury Ring, Devils Dyke, Neolithic, Bronze and Iron Age monuments, Long Man of Wilmington, Seven Sisters, Beachy Head, blue butterflies and all 14 of Andy Goldsworthy’s strategically erected chalk stones (which start at Cocking) sorry!

The sights will be the subject of more blogs so please come back to learn more about our ride and training.

Training With The Belles

What an honour, what a privilege! As a male ‘non Belle’ and be allowed to partake in yesterdays training session was a real eye-opener, to see first hand what these girls get up to on a Sunday once they get together was a real experience. If you’ve been following these blogs then you’ve heard what the Belles have to say – now you can hear from a neutral inside the training camp.

As the Belles gathered together around lunchtime I was immediately made aware of the importance of warming up correctly so, to ease us into the next three hours of intense activity, the Belles opened a bottle of nicely chilled Cava. This early session of warming up clearly has much importance attached to it – ten minutes into warming up and clearly keen not to make any mistakes or cause injury, a second bottle of Cava was opened. “These Belles are nothing if not thorough” I thought to myself.

Once the Cava warm up session was over things started to get serious. The Belles took up position around the dining table and once locked into the correct posture more wine followed, not just a single colour though, oh no – that would have been far too easy. Before my very eyes several bottles of Merlot and Pinot Grigio were being placed around the table and the Belles pushed on. “How much more can these girls take?” I wondered and it wasn’t long before I found out.

Roast beef, slow oven cooked lamb in balsamic vinegar and rosemary, vegetarian lasagnes, roasted potatoes and parsnips, gravy, and Yorkshire puddings were served to really test the stamina of these disciplined and intense athletes. I could tell the Belles were finding this part of the training session quite tough as they kept having to stop for drinks, mostly Merlot and Pinot Grigio.

I was expecting ‘burn out’ any minute, this had turned into an intense session and I was struggling to keep up but I was yet again left in awe when the trifle, plum crumble, ice cream, and custard arrived. How these girls can stay that focused for this long was beyond comprehension.

Just as I thought they’d pushed too hard and were about to run out of steam more wine and a decanter of port was lifted into the training area by Vicky. “Get some of that down you” was the cry. Clearly these girls achieve greatness by pushing each other on to new levels of achievement. Teamwork at it’s best.



At last it appeared to be over, these girls had been at it solid for three hours and I for one stand in admiration. I’d heard how hard these girls trained and now I’d seen it for myself – this was the stuff of dreams, super heroes in the making, dedication beyond the norm. But…my admiration was premature – boxes of chocolate nibbles hit the table just about the same time as the cheese and biscuits arrived – cheddar, stilton, and brie – this top training session was still not over. I sat in stunned silence – how do these girls do this week after week?

Finally coffee arrived and plates were taken away – the finishing tape was in sight and the pain barrier had been taken head on by the Belles and made to look like nothing. An invincible demonstration of what four determined girls can achieve.

Now I know what the Belles are all about, commitment, training, dedication – I often wondered what they did and to be honest once or twice suspected they might be nipping off to the nearest coffee shop and sitting it out.

How wrong could I be?

Steve