Being old.

OMG!!!!  I am soooo old.  Three young twenty-somethings staying in our cottage came over this evening to ask for my advice.  They were talking to me like I was their Mum!  Freaked out a bit until I realised I am actually twice their age.  Now I am very freaked out.  Had to lie down in a darkened room for a while.  Not helped by the fact that I need to do some ironing which is preying on my mind a bit (washed the cushion covers for a sofa we are trying to sell and they are all creased, not a good look).

Been out on the bike a couple more times, managed to get a bit further, but only just.  Was going to go out again today, but large black cloud was looming, so stayed in.  I thought that if it started raining whilst I was out, I wouldn't be able to get back very quickly and would end up very wet indeed.  Had to prepare cv (in french) anyway.

Unfit

Woke up to yet more bloody rain.  However, this afternoon it dried up and we had a bit of sunshine, so I in my wisdom, decided to go out on my bike.  Haven't been on it since last October and have put on a bit of weight since then.  Had to stop at the top of the road.  I used to get all the way up the hill.  And to the village and elsewhere.  After my short stop, went right at the junction along a road that goes downhill slightly.  There were two farmers in the field near to the road, so I ended up turning around and going in the opposite direction as coming back would be uphill and I might not have been able to make it and would have had to stop near the farmers, not having that.  Didn't go far in the other direction, well, it was muddy and I didn't want to get the bike too dirty.  That and I wanted to have a chance of being able to get home.  Had to sit down for a while when I got back, legs were like jelly. 

Car booty!

Been to four car boots in the past month and managed to pick up a few bargains.  Two of the car boots were big (one apparently had about 700 stalls and I can believe it, we certainly didn't get to see them all) and two were very small, one barely had 20 stalls!  I know that you're desperate to find out what we got, so here's a little list of what I can remember:

1. Winter clothes for the girls at 1€ each (which, even though second hand, tend to be better quality than the cheap crap that I can afford in the shops over here which just fall apart after a few days.  After sifting through the unwashed stuff at the car boots (seriously!) when I find good stuff for sale it tends to be properly good stuff).
2. A winter coat for Isabella, long and pink and suede effect for 3€.
3. Adults and kids board/boxed games for the guests (although the kids ones seem to be in our house at the moment) for 2€ each.  Monopoly, Triominos and Connect Four, all in 'as new' condition.  I'm sure there was another one, but I can't remember what it was now...
4. An electronic keyboard for 2€ for Georgia for her birthday.  Got one for Isabella's birthday at an earlier car boot for the same price and they both love it.  Hence they needed one each for the sanity of their parents.
5. A couple of cheap books for the girls.
6. A bike for Isabella for Christmas, not just from us, but from her grandparents as well.  She has started to grow out of her current bike, we'd raised the seat and the handlebars and it was better for her, but it has no gears and she was struggling a bit when she was coming out riding with me on our 'flat, but not flat' roads.  She also can't get up much speed on the flat roads....  Anyway, had a look at some of the bikes in the shops and the prices are horrific and the gears are often very stiff, even I struggled to change them.  This bike in the car boot was in excellent condition, a nice dark pink colour, has five gears which are easy to change and came with a good adjustable helmet, all for 60€!  Still a lot of money for us, and probably more than you'd pay in the uk, but we could never afford a new one, so we took the opportunity whilst it was there.  The new version of the same bike is currently selling for 150€ in the shop, plus the helmet at 17€, so all in all a bit of a bargain.  Had fun trying to get it in the car though, just about managed!

Biking fun

Trip 1

Well, not exactly trip one, but my first big adventure in that I decided to go even further and attempt the real hill.  Got to the bottom of the slope, went down in to a low gear and pressed on.  Managed to get two-thirds of the way up before I had to get off and walk.  Well, I thought it was two-thirds up, when I got to where I thought the top was, it wasn't the top, you know how it is with hills.  However, I got back on the bike and carried on my way.  Once I really had got to the top it was flat all the way, along the main road for a bit, only a couple of cars went past, turned by the ironworks and then round the back of the tip and beyond.  I've been along the road that goes beyond the tip a couple of times before and I knew I'd be fine because it was a gentle downhill slope all the way.  So I'm pootling along, a bit of light peddling, feeling quite pleased although a bit tired, and turned the corner.  Who the hell put that hill there then?  Bloody hell, it was small, but unfortunately steep.  It was hard work but eventually I made it to the top.  Mind you, it was well worth it, the view was lovely.  No time to stop though, luckily it really was downhill next and then mostly flat until home. 

Trip 2

Repeated the above trip and did the whole lot by bike, even the first big hill which I didn't have to walk up, but I did have to stop momentarily at the top to allow burning pain in legs to subside, 40mins whole trip, even added an extra detour.  Well chuffed.  Couldn't sit down though when I got back due to cocyx pain.

Trip 3

Today.  On a high from last trip, decide to do same trip, but in reverse.  Adrian bought me a helmet today, I am grateful, but was not entirely pleased as I feel like a right tit in it.  However, on relection, I decided that a 40 year old red-faced, puffed-out fat bird on a bike with pasty legs and cycle shorts looks a bit of a tit anyway, so what difference was the helmet making?  One car came past me on my trip, unfortunately a parent from school.  I put my head down and pretended not to notice.  Anyway, this trip started out with the usual 'flat, but not flat road' and then flatish for a long way until the hills start.  Well, I thought this might be a better trip to make because it's mostly flat to start with so that will give my legs time to warm-up before the hills start, so getting up them should be easier.  However, as I now had the right headgear, I had also decided in my wisdom that I should wear my trainers and not my pumps as these would protect my feet better in case of an accident.  Did you know that trainers add several kilograms of weight to each foot and therefore make the going a lot harder, especially when combined with riding head-on into the wind?

So by the time I reached the junction where the hill starts I was already half-knackered.  But I perservered, I've done steep hills before, how bad could it be?  I think I managed about 10 metres.  Walked the rest of the way to the top where I stopped, purely to admire the view and have a drink.  Carried on and eventually reached the junction beyond the tip.  Here I had two choices, either go right, downhill immediately, but face a small hill at the bottom, which I knew I just couldn't handle.  Or go left, a longer trip, but all flat until the decsent.  I went left.  I nearly died.  Into the wind most of the way and a good part of it along the main road where I didn't want to stop.  Well actually I did want to stop, I just thought it best not to.  Eventually reached my turn-off where I pulled in and found myself using language that would get me a part in a porn movie.  (F*** yeah.  Oh. My. God. etc etc.  It was the relief of making it to the junction).  Carried on a bit more, wind behind me now, stopped by the wind turbines (purely for more water and to admire turbines of course).  Tractor starts coming along road behind me so I decide to set off in front of it, although with hindsight, once I'd set off I thought that may have been a bad idea - tractors are slow when you're stuck behind them in a car, but probably not when they're behind you on two wheels and pedals.  Anyway, just a 100 metres or so of light pedalling and then it was downhill all the way home, and not once did I pedal again!  It was just reward for my efforts I think.   Just one more vital piece of equipment needed - sports bra.  It's funny how going at speed on a bike can make you aware of just how bad the road surface is.

Made it to the edge of the village today (on the bike), went the long way round to avoid the main road and the proper hill.  Googled the trip when I got back - 7kms!  I'm well chuffed, not much for some, but a fair old trip for me not having ridden a bike for 22 years and being seriously out of shape.  Why do people say that?  I have actually got plenty of shape, that's my problem.  Anyway, the going was good, which is why I carried on further than I was planning.  It was only when I turned around to come back that I realised that I had had the wind behind me on the outward trip and was therefore riding into the wind on the way back, already half knackered.  I tried to be positive and think 'nice cooling breeze' but it's been a hot afternoon and the breeze was warm.  Anyway, I made it back and jumped in the pool to cool off.  Glass of wine in hand now, but that's mostly to ease my way into tomorrow, only 3 hours and seven minutes to go.

When is a flat road not a flat road?  When you're on a bike.  Bloody hell, my legs hurt, my bum hurts, my arms hurt.  (Why do my arms hurt?  They're not doing anything when you ride except holding on.  Well, your hands are holding on, but you know what I mean).  Went out again tonight; actually I could have carried on, I was getting a good buzz from it, and I went further than I had planned, but even so, was pretty knackered when I got back.  I have to keep standing up when I'm free-wheeling down the slopes though, to give my backside a rest and deal with the wedgie (sorry, I bet you didn't really need to know that did you?).  Adrian got me a stand today and a pump, both very handy items that it was lacking.

Bike!

My new bike arrived today!  Am sooo excited!  It's my birthday present, but I've just been out on it, had to check it was ok and anyway, I'll be working all day on my birthday, and the day after, so won't have time then.  Went up the road to the bins and back, about 100m and could feel the burn.  Adrian adjusted seat and handlebar height, put new padded seat on (you'd think I'd have enough padding of my own) and went back off up the road.  Went further this time, all the way up to the crossroads, passed by a fire engine on the way up, blimey they're enormous close up, and just about made it to the junction.  The road is decptively flat when you walk it.  My legs were killing me.  Free-wheeled it back down - now that's my kind of cycling, I got a serious buzz out of that, so I decided to have another go, but just half-way this time, thought I'd turn around just before the hill starts.  Unfortunately, one of our neighbours passed me along the road so I had to keep going until she was out of sight, by which time the road had started it's ascent.  Then I realised that the bike has gears.  So I put it into a low gear.  Not so bad after all...  (although a bit complicated for me - my last one had five as I recall.  Which reminds me - I think the last time I went on a bike was about 22 years ago.

Hubby's got a brand new toy!

Adrian has got himself a new ride:

And here's an unflattering picture of me on it:

And as there's one of me, there has to be one of him too - his first ride on it, in our garden!  How many wives would let their husbands do that I ask you?!