OMS Door to Door Challenge – Departure Date minus 1 week
Ian's fortnight
Playlist: Classics
Riding on My Bike - Madness
The Bike Song - Mark Ronson
Bicycle - John Cale
Bicycle Race - Queen
Broken Bicycles - Tom Waits
Bicycle Song - Red Hot Chilli Peppers
Bike - Pink Floyd
Silver Machine - Hawkweed
Nine Million Bicycles - Katie Melua
Riding On My Bike - Sia
From The Little Book of Cycling.
It’s been a few weeks since I’ve contributed to our blog so I thought it was time I wrote something.
The last few weeks have been my out on several rides of different lengths including a circuit going past Wellington Monument to Culm Head before going passed Smeatharpe airfield to Dunkeswell. I then headed towards Culmstock, through Uffculme to Willand, Sampford Peverell, Uplowman, Huntsham ant the Staple Cross before retuning to Holcombe through Hockworthy. A ride of about forty-six miles which I completed in three and a half hours at an average speed of thirteen and a half miles an hour.
I have also completed several other rides as well as visiting the gym a few times to do some leg and back exercises.
Last week I had both the bikes serviced in Exeter, Bike No1 just needed a check over, but Bike No2 required some attention as it hadn’t had much done to it since I bought it about twelve years ago. It did give me the opportunity to cycle back from Exeter. Approaching Cullompton I was overtaken by a bunch of about ten keen cyclists, and I managed to tag onto the back go the group & cadge a lift to near Willand. I showed the benefits of slip-streaming, which I won’t have the benefit of during the challenge.
I also saw my Osteopath this week, I tend to go every three months, probably in a vain attempt to keep myself as fit as I can. She went through a number of exercises and stretches someone of my age should be doing when taking on a long cycle like this one.
With just a week left before we set off, I have several rides planned which will hopefully include a couple of longer routes and going out on consecutive days, I’m happy with my level of fitness so it’s now just about spending time on the bike.
Celeste our motorhome went in for a service and wash this week and I decided to go for a ride while I was waiting. I rode what will be part of the first day, leaving Wellington I climbed on to The Blackdown hills and on to Chard, through Winsham to Drimpton where I turned round and did it all in reverse. It’s fairly hilly but with some lovely countryside and pretty villages. The climb back on to The Blackdowns was tough but in all I rode 51 miles in about four hours which I was pleased with. Unfortunately, my phone went flat halfway through the ride, so I only managed to record part of the ride on Strava through which I monitor my performance.
I have to keep Jane and my cousin Heather musically happy during our time away so I have been buying CDs and downloading songs by the likes of ABBA, Lionel Richie, Whitney Houston and Coldplay to name a few. There may be times when I’m glad to be on my bike!
Heading into the final week before departure I have a couple of jobs to finish off on Celeste before packing her up ready for the off and of course we have our Fundraiser on Friday the 6th, The final Holcombe Rogus Pop Up Pub in the village hall so hopefully we will see you there.
Once we are on the challenge, there will be far fewer text blogs and more videos, pictures and interviews.
Thank you for your support and readership over the last few months. Your comments and support has really helped us to prepare for our journey.
As you know we are raising funds for Overcoming MS. If you would like to support this amazing charity which helps to improve the life of people with MS you can follow this link.
Help Jane Airey-Regardsoe raise money to support Overcoming Multiple Sclerosis
OMS Door to Door Challenge departure date minus 3 weeks
So the purpose of this weeks blog is so that I can test the IT to make sure that it works remotely while we’re on the challenge and I can upload videos for you while we’re away. So we are at the Green Man festival and it’s great opportunity for me to try it all out. So I’m writing this blog at the festival. This is the first time we’ve been here, surrounded by the beautiful Brecon Beacons, and held in the Glanusk estate, the setting is stunning.
It’s also a great opportunity to practice the sort of day I might have on the challenge. Thursday consisted of a Pilates 1-1 then I drover our faithful motorhome Celeste 3 hours to the festival, parked up using blocks to get her as level as possible (not easy in itself as there is a tendency to overshoot the blocks and then you have to start again. Finally I used the lump hammer to put up the windbreak around Celeste. I was pretty chuffed with myself. Ian kept trying to help and I kept refusing his help.
So I started going to Festivals 10 years ago. That was pre diagnosis, we’d take our trailer tent with its huge awning and it would take about 90 mins to put up. There would also be a fair walk from the campsite into the festival. Add to that all the standing, and trekking back to get changed for the evening. I began to find it more and more tiring and we’d miss things we wanted to see because I just wanted to rest. It became less and less enjoyable.
So last year I took the brave step to using the accessibility camping at Beautiful Days. I say brave because not only is it another step in my MS journey that needed some acceptance, part of me felt a bit of a fraud because I’m not a wheelchair user. Crazy isn’t it. But not every disability is visible. I need not have worried about it. There were many others with invisible disabilities, so I didn’t feel like I stood out like a sore thumb. After all, the whole point is that I should enjoy the festival just as much as someone without a disability would. And I have huge respect for those that come in their mobility scooters. I’ve seen an off-road version that looks like it’s made from huge mechano and has a massive thick back wheel. And another sort of wheelchair/scooter combo, where the electric front wheel disengages to leave an ordinary wheelchair. Amazing versatility.
A great thing about this festival is the range of quality vegan food. For Saturday Kitchen viewers, Tibet Kitchen is here. Delicious. They were selling their cookbook, which included the dishes at the festival. Looking forward to trying them out.
Finally. I have managed my mindfulness, my food exercises and my Pilates flow while I’ve been at the festival. It bodes well for the challenge. I also achieved over 18,000 steps on Thursday and 13,000 on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
So, if you’re reading this and seeing a couple of short videos all the tech has gone to plan.
OMS Door to Door Challenge – departure date minus 4 weeks
Food Food Glorious Food
I’ve been worrying about nutrition this week. Before I met Ian, he cycled from London to Holcombe Rogus (which certain other individuals from the village) in one day. Up at 4am, they stopped at Basingstoke for a full breakfast, pub lunch and then celebrated their finish with some champers. Ian is 12 years older now and pub lunches, full breakfasts and champers at the end of each day just won’t cut it. I can see him heaving himself onto the bike by day 10.
So this week, in addition ot sorting out the first aid kit, giving some thought to theming the blog for the challenge and planning the start and finish, Ian and I sat down and had a long talk about NUTRITION.
He’s done his research by looking at British Cycling which has a very useful nutrition section for professional cyclists. Here I have tried to summarise what he told me.
Breakfast should ideally be eaten 90 – 120 minutes before he starts to cycle. But we could go with 60 minutes before, if he is planning to cycle at an easy pace. It should be a carbohydrate focussed meal, with things like porridge, oats or muesli.
During the ride, he needs to take:
2 gels
2 energy bars
3 mini pitta bread with nut butter or 2 brioche & jam.
So it seems to be to be topping up on carbs and fats, so he could also stop at a café instead of the snacks.
Liquids
He also needs to drink 2-3 litires of water per day. And talking of water, if he waits until he is thirsty to drink, it is too late. He needs to be thinking ahead for 20 miles down the road, so little and often right from the start is the way. Something like 2-3 gulps every 15 minutes. I wonder whether he needs a reminder on this bike computer if that is possible.
He should also drink 500ml of electrolyte drink during the ride to replace minerals etc. But at that quantity he will need some electrolyte tablets instead.
Lunchtime
On Ian’s longer rides, we hope to meet somewhere for lunch, whether that is eating in a café or just eating our sandwiches together with the motorhome parked up somewhere. Lunch for Ian is ideally a wholemeal sandwich with some protein like tuna.
Half-time
At the halfway mark no orange segments, like at school. On days when he is cycling for five hours or more he will need to have an extra 20g of protein, which will be in the form of a bar.
Arrival / tea-time
When Ian finishes his usual cycle rides he likes salted nuts and a beer. I thought the salted nuts were important to replace lost salts, but apparently it’s just because he likes salted nuts! And beer! So the recommendation is UNSALTED nuts and seeds and or a banana. Ian is insisting on keeping the cold beer in.
Dinner
The website says “don’t use the ride as an excuse for a full on blow out”. Otherwise, he might have one of those on his tyres the following day. Instead go for something nutritious like oily fish, broccoli and spiced potatoes or pasta.
Foods that are slow-release proteins such as hemp protein, houmous, nut butters and cottage cheese (not sure I can get that in France, although you can buy all things yoghurt). And finally, foods that are known for reducing inflammation are good, such as turmeric, ginger and garlic as are foods high in flavonoids such as berries.
And that’s it.
Have you spotted the big problem?
There is no recommendation of red wine, tasty French cheese, baguette or croissants let along duck.
What do you think Ian will do?
You will have to wait and see.
Thank you for reading our blog. These will be more of Ian's practice rides next time.
OMS Door to Door Challenge - departure date minus 5 weeks
Ian's fortnight
“Riding a bike is everything to a cyclist. The friendship and camaraderie you have with other cyclists…to a cyclist, it was the be-all and end-all of your life” Tommy Goodwin.
The third weekend in July saw a group of thirteen of us descend on New Alresford in the watercress area of Hampshire for a boys cycling weekend. This, apart from the covid year has turned into an annual event visiting a different town each year. It all started with my Stag weekend in Shrewsbury, eight years ago and we have since visited Cirencester, Marlborough, Salisbury, Ludlow and now Alresford
I say cycling weekend but you could also call it a pub crawl or wine fest and not all of us cycle! When we arrived six of us went out on the bikes for a ride of about twelve miles, after about three Andrew, Steve and I stopped at the first pub we came to. We’d had an awful journey up the A303 and were in desperate need!
On the Saturday we headed off to Bishops Waltham where we had a coffee and cake stop before heading up the Meon Valley to the Ye Olde George Inn at East Meon for lunch. We then returned to Alresford cycling through some lovely countryside passing several watercress beds on the way. That evening we visited the local Italian restaurant before a last glass or two of wine at the hotel. A big thank you to all who attended, and I hope to continue the tradition next year.
As a footnote, I was stood in the bar at The Swan Inn where we were staying when I heard, “That's Ian!”, only to turn round to be greeted by my nephew James and his partner Amy. I shouldn’t have been too surprised as they do live a stone’s throw away, and it was great to see them.
Jane's fortnight
For those who read my last blog, the answer to the question is: Yes, I have done my foot exercises every day since my conversation with Sarah.
I now feel like the start of the Door to Door Cycle Challenge is within reach, I can feel it, I can almost touch it. And with that comes the need to step up the final organisation. On that front, there are lots of bits and bobs that need to be done. And to be honest it was beginning to stress me, because I knew there were lots of little bits, but no list, no responsibility and worst of all no SPREADSHEET!
I kind of felt like this:
So last Wednesday, Ian and I reverted to our original Door To Door planning meeting. And I feel much better organised for doing that, and for having a fresh spreadsheet. All tasks are on a list, with whose responsibility it is and which week it will be completed in. So, this week I have:
Had the iPad screen fixed that I (read Tarka) broke when we were away. I will be using that a lot for uploading video on the challenge.
I have also checked to make sure I know all the details of my personal google account (rather that my old business one), so that I can upload to YouTube and other similar things without any hitch when we are one the road. Boring by necessary.
Typed out a list with the kilometres per hour converted to miles per hour. (Because you just can’t read the km’s on the dashboard of the motorhome). Also boring but safe and also probably necessary.
Next week I need to finalise the first aid kit and write an article for our Parish Magazine about the challenge. I also need to give some thought to creating some themes for blogs and posts when we are on the Door to Door Challenge, as well as finalise the start and finish arrangements for the challenge.
The other “biggy” of course is my physical preparation. Pilates and strength training continue to go well, and I am comfortable that I am on track (Thank you Sarah Grey). But since the last post, I have started what I think is the final thing that I can do to prepare myself…Oxygen Therapy. I know I mentioned it earlier, but the idea is that I get 20 sessions as close together as possible to get my body to the best level it can be. Then it gets maintained by weekly/fortnightly/monthly sessions depending on what works best for me. The initial part is a huge commitment of my time, because I am saying goodbye to 3 hours including the travel to Exeter on a near daily basis and sit in a chamber looking like a fighter pilot, but sounding like this, for an hour.
So, as of today I have had 12 of my 20 sessions. Am I feeling a difference? YES. It hit me yesterday that I felt WELL. And I realised that I could not remember the last time I had felt like that. Not for, literally years. Now, as my friend Carol advised, I will ensure that I don’t get carried away and undo all the good I have done. So, the focus for the last few weeks is PACE, PACE, PACE.
Respect
I can’t complete this blog without mentioning the truly inspirational Laviai Nielsen, who won a bronze medal as part of the British Quartet in the mixed 4x400 meters. Apparently, she was diagnosed with MS just two days before she flew to the last Olympics in Tokyo. Although physically we are totally different, I can imagine what might have been going on for her mentally and emotionally and I completely understand why she refused to accept her diagnosis as she competed at Tokyo. But on returning from Tokyo, she was forced to adapt her lifestyle and tailor her training to avoid future MS-related flare-ups. And she has mastered her lifestyle adaptations so well that she has gone on to win a bronze medal. Total respect to her and to her sister, also an Olympian with MS.
But here is the lesson for me. Obviously, I am not going to go out and start running – it’s just not my thing. But whatever physical adversity I face, I think living a good live depends on finding and implementing the right lifestyle adaptations for me.
And right now, I think I am doing well on that score - getting balance – being as well as I can but also having some fun times too.
Announcement
And the final note about fun, is that we are delighted to say that our final fundraiser is definitely going ahead as planned. For a time we were a bit unsure. So, for anyone who lives close to us, we will be holding a ‘Pop-Inn’ on the 6th September with The Big Chipper in attendance. If you’re local and need more details, just DM me.
As always, Ian and I are truly humbled by the amount of support we have received both in terms of encouragement and the money we have raised for Overcoming MS. If you would like to see Ian’s training route or help people with MS to lead a fulfilling life, our links to Strava and Just Giving are here.
Help Jane Airey-Regardsoe raise money to support Overcoming Multiple Sclerosis
OMS Door to Door Challenge departure date minus 7 weeks
Ian’s week
“Cycling throws up plenty of obstacles, unknown territory, high-speed split-second considerations. Where to next? What’s around the corner? Who cares? You’re flying!” Cadel Evans.
I managed to get one more ride in before leaving France, 1,500 feet climb in six miles up to the car park at L’Artigue to meet Jane and my cousins who were visiting for a walk up to some waterfalls.
Back in the UK I’ve been out a couple of times, the first around the Culm Valley, a distance of twenty-one miles where I came face to face with a herd of cows being driven along the road at Sampford Arundel. The rest of the ride was uneventful!
My next ride was a combination of the Uplowman loop but via Willand & Halberton, I did note that a few of my friends were sat outside the Staple Cross Inn as I went past, I was very tempted to stop but knew that Jane wanted some help with the gardening and thought that I ought not to!
Having bought back bike No1 from France, it’s the first time The Stable has been together.
Monday saw me back in the gym, the weather was rubbish so I spent forty minutes on a spinning bike followed by another forty minutes on the resistance weight machines concentrating on my legs but also back & stomach.
Wednesday was ‘get Celeste ready for MOT day’ a good clean plus a check of all lights etc so she should be ok for Monday.
My last ride of the week was a combination of the Culm Valley and Uplowman loops, twenty-six miles in dry sunny weather, the Staple Cross was closed when I went passed, I think I was ten minutes too early for opening time, I would have been temped on this occasion to stop for a swift pint.
I’m off on a ‘Boys Cycling Weekend’ on Friday with a group of friends, I will report back on the weekend’s events next time!
Jane's week
The Truth Mirror
So having spent a month away in France, my physical preparation routine has been less regular. I did a fair bit of Pilates, online with Sarah Grey, where we concentrated on my balance and strength (I now use 5kg hand weights regularly). Meditation took a bit of a step backwards. I did some good walks as well, but perhaps not as much as I would have liked due to being away and general socialising. I’m not complaining mind you. What had completely gone by the by were my daily foot exercises.
Now I’m back in the UK meditation is happening daily, my OMS diet is back where it was, Pilates continues to be the regular exercise that it was. But I just hadn’t been doing my foot exercises.
The reason is not because I can’t be bothered or because I am bored. It’s because my routine has changed, and my usual foot exercise slot is no longer there. What I have learnt about myself since following the OMS programme is that if I don’t make something a habit, then it does not happen regularly. It’s as simple as that.
In my Pilates session with Sarah, I told her that I hadn’t been doing my foot exercises. And she replied “But you need them for your challenge. It’s part of your preparation”. She didn’t say this in criticising or nagging way. When I tried to bluster, she said “You said it yourself in your blog, that you needed it for your training. I’m just repeating back to you what your said”.
And guess what? – she was absolutely right!
It was like having a Truth Mirror held up in front of me. What Sarah said was exactly what I needed to hear. I need these exercises as part of my training. I made that decision. I have to do them. So Foot Exercises are back in my routine. Thank you Sarah.
Thank you to everyone who has donated to our challenge so far. We are totally humbled by the support everyone is giving us and grateful for every single donation.
We hope you're enjoying this blog. If you would like to see the routes Ian cycling or if you would like to help us to help people with MS by donating the link is below.
Help Jane Airey-Regardsoe raise money to support Overcoming Multiple Sclerosis
baratheonpilled
germansingergirl
discoholicmusic
janainaart
annaxmalina
stormborns
andulkaphoto
yousharknotpass