I'm Faster than 2 Fifth Graders!

So I am a little concerned.

Meet my training buddies for today. Matt and Hugh. Both have just finished the 5th grade.

I think it is really important that we don't read anything into my cycling ability based on my training buddies. I also think it is important that we don't focus on the fact that neither of them are very athletic (sorry boys!)... they are more cerebral.

I do think we must focus on the fact that I am faster than my training buddies, and that I require fewer rest breaks, and that I rode further. Good grief, I am justifying beating two 10 year olds... what is happening here?? Maybe I am just relieved... How embarrassing would it be if they whipped my cute patootie??

Anyhoo, we had a great ride today. 20km (the boys did a bit less). I wanted to do more, but it was hot out there in the sun, and since my ride will be in mild weather, I decided it was fine to stop rather than risking heat stroke!

That's my excuse and no-one can prove any different!!

Now for a refreshing beer!

Until next time!

W xx

Two Grandma's Cycle to Church

Goodness me, don't you hate it when you make a big claim and it comes back to bite you on the patootie??

So after riding with Hugh, we jointly decided that perhaps he needed a shiny new bike to keep up with his highly talented cycling Mama... Also bought him go-fast cycling pants and a high visibility shirt. Wow Hugh, you have totally awesome parents!! Shame they didn't think about this before Christmas, rather than the day after!

I should also mention, that I am finally the proud owner of "paddy-pants". It reminds me of being pregnant... no-one wants to wear those horrid extendable elastic waisted trousers or skirts, but at some point you have to give in to the inevitable... and you come to realize there is a reason they have been invented. The same with cycling shorts in my opinion. Let's be honest, no-one looks good in them, but they do serve a purpose.

So off we go for our ride!

Look, there are two perfectly good cars there, but we are using our bikes instead. Just CRAZY I tells you!!

Anyhoo, we puff our way up the really steep hill until we can start our ride. This time I even had the Magellan Cyclo100 sorted so we could measure our ride... perhaps that was my first mistake. While we had a maximum speed on our ride of 50kmph (which was zooming back down the hill to our house - which is our favorite part of our ride!!), there were many 0kmph. These followed a little voice saying "Mom, can we take a break now?". Hugh did much better on his shiny new bike. Was able to ride up more hills actually on his bike rather than next to it pushing. BUT there is no escaping on horrible fact... we traveled 18.5km (plus a bit where I forgot to turn on the Magellan) in over 1 hour with an average speed of 13.5kmph.

Oh Dear! Turns our we are two 60 year old grandma's going to church.

Better go and crochet a doily!

OK, so we are going out again soon, and this time we will do much better. I think we should target 57 year old Grandma's!

Later Gators!!

W xx

Christmas in a Parallel Universe

So who would ever have imagined... Christmas morning. Santa has been. Wow Santa, thanks sooooooo much for more lego... I mean have you seen my house? Every horizontal surface is covered with lego, or at least that is how it seems to me. I am sure he could have thought of something else!! I know the boys asked for it, but really!

Anyhoo, so the family is arriving for a swim and lunch (Fajitas mmmm!) at 11am, so I am thinking, I have time for a quick ride before everyone gets here. Good grief, who is this person?? I know, right?? Anyway, 15km later I am still on track for a 400km month.

Then comes boxing day... the day which should be spend relaxing after too much food on Christmas day... and what happens?? Hugh and I go an cycle 20km around home. On the actual road. Have I mentioned I live on a hill?? So out of the driveway we go and turn left which is uphill... are we CRAZY?? The hill is too steep for him (maybe me as well, but for now let's just blame him!!) so we push our bikes up this very, very, very steep hill so that we can go for a ride where is flatter... not flat at all, but at least not a 15-20 degree incline.

Anyhoo, young Hugh didn't much care for the uphill bits. Reminds me of someone... who could it be?? He was very happy on the downhill bits where he could just roll down really fast with style. He had to dig really deep to make it through the ride, and we had to have quite a few rest breaks, but he did an awesome job.

Made me wonder, was riding with Hugh how Josie and Renae feel like when they are riding with me? Wow, that is not a comfortable thought... but no, it couldn't possibly be!! Or at least I hope it couldn't possibly be!!

Now let's discuss Christmas presents. My brother-in-law-in-law who has done a Cancer fund-raising ride for the last 2 years (only 200 km HA!) gave me some "Aussie Butt Cream". Ha, ha, very funny. BUT he assures me it is really good, especially in humidity. Again, I would like to say I hope I never reach a place where this seems like a good idea!!

Anyhoo, I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!! Maybe just a little bit less weird than mine...

Until next time!

W xx

A Very Leaky Camel!

OK, so people in the know talk about hydration. How it is important not to get dehydrated while exercising. Sounds completely viable to me, so I decided that since every problem has a solution, I can solve this one!

I was told about "Camel Packs". Sounds nasty, no? Anyhoo, Hugh and I went out and bought such a pack each so that we can train together. As with everything, there are 100 different types which just makes it impossible for a newbie to know what to choose. But we did it... may have chosen based on the color of the pack, but surely that is as valid a selection criteria as any!

We were all excited, so came home and tested them out. Hugh's worked just fine.. after it had leaked all over the parquet floors while he got it figured out. Mine, not so much. I put it on and went for a ride on the TdF trainer. Noticed that I have a very wet patootie... then I noticed water dripping all over the floor, which maybe is slightly problematic while riding an electric training bike. So it was not the most successful outing but at least it was cut short due to faulty equipment rather than tired legs!

So, based on that extensive market research, I can now share with you the following:

1. Leaky camels are bad!
2. Non leaky camels are good!
3. Black and grey camel packs are just tickety boo!
4. Black and green camel packs (they didn't have pink!) may leak which kind of defeats the whole purpose!
5. Having purchased your child a camel pack, you may find it in the most unlikely places as your child can now increase their utilization of technology time by hydrating from the pack rather than walking into the kitchen to get a drink of water! 

BTW, a record TdF training day on Saturday... completed 3 stages! Not in record times, but managed a total of 52km.I can totally do this! 

Until next time.

W x

Eat my Hat!!

76 Days to Go!!

OK, so maybe I am getting a leetle bit nervous... the days are just whizzing by... but I can totally do this!!

It is lucky the weather on our ride will be mild, because this week it has been over 100 degrees F 3 days in a row! Turns out that I don't much care for cycling in the heat!! I know, right!? Who would have imagined!!

This has ruined my plans for a big cycling day today since I can't see getting heat stroke is really a necessary part of preparing for our adventure. I have decided that having friends over to play, swimming in the pool and eating Greek food will be much better training! So I guess that means the heat is a good thing!!

Got a quick 15km in this morning before it got too hot. So my tally for the month is now 175km and a total of 677km since I started training. I have done a total of 31.35 hours of training in total! More than a whole day! Wonder how I managed to find all of that extra time in my schedule!!?? I didn't think I had any time to spare!

Yesterday we had friends over for a swim and pre-dinner cocktails. They were asking about the ride and I was explaining my 'plan' of hiring a local man to ride me on rickshaw while I sit in the back relaxing under an umbrella possibly drinking a cocktail! I was maybe not completely serious... but they offered me an extra $100 donation if I do it... definitely food for thought!!

We got more information from the charity regarding the ride this week. It was kind of de-motivating.

Given that I am very obedient... stop laughing now please... no really.... now would be good!... I have taken the advice of my many friends that I need to build up speed, strength and endurance. I am proud to report that I have completed a number of TdF stages at an average speed of > 25kmph... just, but still!! AND they have hills!! Sometimes really BIG ones!!

Then I see that we will be doing the ride at 15kmph... good grief... what are we, 60 years old?? Little Grandma's riding along on a Sunday to Church??

OK, so I might be setting myself up for disaster... may in fact have to eat my hat if it turns out the 15kmph is too hard for me... but it sounds kind of slow. Anyhoo, I have decided to keep with my current plan and training schedule. Then hopefully the ride will be a doddle... or at least not hell on earth!

Helpful Hugh just offered to get me a very BIG hat ready to eat! Bless his little cotton socks!!

Until next time!!

W xxx

Fajitas and Champagne

So it seems to me that more people read posts with outrageous titles... so that is now my objective!!

Training has been going great!! I have now done a total of 614km of which 116 has been on an actual real bike and 114km so far this month.

On Saturday I rode with Josie. Remembering my experience from last week with Renae, I decided to limit myself to 18km in the morning on the training bike. My hope was that having an extra 2km in my tank (and legs) would have a significant impact on my performance in the afternoon. Wouldn't want to disgrace myself...

I am not totally sure if it worked, but we rode 26km in the evening before having Fajitas and Champagne for dinner... two of my favorite things in the world.

I thought I should share with you a couple of notable things from our ride...

Firstly, I said to Josie that I thought maybe she and Renae were being a bit kind about my cycling ability! Josie pointed out that Renae was never kind about such a thing!! (Sorry Renae!). She then pointed out that if she and Renae were riding their racing bikes rather than mountain bikes then I had absolutely no chance of keeping up with them. I asked if her comment related to the people or the equipment. She laughed... quite a lot actually... but I noticed that she did not actually answer the question... I know right?? I choose to go with the equipment, but we all know that this is not entirely accurate!

Secondly, we passed a man when we were nearly home... he calls out to us that we had ridden a really long way as he had passed us miles away. How cool is that?? People recognize our patooties while we are riding!

Lastly, on our ride we had the opportunity to admire so many houses with wonderful Christmas decorations. The time and effort people put into this is amazing! The highlight had to be the house with the snow covered lawn. Very authentic in 100 degree temperatures!!


So yesterday was our wedding anniversary! I don't think anyone should read anything into the fact that we did not realize it until about 4pm! Hamish and I were going for a swim when he told me there were 17 days until Christmas. I was thinking 25 - 17 generally = 8... which is my anniversary!! We had a lovely relaxing day... cycling, working in the garden and hanging out by the pool.

Life is good!


Until next time!

W xx

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to all of my wonderful friends!! This is my favorite holiday and I have so much to be thankful for.

You may remember that some time ago I set myself an objective to cycle 40km in one day before the end of November and 86km in one day by Christmas.

So yesterday, I did 43km in one day!! Hooray for me!! 20km in the morning on the TdF trainer. Hardest 20km I have done! BAD Wendy put up a lot of opposition, but I got there through sheer determination. The newest excuse form BAD Wendy... you need to save your energy for your ride with Renae this afternoon, because she will be fast and you don't want to end up sobbing by the side of the road when you can't keep up.

Turns out BAD Wendy had a point. After spending the rest of the day working in the garden (not relaxing!) we headed over to the Farmers. Renae and I went off for a ride while the boys drank beer and the kids swam in the pool. So right from the get-go, the little legs were a teeny bit tired... but I can totally do this! Renae suggests a route which is 24km long there and back. Now while I am totally up for 20km... in fact I must do 20km today to meet my objective ... I don't want to over-reach. Those extra 4km seem really, really far.

Anyway, off we go at great speed... BTW Josie tells me this morning that Renae stops for no-one... quite frankly this information would have been of more help yesterday! Or even the day before when I agreed what a great idea it would be to go riding with Renae.

Our route was like what I imagine Vietnam to be like... we went on grass, and sand, and gravel, and bumpy paths while ducking under foliage. Even crossed a few very busy roads (but don't tell Paul!).

I had to keep up, because quite frankly half the time I had no idea where I was! And in a serious miscalculation, I had left my phone at home!

Anyway, it was awesome! And I met my objective... and I do not consider this to be leaving it until the last minute (I had almost 6 hours left of November when we finished!)... I choose to call it excellent project management!!

I enjoyed it so much, that I plan to do it again... but I think I will take my phone!!

Until next time!

W xx

P.S. In November I did a fabulous 310km of training! Hooray for me!!

Got that Monkey off my Back!!

Well finally, I have cycled more than 399km!! Hooray for me!! I can totally do this!

Tally as of today is 440km in total and 249km this month to date.

Yesterday I did stage 3 of the TdF a whole 7 minutes faster than the last time I did it (which was about three weeks ago). Excellent progress!! AND it includes some really big hills!!

Today, Josie and I cycled 30km on real bikes out on the road. It was so much fun. It is a beautiful day and for once, the Easterly wind was not bad. Even managed some hills. Josie asked if I wanted to do a short steep hill or a long slow one... What sort of a question is that?? Have we met?? I don't want to do either!! Anyhoo, we did both! Chatted the whole way so it seemed really easy. I am proud to report that Josie saw progress! Hooray for me!!

When we met this morning, Josie goes "Hey Wendy, you look FABULOUS!!" I thought she was being sincere... but then realized she had read my blog!! So it made me feel awesome... for about 10 seconds!!


We received a whole lot of pictures from the 3rd graders at our school to take to the girls we are visiting in Cambodia at the plan school. They are so fantastic!! One class did what they want to be when they grow up. Another did what they like to do at school. We are going to make up a book of them. I will share some with you all when it is all put together. Looks like the 5th graders will do some too. The support from our wonderful school community is so awesome!


OK, better go be a Mom and hang out with the boys.

Until next time.

W x

99 Days to Go

OK... so 99 days to go... and yes, I am starting to get a leetle bit nervous...

On the good news side... I have been expanding my repertoire of reading and riding. Turns out you can also conduct code reviews, update technical specifications, catch up on emails and read. Wow. I wonder what else I can do???

Just so you know, it is less successful for conference calls... apparently the puffing is a bit off-putting.

Also on the good news side... I have done 200km of training this month to date. Hooray for me!! AND 125km so far this week. Now let's focus on how great that is and not dwell on the obvious question about why I did so little before this week (Quiz Night, travelling and the sniffles are my excuses!!).

A couple of things are making me a nervous.

Firstly, I still have not cycled 399km since this journey started. Now from my side, it feels like I am spending every spare minute on that bike.. and I still have not made it... goodness me, just how long does it take to cycle 399km?

I though I was getting over this obsession with the distance, but apparently not. Turns out I have just been going la la la la ... repeat as necessary!! La la la la... Maybe just once more and then I will be good... la la la la...

OK

So despite having cycled for 1,178 minutes since I started... goodness me, that sure is a big number ... perhaps if I work in hours... so that is 19.64000556 hours I have cycled 392km. Now that is pretty close to 399km but it is difficult to ignore that I have not quite made it!!

Now, I have definitely made excellent progress... but is it enough??

And secondly, is it a bad sign that I have sore knees? I am not 100% sure that the clicking sound in my left knee yesterday was a good thing...

Still onwards and upwards... I can do this!!

Oooohhhh, I forgot to mention my exciting news... what a goose!! Now over the last couple of weeks, at least 4 people have asked if I have lost weight. The answer in case you are interested is YES!! Hooray for Me!! Turns out exercising for 1,178 minutes has helped me to lose weight. Who would have imagined?? Now truth be told it is not a lot, but it is something... So I think it is important that you all start out our next conversation with "Hey Wendy, you look FABULOUS!! Have you lost some weight??"... because if you don't then I will know you are not reading my blog!!

Until next time!!

W x

Reading and Riding

Have you ever been to the gym and seen people on the bikes or treadmills reading magazines or books? I always hated those people (except you of course if you are one of those people... then I just snorted mildly!!)... I mean how can you read and exercise at the same time?? I am always too busy puffing to consider reading. And wouldn't the book get sweaty? And if it didn't aren't you being slack??

Someone I work with suggested that I could read while riding when I was saying how I was having trouble fitting training into my schedule. Again I snorted. Told him it was not possible.

Anyway yesterday I decided to give it a try... since I really needed to train and I had some documents to review... Now obviously this was on the TdF trainer rather than on the road...

Anyhoo... it appears that I was wrong. Goodness me that tasted bitter!!

I did 20km in 55 minutes whilst reading! Now I will acknowledge that is not my fastest time... but it is still good training... and I did not obsess about the time or speed or quite frankly anything else during my ride. And the best part was that even BAD Wendy was happy with this approach!!

BTW, 73.2km in three days!! Hooray for me!!

Later Alligator!

W x

GOOD Wendy v BAD Wendy

103 days to go... OK, so I still have time!!

Today I wanted to share some things I have learned so far on my journey...

1. Having exercise gear in the house does not help you to gain fitness or lose weight if you don't actually use them. I know right?? How can that be??
2. Sometimes you just need the right motivation to get off your patootie and make time for exercise. So for me obviously it is helping to educate and empower girls. But thanks to the wonderful advice of one of my boy's godfathers... I need to pick up the training or I will be last to make it to post ride drinks each day... and what if they run out?? So on the back of that I have decided to start riding 40km per day (or at least trying to!!)
3. Apparently, your body needs carbs to generate energy. I thought carbs were bad!! BUT the good news is that if I have a bad cycling day (like this morning!) then it is not that I suck, but rather that I need carbs. What an excellent excuse!! So after my training, I ate pancakes!
4. Also, in good news... DVH told me that I do not need to cycle 40km in one go to get the benefit of the training. Thank goodness! He said it is fine to do half in the morning and half in the evening. What a relief... Now I just need to actually do it!!
5. People are incredibly generous! So many people have helped me out already... donations, coming to the Quizzie, advice on training and cycling things in general, cheering me on, reading my blog. It sure makes you feel good. So thank you all!!

Now to the training... 

Yesterday, I did Stage 4 of the TdF. 19.1 km of up hill (I will ignore the bit of down hill at the beginning!). Goodness me it was hard. 8 degree inclines are just mean and unnecessary people! Still, I got through it... and guess what... I missed the time by 14 seconds! Good grief, that just means I have to do it again!

I was going to ride again yesterday afternoon, but it was so hot! 37 degrees in the shade... and since the weather will be mild on our ride, I decided my time would be much better spent in the pool! It is important not to overdo it don't you think?? Wouldn't want to get dehydrated!!

This morning I rode intervals, since no matter what way you cut my progress to date, I am not good at hills! I thought it was just a lack of strength... but DVH told me you use different muscles on hills... obviously these muscles are not yet totally on board. BAD muscles!! So with my new knowledge about carbs... I was clearly lacking them this morning. I started out planning to ride 30km... then 20... then 1 hour... then 45 minutes... then 30 minutes... then 15... then decided I should stop and do it later... then I had a stern chat with myself and we agreed to 10km... then 30 minutes... then 15km... then 45 minutes... then 20km... then 1 hour... then BAD Wendy decided that was just cruel... so we agreed on 55 minutes. 

So I did 21.1km in 55 minutes which seems pretty good to me!! I have now done a grand total of ... wait for it... prepare to be amazed... well maybe not... 308km of training since I started.

I have decided that I need to motivate myself the way you would eat an elephant... one small bite at a time!!

So over the coming week... hopefully GOOD Wendy will triumph over BAD Wendy... but just in the training, because as we all know, BAD Wendy is much more fun!!

W x

Quizzie Photos Available

Hello People!!
The wonderful Louise has posted up the photos from the Quizzie. As usual, they are amazing. I am sure she has captured everyone who was there! If you love them, remember you can book LuLu to come and do a photo shoot for your family or business.

Please take a look...
Quiz Night Photos by Busy Circle

Some samples to wet your appetite:

Dorothy and me in the kitchen preparing platters.. thank goodness she came along to help!

Delivering platters with my boys... oh dear, we have a different table list to Josie... hope no-one notices!!

Josie and Wendy Quiz... blue hands for Josie and purple for Wendy. Thanks to Hugh for the 260 hand prints!!

Paulie... what can I say!!??

Again, I am just speechless! But I totally love these photos!

Thanks again to everyone who came along.. what an awesome night we all had!!

W x

Quizzie in Pictures

OK, so I have to say that I took a total of no pictures at the Quizzie! BAD Wendy!!

Luckily Josie took a few which I will share with you. Our wonderful friend Louise took loads of shots on the night so I may share some more as we move forward...

The Hall - a local community hall. Not very attractive but a good size:

So then we decorated it nice and bright:

We had wonderful balloon helpers:

Then I had to do some cleaning (where are my Festivus gloves??) and prepare the kitchen:

There was a very important job of testing the keg... even though I am not in the picture, I can assure you that I helped out!! I am pleased to say it was GOOD!!

Beer testing again.... it is really important to be sure don't you think??

Louise and Josie were in charge of the fabulous photos (we bought this one! How cool is that!!):

It was so hot, our boys got tuckered out from all of the helping:

BTW the picture on the left was the one which Mr Adams "robbed" from my Hugh!!

A quick picture with our wonderful kids before we leave to get ready for the big night::

And then my favorite so far... but what on earth is he up to?? Can't be good I am thinking...

And later in the evening with about half of our guests... obviously any anxiety around whether people would come was clearly not required:

Hope you enjoyed sharing this!!

W xx

Quizzie

Last night We had our Quizzie and it was awesome!! So many people came along to support us and helped us in 100 different wonderful ways.

Let me share some interesting things with you. Hmmm, I think maybe a list is in order!!

1. Our kids were awesome. Helped out with setting up and catering and anything else we needed done
2. Friends came along and pitched in with setting up and tidying up at the end of the night. No-one was asked, they just did it!
3. We were running short of change, so a guest grabbed some notes and went out to a nearby store to get some change. Again without being asked. She just jumped right in and helped. Amazing!
4. Friends donated heaps of prizes which helped out immensely with keeping our costs down so that more money could go to the girls.
5. We had four teenage girls helping for their school community service program. They were absolutely amazing. Did everything they were asked to do and more. Always with grace. I hope their families and school are proud of them.
6. A friend brought along an old fridge which had been converted into a huge icebox to keep drinks cold. AND he brought it already filled with ice. How cool is that!
7. So many people helped out is so many ways. A big thank you to them all

The only "downside" of the night was the bidding war on one of the artworks which were being auctioned... Mr Adams apparently needed the Union Jack made of cars for his office more than we needed it for Hugh's bedroom! Luckily I know the artist (Hi Louise!!) so I can source one myself. Ha!

We ended up having a tie for first! Shame we hadn't thought to have some spare questions!! So Josie and I had to pop outside and come up with some. 

We had a really cool round of Josie and Wendy questions... Hugh and I had made cut out hand-prints so people could raise their hand for Josie (blue) or Wendy (purple). It was so much fun. 

I will share the questions with you... I wonder how many you can get correct! Be careful though... some of them might be sneaky tricks!

Question

1.       Who is taller? (easy one to warm up – shame on anyone who gets this wrong!)

2.       Who competes in triathlon

3.       Who would rather drink champagne that cycle

4.       Who loves French food

5.       Who wears size 5 sneakers

6.       Who was suspended from their exclusive private high school

7.       Who’s bike is called Stella? (Do it like on Sienfeld)

8.       Who is faster cycling up hills

9.       Who is faster cycling down hills

10.   Who represented their country in show jumping as a teenager

11.   Who’s favorite color is blue

12.   Who’s helmet is grey

13.   Who has pink cycling gloves

14.   Who rode further last Saturday

15.   Who has done more training km’s

16.   Who’s first boyfriend was named Herbert

17.   Who has been known to call a hill a small incline

18.   Who has been known to call a small incline a hill

19.   Who wants to reverse the direction of the ride due to prevailing wind direction

20.   Who was more surprised that Wendy agreed to do this cycle (issue just with cycling not the cause which is awesome)

21.   Who was more organized to the GGS Congo presentation

22.   Who worked as a professional hand model during university

23.   Who was first to become a Mum

Anyway, I am so proud of Josie and I and all of our helpers. It was a fabulous night!

I am just sooooo glad that I do not do that for a living!! I am exhausted!

W xx

Need more Torque

Yes I mean Torque not Talk. I was explaining to Paul that the little legs will only go so fast... and then I get all tuckered out. So I have started doing more strength training. I think I am a tortoise not a hare.

Being as how he is full of useless facts... I mean very interesting and pertinent information... he explained to me all about torque versus power. Here is what I heard... blah, blah, blah gear ratios... blah, blah, blah acceleration... blah, blah, blah... blah, speed, blah...... goodness me, is that a butterfly over there (obviously that was me and not him)... and so on...

If I had done him the courtesy of actually listening, I would now understand that torque makes things go fast quickly (acceleration I believe) but does not have a high top speed. Whereas power gets there more slowly but has a high top end. There were numerous examples provided of each... I know right!!??

So maybe saying I have power is nicer than saying I am a tortoise... so let's go for that.

76km this month to date. Hooray for me!

267km total training done to date. Less hooray for me... well I think it is totally hooray for me... but still short of the 399km of our ride.

OK. Back to today's list of urgent jobs!  Why does it just keep getting longer??

W x

One and a half hours!

So in a totally hooray for me day, I just cycled for one and a half hours on the TdF trainer!

So after spending the morning making 'hands' for the quiz night... can't tell you why because that will spoil the surprise... I chose the hottest part of the day to go and train. Note to self, maybe plan that out better next time.

So proving that it is all mind over matter, let me share my ride with you:

1. I really need to do some distance training so I will cycle 30km today on the flat
2. OK, I am feeling a bit puffed, maybe 25-30km
3. Look at the boys in the pool... it looks so inviting
4. Goodness, is that fan working? It is really quite hot in here
5. OK, I will definitely cycle for 1 hour and then jump in the pool
6. Oh dear, Paul put the cover back on... I guess I will not be jumping in the pool after my ride
7. OK, I can do one hour
8. Gosh, I am getting tired, perhaps just a little rest. Josie told me on her last ride in Cuba they would have a drinks break about every 45 minutes, and everyone would get at least a 10 minute break
9. OK, so I will definitely ride until the end of the next song and then I can take a small break
10. Maybe I should conserve my energy for tomorrow
11. OK, need to change my song list... choose shorter songs
12. I don't even like this song... perhaps I should just stop now
13. Oh, is the computer broken... it seems to have been on that time and distance for ever... must be broken... oh no, it just ticked forward
14. Oh look... I have done an hour! Surely that is enough... can I stop now?
15. No Wendy, you can do 25km
16. Do I have too?
17. YES
18. OK, that is just a few more songs... I can do 25km
19. That would be a record for me, so there is really no need to go to 30km
20. Oh my goodness, my patootie is hurting
21. OK, just one more song. You can do it Wendy
22. Actually, I am feeling OK
23. Yay, I am up to 25km
24. OK, I will stop now
25. But you could do 30km
26. But I don't want to
27. OK, I will split the difference and do 27.5km
28. What an excellent plan!
29. Good job Wendy
30. Again, choose shorter songs!
31. Do I really have time for this? I still need to make more hands.. and I need to buy wine and beer (for the quiz night!)... and I need to buy two birthday presents for next week... I guess I could do that on Monday... but if I do it today then I could stop now
32. OK, I made it to 27.5lm.
33. Good job Wendy
34. That is a new record
35. You can stop now
36. But if I keep going, I could make it to 30km
37. Well I really want to do 30km... but I would also like to stop now
38. OK, I can do 30km
39. Should my legs be getting this sore?
40. Just two more songs
41. WOW, I made it to 30km!!
42. Hooray for me!!
43. You know Wendy, it is almost one hour and 30 minutes... you can do a little bit more
44. But I don't want to
45. OK, it is just one more song... I can do this
46. Hooray for me!! One hour and thirty minutes!!
47. Awesome job!

So I rode 30.8km and burned 642 calories!!

And in other news... Paul was asked to be the scorer for the Quiz Night. So what does he do? Builds an app of course. A very cool app which is available on any smart phone... What, isn't that what everyone does??

Like I say to my boys when they say they just want to live in a "normal" family... who's to say we aren't normal?

Until next time!

W x

Dear Crickets and Tumbleweeds

I dear, do I sound really needy?? Just so you know... I get really excited each time I get a comment or +1 on my blog.And not to be a whiny baby, but it has been a while now people!! Even an email would help!!

I also get really excited each time I get a donation. I have 11  - thank you so much my wonderful amazing friends!

Now last time, I promised a training update... so with 119 days to go... this is the story so far:
September:    80km - which is a 100% improvement on the previous 100 years (since I last rode a bike!)
October:        112km - which as a 40% improvement over September!!

So I think that is pretty amazing!

Things which need to be ignored for this to still be amazing:

1. My maximum distance in a day is 20km which is only 50% of the shortest day
2. I have not managed to cover the total distance we will be riding in 12 days in 2 months
3. 81 of the 112km in October were done in the first 15 days

Lucky this is a journey... and I still have time... there are 119 days to go!

Now November has started with a bang! Today I completed Stage 3 of the TdF "Fregneac". 

Distance:           18.6km 

Time:                 52 mins and 46 seconds 

Time Allowed:   53 mins and 21 seconds (romped it in!)

Average Watts: 114 (nearly 2x60 watt lightbulbs. Hah!)

Calories:           496 (5 glasses of wine!)

The steepest hill on this stage was a 7.5 degree incline. Definitely a hill! Quite a big one if you ask me... and it happened more than once. I didn't much care for them if truth be told... Lucky our ride is flat!!

OK... back to work.

W x

Sharing the Message

Today was such a fabulous day! Provided I ignore all of the work and the fact that tax is due and number 2 son trying to not go to school because he is so unwell (you gotta be kidding me, again??).

Josie and I shared our message with the Year 3-6 kids at our wonderful school. It was so much fun! We were sharing that some kids have no opportunities just because of where they were born and contrast that with all of the opportunities our kids have.

The kids were amazing. They totally got the message and got totally involved in the activities we had 'prepared'.. or would have had prepared and maybe even had a run through if Josie and I hadn't both been travelling last week and both crazy busy with work! But we had at least discussed them... briefly. Clearly planning is over-rated!

At pick up I became... Hey you are that "Because I am a Girl" girl!

Even my boys said I did an OK job... which I am taking to mean it was awesome!

Very cool.

We included a fabulous quote in our presentation which I thought you might all appreciate:

"The future must not belong to those who bully women. It must be shaped by girls who go to school and those who stand for a world where our daughters can live their dreams just like our sons."

President Barack Obama.



Hopefully in my next post, I will have some training updates. I haven't been on the bike in a week... now there is a phrase I never thought I would hear come out of my mouth!! Turns out that crazy busy and jet-lag are impeding my training schedule... or is that just a convenient excuse??

Until next time.

W x

Stage 2 Tour de France - Nailed it!

Never one to be defeated, I took on Stage 2 of the TdF again today and I nailed it!! Hooray for me!

I may have had to have a couple of wee rest breaks in the middle... and near the beginning... and maybe near the end... but let's not dwell on that. I did it in 39 minutes and 40 seconds.That is a huge 4 minutes and 22 seconds better than yesterday! Again hooray for me!! Shall I work it out as a percentage improvement? No, maybe that would seem a little bit obsessive...

So I proudly wrote my stats in my training log... 111.6km this month to date and a total of 191km since I started training.

I also proudly told Paul that my average today was 106 watts. Which I thought was totally awesome... can you guess what happened next? He said that is equivalent to a single light bulb. You know one of those old lights. How depressing. Then he said it was equivalent to two of our kitchen lights. For 39 minutes and 40 seconds. I know right!! Good on you Paul.. Have a nice day!

He then compared me to a horse! What was he thinking?? Well maybe he didn't really compare me to a horse, but pointed out that 1 horsepower equals roughly 750 watts, so I am equivalent to roughly 1/7 of a horse... I wonder which bit??

This apparently means that my pedaling would run the pool pump at approximately 1/7 of its required output. Again for 39 minutes and 40 seconds... and render the pool unclean. I may as well suck the water through a straw he says. Good grief... where did I find him? Now he is explaining that the chlorinator would not be working... La, la, la, la...

He has asked me to tell you all that I have his full support in my adventure!! And he did get my Big Jam Box and come down and train with me. So all is good!!

Oh dear... I need a bex and a little lie down again!

AND to top it all off... Josie is in Bali sipping cocktails! It is soooo lucky I am not bitter.

Anyhoo, better go and pack. Another plane to be caught.

W xx

Stage 2 Tour De France

Firstly, Happy Birthday to Hamish!!

So today I rode Stage 2 of the TdF. Hooray for me!! I have decided that the TdF riders are quite slack. Stage 1 is 18km and Stage 2 is 15.3km. I mean I have to ride a minimum of 40km per day. So that is much harder!! I will give the TdF guys that they have to face hills, and lot's of them, while I will be riding on the flat... except for dreaded day 6!

Of course, if they ride more than 1 stage per day, then perhaps I will need to eat my hat.

But then, oh dear... turns out I failed! I know right!? Who could believe that. Even with my new, fabulous, go-fast work out gear from Lululemon.

I completed the stage in 44.02 mins. The time allowed was 43.46 mins. So I was 16 seconds too slow! Maybe I should not have been enjoying the scenery whilst riding. Perhaps I should have just concentrated on the job at hand. Maybe if there was just one less up hill and one more down hill then I would not be in this predicament!

The worst part is that now I will need to do it again! Good grief!! It was really hard!

On to happier news... I have ridden almost 100 km this month to date, which during my two months of training is a record... a PB in fact!!

AND the quiz night is selling really well, so please get your tables booked. It is going to be so much fun, and it would be a shame if you were not there with us!! Please remember to book your platters in advance so that I do not have to spend the entire evening in the kitchen!

AND in one week Josie and I are speaking with the year 3-6 kids at GGS about this fabulous cause and our adventure.

So life is good!

W x

I hate wind!

So this weekend I have been on two training rides on my bike!

1. 16km yesterday with Hugh Magoo around the river.
2. 14km this morning with Josie around the Vines.

In case you have not noticed... that is 30km... in one weekend. Actually if I may include Friday I have a grand total of 48km in 3 days. How awesome is that!!

During my extensive cycling experience this weekend, I have confirmed that I hate wind! Yesterday Hugh and I were heading along the river with the Fremantle Doctor in our face. This morning at the Vines there was a horrid Easterly in our face. It just plum wears me out!! This is as bad as people putting freaking hills at the end of a ride. Just mean an totally uncalled for. I don't like mean people!!

So it is really lucky that there will not be any wind on our ride. Our maybe just a few gentle puffs to cool me down...

But then along comes helpful Paul! Apparently we are travelling into the prevailing winds on our ride. Now I have two questions... Does everyone have a super helpful partner who bursts their bubble or is it just me?? And secondly, I wonder if the organizers of the ride would mind just reversing the journey for me??


And, back to the important question of whether I should name my bike... LuLu says absolutely yes. I have two ideas in mind:

1. Stella - but you can't just say Stella... you have to do it like in Street Car Named Desire! SSSTEEEEELLLLLLAAAAAA!! If you are not familiar with Tennessee Williams you can say it like on Seinfeld when Elaine is on pain killers while visiting Jerry's parents in Florida. Either one always makes me laugh!
2. Penny - but you can just say Penny... you have to do it like on Big Bang Theory when Sheldon is knocking on her door. Penny.. Penny.. Penny.. Penny.. Penny. This show totally cracks me up. And sooo many of the people I know (and work with) are just like characters in this show!

Seems like maybe I watch too much TV! But, the good news is that is getting to be less of a problem know that I am spending every spare minute training or organizing the Quizzie! 

So I will let you know when I make my decision... happy to receive input from my wonderful friends!

W x

Stage 1 Tour De France

In a totally hooray for me moment... I just completed the first stage of the TdF on my training bike.

Statistics:
Distance:            17.8km
Time Allowed:    55.55
Time for Me:      50.55
Calories Burned: 396 (= 3 reward glasses of wine!)

And Mr Noble, it is not flat!! Near the end is what I now call Heartbreak Hill (not original I know but very apt)... and it was up to 4.5 degrees incline. I think even the lycra brigade would call that an actual hill!!

So in all of the time since I started training, I have now done a grand total of 131km which is almost exactly 1/3 of the distance we will by cycling on our adventure. Wow, it is often best not to compare!! I felt like I was doing great! In even more depressing news, a grand total of 7km has been on an actual bike on an actual road! But on the upside, I have done 51km this month to date. Yes, let's end on that happy statistic!

Back to the wine... it is research! I need to select the red wine for our Quizzie. Have already arranged the white, beer and bubbles. But as you know, I like to be very thorough when solving a problem and have very high quality standards... so it is important that I choose just the right one!!

Tickets for the quiz night officially go on sale today.
Saturday 9th November @ 7pm
Caversham Hall
Tables of 8
$20 pp

Please contact Josie or myself for tickets!!


W x

I have a bike!!!

In very exciting news, I am the proud owner of a shiny new bike! Hooray for me!

Isn't it beautiful!!

And I got gloves! I couldn't get a pink bike in a very small adult's size... I wonder why that is?? But they did have pink gloves for very small hands... BTW I prefer to use the term dainty myself, so at least I have some nice cheerful pink!

I even got a trip computer, because I think it is really important to know my speed and distance... I hope it shows calories burned because I am finding that to be a significant motivator!!

And I got a drink bottle holder. It was like Christmas! So exciting!!

And more importantly, the people at Bike Force were awesome! No stories about how even girls can ride bikes, and how you don't have to be tall to be a good rider like our local specialist bike shop. Good grief!!

I took Hugh's bike in to get fixed so he can start riding with me. It turns out that leaving the bike outside in the rain may not have been the best thing for it! Who knew right?? I just hope he can keep up!!

What I did not get, and hope I never, ever, ever reach a place where this product seems like a really good idea is...

I mean really!! And look, it comes in king size tubs as we as handy single sachets.. how convenient... I guess. Goodness me!


Now, given how little I know about cycling (you may not have noticed)... I have a very important question to ask my wonderful friends.. Do you name your bike, like a yacht, or is that totally uncool and daggy??

I have absolutely no idea.

Josie and I are having our second joint training ride on Sunday, so now I can ride my shiny new bike! How exciting. I hope this time she doesn't lie to me about the hills!! I am sure there were three where she told me it was the last one! Thanks Josie!! No really, it was really helpful in keeping me motivated! I am not bitter.

And to celebrate starting our joint training we plan to drink Champagne after our ride while the boys make dinner and the kids play. Mmmmm, so the big question is Bollinger or Verve. Must give that some serious thought...   Sunday is going to be a great day!

W x

OMG I rode a real bike

So in very exciting news... today I rode a real bike on a real road with my friend Josie! Hooray for me!

Oh, so you have finally bought a bike I hear you ask.... alas no... the bike in question may have belonged to Josie's daughter. I don't think it is important to point out that her daughter is 10 years old, and I certainly don't think that you could imply from that fact that I am not particularly tall!

Let's focus on the important part... I rode a real bike on a real road!! I think I need a list to highlight the key achievements here:

1. Did I mention I rode a real bike (only twice you say?? Three if you count the heading!)
2. I rode on a real road in the Vines
3. I did not fall off
4. I did not cry
5. The bike was pink which I think is a really cheerful color and I am thinking this is a great color for my bike
6. We rode for 7km and I could definitely have done more
7. Josie did not whip my patootie.. unless we count that one big hill (or small incline, depending on your view) where she may have overtaken me (notice I said overtaken which just proves that I was in the lead... not that it was a race... but I was definitely in the lead!!)
8. I managed to prove my theory that riding on the road is easier that riding my TdF trainer... at one point I was positively flying down a hill without pedaling 
9. I really enjoyed it!
10. I can totally do this!

Plus today, we went shopping for our Quizzie... tickets are now available - tables of 8 on Saturday 9th November, so if you would like tickets please just let me know!! Remember, all of the cool kids will be there and it will be the highlight of the social calendar this year!!

What a totally awesome day!

Now back to work.

W x

Editor's Note on Hills

So, it may have been brought to my attention by either a helpful friend or helpful web crawler that my TdF bike momentum analogy is not relevant since I have specifically stated that there will be no hills...

So rather than retracting this very apt analogy, I have decided to clarify the rules of engagement:

1. there will be no up hills, but obviously all down hills will be most welcome!
2. there will be no head winds or cross winds, but tail winds are most welcome... unless they muss up my hair! So maybe just moderate tail winds will be allowed.

So really, there is no inconsistency at all!!

Ha!

The Editor

(W x)

Big Jam Box

So with 146 days to go until the big adventure starts I finally got back on the bike today.

Turns out that 2 weeks of sniffles, a cough and no training has had a slight adverse impact on my training regime (such as it is!). Only managed 13 km today. Probably best not to mention that I had to break that into 2 sessions...

An update on my real bike... I still don't have one! Yes, I know... but I have decided that training on my TdF trainer is actually much harder than riding a real bike. Yes, you heard it here first and I am not just talking my book!! The TdF does not take into account momentum. If you stop pedaling, your stop moving. Even down a hill. Now while I openly admit I have not ridden a bike for around 100 years, my recollection is that bikes roll down hills... often really quite fast... often throwing the rider off said bike and resulting in scraped knees and in one particularly memorable incident, completely opaque glasses from the scrapes which was not hugely well received by the parents!

Paul got back from San Francisco with the most fabulous present. Gosh I am just too spoilt!! I am now the proud owner of a Big Jam Box which is the coolest blue tooth (according to Paul everything is better with blue tooth) speaker thingy. It now comes with me training and I am sure it will have a big impact on my training schedule, since the boys are still too busy landing on the moon to come and cheer me on (more about that later!). Only problem is that Big Jam Box won't connect to my phone without the cable thingy. I know right? So I guess I need a new phone!!

Paul spoils me just sooooo much.

Or does he?

Could it be that the coolest present in the world was actually to door prize from the coolest cocktail party at OOW?? Should I really be thanking my wonderful friend Mike W??


Back to the boys landing on the moon... we have finally weaned our beautiful boys off Minecraft (one not so much weaned as banned for life for making the mistake of sassing his mother! The other is on his last warning and quite frankly I am looking forward to the sass) and now we play Kerbal Space Program. It is a really cool simulation model where you can build planes and rockets. If fact I think Dad enjoys it as much as the boys. Many hours have been spent calculating fuel burn rates and the advantages of solid fuel over liquid and many, many other very interesting and important decisions faced by all space explorers.

This week, Hugh made it to the moon! Hooray for Hugh!

Or did he?

Now my quandry.. it was suggested by a client that if Hugh flew to the moon but missed by 15 feet then he had succeeded and that perhaps I was being a bit harsh saying he had failed. I think it was awesome that he got so close, but he missed so I think that is a fail. Would Neil Armstrong have been the first man on the moon if he missed by 15 feet? Do you win a gold medal at the Olympics if you miss coming first by 0.15 seconds?? I think not.

Comments on my conundrum are welcome my fabulous friends and web crawlers! Obviously comments supporting my position are preferred but we are all welcome to our opinions!!!

Until next time!

BTW tomorrow I plan to break 100 training km... come on people... obviously I mean cumulative training km's!!

W x

Wendy has the sniffles

Oh dear, no training this week because I have the sniffles. That is a really good excuse... right??

Poor Wendy!!

Josie and I have been meeting with our wonderful school community this week to share the message about underprivileged girls and the importance of an education in enabling them to change their world. It has been so wonderful to get so much support and we are really looking forward to speaking with the kids. I think it is really important that this journey is not just about money, and if we can make one kid want to do something in the future to change the world then that is awesome. So thank you GGS!

Then in an interesting development, Hugh has suggested that I should do the ride in full evening dress. The feedback I have been getting is that people would pay to see that!! I am just trying to decide if this is actually a compliment! I am thinking maybe not... but as you know, I always like an excuse to frock up... so watch this space!

Anyhoo, he was sharing this with his basketball coach who suggested that she would pay money (a lot) to see me do it with training wheels!! Again, not entirely sure this is actually a compliment, but has lead to a raft of other ridiculous possibilities. Let me write a list, because you know how I like a list:

1. training wheels - well not original, but it important to be thorough
2. clickety-clacks - not sure what they are called, but do you remember the plastic things you could put on your spokes to make noise as you ride - I always thought they were really cheerful
3. basket - with flowers I am thinking, because you can never have too much storage
4. handle bar streamers - because everything looks better with streamers especially if they are sparkly
5. one of those really long flags on the back which bend when you go under a tree - I don't know why but frankly I always wanted one
6. oh dear, only 5 items... not much of a list really. You may have noticed that I always like 10 things in my lists... please me dear friends give me 5 additional items so my list can be whole!

So I am not sure any of this is practical (in fact I think we can be fairly sure none of it is at all practical) but it is food for thought!!

BTW I now have 3 donations so thank you to my wonderful friends and hooray for me!!

W x

Hollywood Glamour

So, why can't I change the world like this??

This is so totally Wendy-Woo! Evening gown, fabulous jewelry and the requisite glass of champagne!
Photo courtesy of Louise Rattray.

Why do I have to wear lycra, and train, and sweat?? Lucky the ride will be flat with no wind and nice weather or I might have a really BIG problem.

So if you read my post about cycling for one whole hour - this was a key part of my intensive training program. Happy to incorporate this into my journey since I can really excel at this!!

And here is one of Josie and me at the Oscars (lucky I have 8 inch heels or you might think I am short!!):

So my brave, amazing friend Josie shaved her head today for this incredible cause. She is now first place in the fundraising for all of the girls on this amazing journey. Way to go Josie!!

Obviously, that is not an option for me since (as one of my clients said) how can I flick my hair and sniff dismissively when someone is being a dweeb in a meeting if I shave my head!! Who knew this was my trademark.

W x

I am so lucky!!

Josie and I received this video link from our Plan coordinator when we approached her about sharing our message with the wonderful kids in our wonderful school community.

It is so amazing to watch. Such a powerful message. Really made me stop and think.

So maybe, I should just stop being a whiny baby about my training... I have an amazing life and I get to do anything I set my heart on... well most anything!!

And best of all, I am doing something really positive to help change the lives of girls like this one.

How lucky am I??!!

W x

One whole hour without stopping

In another hooray for me moment… I just cycled for one whole hour. Without stopping! Who would have thought that was possible!!

I decided yesterday, while taking a day off from riding that I needed to build endurance rather than just focusing on speed. So I set myself a target of an hour of cycling with no target distance.

Goal setting is key? Right? That is what they say on the TV when interviewing famous sports people. So now I have my goal. They also go on about preparation. I believe that may be the second key.

So ever one to leverage the experience and insights of others, I undertook an intensive program to prepare. In the 20 hours between setting my goal and the achieving my goal (did I mention hooray for me??) I was totally focused on my objective.

Let me share my preparation with you. 

1. Get up, make coffee and do three loads of washing
2. Make waffles for breakfast for my beautiful boys
3. Clean up after breakfast
4. Make coffee
5. Go shopping for a birthday present for the sleepover Hugh is going to
6. Get my eyebrows threaded (highly recommended if you have never done it) because I have to look fabulous tonight… but more about that later
7. Buy two books for my boys as a reward for being well behaved last week… they were awesome… as long as I ignore all of the bits where they weren't!
8. Come home and make lunch because as usual when I walk in the door, before I have put down my keys, someone always announces that they are hungry. I know right?
9.  Try on evening gowns for big red carpet Hollywood party tonight. Oh dear, they were all fabulous a few pounds ago. I hate that closet shrinkage! There must be a product which stops expensive fabrics from shrinking while left on the closet… must investigate
10. Drop boys off at sleepover party. Hamish is just visiting for a couple of hours because it is a Nerf Gun party and the big boys need targets! So younger siblings are being paid to be targets. What a fabulous idea!!
11. Rush to the only store near me to purchase fabulous frock for red carpet Hollywood party with my stylist Paul. Need to leave in 1 ½ hours and currently have not done my hair and do not have a frock. But at least my eyebrows look fabulous! So at least there is no pressure!
12. Find fabulous frock by an Australian designer Lisa Brown at a wonderful little boutique called Milk and Honey. It is a little bit long, but luckily I have the most fabulous pair of suede boots which make me nearly as tall as Paul – that is a difference of nearly 10 inches. Note to self, do not wear boots while driving. May end badly!
13. Get home and get fabulous. Can’t do usual ritual of having a glass of champagne while beautifying… have I mentioned Paul is not coming as he is flying to San Francisco tonight. Feel’s weird. I can’t believe he hasn't booked me a car service so I don’t have to drive and can arrive on the red carpet in style. I know right?
14. Paul goes and collects Hamish from party having finished is target duties. Luckily despite the rain he is still moderately l clean, so off we go!
15. Arrive at party. Fabulous, fabulous, fabulous. Met by the Paparazzi, had a wonderful night. Great food, great company. Won 2 Oscars. Hooray for me again! Collected one on behalf of Paul. Photos will follow!
16. Drove home with Hamish and tucked up in bed by midnight… just.

So this morning after a surprising little sleep-in and collecting Hugh from the wonderful sleepover.. if you are not a parent of kids a certain age. A sleepover is the best birthday party in the world. The parents love you because you get a night off. Bliss.

Anyway, back to my preparation and goal.

So this morning I headed down to the studio and started cycling. I thought my beautiful boys might come down to the studio to cheer me on and give me encouragement when it all got a bit too hard for me… as it now doubt would, despite my intensive preparation… They felt that it would be more beneficial for me if they spent the time playing computer games… they are in the middle of launching a rocket into space and trialing different fuel cells and centers of thrust and centers of gravity.. as you do. So I left them to their important scientific endeavors.

So I was in the studio with all of my friends… not even any web bots for company.. and I did it! One whole hour and I traveled.. wait for it… prepare to be amazed… 19.6 km. That is way higher than I was expecting. So excited!

So for all of the glass is half full people -   I traveled just less than half of my shortest cycling day on my adventure… BUT I prefer to look at life the other way up!

To digress, a great quote from Paul… “The glass is not half full, and nor is it half empty, you have twice as much glass as you need!”

The lesson I am taking away from this is… set your goal, prepare to achieve your goal and you may surprise yourself with what you can achieve!

I can totally do this!

W x

My Bubble is Burst!

So I just checked my blog stats.. It is so exciting seeing that people are coming in a reading how I am going. 28 page views yesterday! Hooray for me! That is so cool. 28 of my friends checked out how I am progressing...

Or did they???

Helpful Paul has just taken a look and he burst my bubble!! Apparently it is web crawlers... oh dear... are they my friends?? Are they excited by my slightly wacky take on cycling and life in general. Am I the talk at the water cooler in the web crawler office?

Do web crawlers leave comments, or google +1 me??

Thanks so much Paul!! I was feeling totally awesome today. Rode 5 km in a new record time. 14 minutes 30 seconds if you are interested my friendly web crawlers.

BTW he also pointed out that it is not even 28 web crawlers, because they visit each post, so I need to divide 28 by 7 - which is 4 - but really that is just too depressing for me to contemplate - so I will just put that aside for now...

Oh dear, another bex and a lie down.

W x

A Personal Best

Still no update on the actual bike, but it is OK because there are 160 days until I actually leave, so I have time!

How do I know it is 160 days you might ask... well maybe, just maybe I took a leaf out of Hugh's book and created a model. But don't tell anyone!!

Yesterday I rode stage 1 of the TdF. Well not the whole thing obviously!! 18km is too much to fit into my very busy schedule. Well OK, while my schedule is indeed very busy the fact is that I could not ride 18km.

BUT I rode 7km in 20 minutes. That is an average speed of 21kmph. AND that is the best I have achieved so far. So hooray for me! And I didn't even have to have a lie down afterwards, so I think that is really great progress and should be celebrated! Maybe with some Bollinger, or maybe Verve!! Mmmmmm. Must go see what is in the fridge!

BTW, I don't need people pointing out the rather large difference between 7km and 86km. My wonderful boys have already done that so I am quite on top of the whole thing! Bless them. But they cheered me on yesterday, so some of the credit for my progress must lie with them.

Thanks to all my wonderful friends who are giving me encouragement and enjoying my posts! Who knew this journey would be so much fun!!

Until next time...

W x

What a great day!

So today has been so great!

Key Statistics:
1. Bikes purchased = 0
2. Riding on an actual road = 0km
3. Training on my trainer = 48km *
4. Donations received = 1 **
5. Comments received = 1 ***
6. Google +1 received = 1 ****

* Well obviously that is a cumulative figure!! There is absolutely no way I could cycle 48km in one day. YET!! I have been training on Stage 1 of the Tour de France. And despite what one of my very helpful and supportive colleagues has said, IT IS NOT FLAT!! I acknowledge its is quite flat in many places, but as you know, I am only cycling on the flat so it is excellent training. Let's for now put aside Day 6 of the Itinerary. I am not ready to deal with that emotionally...

My record day is the first 10km of this stage. Did it in 30 minutes. Hooray for me!! That means I averaged 20km per hour which is pretty good for a novice! Again, let's not focus on the fact that after that I had to have a little lie down to recover.

** I received my first donation!! How exciting is that. From a wonderful, generous friend. I am totally enjoying this journey already, and I only just started.

*** A comment! Also very exciting! Thanks Bill!! My blog was starting to be like being at home. I have many, many interesting observations to share... but is anyone listening?? At home I say Boys have you done your homework? Boys have you tidied your room? Boys have you brushed your teeeth? Boys come and tidy up this mess!! And so on. Does anyone answer? Not usually!! Might as well talk to the wall! Oh dear, sounding like my parents... Also sounding like a total nag! But back to my great day!! I LOVE comments, so please keep them coming!

**** I received a Google +1 a few days ago from a wonderful friend. I have to be honest, I don't actually know what this is... but in my experience very few things are best with a low number. Obvious exceptions, age, interest rates, calories in cake, row number in a plane... So now I want more +1's!!

So back to my great day again... focus Wendy!!

Yesterday, Hugh tells me it is 100 days to Christmas! Who does that? Set's up a model to count the days to Christmas?? I know some of you may be thinking like mother like son... but I can honestly say I never built a model for that... maybe just kept a count in my head... So anyhoo, that lead me to the realization that after Christmas I only have... let me see 6 + 31 + 27 days until I go on my big adventure. So that means I have 164 training days left! Oh dear!! Well actually, this was yesterday so I only have 163. I wonder if I should build a model?? And let's be honest I will have to take a few days off somewhere in there because it is the silly season and I will have parties to attend.  OK, so definitely need to focus on training. My objective is to be able to cycle 80km by Christmas. You heard it. Better yet, I hope to cycle 80km before Christmas without needing a little lie down afterwards!

OK, back to work... so much to do. PLUS I have to prepare to meet with Josie to discuss plans for our Quiz Night which is now again a very scary 53 days away. Another model perhaps??

I seriously need to work on my time management!!

See you next time

W x