Took myself off for a walk up the Malverns as my road bike is being serviced and I do not like riding my hybrid by myself as I have to have cleats and might fall off.

Surprise in the Post

 

Together with a birthday card I also received this lovely little handmade postcard. I am so lucky in that I have some lovely friends.

Belated Happy New Year

We might not have had the amount of snow that some have experienced over recent days but we have had some nice frosty mornings. I have been sad not to get out cycling for quite some time because of the cold but have made up for it by walking regularly.

It has been a bit icy on the Malverns but there was a plentiful supply of water babbling its way down towards Great Malvern.

Unfortunately, like lots of other people I have spoken to, I seem to have lost my creative mojo for the moment and I am finding it very difficult to focus on drawing and stitching, pastimes which I would normally love doing.  However I have been making an effort to read fiction and we are fortunate in that our library is still open for the collection of ordered books and return of those we have read. It is a round 4 mile walk from home for me so an excellent excuse to get out and about.
 

 Managed to start December off with a lovely ride out to Martley with my cycling friend Sue.  This is one of my favourite views out that way.

Reindeer at The Cob House were all resting ready for their big task of delivering presents at Christmas.

Of course it would not be Christmas without a silly selfie with Santa Claus. This was at the outlet selling Christmas trees near Rushwick.

Gathering Leaves

 

Took the opportunity this week to do a bit of eco dyeing/printing with mixed results. Silk always works best and I discovered I get better rusted bits if I steam the bundle instead of boiling it.  Boiling makes everything go very black. Perhaps the aluminium pan I use has an effect on it.

Silk steamed

Silk boiled

Khadi Paper

Autumn Ride

 

Another fabulous cycle ride today.  The recent weather forecasts are driving me mad.  They keep saying it is going to rain and then it never materialises so today I decided to just go out and risk it and what a lovely time I had.  I discovered this lovely lane near Powick.  But what a difference using a different camera makes.  One is from my little Olympus pocket camera and the other is from my phone.

September Cycle 300

 

Well I did it.  I finished the September Cycle 300 miles for Cancer Research UK with a whopping 484 miles.  I raised £635 (plus £111.25 Gift Aid) for the charity and am so pleased I took on the Challenge.  I really enjoyed myself and it gave me the impetus to get out and cycle more.  Thank you everyone who supported me.  I know it is a cause close to many people's hearts. I lost a lovely friend Dianne Ewin to breast cancer during the past year and I am sure she would have been so proud of me.

September Cycle 300 miles for Cancer Research UK

 

Last weekend I completed my 300 miles for Cancer Research UK.  I am trying to increase this to 400 miles this month now, for no particular reason other than I think I can.  A big Thank You to everyone who has sponsored me too.  I have been overwhelmed by the support I have received in terms of money and the companionship of other cyclists in Women on Wheels who have helped me to keep cycling when sometimes I have felt like not going out. Good job I have not been riding this bike ....

or following this sign

September Cycle 300 for Cancer Research

Good start to this week. Rode out to see the 'Wabbit' and increased my total cycling mileage for September to 161.2 miles. Just hope the weather stays fine for the rest of this week and I can get at least another 40 miles in.

September Cycle 300

Yesterday was the first day of the September Cycle 300 Challenge. I am raising money for Cancer Research.  I managed 47 miles yesterday all on my ownsome.  Stopped mid-way for Coffee and yummy Victoria Sandwich with raspberries at The Fold, Bransford.

Only another 253 miles to go over 29 days .... whoopeee

September Cycle 300

During the month of September I am going to ride 300 miles to raise money for Cancer Research UK. For me this will be an amazing achievement. When I think back to around 3 years ago when I was terrified of riding a bike on the road to the stage I am at now where I have recently been riding over 100 miles a week with friends from WOW (Women on Wheels). If anyone would like to support my challenge by donating to this very worthwhile charity please visit my Giving Page by following the link below:

https://fundraise.cancerresearchuk.org/page/hazels-cycle-300-fundraising-page-10

Life continues

I met a new little friend this week.  I already knew lots about him as he belongs to the lovely lady who taught me how to cycle.  He is called ' Fletch'.  He was on his best behaviour as he joined a few of us for a cycling picnic at Clive's Fruit Farm.

I am still cycling lots and have managed to achieve over 100 miles each week for the past 3 weeks.  During those three weeks I have also been top of the WOW Strava leaderboard until the Sunday and then I get pipped to the post by the same person every time.

Fitted in a weekly cycle with my friend Sue again on Wednesday of this week. It is 3 years since we started the 'Couch to 50k' 10 week course so we celebrated by doing the route in reverse. We had a lovely surprise when we found that the cafe at St Peter's Garden Centre near Worcester had reopened so we were able to have some lunch.  Halloumi sandwiches with peppers and pesto. We did do 35 miles so must have used up the calories.

Also got my hair cut this week and trying to grow my fringe out.

Mini Patchwork

I set some of my friends the challenge of producing several pieces of postcard sized stitched work, either embroidery or patchwork.  Thought it was time I made a start on my own ones. I have been trying to use up lots of scraps of fabric since Lockdown.  These are 1" half square triangles in cream and white shades.

Now started to add layers and machine stitch.  Hand stitch next I think and perhaps one or two small beads.

The baton is still travelling

I was out and about again today in very windy weather to retrieve the baton from a local churchyard. Now people are drifting back to work it often gets stuck at its hiding place for several days.  We seem to have a religious theme at the moment and it has been to several churches.

Lots of inspiration for embroidery projects at Norton

RouteQuest 2020 South

The end of the ride

Over the past two years Women on Wheels (WOW) have organised a Cycling Weekend which has included several levels of ride, a Treasure Hunt and barbecue.  Of course this year was different because we were very restricted as to what we could actually do due to the Coronavirus Pandemic.  Not to be defeated two of our Ride Leaders, Rachel and Sheena, came up with the idea of a type of Treasure Hunt where everyone participating could ride with 1 or 2 other people. 10 locations had to be visited, with a choice of a Northern or Southern route.  The biggest challenge was plotting your own route using either a map or computer plotting system which could be loaded onto a navigation aid such as a Garmin.

I teamed up with one of my Couch to 50k friends. We had the choice of going out Friday, Saturday or Sunday, or a combination of the days, to visit some or all of the locations.  Speed was not important, mileage was and we were encouraged not to use main roads. There was a points scoring system but Sue and I did not take much heed of this. We were not out to win, just have fun.

Having looked at the weather forecast we chose the Southern route which was closest to home. We also decided to do it all as one ride. The route did not seem too long, but I had not calculated properly for the cycle home from the end of our route, with a detour to have more coffee at Clive's on the way home!

Members of 3 other teams

Apart from the fact that in the end we we rode a massive 61 miles, we encountered several other groups of WOW members along the way, which was wonderful as we have not seen each other for months.

Several groups took advantage of a stop at Clive's Fruit Farm near Upton on Severn to fuel up with coffee and bacon sandwiches.  Sue and I really appreciated this as we had ridden out from home, tackled a steep ride to the top of The Wyche Cutting in Malvern, where our route started, then ridden back down it to continue our journey which eventually ended up at Birtsmorton.

One of the Crazy teams of cyclists

Chasing the Baton again but with friends

Three up today and they found the baton, although it had been moved from where I had left it on Monday for them.  Unfortunately prior to this I had a puncture.  First one since I started cycling!!  Sue and I had to try and remember what we had been taught on the Bike Maintenance course way back when we did the Couch to 50K in 2017.  I got a bit stuck putting the new tube into the tyre but a lovely man stopped and told me where I was going wrong.

Liz had problems with her bike too.  Her mudguard was catching the wheel so she really needs to think about taking them off for the summer I think.  My Garmin decided not to work after we had been stopped to fix the puncture and I did not realise until I had ridden 4 miles further on to pick up the baton. Think we must have had gremlins?  Enjoyed an ice cream sat in the sunshine outside a local village shop though. Lovely ride ad lovely company.  Makes a change to riding by myself.

Bits and Pieces

This week the iris in the garden have unfurled to reveal all their inky loveliness. We have also got lots of baby birds in the garden coming to get fed or be fed at the feeders.  I am finding it very difficult to concentrate and work on anything at the moment so decided to make a small hanging using up scraps of fabric from some instructions I saved from a magazine a long, long time ago.

Baton Relay

Over the past two days I have been cycling about the countryside with a magnetic box which has become part of a Baton Relay that Women on Wheels have been participating in.  It is hidden by a member of the group somewhere and clues are given as to its location.  It is then a free for all as to who gets there first and relocates it. I collected it from the other side of Worcester one day and then relocated it out towards Ledbury the second day.  It meant I managed to cycle in excess of 60 miles over the 2 days with lovely weather and scenery down some new roads and cycle paths I had not come across before.

I hid it under a postbox at the junction of a road. Not very original but at least it was quite well concealed.  We have had difficulty finding suitable metal items to attach it to.

A Bit of Distraction

I have actually been doing a bit of sewing this week, but having to take care because my shoulder is still not fully recovered. I have discovered that machine stitching and ironing really aggravate it, and hand stitching is almost as bad. I have got round to making 4 place mats out of scraps of fabric that I have had lying around for ages.  Disappointed my stash has not decreased much.  Shall have to think of some more little projects to do.

Also done lots of (hilly) cycling this week as the weather has been nice. I even got my Whyte Victoria hybrid out for an airing. So different to riding my LIV road bike.  Lovely countryside and did a bit of exploring whilst I was out.

View towards the Malverns

We have got a new cycling challenge this next week.  Silly/ Rude signs we see out on our rides and I found this one at Clive's. Someone (perhaps the person who suggested the topic) had been storing up lots of them ready for an opportunity to use them. Mearse Lane was one that came up but they missed the lane linked to it - Dogbut Lane. My friend Eileen split our sides laughing when we drove past them some time ago on a trip to a friends. In fact I was laughing that much I do not know how I drove the car.

More Cycling Madness

This week's challenge was to collect photos whilst out and about cycling using a Bingo Card with words on it.  This is what I ended up with ….

1. VIEW

2. VET

3. VALLEY

4. VEHICLE

5. VILLAGE

6. VICTORIA

7. EARL

8. ELECTRICITY

9. EQUIPMENT

10. EQUESTRIAN

11. EGGS

12. EDGE