So, my husband Chris and I did do our 24 mile bike ride yesterday! While I am still up for a cycling weekend somewhere, as this is the longest bike ride I’ve ever done I’m going to tick this challenge off as being ‘complete’.
Much of the route was on dedicated cycle paths and bridleways and also fairly flat so the terrain was great for cycling. However as it was really windy we had to peddle hard! We set off in the sun but twice got soaked to the skin in a couple of heavy downpours! The second happened when we were only a couple of miles from home so we arrived back tired, hungry and soaking wet…
Note to self: take a rain coat next time…
We did both feel a sense of achievement and are keen to do more longer weekend cycling and continue our short evening cycle trips during the summer.
Having done a huge amount of walking and trekking this year I was keen to do some cycling and get some practice for a more lengthy bike ride later on. Chris and I hadn’t ridden our bikes for about 3 years and they sat forlornly outside under a cover slowly rusting away and getting covered in spiders webs!
We recently dusted them down, oiled them up and have spent some of the recent gorgeous summer evenings out and about exploring our local countryside. With our mountain bikes we always stick to tracks and try to avoid roads as much as we can.
One of our favourite expeditions is a 4 mile trip across the fields where we stop and dine in a fabulous local Indian restaurant before cycling the 4 miles back across the fields again!
We are hoping to go further afield later today with a 24 mile round trip to a larger town! I say ‘hoping’ because we are currently experiencing the first rain in about 3 months on this Saturday morning. In contrast to most years the UK has experienced an ongoing heatwave with many records being broken for example, the hottest London Marathon in April, the hottest May Bank Holiday and one of the driest Junes and July’s, as explained by Wikipedia.
I’m happy to hike in the rain but I don’t fancy riding a bike for a rainy and possibly thundery 24 miles not when more sunny weather is forecast for the next couple of weeks into August!
Another book about cycling around the world… and I loved it! Another incredible adventure which was well written and so interesting to read. Alastair was only 24 when he decided to leave his home and family in England and cycle through Europe and the Middle East and all the way down the length of Africa to Cape Town. Brilliant!
These are a couple of quotes which really demonstrate Alastair’s ability not only to write beautifully but to fully capture his humble sense of engagement and absorption from his surroundings:
Alastair supports ‘Hope and Homes for Children‘ an organisation set up by a British couple who find homes for children who have been abandoned or orphaned. When Alastair met some of these children in Sudan he said “as I shook their small hands and looked into their shy eyes it was with a feeling of ‘you are amazing’… A beginning with no schooling, home or parents is out of my comprehension and I drew so much strength and resolve from them.”
A few pages later… “Despite their poverty, the Sudanese people I met were happy. They had dignity and self-respect and were content with what little they had. And they had an abundance of friends, family and faith. They were the kindest, most cheerful, hospitable and welcoming people that I had ever met. I pedalled through the village towards Ethiopia with a smile on my face.
Paragraphs such as these are so inspiring and heart warming that I can’t wait to read about the next leg of Alastair’s journey which stretches the full length of the Americas. I love the sense of adventure mixed with dose of motivation each time I read a section.
Following this first book Alastair became an adventurer who writes about his travels, gives lectures and pioneered the concept of microadventures. Alastair’s idea of microadventures are about fitting in a little inexpensive adventure at the weekend to escape your life perhaps by camping under the stars or wild swimming in rivers.
My version of a microadventure has been many mini trips to Europe where, when I’ve been short of time and money, I’ve still travelled and seen the highlights of Paris, Amsterdam, Florence, Berlin and several more cities in a day or short weekend. In fact, I see and appreciate my life as being packed with microadventures… a beautiful 5 mile walk which ends in a country pub during a warm sunny evening after work; a weekend of camping with lovely friends; an afternoon bike ride across bumpy tracks and fields to see my parents… or end in another pub… a trip to the coast or Peak District to do a long walk…
In preparation for my relaxing Cuba beach holiday I purchased a good old paperback which I felt would be far easier to read than reading books from the Kindle app on my iPad! You can leave a book lying around on the sun bed, it doesn’t matter if you get your smeary sun cream fingers on it and the odd splash of pina colada doesn’t hurt…
I managed to read this book within the week I was in Cuba and while I found it quite good and I enjoyed reading it, I could take it or leave it… it wasn’t one of those books that keep you gripped from start to finish…
I did enjoy some of the themes and values which came out strongly from the book… the warmth of the traditional Irish family, the complications of relationships and the idea that following your true feelings is best!
However I’m starting to realise that ‘chick lit’ isn’t really my thing… I’m really keen to read the next instalment from Alastair Humphreys where he cycles from Patagonia at the tip of South America, right up to Alaska in the very north of the Americas land mass. Tales from real life adventures are much more exciting!
I tried wood carving for the first time during last weekend’s camping adventure! As part of a small group my friend Mark used his expertise and showed us how to create wooden masterpieces from small branches! I used a sharp knife and two hours later was the proud owner of my very own hand made spatula:
It is July already and with such a busy 2018 I don’t think I’m going to get to the west coast of Wales this year. I therefore changed this challenge from the Pembrokeshire coast path to the South West coast path.
OK, so I did only a tiny fraction a couple of months ago and had just a taster of this amazing 630 mile walk. I would love to do the entire South West coast path at some point and I’ll try and get to Pembrokeshire next year…
Details of my short experience of a section near Weymouth and Lulworth Cove of the South West coast path can be found on frombluetogreen.com
So… a shared celebration with my best friend! We’ve just returned from a wonderful and relaxing holiday in Cuba to celebrate that we are both 50 this year! My lovely friend Bridget and I have known each other since we met at school when we were about 13 and through the ups and downs of life we have remained good friends ever since!
A full update on our Cuba fun and frolics are available on my travel blog frombluetogreen.com 🙂
A delicious Cuban meal including spicy prawns, rice and beans and pumpkin
Having just returned from a week of all inclusive indulgence in Cuba I was a bit anxious about this month’s weigh-in… however… I have managed to maintain my weight of 8 st 3 lb!!! Yay!!! How did this happen???
I spent last week consuming numerous cocktails each day, lazing around reading books on a sunbed and doing virtually no exercise… on the basis that any excess calories over the 1650 necessary to keep my weight at 8 st 3 lb, and given I was probably averaging a calorie consumption of around 3000 a day, in theory I should have put on about 3-4 lb… but no! I didn’t put on a single lb!!! Hurrah!!!
I’m not sure if this is a delayed reaction and I’ll suddenly expand at some point this week so I’ve gone back to my usual routine of not over eating and doing lots of exercise… all is good so far… and this was my gym weight this morning i.e. on heavy duty ‘proper’ scales, after breakfast and with my clothes on…
Given that I’ve managed to stay at 8 st 3 lb I’ll soon amend this challenge with the aim of sticking to 8 st 3 lb throughout the rest of 2018. This is a weight I am comfortable with and while I either have to stick to 1650 calories each day or do a large amount of extra exercise to enable me to eat more, it is all manageable at the moment…
Another challenge completed while on the recent Alaska cruise! The cruise offered a lot of opportunity to try new things and I actually participated in two dance classes… I did a 70’s line dancing class and a salsa line dancing class. I thoroughly enjoyed both and I’m keen to try maybe local salsa classes nearer home.
These tracks are in no particular order and I’ve tried to list each artist only once… but found it difficult to narrow it down to one track in many cases… never mind…
Kissing a fool or maybe Spinning the Wheel or perhaps Cowboys and Angels… all classics by George Michael… I love the intro to Cowboys and Angels about 45 seconds in and also the smooth mellow saxophone instrumental at the end… Oh, and Fast Love and December Song, Georges ‘other’ Christmas song…
Space Oddity or maybe Fame or maybe Aladdin Sane by David Bowie: legend…
Corner of the Earth by Jamiroquai: awesome track which reminds me of trekking in remote places
Sunny Afternoon by The Kinks: love this… chillin’ summery F*** it kind of song… also like ‘Tired of Waiting for You’… how cool were the 60’s?
Tainted Love by Soft Cell: brilliant and classic 80’s track
Gloria; Sunday Bloody Sunday; New Years Day… I’m a big fan of early 80’s U2 tracks. Oh yes… and Party Girl… silly but fab song!
Could You Be Loved? One of Bob Marley’s brilliant tracks…
Light my fire by The Doors: always been a fave; together with People are Strange…
Club Tropicana by Wham! You can feel the holiday vibe with this
Pass out by Tinie Tempah: love the instrumental bits in this
California Dreaming by Mamas and Papas: bunch of hippies singing about one of my favourite places… love it!
Bohemian Like You by Dandy Warhols
Spaceman by Babylon Zoo… slightly weird
Blue Monday by New Order: reminds me of the 80’s
Valerie by Amy Winehouse: brilliant track… or Back to Black? Maybe Back to Black pips the post of my Amy faves… a bit depressing but Amy at her best…
Happy by Pharrell Williams: a real uplifting song… in fact probably the most uplifting song I can think of
Hawaii 5-0 theme tune: one of my favourite instrumentals; reminds me of Hawaii
Green Onions by Booker T and the MGs: classic… ‘nuff said…
Paint it Black by Rolling Stones: a classic Stones track… closely followed by ‘The Last Time’… love this too…
Echo Beach by Martha And The Muffins: gotta have a beach track or two in here somewhere!
Don’t stop the Music by Rhianna: I like a few Ri Ri songs but this is probably my fave…
Livin La Vida Loca by Ricky Martin: maybe a bit cheesy but I still love this track from old swivel hips!
Smile by Lily Allen… bit of attitude from Lily… Love it…
The Real Slim Shady by Eminem: one of many excellent Eminem tracks
Feel by Robbie Williams: by far the best Robbie track… spine tingly brilliant…
Aint No Sunshine by Bill Withers
Wonderwall by Oasis… classic
Smells like Teen Spirit by Nirvana; one of my favourite bands
Mambo Italiano by Sophia Loren: love a bit of latino Italiano…
Mucho Mambo (sway) by Shaft… more latino… makes me want to get up and dance about… sorry, one more… also Lambada by Kaoma… want to find a beach bar and do the lambada all afternoon with easy access to a jug of caipirinha… sigh…
Thriller by Michael Jackson: have heard this hundreds of times but never get tired of it… well its either Thriller or Off the Wall… I love Off the Wall too, real boppy stuff…
Black Velvet by Alannah Myles: sultry…
Gypsies Tramps And Thieves by Cher: best Cher track… so original… actually not usually keen on her songs but this is an awesome track…
Age of Aquarius by The 5th Dimension: my birth sign and another hippy track!
Mrs Robinson – Simon & Garfunkel… fantastic classic film! Scarborough Fair and Sound of Silence are more awesome tracks…
She’s not there by The Zombies
The Pirates of the Caribbean theme tune… love this and could listen to it over and over again… fabulous piece of music
Hips Don’t Lie by Shakira: Sassy… wish I could shake and swivel my hips in the manner of Shakira…
Sweet Child O’ Mine by Guns N’ Roses… awesome track especially towards the end where it goes… ‘Where do we go… where do we go now…’
Dreadlock Holiday by 10cc: an absolute must have in my list!
Love and Pride by King: not the best vocals but a brilliant tune… another classic 80’s track and really uplifting
Lady Gaga – Telephone ft Beyonce… love this song!
Call Me – Blondie… brilliant 70’s track…
Hung Up – Madonna… what is it with telephone songs??? Am I weird??? No… while I like this Madonna song I think Secret is probably my favourite Madge track…
Ticket to ride; Twist and Shout; Love Me Do… a few classics from the Beatles
Message in a bottle by Police…another real classic
Baggy Trousers; House of Fun; Night Boat to Cairo… love a bit of early Madness…
Down Under by Men at Work… a guilty pleasure
Christina Aguilera, Lil’ Kim, Mya, Pink – Lady Marmalade… Hey sister go sister…
Hotel California by The Eagles… another brilliant track which I could listen to over and over again…
I nearly changed this challenge in case it seemed a little ‘fluffy’. However, as I was preparing for this, it forced me think carefully and put many things into perspective. Having reached the age of 50 and having seen how incredibly hard so many people’s lives are in terms of poor health or simply their life circumstances I do feel immensely lucky to have an abundance of things to be grateful for. I also realise that life can change in an instant so I try to make the most of it and try never to take anything for granted.
Psychology studies have shown that people who feel and express gratitude are consistently happier, are more able to deal with adversity and are less likely to suffer from depression.
And FaceBook CEO Mark Zuckerburg had a resolution in 2014 to write a thank you note every day in a bid to counteract his critical nature and express more gratitude.
So, (being very diplomatic here) in no particular order…
My husband: Chris, the person who shares my life. I am grateful that he chose me as his wife and we continue to build on our companionship, experiences and joy as we travel through our combined life journeys together.
My children: I am incredibly lucky to have a son and a daughter, both now in their twenties. Nothing can beat the feelings of love, awe and protection I have felt since they were both born…
My parents: who, lets face it, if it were not for them, I wouldn’t be here! My parents who brought me up, taught me right from wrong, gave me a warm and happy home and guided me from the very beginning of my life. They are all (including my two step parents) very different and I have learned a lot from each of them in different ways.
My brother and wider family: including all of my relations such as my lovely step daughters, parents-in-law, nephew and niece and all of the others, all of whom I enjoy spending time with and who enhance my life in one way or another.
My physical health: I’ve got to the age of 50 and thankfully have good physical health which enables me to lead an active lifestyle. I am now determined to do what I can to maintain my health in order to maximise my chances of a healthy old age. Until recently I put an average effort into keeping fit and healthy but as the weight crept on and I found my cholesterol levels had increased I gave myself a sharp nudge to focus on my health as a priority.
Freedom: thankful I live in a country that allows a fairly decent amount of freedom. In the UK we generally have the freedom to make choices about our lifestyles irrespective of our age, gender or background. We can wear what we want, eat what we want, work and travel when we want and don’t have too many restrictions.
Holidays: In relative terms holidays have gradually become cheaper throughout the last 30 or 40 years which means many people in the Western world can enjoy several holidays and trips away each year. I am therefore grateful that I live in a time to be able to do this. Even 30 years ago, most people only had one holiday a year. And even less in previous generations.
Budget airlines: the likes of EasyJet and RyanAir have enabled me to see a fair amount of Europe, something which would have been more difficult and expensive in the past.
My best friend: we’ve been friends for over 35 years and she is the one person who has always been there as someone to confide in and share my highs and lows.
My friends: nothing beats having warm and lovely people to share experiences and good times with. I am particularly grateful that some of our friends have navigation and outdoor skills which enables me to join them for amazing trekking adventures.
My work colleagues: these guys make my work life so much happier!
My job: which provides a decent income which allows me to lead a comfortable life. I’m lucky that it is so flexible which means I can work at home sometimes, vary my start and finish times and build up hours to take additional ‘flexi’ days.
My annual leave allowance: I am thankful I have 32 days of annual leave each year which enables me to take several annual trips away.
My home: working in London, I constantly see homeless people sleeping rough on the streets. This always makes me feel grateful that I have a home to go to. We live in an apartment so it isn’t huge but its warm, comfortable and we have a roof over our heads.
Hot water: and a lovely hot shower each morning.
Clean water: to have taps with clean running water is a luxury compared with many countries around the world.
Central heating: as a teenager living in a 400 year old cottage, I remember waking up with ice inside my windows in the winter! I don’t have this in my warm cozy flat. Again, central heating is a relatively modern luxury which wasn’t available for past generations.
Dishwasher: I always appreciate not having to wash up the dishes… a) because I find washing dishes is a boring chore and b) because I have ezcema and the washing liquid makes my hands sore and itchy…
Washing machine: I also appreciate not having to hand wash clothes!
My comfortable bed: having slept in a range of uncomfortable beds while travelling the world in 2016, I am always grateful I have a warm and comfortable bed to sleep in. We brought a new bed last year and paid a bit extra for Egyptian cotton covers and a soft comfy mattress cover.
An abundance of fresh food: always at our fingertips.
My laptop: one relatively small device which can do so much: store photos, produce documents, send and receive emails, use of Google to research and plan trips and for the vast amount of knowledge available at your fingertips and countless other tasks. Sad, but I love my laptop!
Fast Internet access: essential in this day and age. Surprisingly one of the worst places for Internet access during our 2016 travels was Australia!
Books: as well as something to relax with at the end of the day, books provide a massive source of inspiration and knowledge.
Music: can be incredibly uplifting although this depends on the type of music you listen to! This is why I prefer upbeat music.
Dark chocolate: another little pleasure… nice dark chocolate straight from the fridge
Coffee: necessary throughout the day and particularly first thing in the morning… I’m grateful for that little quiet time when there’s just me, coffee and my laptop… personal laptop that is… not the ‘w’ one…
My car: I’m using it much less for local journeys particularly now that I have a 1050 mile walking challenge to meet this year, but having a car gives me the freedom to more or less go where I want, when I want.
Lack of stress: something I have learned much better to deal with as I’ve got older. Its important to rise above minor stresses and irritants and to stop wasting time and energy getting stressed over them.
Lack of debt: only a recent thing… I’ve relied on credit cards far too much throughout most of my adult life… now the feeling is good that the only debt I have is my mortgage.
Meals with family and friends: priceless! I love spending meal times with these special people 🙂
My drive and determination: this helped me to push through and achieve my academic and career aspirations. It also helped to ensure we achieved our year long 2016 career break.
My sense of adventure: just makes life more interesting…
My positive attitude: life is to be enjoyed and not endured and having a positive attitude helps me to swiftly get through tough times.
My mental health: thankfully I think my positive attitude helps to maintain good mental health. I’ve never suffered from depression or anxiety or any other mental health condition. I hope this continues!
My open mind: while I have listed many modern day conveniences I am flexible and desire a simple life. I would be as happy with the adventure you experience while camping as with the luxury of staying in a 5 star hotel. My open mind enables me to try new things, new foods and new experiences with enthusiasm.
My sense of humour: OK, so I’m not the wittiest person around but I believe its important not to take life too seriously and to see the funny side of things where possible.
Knowing when to let go: essential… nobody’s perfect and you need to drop things that start to impact on your own wellbeing and happiness. I try to let go of the following: perfection (its too stressful and being perfect mostly doesn’t matter anyway); baggage (sometimes difficult but if you don’t let go, it drags you down); worrying (doesn’t change the outcome); other peoples opinions (OK to listen but always best to do your own thing).
My minimalist values: maybe having an open mind has helped me to value experiences over things. Rather than spending money on material things including cars, houses, designer clothes and suchlike, I value living my life to the full with weekends spent walking in the countryside, weekends visiting a new place in Europe and holidays at every opportunity.
Beaches and the sea: I don’t enjoy laying by the beach on a sun bed but I do love beaches and the sea. That is snorkelling, swimming, walking along the beach, watching the waves crashing and soaking up the beach atmosphere.
Mountains: I am grateful that I’ve been able to climb a few hills and mountains and experience the sense of achievement and also the solitude this brings. Not everyone is able to do this and I’m keen to continue climbing hills and mountains while I am can. The feeling of standing at the top of a mountain and being awarded with incredible views is exhilarating.
Trekking: again, trekking around the countryside and particularly in scenic places such as hills and mountains in national parks or along the coast and the feeling of freedom you experience.
Restaurant choices: we are lucky to have a vast number of restaurant choices which enable us to sample fantastic food from every corner of the globe. This wasn’t something as common 50 years ago.
Laser eye treatment: brilliant! I had laser eye treatment when I was 40 years old so have spent the last 10 years being free from glasses or contact lenses.
Laser hair treatment: oh yes… permanently getting rid of pesky unwanted body hair about 4 or 5 years ago was awesome. It was great that during our 2016 travels I had the freedom of not having to shave my legs or carry a lady shave around.
Improved ezcema: I’ve suffered with ezcema since I was a baby and have had times when it has been so bad it has affected my entire body. Sore, inflammed and incredibly itchy skin… thankfully it seems to have improved as I’ve got older and got better at managing it. It hasn’t gone and it’s left its mark with scars and damaged skin but it’s under control at last!
My safety: in the UK we enjoy relative safety. Sadly there has been a number of terrorist incidents within the last few years but in reality, the chances of one getting involved is quite minimal. Compared with many countries and within reason and with normal precautions you are safe to go about your daily life without fear of being mugged or murdered.
My life: and hopefully many more years to come! You never know what life has in store for you and I am firmly committed to making the most of the journey through my life…
Fifty at Fifty 