Last week I uncovered my practically brand new mountain bike, bought new for me two years ago and never used. I fitted some lights and a new computer, and pumped up the tyres. But I knew deep down I was never going to ride it.
Until yesterday, when everything changed.
I, possibly the fattest person on two wheels, rode 2.5 miles yesterday in 25 minutes, burning 171 calories and 1.6g of fat. Some way to got before I’m Lance Armstrong, but it’s a start.
And I quite enjoyed it.
On the one hand it’s a good job I didn’t go on the Trail trip this weekend, because I ended up having to go into work today to get some things done and had I gone away I would have been even more behind.
On the other hand all I’ve thought all weekend is: “I wonder how they’re getting on, what they’re doing, if they’re having fun.” I feel so left out! Sian didn’t go either so I’ve been checking Emma’s blog tonight to see if she’s got home yet. I need details!
Guess what popped into my inbox yesterday? An invite to the final Trail trip – a wild camp, lightning ascent of Scafell Pike and some night nav. Only problem is, in typical Trail style, they’ve given us just over a week’s notice, and I’m already going to a 30th birthday do next weekend. Why couldn’t they have given us all these dates at the start so that we could plan around them?
So my Trail experience ends here. But do you know what? I’m not hugely bothered. I’m only sad that I didn’t/couldn’t achieve all that they wanted for me in the time we had.
As much as I gripe about Trail and the organisation of this challenge, I’ve experienced things in the last five months that I wouldn’t have done otherwise, and I’ve met people who have changed my life for the better, forever.
For that, I have Trail to thank.
Apologies that the blog has been a bit quiet over the last few days. I have finally had a week off work and got back from Cornwall today, feeling totally chilled out and well rested. We drove down in the wee small hours last Wednesday and sucessfully avoided any Easter holiday traffic, arriving at my parents’ cottage just before 2am on Thursday.
After the best nights sleep I’ve had in ages, I was getting dressed on Thursday morning when a CityLink van pulled up outside and delivered a box for me. Andy, knowing that my beloved Nikon compact camera sadly lost it’s life on the last Trail trip I went on, and thinking that it was time I took the big step into the world of DSLRs, had ordered me a Canon EOS 400D, and had it delivered to where we were staying. He had also brought me a funky National Geographic bag to put it in, so I was all set. And what can I say except, a whole new world has opened up!
I’ve never really seen the point in walking before (shoot me down in flames, dear Trail readers) – you get to the top, it looks nice, and you walk down again. So what? But now there’s a photo in everything – a new thing to focus on, a new abstract to find, so much to learn before you can make it look as good through your lens as it does to your eye. And it helps that Andy knows what he’s doing so that when I’m getting frustrated, he can show me what to do to put it right. Only problem is, I want to be as good as he is after only a week, when it took him years at college and years of practice to get as good as he is. Hmm..patience, grasshopper, patience!
Photography is so much fun… walking is no longer about plod, plod, puff, puff, plod. Suddenly there’s a reason for being there, and that feeling of anticipation when you wait for your photos to transfer to your laptop at the end of a long day is like nothing I’ve felt before. I don’t think I want Claire Maxted’s job any more – I want Tom Baileys! (I know, in my dreams!)
So, a brief run down of how the week panned out.
On Thursday we walked down into the town and paid a visit to the local camera shop to get me a UV filter and a polariser (not entirely sure what they do yet, but apparently I need them). Now, my parents’ place is up an extremely steep hill, but with my new found ’slowly slowly’ approach learned in Wales, the walk home was no problem to me, although it took some getting used to for Andy! What you learn on the mountains works in real life too! In the afternoon we headed to Polzeath, where I’ve been going since before I could walk. It’s changed a lot since then (mainly in a bad way as all the Rahs/Yob Snobs have moved over there from Rock) but essentially it’s a really nice place, and the Galleon does the best mugs of tea in Cornwall. We moved round to Daymer bay in the evening and I did my first attempts at photographing sunsets, but, as Andy tells me is the law of photography, the really good light came just as we got back to the car to go home, so we made a note of the time and vowed to come back another day!
Shameless product placement (it’s a Kata bag, just in case you’re interested)
Good Friday dawned, and after another fantastic sleep we went to the Eden project. I didn’t have my pedometer on me, but the site is so big I bet there were thousands of steps taken that day, and thank goodness for sunblock!
I had read about Minions, the Hurlers and the Cheeserigg, being the highest point in Cornwall, and felt the need to see it for myself on Saturday. I didn’t expect there to be scrambling involved, but there was, along with a fair amount of ’slowly slowly’ hill climbing! The light was rubbish (check me out, sounding like a photographer!) but I think I got some photos that show the sheer size of the rocks!
Andy getting chatted up by some random woman on top of the Cheesering
On Sunday we took the recommendation of Country Walking and went to check out the waterfalls that are at number ten in the best waterfall walks chart – Golitha Falls. Problem was, the magazine says it’s a four and a half mile walk, the sign at the falls says it’s a twenty minute walk each way, but after a hour of walking through woods and alongside the river, we hadn’t found anything resembling a spectacular waterfall or viewpoint. Eventually we decided that what we had dismissed as just a series of small falls on the way the main fall, actually were the falls, and that we had expected too much. Still, it was a lovely walk, and I think I grasped the concept of photographing fast moving water. Still a fair way to go though, which you’d agree if I uploaded the reject photos!
On Sunday night we returned to the cliffs above Polzeath and Andy finally got his sunset. Right on key, a trawler sailed across the sun, so he’s got some lovely shots. I’m going to need a bigger lens…!
Andy, doing what he loves to do
Monday was a lazy day in Perranporth, and today we came home. Off work tomorrow and then back to work on Thursday. Still thinking about a career change, preferably one that doesn’t involve me having to go to work when the sun is shining!
http://whitespider1066.spaces.live.com/
This guy seems to blog about all things outdoor, and he asked Emma, Sian and I to get in touch so we could answer a few questions and prove our blogs weren’t fake, set up only to promote Trail. Anyone who’s a regular reader of mine will already know that’s not the case!
Been thinking a bit about the whole Fitness Academy experience this weekend, so the questions on the above link were kind of timely! My pondering was sparked by a text from Sian on Friday evening which said that she was just driving back from the latest Trail trip (the one I couldn’t go on) and she’d had a brilliant time but: “you would have hated it”. Apparently it was uphill and there was some scrambling. I don’t know where anyone has got the impression from that I don’t like scrambling, as I’ve never really had the opportunity to try it. She’s probably right though – from the sound of it it was another one of Trail’s “gently undulating” walks that turns out to be steep and challenging, and I would have been right at the back without my mountain leaders to spur me along. And then I read the blog above, and I can see that I’ve got the reputation of being the one who whinges and complains all the time…. pants.
Ok so I may not be climbing Kilimunjaro, and I may not be able to run ten miles in ten minutes, but I have achieved things that I didn’t think I could do, and I’ve learnt a lot, particularly from Steve and Barry on the weekend in Wales (if I’m honest, that’s the shining pinacle of the whole thing for me – I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.) It’s just that my achievements are so small compared to everyone else on the academy, that I’m not sure that Trail know how to or want to manage that.
Just wanted to be clear that, although I refuse to pander to a magazine when things aren’t as good as they could be, I’m still grateful to Trail for all that they have done, and the positives more than outweigh the negatives.
Lastly the latest Trail magazine is out, and I don’t get a mention – perhaps I should try being a bit nicer about them! Looks like they sent Jess and her family on a great break though…have to look into how much that would be for me to do the same. And there’s some tips for avoiding the post work slump that I am so guilty of. I’m going to give those menus a try, which will be much easier when I’ve moved (May 1st completion date – eeeek!) and am shopping/cooking for myself.
