A jigsaw of the most extraordinary proportions!

John Hall

arrived today just after lunch to load the bikes. Well! Wow! So many bikes into such a small space - it really was very, very impressive.

This last week, the over-riding feeling has generally been one of excitement - however as the last jerry can went in, I suddenly felt really rather nervous! Get those butterflies in formation, girl!

All that is left now is to enjoy, soak it all up and relax into it - that sounds more like a bath that an off-road adventure?!

I know that I have the skills, albeit more honed in some areas than others, so now it's up to me to use them and call upon those new found abilities and resources that are there.

Thanks so very much to all our friends and family for their continued fabulous support, encouragement and love, through the ebbing and flowing of emotions during the high days and the less so! It is so enormously appreciated and the monies raised thus far for GOSH and KidsCo is just wonderful - last look c £6700.

A bientot, Xx

Doing it in the dark!

Well what an experience this evening was! Martin warned me about going out on my own off-road, however with 15 days to go and an opportunity in my sights, I went for it. Had phone & lip gloss, no metal putty, no gear levers and other stuff, however figured even if I did, I wouldn't know what to do with them!

I used to ride my boy (16'2 throughbred) in the evenings and the funny thing I noticed immediately, is that a horse will tell you what's going on, maybe deer, farm work, a person; long before you're even aware of whatever it might be. On the bike, I felt oddly alone and more responsible. The sunset was absolutely stunning, pinks, purples, reds and blues - lost the back end slightly at one point, possibly due to cloud gazing!

Was on the KTM 400 - loving it, have I switched allegiance even if I can't touch the ground when it's upright! The Honda is still stiff (?) and has gone for some magic intervention from Martin at TorqueRacing.

In the flat light, I couldn't see the lumps, bumps and ruts and therefore truly relied on my training and belief in my ability.

It was fantastic, at one point I was aware that I was looking just ahead of where I was at rather than properly ahead and I remembered breakfast some time back with Ross Noble and he said " always make sure you look where you're going, that's where you'll end up and the bike will take you". At that particular moment I was traversing some yukky hard ruts and thought, okay let's plan ( as per Si Pavey's advice) and look where I'm headed, gave it a bit of throttle too, just because and voila! Huge grin in helmet, then a deer appeared, several bunnies, a hare and some spooky partridges.

Still not sure of my iron steed in the Pyrenees however slowly but surely, I might just be getting there......

The Catalyst!

I was speaking earlier this week with a client about catalysts and that often a little catalyst can cause a big shift in behaviour, actions, a task......

This evening I was somewhat shocked to discover that I last posted to this blog in August last year....eek! Time flies as the expression goes.

The catalyst in this instance is our mate Gary. A seasoned and uber experienced enduro and trials rider (and I'm led to believe also single handedly despatched a number of mopeds to the moped garage in the sky in his youth!).

It transpires that Gary despite his extensive off-road experience doesn't have a road licence and today he took (and passed) his CBT, the big test in a week or so's time. The motivation being joining Mr T and I on our challenge! Eek - I'd better get planning.

So, the quietly thinking perhaps 'I've bitten off more than I can chew' and perhaps no-one will notice if I do a sponsored crochet instead...... the challenge is set; early September 2011, three days over the Pyrenees starting somewhere near Biarritz. I haven't been on the bike since last summer - 212 days to go!