No.15 The hills are alive with the sound of ………….

Gentle, rolling, steep, craggy, sweeping, long, short, twisty, undulating. There are many words to describe a hill. Indeed life before cycling conjured up a very specific vision of what a hill should look like. It's quite clear now that I was way off the mark. A hill is quite simply anything that isn't perfectly flat. At the moment training is all about the hills. I never thought I'd say this but we are actively seeking them out. It's clear to see that Graeme is a happy man enjoying the challenge of getting us both to the top. Previously I had been known to choose 'next left' on seeing that the route looked a harder option to the 'right'. Now I see impossible before me and I head straight for it.

"Breathe in through the nose, don't let the gear get on top of you, strong legs Jane, breathe through the pain, slow the breath, you're annihilating this hill, you look so strong, that's it - smooth legs, focused head and breathing will get you to the top." I'm not sure how Graeme does it? Cycling, hills, breathing and talking? But it's great that he does. It would be so easy for me to give up, especially when my pain barrier is being broken but he keeps me focused, and eventually, we get to the top of the hill, switch up the gears and the speed and hunt down the next one.

Last week we went to tackle a nearby hill. Fairly short but the road gradient is 16%. It's the steepest hill I've tackled in a long time and my fear of having to unclip from the pedals if I can't make it was growing. To be fair I think that fear helped get me to the top! I had been in bed ill for 48 hours in the week leading up to it so it was pretty emotional achievement for us both. A mixture of exhaustion, pain and elation. It gave me a real boost. On the the actual ride there will be all sorts of hills to deal with. Day 11 gives us a categorised hill nearly 11 miles long. I can't even imagine what that will be like. All I need to remember is if all else fails I'll have to walk!

Some hills just can't be ridden!

As sponsored RearViz riders we always ride safe with our RearViz in place (a rear vision mirror mounted on the arm) and the view today was a little different from the usual traffic. I saw the peleton in my RearViz way before I heard their calls to let us know they were approaching and I already had myself braced. I have experienced a peleton before, on our cycle to Oxford last July, and its fair to say that I still find it one of the scariest things ever! In fact I've added it to my list - spiders, clowns and now peletons. This one was quite special though as there, right in the middle, was Olympic Track cyclist Jess Varnish. I was scared stiff with the number of riders, but for literally a millisecond I was cycling next to a world record holder! We managed to keep the group in our sights for just over a mile. It really is spectacular to see.

Fancy your own RearViz?

 Quote #BIKE2014 at http://www.rearviz.com and they'll make a donation to 

The Lee Spark NF Foundation :-)

So what's next? Tomorrow will be more hills. We actually had a route planned for last Sunday but the weather and my lack of energy from being poorly made us postpone it. Hopefully we will wake bright- eyed and bushy tailed to a dry day!

Click the link to follow me on Twitter  https://twitter.com/velvetcherries

Click the link to follow Graeme on Twitter https://twitter.com/Gingerlogic2012

Click to the link to donate  virginmoneygiving.com/survivor

Thanks so much for reading. Your comments and support really are appreciated :-)

No. 14 I don't know where to start!

So much has happened since I wrote my Necrotising Fasciitis story over the last 3 blogs I hardly know where to start. I’ll ramble and see where it goes. Firstly Christmas is always a tough one I normally struggle hugely and try to keep super busy usually outpouring my emotions in a drunken speech around New Year. This year it didn’t happen. Nothing. No tears. No breakdown. No anger. I waited for them to come but they just didn’t. I genuinely think the blog has been more powerful than I could ever imagine. I may have written the story but I haven't actually haven't read it and I'm not sure when I will or if I even need to. People's reactions to it have been amazing and I feel a little lighter :-)

So, of course, a fair bit of cycling has been completed, weather has been shocking so we've been thankful for the rollers and Sports Performance Yoga has been keeping me on track and mixing the training up a bit. But it's becoming clear that this blog has to be about people. I am seriously amazed by their loveliness. People share my blog , our fundraising page, help to raise awareness of mine and Graeme's challenge, give us support with products, time, advice, want to join us for stints of the journey, want to welcome us at the the end or meet us as we travel. As well as all that, incredibly people, friends and strangers, actually part with their hard earned cash to make a difference. We are staggered. We thank you all.

The route has now been finalised which hopefully you can now see in detail on the blog. We are soon to be receiving our cycling jerseys made lovingly by spiritcycling.com which www.nfsuk.org.uk have very kindly sponsored us for. Thank you.

We are officially sponsored by the amazing company Australian company www.rearviz.com who have provided us with their incredible RearViz product and will also be donating to The Lee Spark NF Foundation with every purchase of their product using the code #BIKE2014 It is the best product we have for our bikes and has made cycling even more enjoyable. We are ecstatic to be involved with such an incredible company with a fantastic product and ethos, with special thanks to Mitch Cripps. Thank you.

The lovely www.auracyclesystems.co.uk kindly donated one of their Aura belts to keep me safe during night cycle training. I love it. Thank you.

womenscyclinguk.co.uk chose to feature me in their magazine thanks to the fantastic Editor Lara Dunn getting in touch through Twitter. Thank you.

Unbelievably after a meeting at the London Bike Show with Kirsty Ho Fat from totalwomenscycling.com I have been named as one of twelve inspirational women in cycling to celebrate International Womens Day which you can read here cyclings-most-inspirational-women and right now I couldn't be happier!! Thank you.

There is a long way to go and a huge amount to do. Accommodation still needs to be arranged for two-thirds of the ride. We need technology to guide us and record us, we need to get bike fits and include turbo sessions in our training. We had wanted to hire a Watt bike but they have stopped doing this so we need to find some close to us in Bromsgrove. The list is literally endless, but we will get there. Not just because we have to, but because we are surrounded by people like you. Thank you.

You can send support, advice or just be plain nosy by following my Twitter twitter.com/velvetcherries

Or donate at virginmoneygiving.com/survivor

Thanks for reading :-)