Rutland Water Bike Route

Rutland Water

Finally, I have a whole weekend off! The sun was shining this morning so we headed to Rutland Water in Leicestershire with the bikes.

Rutland Bike Route

We parked at the home of Ruland Cycling in the Whitwell car park. The shop is huge and has a wide range of bikes (mountain, road, hybrid and kids amongst others) for sale and hire (including tandems). The shop also includes outdoor clothes, cycling clothes and accessories and climbing gear.

We had our own bikes but bike hire is reasonable, although it does add up for a family but info on prices can be found here

There is also a climbing wall, trampoline and high ropes course (over 8’s only) Prices are here

It’s advisable to book for the climbing wall and ropes as they are busy at weekends and holidays.

We set out towards Egleton, anti clockwise around the water. It’s 17 miles for the circular route. If you include the Hambleton peninsula, which we did, it adds up to 23 miles. It’s worth taking a trip round the peninsular as it offers some beautiful views and impressive houses. There are some steep climbs and descents around the Peninsula as there is around the whole of Rutland Water but if your thighs are up to the extra miles and you have time, it’s a nice trip round.

The paths are pretty good quality with some softer ground at times which would become boggy after rain but there is also tarmac surfaced areas.

The tarmac and trail sections are intermittent so there isn’t any section all the way round of one surface or the other. It’s not particularly off road either for hard core mountain bikers but I imagine it can pretty mucky in winter!

Egleton in a beautiful picture postcard village. There is parking there but it’s for the nature reserve and a sign does state ‘no parking for cycling’. It’s a bird watching centre with a shop serving ice creams, drinks and vending machine coffee. The visitor centre also has a small interactive exhibition.

It’s a good stop off point if needed but just a bit further up the road is The Horse and Jockey is situated in Manton is situated at the half way point and a good place to refuel with bike parking and outdoor seats.

There are refreshments at all the car parks, the usual coffee, cakes and plates of chips but nothing fancy and don’t expect too much from the coffee!! If you don’t fancy a pub lunch and can’t survive on ice creams it would be best to take your own food.

There are other pub off the track and the leaflet from Rutland Cycling centre has them listed and shown on the map.

Just past Edith Weston is another car park and here there has just opened a Giant bike shop. Well worth a look. Again there is a small cafe and toilet facilities here.

Normanton church museum sits just past car park. The church was saved from the water by raising it’s floor and now houses a museum.

Details of it’s opening times can be found here

The last part of the route takes you over the dam, which is lovely and flat before heading down into the second to last car park situated near the water sports centre. We reached here between half four and five and the cafe was closed by this time but it is only a short trip back to Whitwell car park where the cafe and cycling shop remained open.

As it’s open water it is pretty exposed and despite the sunshine a wind blows over the water brings a nip with it especially later in the day but I would imagine after a run round in the heat of summer (!!!) it would make a refreshing change!

I would thoroughly recommend a trip to Rutland Water as it is a beautiful location and even if you don’t intend to cycle round it, a walk along it’s shores will dust the cobwebs away.

Carsington and Tissington Trail

A few of us from work have been out a couple of times to http://www.peakdistrictinformation.com/visits/carsington.php

It’s a great trail for beginners and advanced bikers, although advanced bikers may think it’s a bit easy!

I am the least experienced cyclist in the group but they are all good and patient and wait for when I panting for breath and about to puke!!

One way round is pretty tame but the other way is a bit of a challenge. First time round we went the hilly way, well it was hilly to me! The second time round, after a stop for coffee and cake (coffee courtesy of Dave and his campervan and cake courtesy of me!) we went the easier way but it involved a very steep hill. Thankfully Dave, who is seasoned cyclist was on hand to give me tips on how to get up the hill without giving up straight away. He made me realise pace was important and to give it my all at the hardest bits rather than straight away. And to use objects such as trees, bushes etc as goals to get to then when you get to that marker find another etc etc and eventually you will manage to get up the hill. Although I did stop once and push my bike a smidgen half way up!

He also taught me how to start on a steep hill. It can be difficult to get purchase on wet, muddy and steep ground so he taught me to face my bike at an angle 45 degrees to the path with the back wheel on grass or as firm ground you can find and it’s so much easier to get going again!

Parking at the main car park (there is a cafe, toilets, shops and exhibition here) is £2.50 for 2 hours and £4 for the day. At the Millfields car park it is £2.50 a seasonal shop and toilets. Millfields is just down the road from the main car park. Sheep wash car park is free but has a 2.5 m height restriction.

Directions to get there can be found here:- http://www.rspb.org.uk/reserves/guide/c/carsingtonwater/directions.aspx

The day after I thought I’d tackle http://www.derbyshire-peakdistrict.co.uk/tissingtontrail.htm The Tissington Trail. It’s set on a disused railway track so it’s lovely and flat with beautiful views of the surrounding countryside.

Well normally you can, only the day I decided to go it was very foggy and a little chilly! There is a slight incline in the direction from Ashbourne to Parsley Hey. The outgoing journey was pretty slow and I was really disappointed with myself thinking after all this training I should be going great guns. Maybe Team Hardcore (as I have christened the animals from work) had worn me out too much the day before!

The wind was also against me too and it was so foggy that I couldn’t see a thing so the view wasn’t distracting me either!

About 18 miles into the ride it finally got a little easier and I picked up speed a bit, which was good news for the return journey!

I managed to get 22 miles, one mile short of Parsley Hey but time was against me. The return journey was somewhat speedier and I knocked half an hour off my outward journey time. It was much nicer speeding along the train rather than the slow progress I’d made before and the sun even peaked out!

To park at the Ashbourne end is £2.50.

To get there you can find the directions here :- http://www.peakdistrictinformation.com/visits/tisstrail.php

No photo's please!

A team of us from work decided to go to Carsington Reservoir for a ride round on the bikes. Originally it was just 2 of us but then a few others decided to come. Excellent, as biking alone is ok but it's a bit lonely and you don't always push yourself enough alone. I think I'm pushing myself but in actual fact I'm probably not!

The people who came are all seasoned bikers except for 2 of us so we used each other as an excuse to stop and have a breather!

I took the OH's bike as it is a mountain bike and the track can be quite muddy however OH's bike hasn't received a lot of attention over the past few years and immediately the gears gave up the ghost! I was peddling like an idiot and going nowhere! I managed to keep up (ish) though but came a cropper at the first hill. I managed to get into first gear but lost momentum and couldn't get going again. Luckily Dave the bike pro was on hand to give the bike a quick fix and off again we went.

It was far more undulating than I remember!! The 'Coach' and I were at the back and puffing and panting, well I was!! Coach was keeping quiet until we got to the pub and declared he felt ill!! It is difficult in a group of different levels to try and keep together and enjoy the ride without feeling that you are holding someone back. I did start to think 'oh my god what have I done signing up for the Kenyan bike ride?'!! I've always been one to be at the back and never one the leaders of the group. It doesn't bother me too much but I feel I've put so much effort in so far and am still at the back is a little worrying!!

I've never been known for being speedy and when I was a kid and we did a group walk whilst on holiday and I was at the back and got hauled to the front of all the year group and everyone was moaning I was too slow. It was awful and scarring!! Even whilst walking into town with my nursing colleagues I struggled to keep up and found it hard work!!

We stopped at the pub and were aiming to have a pint but the way we felt we didn't bother and opted for juice and coffee!!

The weather was gorgeous and it was really nice to have a bit of sunshine for a change!
We'll be doing it again that's for sure and aren't really sure why we haven't done it sooner!!

Carole Malone attacks nurses (well NHS staff in general)

I was reading News of the World the other day because it was lying about, not because I make a habit of it! I came across a couple of articles on the state of the NHS care of our elderly.

Carole Malone was ranting on about how nurses and doctors don't seem to care any more and are more concerned with filling out paperwork than caring for elderly patients.

OK well that may seem to be true from the outside but from the inside it's a different story. She may well be able to sit there in her ivory tower and pass judgement.

She is referring to elderly patients who couldn't help themselves and were left 'thirsty and starving' with nurses 'chatting on corridors' and not giving a stuff about them.

I cannot speak for the nurses involved but from my perspective working on general medical wards is a thankless task. Apparently one lady in the news was calling out for water and her relatives said she had to be coaxed to drink. There were probably 3 nurses to about 30 patients and taking time to coax someone to drink is very difficult. The lady was probably offered food and water several times but if she refused, nurses cannot force her to eat. That is abuse. She suffers from dementia too and probably didn't like being cared for by a stranger either. It was probably a very frightening experience. Apparently her daughter was her full time carer so where was she while her mother was in hospital?

I know visiting is restricted but if my mother was suffering and needed help eating and drinking I would insist on being there. I cared for my mother whilst she was in hospital. I washed her, dressed her and did all the basic care for her because she only wanted me to do it. Asian cultures do the same so why can't we? I know I would want my family there to look after me.

The gentleman in the press was suffering from dementia too so he was bound to look thinner and old than he did when he was fit and well. He fell and suffered a stroke whilst in hospital and the ward was critized for it. The wards make the place as safe as possible but without restraining each dementia patient it would be impossible to watch them every single minute of the day. It was a tragedy he fell but it could have happened at home, out and about or anywhere. Had the ward left him in bed with rails up to protect him then they would have been critized for that too.

I did have to stick up for my gran whilst she was in hospital a couple of years ago so I do know what it can be like. Had I not had the knowledge she would have continued to suffer needlessly.

One hospital was critized for the way they looked after an ex architect. His wife said this "He urgently needed treatment for jaundice. But Vivien, 71, was stunned when she arrived to find Peter on the floor writhing in pain and wearing the nappy. He was surrounded by metal fencing and when he saw his wife cried: "Help me Viv-please take me home."

Tearful Vivien said: "It was a sight which will last with me forever."When she asked why he was being treated so cruelly nurses said it was a "punishment" for trying to get out of bed. "He was being treated like a caged animal," said Vivien. "It was so humiliating."

Well, if a nurse had said it was a punishment then they deserve to be struck off but I doubt they said that. He would have been nursed in such a way for his own safety and the safety of others and 'the nappy' was probably there as he was soiling himself, there to maintain his dignity, not as a punishment!

If the chap was compos mentis he would not have been treated in such a manor and the fact that he said 'Viv, take me home ' is a little hard to believe. The staff simply would not have treated him that way if he was able to look after himself.

We are bound by paper work and litigation all the time. If we don't fill it out we get disciplined. Nurses are being struck off all time for very little misdemeanour's such as medication omission, inappropriate comments and not filling out paper work. Its a mine field.

I agree some nurses really don't care but when the organisation doesn't care about it's workers are the workers going to care back?

Ms Malone suggests those of us who don't care should 'go and find another job'. Easier said than done! Says she with a silver spoon and sitting in a plush office spouting rubbish and getting paid a silly amount for it!

When you pay to stay at the travel lodge, you get travel lodge services. When you pay to stay at the Savoy, you get Savoy services. If people want a better health care then it needs more funds. We need to pay more NI and not whine about it. I don't agree nurses should be paid massive wages as it could attract the wrong type of person but I do think we need to be valued more and not tarred with the same brush as a few bad eggs.

I'm proud to be a nurse and love my job, but I would never go back and work on a medical ward as it's a hard slog all the time with no thanks.

We have thank you cards galore at our unit so we must be doing something right!! oh yeah that's it. Saving lives!!!

Some patients suffer in hospital due to lack of nursing care because of time constraints of the staff but we do what we can where we can. They also may need a nursing home or have social problems and getting these sorted for discharge is very difficult, red tape, lack of nursing home beds etc etc. Therefore the patient discharge is delayed further. It seems patients relatives sometimes expect 5 star treatment for themselves too and 'demand' things and make complaints needlessly causing more problems and delays. I'm not saying we shouldn't stick up for ourselves but we should also try and respect the hospital staff too and not talk to them like they are servants or stupid.

Some relatives come to visit with an argument ready and waiting with little knowledge and understanding. No matter how much we try to explain, unless you have medical knowledge, it is really hard to understand.

Give us a break, a lot of us are doing our best!

Let training recommence

Ok so 2 wasted days off the bike and feel well enough today, thank goodness to get back in the saddle. For a while I was dreading I'd over done it again and hit a rough patch but thankfully have rallied back to health! Think it may be something to do with all the supplements I'm taking and drinking tons of water.

Although it's nice outside I have decided to stay inside to bike as it has many advantages. A huge one being that there is a loo handy! And I don't have to don loads of kit and make sure all my bike stuff is packed, wash out my Camel Bac and decide where to go. It's made a nice change to be indoors as the weather has been shocking but having a static bike in the kitchen isn't the nicest feature to have! It also gets extremely hot in the kitchen too particularly as I have been baking biscuits for my best friend and her family arriving later. It's like a sweat shop but it's great training for the heat of Kenya! I've never been so sweaty.

The good thing about static biking also means I can read my book whilst I'm training. I never really understood why people did that at the gym but I know why now because it's very boring and nothing to look at! It's also very tempting to keep putting the kettle on!

I aim for 20 miles today, see how I get on. Then hopefully builtd up over next few weeks to longer rides.
I can go faster on the road but I feel I push myself more on the static. I use my iPod with an interval training app on it for an hour which helps pass the time at least but I do love to be outside in the fresh air.

Feeling ruff

Today and indeed yesterday, I am feeling rough as. Sore throat started early on yesterday and went quickly to ears and nose. I feel sore and look like crap! Pale and unhealthy. Considering all I've done for 4 weeks, apart from the odd blip, is eat fruit and tons of veg and cut dramatically down on the vino well actually I haven't had a bottle of wine for over a month now and I've been exercising to get my fitness levels up, you would think I'd be a picture of health? Nope. I'm tired beyond normal, have no energy and have terrible insomnia. I was supposed to train yesterday but after 4 hours split sleep I gave it a miss so today I have finally made it onto the static bike but I think if I was road cycling a granny on crutches could overtake me!! Still it's better than being a vegetable on the settee or in bed reading which is what I really really want to do!

I was doing so well on the training front now feel set back again and this is what I really did not want to happen after last years months of having no energy! How do these athletes do it or indeed every day folk who train all the time and work too?

I was definitely not meant to be an athlete that's for sure! And getting rid of this weight I've gained well I think it's got hooks in the fat as it refuses to go!!

Escaping the Rat Race

I have recently received criticism (albeit from a every unreliable source) about the fact that I am doing something for myself and going away for 13 days this year in order to do it.

I train and mostly fund raise whilst my daughter is at school and although I will be away for the time it takes to do the bike ride (for charity) my daughter will be adequately cared for by her other carer, her Dad!!

I am luckier than most in that I don't do 9-5, Monday to Friday thing but I do miss out on sleep on many occasion to be able to work and be there for my daughter and of course we can't jet off here there and everywhere because of money and timing. School holidays are an expensive time to go away and money is tight, as ever but I try my best to make life interesting and exciting.

The reason I'm telling you this? I'm just watching a programme about a man who wants to escape the rat race and go to Alaska to build a log cabin and live in it throughout the winter. He has never been to Alaska, lived in the wild, attended a survival course or been in the army. His training involved writing to Alaskan family and dreaming of building his cabin in the wild.

Sounds great, if a bit bonkers. However, you may be interested to know that he has a wife and two children at home. His wife is wholeheartedly behind him as she is hoping it will get this out of his system and return to normal life and get on with it.

She states she 'knew he wasn't a person who liked to be tied down and had to do this be to able to function' so what happens when he returns home? Should we sacrifice our children's memories of us to be able to function as a human being?

Guy Grieve's experience is somewhat extreme but he states that he is still keen to complete his dream as his step father spent all his life as a good father but doing the 9-5 only to die of cancer before he managed to retire.

Many men have done this kind of thing before in search of self fulfilment. Beck Weathers, Chris Bonnington and Alan Hinkes to name but a few, all left family behind in search of their goal. Alison Hargreaves, a mountaineer from Derbyshire, paid the price and died on K2 leaving behind her young children. Being a Motherless daughter I know how hard that is.

I don't think I could go the extremes Guy has but I have said to my daughter that when she is old enough and has her education sorted I will take her, if she wants to, to do voluntary work in Africa and travel as far and wide as money will allow. Until then I will do things that take me away from her as little as possible but may still require me to venture away from the family home for a few days at a time. I will continue to raise funds for charity as I like doing it and I meet some lovely like minded people through it.

The upshot of the programme is Guy returns early to his family and they move to the Isle of Mull as he is offered a post managing a forest there.

Sometimes we need to do extreme things to realise what we want out of life. Albeit not life threatening things! I hope Guy has found happiness and is more content with his life.