#omsdoortodoor

[omsdoortodoor]

OMS Door to Door Challenge Departure date minus 19 weeks

Ian's week

Training & a trial run.

The first training ride this week was the Culm Valley loop again, it felt hard but when I got back, I had completed it three minutes quicker than the previous time.  This would explain why it seemed harder.

The second ride was a trial run of part of the first day of the ONS Door to Door Challenge.  We had lunch at the Sun Inn near Dorchester and I cycled about 23 miles to the Bakers Arms at Lytchett Minster.  This is a possible first night stopover, being very close to the ferry terminal.

A bit of a pub theme developing, I think!

It was a good ride through interesting countryside and villages, but very flat which meant I kept up a good speed.  But the disadvantage of a flat terrain is that I had to pedal all the time because there was no downhill section to rest on.

Jane's week

Crash and Burn

This has been a week of two halves, great fun but with massive consequences.  Will I ever learn?  At the start of the week, I was away with some friends near Bicester.  Get a few ladies together and there was a fair bit of singing and general larking around.  Such as teaching each other how to Moonwalk (I learnt that), trying out front rolls (I declined trying that) and trying out the Worm dance move. 

I paid for that one the following day and stayed at the house to have a quiet day.  A wise move as I felt much better for it.

Monday was Vitamin D test day.  I test myself twice a year.  I could get an annual test on the NHS, but with UK weather it seems to make sense to me to do one in the spring as the UV is increasing (believe it or not we had UV 4 the other day), and also to do one in the autumn to see how my Vitamin D levels have been through the summer and what the starting point is for the winter.  I can then make a judgement about how much I need to take to try to maintain it at a level in line with the OMS programme. It’s a really simple process, but I am a bleeder and a wimp.  Before I knew it, I was dashing to the sink to stop everywhere becoming covered.

I had a great swimming session this week with friends, great Pilates on Thursday and Friday and in the afternoon Ian and I were interviewed for our blog.  That will be coming in next week’s blog.  But then I started to feel fatigue and decided not to go out as planned.

I was a little concerned because we had our Day One test run over the weekend.  In some ways it went well but in others I was disappointed.  I did some of the driving but not as much as I would have liked but we tested out the new Sat Nav, which I am very pleased with.  However, during Ian’s drive (not he did not cycle all the way to Poole as was our original plan), the Sat Nav started to come unstuck (crash number 1), so by the time I drove (and Ian cycled) it had to sit on the seat next to me and I had to try to follow directions like that.  So, Ian cycled some of the way but what he hasn’t mentioned is that he too had a little crash on his bike. (Crash number two). He’s fine with only a scraped knee and handlebars that needed to be straightened.  (I am talking about the bike’s, not Ian of course.)

We had our meal at the Sun Inn but by that time I was really tired.  I was a little bit anxious about the massive dog at the next table in the bar and how Belle might be (Actually she was brilliant).  It was very noisy, and it was hot.  Heat and noise do not go well with my MS and the following day I had a lot of my MS symptoms hit me all at once.  We were seeing some of Ian’s family in Dorset on the Sunday and I had to go to bed and then we came home a day early.  (My crash and burn).   I pretty much spent the day in bed on Monday.  I was disappointed and felt as flat as a flat tyre.  The worst I have felt for some time.

I’m back in the ‘saddle’ now though but taking things slowly and concentrating on my OMS programme.

Looking forward to a better week coming up and don’t forget that in the next blog we have our interview.

Thank you for reading Jane and Ian

Thank you for your amazing support. Ian's strava routes and just giving links are here.

#ms awareness #omsdoortodoor #multiple sclerosis month #overcomingms

[omsdoortodoor]

Door to Door Challenge Departure Date minus 21 weeks

Spring Cleaning

Ian's week

I’ve upped the training this week, a couple of cycles and a trip to the gym.

My first ride this week is the regular Uplowman loop, a ride I always enjoy, With Mondays weather being wet & windy (surprise surprise) I headed for the gym, thirty minutes doing interval training on a spinning bike followed by 40 minutes of mainly leg exercises on the resistance machines, 50 reps of 7 different exercises which added up to a good workout.

For my second ride of the week I cycled what I will call the Culm Valley loop. Holcombe, Sampford Moor, (The Blue Ball was closed), Culmstock & through Uffculme to Willand, I then took the cycle path to Tiverton Parkway returning to Holcombe via Westleigh. Although tempted I managed to cycle past The Culm Valley Inn without stopping!

Bike No 3 also got a well-deserved clean & check over.

We’re off to a Motorhome show at Westpoint Exeter Sunday where we hope to pick up some information & maybe the odd bargain.

Jane’s Week

Swimming in the Rain

Here’s my weekly stats – back again as promised

Although I feel completely shattered as I type this, the numbers suggest that, overall I am achieving more and feeling less time.  I’m really pleased about that because, right now, typing this, it does not feel like that at all.

That could be because I met a good friend in Bristol for a (very) long lunch at Mud Dock Café followed by a tour on the Balmoral, docked there and on display for a little while. 

Now, I didn’t know this when I picked the Mud Dock café (my choice was based on it’s menu) but some of you may know that it is built above a bike shop.  Ian wasn’t with us. If he had he may have got lost in their shop.  But in the café they have these amazing posters.  I am planning to try to replicate something like this for Ian’s finish (not how that’s going to work right now).

I also might be tired because last weekend we celebrated friends triple birthday party.  There was music and dancing and I danced until I nearly dropped.  Boy did I pay for that over the next few days, which is partly why I am so pleased with the numbers in the table.

Also big news this week.  I have upped my swimming.  I went, with a couple of friends to Wivy Pool, which is a Lido.  It was a chilly day, but we braved the weather and plunged in.  A bit overcast to start with, it then started raining.  At which point, I could not help myself – I had to sing, Gene Kelly style, Swimming In The Rain. (while trying not to swallow water). 

On another swimming related note, out of the 3 of us, on one could decide the best way to get to Wiveliscombe from Holcombe Rogus.  One of us had only been there once, and the other two would have gone completely different ways.  It’s just one of those routes – there does not seem to be a consensus on the best route to Wiveliscombe.  On no, I feel another song coming on:  ‘Is this the way to Amerillo Wiveliscombe?

So the bottom line is, I am going more – bit by bit – step by step.

As Ian mentioned, we go to a Motorhome show.  We’re just going to look, we won't spend any money…….promise

Thanks for reading and keeping up with our news

Jane and Ian

Please catch our links here:

Strava and Just Giving (not sure why that is now randomly showing runners!!!)

Videos

Training Begins

#ms #multiple sclerosis #overcomingms #ms awareness #multi day bike ride #omsdoortodoor #Youtube

[omsdoortodoor]

Door to Door Challenge Departure Date minus 22 weeks

Ian’s week

Gravel

It’s been a busy week but not much cycling.

I managed to get out and cycle the Uplowman loop in dry but windy conditions. Each training cycle ride is show on the just giving page

Bike No 3 is very dirty and needs a clean plus the gears need a bit of adjustment, I’ll have to look at my bike maintenance books or maybe just have a play with them.

I could do with a bike stand which makes life easier really but will manage without.

This week coming I hope to get out for two or three rides but will have to look for an alternative route.  They are resurfacing some of the lanes round here with gravel.  It will be great in a month’s time, when all the loose bits have gone but never fun to ride on when first laid.

Maybe a route round Culmstock & Uffculme which means crossing the ‘Great Divide’, the A38! 

We thought this might be a good week to introduce our two other crew members, Tarka (on the left) and Belle.

Belle is our six year-old Welsh Spaniel and Tarka is our 12 year-old Cocker, although we have only had him for 18 months.

They will be accompanying us on the whole challenge.  They are pretty good at travelling but I am wondering how squashed we will be in the campervan – particularly as Tarka likes to creep on to the bed, followed shortly by Belle.

So, this week started in Burnham on Sea.  Fabulous to be parked up, for free, in a road that was right next to the beach.  And first thing we had an amazing walk along the sand which resulted in very sandy dogs.  Still getting used to Celeste, but there are two things to add to the packing list:

The cordless handheld hoover (note to self - I need to check about charging en-route too)

A dog drying bag - courtesy of Pawdaw of London

Obviously not our dogs in the photo (watch this space). It would be great to just zip them up in one of these for 30 mins and hey presto! dry dogs and all sand contained in the bag ready to be shaken out later. Our two are going to look so cute in them.

Jane’s week

Food

We had lunch with friends who went to great length to make sure that all the food we ate complied with the OMS programme.  The OMS programme comprises of a number of pillars; Diet, Vitamin D, Physical Activity, Stress Management and Meditation, Medication (when recommended), Family Health and the final pillar is Change Your Life For Life.

The diet pillar does not fit any of the popular names you hear, such as keto, pescetarian or even vegan.  It was created from on research focused on people with MS.  It’s a bit like a modified Mediterranean diet, and some of you will have heard me say, for simplicity, “I am vegan + fish”.  It is more complicated than that.  It is plant based with fish and low saturated fat, but there are certain cooking methods that we avoid.

We refer to the NOVA groups for food processing scale, which has four categories:

Group 1 - Unprocessed or minimally processed foods

Group 2 - Processed culinary ingredients

Group 3 - Processed foods

Group 4 - Ultra-processed food and drink products

We avoid group 4 – Ultra-processed food and drink products, with occasional exceptions.  At home, Ian follows this eating programme with me, which makes it so much easier.  And so day to day, we can comply 100% with this programme.  This means that when we are eating with friends, or travelling, there is some room for the occasional exception.  A really good example of this is when we are travelling.  If we need to pick up lunch on the go, even a vegan ready-made sandwich or wrap would be out of bounds.  Luckily none of the foods cause an allergic reaction or ‘cause’ my MS. But there is evidence to show that following all the pillars of the programme reduces deterioration in mobility by 50%.  So while no one can be 100% all of the time, that is a massive incentive to follow it as much as possible.

If anyone is interested in knowing more about the eating programme, here’s a link to the website:

The HOLISM study has generated over 15 research papers published in top peer-reviewed medical journals, such as Frontiers in Neurology, PLOS ONE<, BMC Neurology and BMC Psychiatry.  If anyone is interested in the research the link is here:

 

Following this OMS programme has made me explore different food options and a few weeks ago I went on a Vegan Cheese Making course, run by the owner of Kinda Co.  I can now made vegan Ricotta, soft cream cheese, Mozzarella, fondu and cheddar.

One of my side effects of MS is neurological pain, pain that your usual paracetamol does not touch.  So having gone to bed pain free, on Monday night, I woke on Tuesday at 4.30am in excruciating pain in my right thigh.  Firstly, I just tried to zone out of it – but no joy.  So, after two hours I decided to use a mindfulness meditation session.  I chose a 20-minute body scan technique, which also incorporated an element of breathing exercises.  Thankfully it helped, but sometimes it can be so difficult to pinpoint why I should just wake up in pain.

I have a little confession to make.  On the same ferry we bought the Velo En France book mentioned in an earlier episode, I also bought this.

There are a few places listed in the book which are directly on our route.  I thought it might be fun, the water should be warmish in September and the dogs will love it. And of course I will have these super-duper drying bags.  Now, truth be told, I am not a strong swimmer so I do not know if my swimming will be up to this.  Since January I have trying to find someone, somewhere who gives 1-1 lessons to adult swimmers.  Four months later, I have finally found someone.  So, this week, I have booked 1-1 lessons and a group crash course to improve swimming stroke all happening in May.  The final part of that jigsaw will be building up my strength.  But, more on that another week.

I am not putting my weekly table up this week, because for a variety of reasons there are 2 days when I have just had such a different routine and two days when I have really not been great, that the figures would be meaningless.  However, my little table will be back next week. 

But what I forgot to say in last weeks blog, was that in preparation for our Easter weekend away, I had to collect the leisure battery for Celeste.  It is double the size of your normal car battery and we reckon it weighed 25 lbs.  I picked it up from the ground, carried it and put it in the back of the car.  (I then left it in the boot of the car for Ian to take our once he got home, deciding that I had done my strength training for the day). So I was very proud of myself for doing that.  And that’s the funny thing about my MS.  On some days I am completely amazing.

#ms awareness #multiple sclerosis #cycle rides #omsdoortodoor #ms #overcomingms

[omsdoortodoor]

Episode 3: Departure Day minus 25 weeks

Serious Training

The Stable: Bike No 2: 2012 Carbon Cannondale Synapse.

This is the first carbon bike I’ve owned; it has the same Shimano Ultegra kit but is a very different bike to ride from the Kinesis. With its shorter wheelbase it is more responsive & twitchier, designed for endurance it is still great to ride on good quality roads & I have used it mostly in France including some of the great Tour de France climbs including the Col de Port, Port de Lers & the Mur de Peguere. I’ll be using it for training once the weather improves & for longer rides.

This week I have cycled a couple of times, on both occasions I did what I call the Uplowman loop, about 14 miles, Holcombe Rogus - Sampford Peverell - Uplowman - Huntsham - Staple Cross - Hockworthy & back to Holcombe. In nice weather a great ride, steady uphill to Huntsham makes you work, level to Staple Cross & a steep downhill back to Holcombe so a good work out.

The 1st time the weather was wet & rubbish, the second dry & sunny, the second run was 5 minutes quicker so either I suddenly got extra fit or the sunshine helped. On both occasions the Staple Cross Inn wasn’t open otherwise my times may have been significantly different!

Here's a link to the route

Cheers Ian

Fundraising

Wow, what a week this has been.  For me its all been about fundraising. We have set ourselves a target of £2,000 for Overcoming MS.

Our friends in our village have been amazing and have taken the lead in organising Curry In A Hurry.  This was a fundraising event we put on in our village a couple of years ago when trying to raise money to buy our pub.

Our village has a very small population and our pub and shop have closed.  So, eating out means driving of getting a taxi (a very expensive option in the country) and getting a takeaway usually means that the food is only warm by the time it gets home.

Enter….Curry In A Hurry.

Some of our fabulous Curry Crew

For £10 you could choose from three curries with rice and get a poppadom, bhaji, chutney and raita thrown in.   At such great value, we included the option to give an additional donation to Overcoming MS.   This fabulous fundraiser only happened thanks to the amazing help of the Curry Crew volunteers:

Jane L & Miriam on planning, menu creation, food shopping and curry prep

Gordon on logistics and driving

Sally, Dorothy and Carol on curry cooking and order assembly,  ready for deliveries

Rupert, John, Marcus and Andrew: Curry Crew drivers

Ian and myself on marketing and deliveries.

Some of the delivery crew. Curries despatched and enjoying a well earned drink

We can not say thank you enough, because with their help we raised

£651.00

which included curry orders and donations.

Many volunteers stayed on to enjoy some curry together.  A very tiring but rewarding few days for Ian, myself and the volunteers.

Thank you for reading, Jane & Ian

If you would like to donate to help us on our way, please visit our Just Giving page.

#ms #msdiagnosis #multiple sclerosis month #omsdoortodoor #oms #Youtube

[omsdoortodoor]

Episode 2: Departure Day minus 26 weeks

#ms #ms awareness #doortodoor #omsdoortodoor