Days 13 & 14!

Hi everyone!

I had a slower day again yesterday, but more than made up for it by powering through today and cycling a whole 40km!

I continued out of Northampton and followed country roads through Quinton & Quinton Green following the M1 southbound. Lots of fields and lots of farms!

I found some cows!

I crossed over to west of the M1 through villages such as Hartwell & Hanslope. I ended up in a little village called Castlethorpe. It had a lovely little village shop too. I stopped here at a local B&B before continuing on this afternoon.

Castlethorpe!

I set back off this afternoon following a cycle path that followed a railway and past an old water tower. We then followed the Great River Ouse along, which was lovely. I never realised there was a 'Great' version of our river in York! This took me into Milton Keynes and it was then a case of following roads and cycle paths right through. It was tempting to stop at IKEA, but there was a much better alternative in Bletchley Park! I loved reading about all of the code breaking, learning more about the maths behind it and seeing where it all happened!

Seeing the Enigma machine was fabulous, especially after studying it for my degree way back!

Bletchley Park!

After leaving Bletchley, I got to cycle alongside the river again for a while until I got to Leighton Buzzard. It's the River Ousel! I was quite sad to get back to normal roads. The cycle paths are a lot more peaceful! I headed out through Billington, and then past Northall and through Church End.

I stopped in a place called Dagnall, which is just around the corner from Whipsnade Zoo! Of course, I had to visit there to see all the animals! For the evening, I stopped at the Red Lion and had a chicken burger for dinner. Oh, it was so tasty!

So, this blog takes me 315km into the journey and I'm just under 18 hours of cycling time! Waheey!

Stay safe & stay home,

Katherine
xxx

Days 11 & 12!

Hi everyone!

I left Kibworth and continued along the A6! I crossed a stream called 'Langton Brook' which reminded me of home, and soon came across a road called Langton Road! I wonder where the name stems from... It turns out there's a whole loads of places nearby with the same namesake - East Langton, West Langton, Church Langton, Tur Langton...

I came off that A6 at the next roundabout. heading towards Market Harborough. This was a super sweet little market town

Such market town vibes! I feel like buying an ice cream and having a wander!

Such lovely buildings!

I left Market Harborough and to my pleasure, I was back on a cycle path again! This may be the longest chunk of cycle path yet.

Woody cycle paths!

Even stumbled through some old tunnels!

I did have to stop half way down though, so found a little pub in a nearby village called the 'Lamport Swan' which doesn't have an online menu, so no virtual dinner I'm afraid.

Day 12 and I was back on the cycle path again.

I rarely came across roads!

To give you a sense of the scale of these cycle paths! Right from the top down to Northampton!

There was lots of pretty scenery along the way - it was so very freeing! As soon as I got into Northampton, it was back to roads and town - back to civilisation! I've never been to Northampton, but it was a fleeting visit. I did enjoy cycling past a cafe called the Giggling Sausage!

I picked up some food from Tesco as there didn't seem to be many places for stopping on my journey ahead. I headed out of the city through Hardingstone stopping on the outskirts Wootton for the night.

I'm now 260km into my journey, so over 1/3 of the way there! My determination to complete this within the 6 weeks has grown even more. Maybe even shorter than 6 weeks... I'm at 14 hours and 50 minutes of cycling now too! Yay!

Stay home & stay safe,

Katherine
xxx

Days 9 & 10!

Hi everyone,

After a longer weekend of cycling (both in weekend length and cycling distance), I thought I'd have a slower start to this week. Ha!

I left Loughborough continuing south along the A6, and found an Archery Range - Merlin Archery - as I was leaving. It was a great little site to stop at and shoot some arrows.

I wasn't a big fan of the super busy road, so came off it when I could and it was back on my journey through smaller towns and villages, such as Quorn, North End and Mountsorrel.

Biking through towns!

I was thrilled to reach Rothley/Cossington as I got to cycle around the Cossington Lakes and the River Wreake. There were a LOT of lakes and rivers and SO MUCH WATER. It was lovely, although the paths did definitely make for the easiest cycling.

So pretty!

Even found some lochs!

The waterways & River Soar took me into the north of Leicester! As I came into Leicester, I spotted signs for one of the places I'd eyed up for my journey - The National Space Centre! This is definitely somewhere I will be coming back to - there's so much to see and do. I just missed our on their 'Women in Space' week, but will definitely be catching up on any content still available online! There's lots on their Facebook page here!

National Space Centre!

I continued a bit further into the city that before stopping for the night. I found a restaurant called the 'Lemon Pepper Steakhouse' - 3 of my favourite flavours/foods - so this place was a must visit. I had a HUGE steak and chips and it was so good!

Today I only cycled 15km, which took me out of Leicester, past the racecourse and through Oadby.

Very busy roads through Oadby!

I followed a road that ran along the A6, before joining back on to it. I finished the day in a place called Kibworth Harcourt. It was definitely time for a pizza night, so visited a pizzeria called Boboli!

This brings me up to 215km now, which is fantastic progress in the time. I am thrilled!

Stay safe & stay home,

Katherine
xxx

Days 7 & 8!

Hi everyone,

Yesterday marked my first whole week of biking and shielding. This challenge has done me wonders so far in giving me something to aim for, especially whilst Dan goes to tend the allotment. It's gone quite quickly so far, and I'm feeling okay! In February, I managed to cycle 150km in a month. This time, I've managed 150km a week & I'm super proud of that! Anyway, back to the journey...

After a night in Mansfield, I left the town south through an area called Berry Hill. It made me crave strawberries...

I did cycle past these very cute dogs.

I stayed on a road called Derby Road for ages, through Annesley and then Hucknall. The route skirts me round the edges of Nottingham. I finished my 25km for the day in a place called Billborough. It was time for a visit to the chippy for fish and chips!

Making it to Nottingham!

After a night there, I set off once more. A lot of the roads took me through more built up areas, so I was glad to find another canal to cycle alongside for a while.

Erewash Canal

Coming out of Nottingham, I noticed I was close to the Attenborough Nature Centre so stopped off for a little walk - lots of wildlife to see. It was lovely and I really enjoyed looking around the shop too.

Attenborough Nature Centre

I continued out through Sawley and followed a road near to the M1, before I joined the A6 just after Kegworth. This road took me all the way into Loughborough, which is where I finish up after today.

The last time I was in Loughborough was for a weekend of quidditch 6 years ago! We stayed with their team & I remember sitting with Lucy watching Sabrina the Teenage Witch: Down Under, and drinking a full cup of tea because I was too polite to admit I'd said I didn't want one. Ha! It was a great weekend back then!

It's also a good place to stop for the night as there are loads of options for places to eat & things to do. However, I'm feeling a tad lazy after all the cycling so will settle with a McDonalds and a nice evening at the cinema finally watching the new Disney Pixar film 'Onward'!

The Bank Holiday weekend has done wonders for my cycling efforts - I'm up to a grand totally of 6 hours and 10 minutes now. 180km down... 600km to go!

Stay home & stay safe,

Katherine
xxx

Days 5 & 6!

Hi everyone,

I've now been cycling for 6 days and have made good headway into the journey so far! After leaving Wadworth, I took country roads down and through another village called Tickhill. I'm really enjoying all these cutely named villages and places!

Country roads, take me to Paris!

I passed along with A60 through Oldcotes, Langold and Carlton in Lindrick on the way down to Worksop.

I made it to Worksop!

I found a cute little restaurant called 'The Olive Grove' to eat at. Lots of really good food here but I settled on the tapas menu: patatas bravas, chorizo & potatoes & paprika chicken skewers. Devils chocolate food cake was a certain for dessert.

Just south of Worksop is Clumber Park, a National Trust property. It's a lovely place for a walk around and it was great to stop here for a while.

Fun at Clumber Park

There were lots of cycle paths through parkland and woodland - all the way down to Sherwood Forest! It's a really lovely area of the country & I'm glad to live within driving distance of it. Safe to say, next time I come through, it'll be in a car! The cycle paths are great though - reminds me of cycling through Thetford Forest back home-home.

Cycle Paths galore!

I'm now 125km into my journey and I've been cycling for about 7 hours! I just hope I can keep up the good progress!

Stay home & stay safe,

Katherine
xxx

Day 3 & 4!

Hi everyone,

Day 3/4  of cycling takes me south out of Snaith and across the M62 through lots of little villages including Topham & Sykehouse. There have been a LOT of country roads. My route has to avoid all of the motorways, but it means I get to see all the pretty places.

Biking down country roads!

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? I think it might be a fly on the camera...

I cycled along the river for a while, which was lovely, and took me to Braithwaite. The next village is Trumfleet and I love its name!

The canal to Braithwaite.

Smallholme and Tilts

The countryside takes me down lots of cycle paths and across lots of waterways, near Thorpe Marsh Nature Reserve. I come into the north area around Doncaster, through cycle paths around Bentley. From Bentley, there's a cycle path that runs a long way past the outskirts of Doncaster - it was great, meaning I didn't need to uses any super busy roads. Unfortunately, I didn't get to visit the Yorkshire Wildlife Park as I was on the wrong side of Doncaster... Maybe next time!

The cycle path alongside Doncaster

I left Doncaster through Balby and Alverley. I found myself just west of the A1(M) in a small place called Wadworth, and that's where my day 4 journey ends. There's not much here, but I've found a park to rest in and a pub to get some food from... The White Hart.

Park area in Wadworth!

Ooh, I'll have chicken wings for a starter, followed by a sirloin steak with peppercorn sauce and whatever seasonal dessert takes my fancy. I hope there's a good cheesecake!

I'm now 80km into my journey and it's taken 5 hours & 22 minutes! Only 700km left to go...

Stay home & stay safe,

Katherine
xxx

Day Two!

Hi everyone!

Today's a little update on my journey so far - and as I'm still pretty close to home, I know the area relatively well!

I left York and headed straight on to a cycle path that runs from York to Riccall. Along this cycle path, York Astrocampus have set up a Planetary Trail so you can travel from The Sun all the way to Pluto with to scale models!

Dan & I with 'The Sun' back in May 2017.

My cycle ride takes me all the way past all of these planets, which is super exciting because we've only ever reached Mars when we've walked the trail before! It's a great place to go for a cycle ride in the York area though, especially if you're less confident with roads.

I think this one may have been Venus!

Coming off the cycle path at Riccall, I continued to through Barlby and on to Selby! I spent a while cycling along next to the River Ouse and then the railway line. I took quite a few back-roads, through little villages including Carlton - just down the road from Lesley & Phil's house!

The river & cycle path (near Brayton)!

I left Carlton and headed into Snaith over the River Aire. This felt like a great place to stop for the night as there's a delightful little cafe called 'The Kitchen' that sells the best cakes. Tonight, I am tucked up eating some delicious virtual carrot cake.

Virtual juice & carrot cake... (Or maybe from the time we went in January 2017)!

I've now cycled nearly 40km in just over 2 hours & 40 minutes! Let's see where tomorrow takes us...

Stay home and stay safe!

Katherine

xxx

Day One...

Hi everyone,

Welcome to Day 1 of my this exciting journey! Firstly, I wanted to give you a bit of an overview of the route I'll be taking, and then let you know how I got on today! This is where the wonderful Google Maps comes in...



I will be taking the route in blue, which is 483 miles (or 780km) from our door to the Eiffel Tower, past lots of exciting new places which I'll learn about as I go! It's guesstimating about 39 hours of cycling, but realistically for me, it's going to be 50-60 hours depending on how I go!

Today is my first day of shielding because they've just pumped me full of a new (for me) drug ustekinumab, which is to help my Crohn's disease. This is given through an hour long infusion at the hospital. The difference this time was the MES department has temporarily moved out of the hospital and into a 'waiting room' area at the local Private Hospital. All the chairs, equipment and staff were the same, which was so reassuring, but of course I had my temperature checked on entry, the chairs were spaced out much further apart, all the staff wore masks and protective equipment was changed and binned after every task & every patient. It's strange to think it's the closest I've been to another human being (who's not Dan) in 2 months... But I felt safe.

Being 'infused' makes me sound like I'm a fancy cup of tea!

I really wasn't sure how this new drug would make me feel, so hadn't banked on biking too far today on top of a day of work, but I feel absolutely fine! I was so full of energy & ready to kick off the challenge!

Here we go...!

Before dinner, I managed a stint of 7.5km in 35 minutes, and this evening I've cycled another 15km in 60 minutes! 22.5km means I've made it all the way to Selby today! I've got a few things to say about the route so far, but I'll save them for another day because this is a tad long already!

Thank you for taking the time to read this!

Stay home & stay safe, 

Katherine

xxx

The Beginning...

Hi everyone!

I was diagnosed with Crohn's Disease in December 2016. Since then, I've been on a series of biologic drugs which all work by reducing my immune system. I'm now starting a new drug called Ustekinumb, alongside another drug called Azathioprine. Because of this, and the current situation with COVID-19, I will be shielding inside our flat for the next 6 weeks. Anyone who knows me will know I can't sit still for 6 hours, let along 6 weeks. So I thought I'd set myself a challenge and raise some pennies for a good cause in the process...

Crohn's & Colitis have been affected by COVID-19, because their usual fundraising events have all been cancelled. They offer wonderful support to those affected by Crohn's & Colitis, especially at the moment, and so I want to give something back to them by fundraising!

Paris is somewhere I've always wanted to go back to, so I thought I would make it my target for this. I will be 'virtually' cycling to Paris (specifically the Eiffel Tower) from York on our exercise bike, which is a total of 485 miles (or 780km) over the next two months. I've set up this blog to keep everyone up to date on my 'journey' and to help keep me on track!

Tomorrow is my infusion... My 'journey' starts tomorrow.

If you'd like to donate to my fundraising page, the link is here!

Thank you and I hope you enjoy reading about this 'journey'!

Stay home and stay safe,

Katherine

xxx