Kickscoot the Coast: Walmer - Capel-le-ferne

Walmer to Capel-le-ferne.

Well as you may have noticed I didn't quite make it to Folkstone!

That was the most physically, mechanically and mentally challenging route so far. Very hilly. Not well signposted.

Coming out of Kingsdown I asked a local which way the cycle route went as there were no signs, he told me which way it went, then gave me a nicer route to take along the cliffs, which was great, completely off road and some nice coastal views.

Next step was getting into Dover which I had been worried about, but actually this proved fairly straight forward too, well signposted choice of cycle routes. However getting out of Dover again proved difficult. All the signage stopped, looking at the map was telling me where the path should go, but I couldn't find it.

I ended up on a national trust coastal path up over the cliffs out of Dover. Which gave fabulous views, but was unrideable. Also at the far end of this path where I found the cycle path again (hoorah), there was a swing gate. No way could the scooter get through. I stood for quite a while on this deserted path wondering how best to proceed. I couldn't bear the thought of going back the way I had just come so I decided to find some super strength and lift the scooter over the fence and back onto the cycle path!

Next followed lots of very bumpy off road path ways, and a few more hills for good measure.

By this point I was pretty knackered from all the walking up hills and bumpy path ways and the scooters battery was reading empty so sadly I had to stop with Folkstone in sight.

There were points on today's ride that made me wonder if I am completely crazy for undertaking this trek. But also some fabulous views amongst the mist which is ever present on this part of the coast.

It will be a few weeks before I can try the next section due to birthdays and new bathrooms. I haven't been completely put off today just a little disheartened.

If you would like to you can sponsor me here.

Here are the links to the previous sections of this trek;

Whitstable - Broadstairs
Broadstairs - Walmer

ME Awareness 2017

It is that time of year again, ME Awareness week. In previous years I have been a princess, a superhero, "gone blue", and donated various handmade items to auctions and raffles. This year I am not doing any specific fundraising, apart from my on going "Kickscoot the coast".

This year I would like to talk to you about hope and improvement.

I am a great believer that when there is hope there is a way and that it is so important for those suffering with ME and their carers to always have hope and never to give up.

If you or your loved one has ME you have to be in it for the long haul. There is no quick fix. It is tough. It is brutal. Basically it sucks big time. But it is also a journey filled with ups and downs, highs and lows. Sometimes the downs feel bottomless and the highs short lived, but you must never give up.

I am lucky to find myself in a fairly good patch at the moment. Recently I have been looking back over the last day or week thinking I couldn't have done that a year ago. Which is such a tremendous boost!
I know this is a high and unlikely to be maintainable but I shall enjoy it while it lasts (and be thoroughly miserable when it ends!).

But even through the regular highs and lows I can see an ongoing improvement. The lows aren't as low or don't last as long, the highs are higher and higher. I wouldn't go as far to say an end is in sight, but improvement is there all the same.

The specialist I saw when I was first diagnosed (some 16 years ago) used to ask me to measure my health in %, 0 being bed bound and 100 being fit and able to work full time. I would say at the beginning of this relapse (4years ago) I was down as low as 20%, now in this particular high I think I'm around 70%. Which, written down like that is huge improvement!

Kickscoot The Coast Broadstairs - Deal

After my fabulous first scoot out I thought right so next time I will easily get from Broadstairs to Folkstone, no problem. I am very glad I didn't set out today with that aim in mind!

I haven't been feeling great the last week and we went for a big family day out yesterday to Rochester sweeps festival, so I can safely say I am not on top form today but I wanted to make the most of the bank holiday weekend. So I decided to half my expectations, Broadstairs to Deal it is.

I am so glad I did as it turned out to be quite a trek. Parts of the journey were beautiful, but a lot of it felt far from the coast and involved a lot of roads or cycle paths next to large roads.

I covered just 16miles today, but it seemed to use just as much battery on the scooter. Lots of full power against the wind riding, far less coasting along the beach path. I can safely say that I am just as exhausted as after last time, though I was pretty knackered to start with!

I had made a few adjustments for this part of the journey. I had my fabulous hi vis vest, which I was very pleased to be wearing with the number of times I found myself on a road! I also had some foot supports as I suffered with very sore feet after last time, we'll see tomorrow if they helped.

No one spoke to me on this stretch. The closest to conversation I came was a small boy around 3years old asking his nan "Why is that man wearing a builders jacket?"... (I was waiting for him to finish climbing on a sculpture so I could photograph it).

I was quite disappointed riding into Sandwich seeing the signs for a food festival happening next weekend. However there did seem to be a festival happening as I went through (see photos).

Kickscoot the coast - Whitstable to Broadstairs

I have always thought how wonderful it would be to walk the coastline from my home county of Kent all the way to Cornwall.

But  as I suffer from M.E. and have a young family this isn't the easiest of tasks to undertake. So instead of walking I will be kickscooting and breaking it down into segments. 
This is my kick scooter.

Each segment will be around 25 miles or so. I cannot manage consecutive days of scooting as even though the scooter is electric it still takes quite a toll on the body. I plan to cover the Kent coast over a number of days out being dropped where I finished last time and picked up once I have travelled as far as I can manage. Once we get beyond being able to travel home I will have to arrange family trips to fit in with school holidays and my husband's work commitments, so do bear with me, this may take some time!

It will be an epic adventure, but I cannot wait to see every inch of that coastline!

All money raised will go to the ME Association, you can sponsor me here.


Whitstable to Broadstairs.

This was the first stint of my epic adventure and my first ride out to see what both me and my machine could manage! I had estimated that the scooter would probably get me to Margate but that I would be happy to get as far as Minnis Bay. So I am ecstatic to have made it all the way to Broadstairs!!!

26 miles in around 3 hours.

I followed the Viking coastal path, which I didn't even know was a thing until I got to Reculver (yes I know I really should have done my homework), it was very useful to have signs to follow for the most part, though there are a few missing along the way at rather crucial points.

I managed to scoot from Whitstable as far as the bandstand in Herne Bay before I put my feet on the floor at which point I nearly fell over as I hadn't realised my legs had gone numb! Also it was freezing and I was wishing I had opted for a coat and boots, but I decided to continue.

When I got to Reculver I thought it would be a good opportunity to use the toilets so I  I locked my scooter up then instantly put my hands to my pockets and realised I hadn't bought my keys! Thankfully a quick phone call to my husband and a 15min warm up with a hot cup of tea in the cafe and my keys were delivered and I could be on my way once more.

I met some characters along the way and had some interesting discussions. I'm gaining well practised responses to the most common questions I get when out riding now.

Today has taught me few things about how to proceed with this adventure. And it has also got me itching to do the next stint of the journey!!!

Grand Plans #1 Kayaking

You may remember I started this year with some grand plans. Well now they are more than just plans!

I managed to rope in a couple of good friends and did a kayaking taster session in a local pool! It was great fun, hard work, but fun! I seemed to survive it with only a handful of days of payback fatigue, which is great!
We were invited down to have a go in the sea on a weekend, but I think we will save that for the warmer months!

Next on the list is rock climbing, I've found an indoor center we can do a taster session at and have friends at the ready to come too. However I am experiencing a minor setback due to a nasty virus so I'm not too sure when I will be up for this, but fingers crossed it will be sometime in March. I can't wait!

Also on the list was a Leeds Castle Segway experience. I've had this on my wishlist for a couple of years so when I saw a voucher for it on Groupon the other day I just had to book it! So yay, that will have to happen before the end of May!!!

As for tattoos, I now know exactly what I would like, where I would like it and have a good idea of who is going to do it for me. Will need to save up some pennies for those though, and figure out the logistics, not knowing how I will react to it, but that is a huge step forward!

My friends have decided there should be a new experience every month, so we might need to come up with even more ideas, watch this space!

Grand Plans

This post could also be titled "Bucket list" or "Resolutions".

This is the time of year where people think about resolutions and what they wish to achieve in the coming months. I've been thinking for a while now about things I would like to achieve. The trouble with spending most of my time at home and alone is you have far too much time to think, so I am going to try to do something about that.

I am going to work on a list of things I have always wanted to do because I've decided that if I never write the list then the things will never happen, but some of these things are definitely achievable! Also this year I am going to work on going out more and generally being less hermit like.

In the last 6 months my health has improved in leaps and bounds so fingers crossed I can continue to improve which will give me even more chance of achieving some of my goals!

The biggest things I would like to work towards won't happen this year, but they will go on the list anyway just to keep them in sight.

Ok here goes!

- Kick scoot the south coast (all along the sea front from Kent to Cornwall) this is a biggie and will require a lot of planning, energy and stamina. It won't happen this year, but I can start laying the foundations.

- Lapland, New Zealand, New York...
- Jersey isles, Norfolk, Pembroke, Scotland, Lake District... I could write a long list of places I would like to visit at home & abroad...

More achievable ones...

- Kayaking
- Snow tubing
- Indoor rock climbing
- Segway Leeds castle
- Shooting a handgun in a range
- Getting a new tattoo (or 2)
- Dancing - would really love to get back to dancing
- Reliving after school cricket practices with Mr R. (Happy memories)
- Having a go on a ski-doo
- Having a go on a jet ski

I intend to keep adding to this list as well as ticking things off, wish me luck!

@#*$€*%#¥$*

I often find myself writing these posts when I'm not feeling so good so I'm going to begin by talking about how good the last 2 months have been.

I've just had the most active summer I have had in years. When the kids were off school we went out everyday on their bikes, to the park to the beach and on the weekends when Ben was home we ventured further afield, exploring castles, different beaches, towns. It was wonderful to be able to do so much!

Since the girls went back to school 3 weeks ago I've been able to sort through the house, garage, loft, finally sorting through years worth of junk, getting rid of tons and re organising what's left. Putting finishing touches to rooms. I cannot begin to describe how satisfying this has been.

But then I caught a cold, I pushed through for a week and carried on, but this last week I have had an almighty crash. I have no energy, mega brain fog, my body temp is all over the place, I've got a horrid headache I can't shift and have been feeling nauseous all week. 

I haven't had any choice but to give in and rest as best I can. It is just so frustrating, infuriating, depressing, not knowing how long this crash will last. Will I wake up fine tomorrow or is this back to square one for total rebuild?

Yes that sounds pessimistic but it is hard not to be. 

I had been doing so well I had even started thinking about the possibility of working again. I haven't worked in almost 8 years. 

I'll stop my moaning now, everyone has bad days, mine are nothing special. Please send positive thoughts my way and excuse my general on another planetness.