Kickscoot The Coast: Bexhill-on-Sea - Birling Gap

Bexhill-on-Sea - Birling Gap

I am doing this scoot to raise awareness and funds for the ME Association so 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
Walmer - Capel-le-ferne
Capel-le-ferne - Littlestone
Littlestone - Rye
Winchelsea - Bexhill-On-Sea

It has been a very long time since my last scoot - 10 months I think.

I have had a pretty bad year health wise, January saw me go back to square one and have to rebuild my energy levels. I didn't start making headway with this until May. So unfortunately this has meant a pause in my journey.

Recently I've been getting restless and really wanted to push onward with my scoot. I was going to go last weekend, but then had to have a wisdom tooth pulled out which put a stopper on that idea.

To put energy into perspective a little, having my wisdom tooth removed pretty much wiped out 6 days!

So today was the day. I had a terrible night's sleep and woke feeling rubbish but sod it, this is something I want to do and I've reached my limit of resting and only doing small amounts.

Weather looked ok, no other plans, so off we went.

Let's just say the car journey to the beginning was an eventful one…

Back to Bexhill-on-sea! Which was just as lovely as I remembered it, albeit a tad stormy looking this morning.

The wind was against me but wasn't too strong and I pootled along nicely, dropping the odd special magnet along the way. Lots of roads today though around Pevancy so didn't catch many sights of the sea to start with.

Then as I approached Eastbourne it started to get very busy. I've never been to Eastbourne before so wasn't sure if this was normal, but seaside resort in August I figured it was bound to be a bit busy. It quickly got to a point where I couldn't safely scoot down the sea path so I moved onto the main roads, but they were jammed too...

At this point I discovered this weekend is the Eastbourne air show!

I abandoned my sea view and found my way deeper into the town to find some quieter roads/paths, followed signs for Beachy Head and was soon moving again, my scooter was now reading very low battery, but I was not going to stop without getting up to Beachy Head!

Next there was a lovely path winding down away from the town to a lush green field at the very bottom before the steep climb up to the top.

And my was that a climb!

I am particularly unfit at the moment after 8 months of mostly rest and that particular climb I feel would be hard work for anyone - not pushing a scooter!

The views were **stunning** and I got to watch a red arrows display while I stopped to eat my lunch half way up.

I had imagined Beachy Head would be a very quiet place, I thought I may meet the odd dog walker or tourist but that would be about it. I was about as wrong as I could possibly have been.

It was incredibly busy, cars and people everywhere! I had a large audience watch me huff and puff my way up that hill, they must have thought I was mad!

I was so pleased to have gotten to the top and to find a road again!

My scooter was now reading zero battery but Ben was a long way off in the car and anyway it was too busy for him to park, so I continued.

I am so glad I did, what amazing scenery! And what a wonderful downhill winding road.

I popped up to have a look at Belle Tout as it was not far out of the way and had a great view of Beachy Head lighthouse.

There was a sign here which said Birling Gap 20min walk, so off I went. Absolutely no phone signal at Birling Gap but somehow Ben found me and we headed off for a well earned dinner out.

I remembered to start Strava, but forgot to press stop so the figures aren't exactly accurate.

We are now very much at the point where we need to be staying away from home in order to continue as Ben and the kids spent 4.5 hours in the car today! I don't think I am fit enough to do 2 consecutive days scooting yet, so from here on in may take a very long time… You'll have the bear with me.

ME Awareness Day 2018

Today is ME Awareness day as I'm sure you are well aware from all the posts I've been sharing.

I've been wondering all week what my blog today was going to be about. I had a couple of false starts and this morning decided that I didn't HAVE to write a blog just because it is awareness day. But then I was chatting to a friend and it suddenly became clear what I should write.

I've been reading over the last week a whole load of #millionsmissing posts, which is a marvelous campaign and I hope the various demonstrations around the world today have opened eyes. What I've learnt (though really knew anyway) from reading these posts is that I am lucky.

I am not bedbound, I am not housebound, tubefed, paralysed, unable to face light, sound, company.

The diagnosis of ME covers such a broad spectrum of symptoms it is crazy that they can band it all under the same name.

My specialist used to get me to rate my health in terms of % and it is something that has stuck in my mind and can be a useful tool to mark progress. As some of you will know I've not had the best 2018 health-wise so far suffering a pretty major set back at the start of the year. I'd say I am currently hovering around 55% but have been as low 25%. (I have now been staring at those numbers for 10 mins wondering if they are right, hmm)

I have only in the last month or so began to feel like I am participating in 2018 and not just watching it roll on by.

So yes, I am lucky.

But then on the flip side.

I took my girls this morning to a local Kwik cricket club. This was the first time they have shown any interest in the game and I was quite excited. Being there made me realise how much I miss playing the game and teaching others the skills. It also made me realise that I haven't even taught my kids how to throw and catch a tennis ball. But after standing in a field for an hour I was completely floored and fully reminded of why I can't do it.

There are when I think about it so many things that I miss doing.

But life evolves, you adapt to what you can do and try not to dwell on what you can't.

So yes, I am lucky.

Sport Relief

Today is sport relief day which means my kids had to choose a sporting hero to go to school as. 

Now being 6 & 8 and not having an overly sport loving family means they don't know any sports people never mind sports hero's.

Both girls have opted to go to school today as me. This is an interesting decision as I'm not a glowing example of sporting prowess. Well I'm not these days. But once upon a time...

Once upon a time I loved sport.

When I was a kid I would spend my weekends and holidays riding my bike, my skates, playing football, cricket or generally running around the countryside.

I found an intrigue for cricket at a very young age and a love for it as soon as I was old enough to play.

When I started secondary school I was already playing cricket for the Kent juniors.

I think I played 4 seasons for them, I am still very proud to be able to say I played for my county.

In those years I showed lots of promise in training and was excellent in the nets, sadly I never managed to transfer my skills to matches! I think I would have made a great coach.

However two of the other girls I played with through those years went onto have brilliant cricketing careers playing for England and taking them to many victories!

Through my secondary school years I played football, cricket and somewhat reluctantly hockey for the school teams. I found enjoyment in basketball and absolutely loved badminton.

You are probably expecting me to say that my ME made me give up on sport, but actually that isn't the case. Being a teenager made me give up on sport. Discovering a social life, getting a moped and finding life outside of the village. Who knows if I would have gone back to it had I not then fallen ill at 16.

I like to think I would.

As an adult I look back with fond memories as well as sadness that I no longer do any of these sports. It seems rather hard to do sports as an unfit adult. You can go so many things solo, go to the gym, do fitness classes, run and there are various teams for the dedicated, but I'm yet to find anything casual I could pop in and out of when my health allows.

Flare

I appear to be having what I am going to call an ME flare. Which I would say is worse than a crash but not as bad as a relapse.

I did far too much through December. I ignored the odd symptom that reared it's head and I pushed through. I did this because I was having a glimpse of a "normal" life and I wanted it to be mine. And now I really wish I hadn't!

I started feeling the onset of this "flare" before Christmas but I continued to push on. It wasn't until the kids went back to school that it has really begun to take hold. Three weeks on and I still feel like I am getting worse not better, I am getting different symptoms coming back everyday.

I have had enough of feeling sorry for myself. I have been utterly miserable the last few weeks. Feeling this illness grab a hold of me again, I can't even begin to describe how that feels, having been doing so well.

I have been beating myself up about it over and over again (which of course only makes it worse). One of the ways in which I've been beating myself up has been pushing my friends and any help offered away. I've been deliberately not engaging in conversation, avoiding eye contact. Partly because any sympathy offered is likely to make me cry and I don't have the energy for that!

But as I said I have had enough of feeling sorry for myself! I need to regain my positivity. Remember how to pace from square one again, how to look after myself. And most of all how to BEAT THIS!

I CAN DO THIS!

Send me strength and spoons x

Kickscoot The Coast: Winchelsea - Bexhill-On-Sea

Winchelsea - Bexhill-On-Sea

I am doing this scoot to raise awareness and funds for the ME Association so 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
Walmer - Capel-le-ferne
Capel-le-ferne - Littlestone
Littlestone - Rye

I didn't think I was going to get a scoot in this weekend, the weather forecast for Hastings yesterday was winds up to 60mph, torrential rain, then today wasn't supposed to be much better, but I checked the forecast this morning and it said 18mph winds and sunshine so I thought why not!

I started by skipping ahead just a little, I ended my last scoot in Rye which is a fair way inland and I wanted to start today by the sea! So please excuse my naughtiness, though I'm so glad I did it!

The start of my scoot was down a very windy stretch of road below a bank shielding me from the sea, after that I came face to face with my first hill. There were quite a few long winding, fairly steep hills. I didn't want to waste my battery by making the scooter work hard up these hills so I walked and it showed me just how fit I am not! My lungs were burning with the effort! It made me think "Why am I doing this again"? However it did warm me up and my multiple layers kept the warmth in for the rest of the scoot so I didn't get too cold!

Since my last scoot I have finally invested in a handlebar mount for my phone, so this is the first scoot I have done without having to stop and look at the map! It made such a difference, I wish I had started my adventure with it! Although my phone is also my camera, so it was a bit of a palava everytime I wanted to take a photo, but I percerviered and think I got some nice shots.

The joy of having to go up all these hills is that the view was spectacular and then of course you get to go back down the other side! Very carefully because I only have a front brake (must get a back brake fitted).

Once at the bottom of all the hills I found myself on Hastings seafront, which was very busy, people everywhere who were completely oblivious to cycles of any kind! I stopped here and had a chat with someone about my scooter and I took the opportunity to tell him all about the challenge I have set myself.

The next stage was wonderful, one of the nicest stretches of seafront so far. Possibly the prettiest cycle path I've ever traveled on too. A variety of interesting sculptures, lots of happy families out enjoying the sunshine.

Gorgeous sunshine bouncing off of the crashing waves, just beautiful, made me think "Yes! This is why I am doing this".

Next I found myself in Bexhill-On-Sea, I knew I was almost out of battery and that my family were somewhere nearby, so I stopped here. It felt like a good place to start next time, on a nice coastal path right by the beach.

The kids had spent the entire time in Edgerton Park which they happily took me to once we had had some lunch. This is an AMAZING park! Lots of lovely equipment and beautiful sculptures to see. I think they will enjoy coming back here when I head off for the next part of my epic adventure.

Oh yes and to top my day off I stopped right on the front to take a panoramic of the sea and a lovely lady came up to me to tell me how much she loved my hair, this made my day! I love when people go out of their way to compliment others especially if it is a genuine compliment to someone they don't even know.

Driving back tonight at 6pm has made me realise just how far I have come with my health over the last 4 years. 4½ years ago I vividly remember a family outing to KFC, I was driven from home to KFC where we ate then driven home and it floored me, I was exhausted before we had even left the house, but it was a special treat for the kids as they had been stuck inside with me being unwell for sometime. Skip to today, 2 hours running around the house making lunches, 1 hour drive, 1½ hours scooting/walking, 1½ hours in the park 1 hour drive, dinner out then ½ hour back home. I am still standing. I will probably have to write off most of the week as I will hardly be able to move for a day or so and energy levels will be very low, but still what an improvement!

Kickscoot the Coast: Littlestone - Rye

Littlestone - Rye.

Today I bombed through the first 5 miles to Dungeness as my family were waiting there to take photos.

I really like Dungeness and wish I had gone slower and stopped more through the reserve. I find it feels almost like a film set, like a land that time forgot. It is so vast and sparse with sporadic boat wrecks and interesting things to look at. One day I will go back and explore properly.

I was pretty sure looking at my map that I could go in on one road and out on another path, though once there it wasn't obvious but I did find my way. 

There is a footpath that runs around the perimeter of the power station and took me uncomfortably close to the hum, I followed before ducking through a gate and onto the main entrance road to the power station.

This was a fun road, large, well maintained and virtually traffic free!

This took me back onto the main road to Lydd. Once I had negotiated Lydd I then found myself on a lovely road side byway, which passed by many beautiful lakes and ponds, until I reached the sea wall just outside of Camber.

There was a fair wind blowing today and the sea was very rough - I told the kids not to bother as it was not a good day for building sandcastles, they were very dissapointed.

On the way out of Camber I found another lovely roadside byway, which then jumped across the main road and through a field before bringing me into Rye!

My battery had pretty much run out and I needed to stop for lunch, so this is where I finished my ride today.

We had a little wonder around the town and a play in the park before heading for home.

I think I might get one more scoot in before I have to think about the logistics of staying away as I get further down the coast.

For my next scoot I will start at Winchelsea as that is the next seaside part and that is what it is all about!

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
Walmer - Capel-le-ferne
Capel-le-ferne - Littlestone