Hobby horse

Here I am again, sorry I have not posted for a few days, I have been busy enjoying the holiday season with the family. It's been largely a quiet affair, plenty of food and drink (although not for me) and lazy days on the sofa watching films or playing Wii and eating chocolate - very nice indeed. I did not know the kids would enjoy playing charades as much as they do, as they say the old ones are the best ones, except when they do some new fangled song, by some artist anyone over 20 has not heard of, then it becomes a bit tricky!

Yesterday we all went to Redhill so they could spend some of their Christmas money in the sales. Max surprised me by spending some of his money on a Wii game for the girls, as he had not personally bought them a present with his own money. It was a very kind gesture. When we got home we had a few visitors. Once again we had some meals on wheels delivered by the Taylor clan, which are keeping the freezer stocked. Claire and Jo called in for a cup of tea and an update, then the day ended when Ross and Alison came round for dinner, with dinner, a lovely beef stew, desert and wine. It seems as though our many friends like to bring the odd meal round, this is greatly appreciated as next week when I am back on the treatment, and Sarah will be also busy running the kids here there and everywhere, it will make her life much easier. Please note however, this does not mean to visit you must bring a meal, its just me saying thank you to some dear friends. My head now has some small bald patches, and the speed of it falling out is increasing, lok out for the next photo as I will be like Telly Savalas!

Anyway, why did I call this post hobby horse, well I thought I would include some detail on the things I do in my spare time for me, not for anyone else, as these are the things that define me. I have been thinking sbout this for a few days and if this should be in my blog, and one thing that came to mind was that when I beat this thing, this blog would be about how I did it. If I don't win this battle, then it becomes a sort of legacy, and few of us ever get the chance to write one of those, so again its some thing that makes me special as I have the chance and the inclination. So this will be the first installment, covering my love of cycling. Other installments will cover motorcycling, scuba diving, my alltoment, and lastly, and probably controversially, my new found enjoyment of hunting/shooting. If you don't want to read about cycling because it is a little long, jump to the last section!

Well firstly I need to say thank you to my best mate from my school days, Kieron, for suggesting we go down to the old YMCA in Reigate one Friday night, aged 12, to see what Redhill Cycling Club was all about. Kieron stayed involved for a while but decided after about 6 months or do that it was not for him, and he moved to athlectics, where he became a good 400m runner. Little did I know that this sport I had discovered was to play such an important part in my life, so thanks mate. I do not know if it was the freedom cycling offered, but I loved it. Not so sure Mum loved it though. One very early memory, was going out one Sunday on my own for a little ride, when I though I woud pop down to see my Aunty Twiggy. She phoned Mum when I arrived, saying I was going to have some dinner then come home, Mum went spare! The reason was Aunty Twiggy lived in Eastbourne, over 50 miles from home. At 12, I was not strong enough to ride home, do had to take the train.

At the cycling club I met 2 of the 3 closest personal mates I have, outside of friends we have made through the children, of whivh there are many. the third also came through cycling but later on. Step forward Adam and Jeremy. Although they are a couple of years older than me, sorry guys but you are, we gelled pretty much right away, and have been great friends ever since. In my last year as a schoolboy, I was a little naughty, in that a group of us formed a combine for the cicuit races, this is an unofficial team . The aim was for the "team" to win as much prize money as possible. Each race had a prize list for the finish, and also prizes during the race or primes as they are called. Each of us had a job to do, we acted on a very professional basis, and after each race, in the seclusion of the car park, the money was shared out. Some of you who were involved read this blog, and one went on to be a professional, so I am not namng names, suffice to say it was actually great fun, and taight me a huge smount about the unseen side of bike racing. Most bystanders see it as an individual sport, but actually its not, it's a team sport at the higher levels, each rider having a job to do. Much of it unseen, to me it's a little like chess, woth many stategies being plaed out, but with an enourmous physical effort involved.

When I was about 15, my 3rd mate came on the scene, in the shape of Paul. Paul was younger than me, see I can dish it and take it, and lived in Crawley. We became training partners, and it was Paul that persuaded me to leave the Redhill and join a full on racing team, in the shape of Bedouin CC, who were actually better known by their sponsors, Geoffrey Butler Cycles. The name Bedouin was apropriate as we all came from different areas around Croyden. So while I am here, thanks to George and Pete at GB for giving me the chance to race for them. We were all supplied with the same bikes and racing strip, and looked the dogs danglies when we rode as a team. This also opened the door to a different group of friends, and training partners. Cavey became my regular training buddy and we spent many many hours together, for quite a few years. He taught me a lot about racing, and we always had a laugh, at least it seems looking back that we did. We had sort of lost touch over recent years, as I have with many of you, and one good thing to come from my situation, is that many have got back in touch, and the good news is it seems as though we only spoke last week, even though last week may have been over 15 years ago.

So to my last section on cycling, what did I gain from it. Well, firstly to be independant. From 13, I was sorting my own racing programme, all over the country, where I had to arrange not only transport, but also preparing all my own kit and bike. I also started to prepare quite a few on my own meals, which probably led to my love of cooking. At 17ish I started racing in Belgium regularly which I absolutely loved. The major Belgian classic races are still my favourite to watch on TV, knowing I had raced over some of the same roads in my youth. Secondly I learned to support my kids in their activities. Mum, and especially Dad, sacrificed a huge amount of time to get me to various races, often having to turn down weekend overtime, at a time when that was important. I also learned the value of friendship, cyclists still wave a hand or nod in recognition to others, regardless of if they know them or not, and if you saw someone in trouble you would offer to help. Lastly and to me most inportantly, I gained a wife and family, because were it not for cyclng, I would not have met Sarah. I first saw Sarah at the first club dinner I went to, she would have been 9 or 10 (no I am not a pedo). I would have been 13 or 14. I only remeber she had very long hair. The next time I actually remeber seeing her, she was playing pool at the club house, and she was now 15 and was looking mighty good to me. As she was doing her exams on childcare, she needed a case study on a toddler and the only people she knew with a toddler was us, as Emma was now part of the family. This was great, she would be round every week, and I ensured I got home from work early, getting ready to meet Cavey, before she left. It was Emma that made us have our first kiss, as I always gave Emma a kiss before I left. One day Emma insisted I give Sarah a kiss too. Lucky me!!! Anyway, little did I know that Sarah liked me too, so when I asked her out, the answer was going to be yes. The rest is history.

Anyway enough about that, it's the last day of 2011, so it's time to wish you all a healthy and wealthy new year