A Little Bike ride

Soooo... I got my bike out today. It's been about 3 years. Two flat tyres.. Quite a bit of rust and lo and behold needing a little bit of TLC. (A little bit meaning quite a lot!)


I pop round to Daddy Edwards' magical mystery shed to see what he can do and within 10 minutes my tyres were blown, the chain oiled and, well, the rust is still there but I don't mind. I'm not perfect.. why should my bike be too? A little rust adds character. I swear it.


It also turned out I shouldn't bother to use my back brake.. Which was fineeeeee;  by the time I'd squeezed on the front brake the noise factor made sure that anyone within a 300 meter radius knew I was there. Handy when you don't have a bell! But highly embarrassing when everyone who sees you looks at you as if you're a public nuisance (or nutter!)


I leave my parents to pop home and grab my drinks bottle and a jumper et al. Climbed on, wiggled the handlebars and set off... only to brake at the end of the drive by the pavement and nearly end up on the floor. Making things that little bit worse; two youngish lads walk down on said pavement, sniggering away at my uselessness. Nice start Jen; weak legs and not a clue how to ride.... Whoever said that you never forget how to ride a bike needs a short sharp punch. It's lies. I looked a muppet.


So, after collecting my bits and bobs... off I went. I live the "Kings Hall end" of Herne Bay. Not even 2 minutes walk to the beach. I like it that way. Natural outstanding beauty on my doorstep. I don't think I could ever live away from the seaside now. It gets under your skin. That and of course, pubs are on the seafront. This aids my love just a little bit more really.


I headed towards Hillborough, a nice straight route for the "learner" cyclist. I'd only gone out to test my skills and to see how the bike faired. Next thing I know I was there and not wanting to turn back. Dog walkers and cyclists were out all round. I couldn't blame them. It's been such a glorious day. 

I thought it would be rude not to try out the new Oyster Bay Trail to Reculver. I trudged up the hill at Hillborough (walking.. I'm not that fit!) and had great fun on the new track around Bishopstone Glen. I kind of wanted to stop and do it all again as it reminded me of being a kid with those kind of "go faster" hills. Before you say it.. My brakes made sure everyone knew I was coming round the bends!


Next thing you know I'm over hill and down dale in front of the beautiful towers. The sea was like a mill pond. If it wasn't the fact it was only March I'd be out waterskiing. But hey ho.. That's one for later in the year.


By now the adrenaline was running high. I'd joked earlier that I'd stop at Minnis Bay for a pint. Little did I actually realise I'd manage it. Yes.. I cycled straight past the towers, resisted the urge for a swift one at the Ethelbert and straight on track to the Minnis. (Everyone's got to have a target.. By then it was a pit stop with a pint!)


I got to the Minnis in 50 minutes flat. I was so chuffed at myself; until I came to a halt and realised I couldn't quite make it off the bike. My legs had turned to jelly. I also had a slight ache in the gluteus maximus region that wasn't there before. (I think I managed to put that very politely!)


I laid out on a picnic table bench with some amazing music in my ears (Seth Lakeman, Frank Turner and U2, if anyone's interested) and disappeared into a nice daze for half an hour whilst slowly supping on a nommy pint of Gadd's whatnot. By then I was slightly tempted to call the parents to see if they'd pick me up.. Jelly legs had really hit in. Also by then, my pint had begun to take effect. Lazy days by the sea; you can't really go wrong.


I started to people watch; only to find a chap walking up on what could only be described as one gigantic horse onto the beach. By the time he'd got him onto the sand and let him play in the water I think I'd fallen in love. (To be fair, I couldn't see what this chap looked like.. by my god he could ride. That was enough. I think I got up from my bench and stood royally perving for a good five minutes before I realise what I'd actually been doing.) He then decided to go for a royal gallop up the beach. By then my enthusiasm for heading back had been spiked by wanting to watch this man on such an elegant horse. So I got on my bike and followed him up on the grass. Of course I couldn't catch up but I did manage to take a couple of shots of such a magnificent sight, I'll only put one up as so not to bore you all:

I didn't want to leave. It was pretty mesmerising. I spent the next part of my journey wishing I had a horse rather than a bike. Although I probably would ache far, far more.


By then, my energy levels had peaked so I headed back towards the towers. Not that I could see them. A haze had dropped over the seafront and gave this eerie glow with the sun trying to break through. I pottered back across and took another photo. Get me with my camera phoneyness! I was quite chuffed with this as I think it does the haze that I'd described some justice.


Anywho, I managed to make it all the way home. I was very proud. I had to stop on the lovely green patch after the towers. My poor legs really couldn't take the up hill battle. My glutes had begun to ache just that little bit more but I still managed to have the greatest of fun down the Hillborough track. Got a fast speed up and wooosh... Almost as fun as being at Thorpe Park! 


I'm home now. It took me just over two hours with my pint stop. I'm about to pour a bath with TONS of aromatherapy oils in as I have a great feeling I shall be needing the 'therapy part.  


I'm meant to don 4 inch heels for my friend's 21st birthday party tomorrow night. Good luck to that one me thinks!

On a Serious Note... Manston Night Flights

Any suggestion of Manston Night Flights remind me of an old horror flick; it gives me a shiver down the spine and makes me want to run and hide under my duvet till it's all over. ----------->


It's the question I always dread being asked. I'm very sure of my answer; it's just not always what people want to hear. 

Every so often I get attacked with this; normally when completely off my guard, casually chatting away and it gets snuck in...... "What are your thoughts on Manston expanding, what are your views on night flights Jen??" BOOM.. straight into Politico mode. (Which to the apathetic; is NOT "lying through my back teeth" but genuine want to answer mode). To me these are two completely different questions, to which I answer seperately:


1. Manston Expanding = Wonderful! If it ever does happen, I will be fully behind it. I've lived next to the airport my whole life and never once have been bothered at the thought of it becoming a fully operational passenger affair. I welcome the day when a decent company would like to come in and spread a little economical magic in Thanet, What with the Gateway, fast train services, hotels and now the lovely bypass this is long overdue.


On a different note, I was lucky to visit the opening of the Equine Transport Facility last week with Lady Gale (name drop!!)  and was bowled over at just how above and beyond fantastic the facility is. Polo and Eventing horses from around the world will now be ferried in through a very top class base. The stables are high quality and no doubt they will see a lot of business throughout the Olympic year.  My love of all things horsey got me quite excited, especially when they used two local carriage horses at the official opening. Jen in horsey heaven. Anyway.. I digress, back to the important stuffs...


2. Manston Night Flights: No.. no.. No.. and NO! I am completely against this.


On a personal level, being woken up at 1am with a low flying blunderbuss shaking everything my apartment does not appeal. I have had the pleasure of this experience a few times with "emergency" landings. No sleep and lots of noise make a very grumpy Jen. 


Night flights are not wanted or needed, I find it very hard to believe that the few cargo flights a night being suggested could have such a positive effect on the local economy. Not that Manston is in any way comparable to the "big 4" but, none of the larger airports of the South have night flights, so why should we?? Everyone else managed to schedule their flights in the daytime.. Why is Manston different? If there was solid evidence that this proposal would really benefit us locally, then perhaps I would take a different view but until then my mind is set.


From what I can gather, the general consensus amongst the Canterbury City Councillors is about the same level as my own pondering. I would not like to speak for all, but certainly this is the vibe I receive back from most. I think I might well just direct people to this blog post in future.. would save time but I guess would take out the fun part of getting people's feedback...!