South Downs Way bike ride

What a wonderful way to spend a weekend... 3 days cycling the South Downs Way, between Winchester and Eastbourne.

I cycled Friday-Sunday (11-13/8) in aid of Fairfield School – a special school providing education, therapies and specialist facilities for pupils with severe or profound learning difficulties and/or physical, medical, multi-sensory and communication difficulties. See http://atschool.eduweb.co.uk/fairfields/ for details.

The South Downs Way is a 100-mile, mainly off-road route, with approx. 10,000 feet of vertical climb. I lost count of the hills, but we must have climbed close to 15-20 of them over the 2.5 days riding - each one about 500ft of climb followed by a ride along the ridge at the top with gale force winds gusting much of the time, some rain, amazing views and then some scary descents.

My legs were exhausted, along with my shoulders from carrying water in a back-pack for 3 days and my thumb joints from using the brakes so much on some of the descents… not to mention the messed up leg from a fall!

It was a big stretch for me and I was glad when it was over, but I must admit I now see the attraction of off-road cycling... the few short stretches of road at either end were dangerous - some drivers are really unaware of cyclists. They seemed rather worse than in Northants/Leics where bikes are more common on the roads.

A mad world

How are we to make sense of the news each day - the inhumanity of some individuals around the world?

The disruption today is immense - so many lives affected... The people trying to get to weddings this weekend, the people planning to go on holiday/honeymoon etc, the people flying to see elderly and sick loved ones, possibly for a final visit? The grief being played out globally, because a handful of people wish to blow up airplanes, is unquantifiable.

I dream each day of a world in which we all value each other for our differences, instead of the hatred felt by some, towards those they disagree with. The only way to move towards this world is in tiny steps - for every single person to honestly evaluate their own behaviour towards those around them. Most people are not extremists, but they still harbour bad feelings towards people they don't understand. I am working hard to be kinder and more loving towards everyone, everywhere. If we all did this, think what could be achieved. If we spoke out everytime we heard any level of prejudice, could we change public opiniion, just as opinions about drink-driving were gradually reversed?

Thoughts

This week marks a milestone for me in a number of ways. Today is 6 months since my mother died - a long, tough time. This week was also marked by me crying for a reason other than her loss... watching the news from the Lebanon is so awful. I listen to quotes about what is going on and wonder at the nonsense of it all. Regardless of who is right or wrong, there is only one way forward - to talk, to negotiate, to look for some measure of win-win. At the moment it is all lose-lose. Where is the common sense, the humanity?

Newsletter for August

My August newsletter is about the value of relaxing - see http://www.ambitioncoach.com/62652/89229.html.