Arctic ONE Forward Motion

Hi

Many of you may not have heard of The Arctic ONE Foundation I am not sure how I became aquainted with the charity to be honest, whether they discovered me or I discovered them. Thinking back I may have been introduced to Matt Kirby and Bex Stubbings, two of the leading representitives of Arctic ONE when I was being supported by the lovely people over at what was then Pace Rehabilitation. This was way back in 2014. 

Anyhoo from my point of view with dealings with the lovely people over at Arctic ONE what I like about the foundation is their transparency, their passion and how they treat everyone equally, striving to offer support where they can. Arctic ONE makes you feel like part of a big family, and friendships are formed.

  

A little about what The Arctic ONE Foundation is all about:

The Arctic ONE Foundation provides opportunities for people to get active and enjoy sport.

We believe that Everyone should have the chance to be active. We set up Arctic One to provide opportunities to people with disabilities to get involved in sport through our grants system, our events and training days and through working with other charities to provide resources and raise awareness

Just making it up as I ride along.

 I awoke pretty early this morning, for some reason it's a regular occurrence these days, however I didn't get up immediately and lay contemplating should I go for a ride and if so where to. I feel sometimes I don't head out as it's just the same old, same old, and I get bored with the routes. I mean, I have been riding since around 2008 and pretty much know everywhere fairly local.

Anyhoo I finally convinced myself to just get up and go and make it up as I went depending on how tired or socket sore I got. I took my Specialized Turbo, figuring if I got a bit fed up from home, I could just take it easy and switch to Turbo mode.

It didn't take long to get sorted, once I had reattached my Cams and Tendons to  my BTK Crossover knee. I filled my Arctic ONE bottle with some fresh water from the fridge and transferred some gear from my backpack to my Camelbak "Fanny Pack". When possible I prefer to use the small fanny pack as it is light and easy to just turn around whilst still fastened to access stuff.

I got my bike out, switched it on and connected it to my phone, and then I was off in no particular direction.

"Ooh the farmer's trail, it's been a while since I have ridden up there", I thought, my bike didn't appear fussed which direction we were going, so we headed for the trail.

Up the resurfaced Farmer's Trail

Down the Farmer's Trail to pick up my camera

As I approached the farmer's trail, I could see that it had been resurfaced, not with tarmac, but with hardcore and gravel. It actually made the climb up a lot easier. I had my bike in Eco mode, and using about 15% assist. This means I still get a workout, it actually feels like I have both legs, so it wasn't long before I was halfway up the trail. I stopped halfway as I spotted two Alpacas in the field. I tried to coax them over, but they just gave me a funny look. I tried using my phone camera to take some pics, but as they were too far away the images were naff, way too blurry.

Lots of Bails in the fields

A little further up the Trail

I set off again and headed for No Place and then down to Beamish and the entrance to Beamish Museum. Here I took a couple of pics, before riding down the bank, past the Museums Farm and down towards Beamish Hall. Once near Beamish Hall, I turned to an off-road trail to my Right, which would take me into Beamish Woods. It is nice in this area, very pretty and quite quiet. I generally only come across the odd fellow cyclist or dog walkers.

At the entrance to Beamish Museum

Another stop for a few pictures on the way through the wood and at the pond, before setting off up the hill and the trail that would take me back onto the road that links up on the way to Sunnyside

Having a nightmare setting camera up

Clip In Damn You

Out the saddle

 

Arctic ONE Band

At the Pond

Me Bike

 

Again I used another trail after the road section I had been riding on and this took me towards Birkhead and eventually to Tanfield Railway. I then followed the railway line using the meandering trail to the side of the tracks.

Now at Sunnyside I stopped for a brief moment, trying to decide, should I head down the back of Watergate and visit Watergate Park, or cross over at Sunnyside and get on yet another farmer's trail which would lead me to Fell side Road, coming out at the Woodsman Arms. Decision made, another farmer's trail and Fell Side Road.

At the end of Fell side Road I turned Right and headed as it's going towards the Hobson, however turned off and tootled along going towards Tanfield Village. Once at Tanfield Village I rode up and through Sleepy Valley and at the cross roads, continued up into Tantobie. Some pretty good climbing there in that section. The only time I put my bike in Turbo mode was to get across the crossroads, as cars come pretty quick along there.

Once at Tantobie I took a little side road which led me down into Harperley. It's funny how things drop out of your head. I had been this way a few weeks back and as I rode through Harperley I then recalled where I had seen the caravan storage place. I knew I had seen one and was trying to describe it to one of my da friends, but just couldn't remember where I had seen it.

Harperley has changed so much, I have some fond memories of the park as a kid, hanging out with my friends.

Ooh another climb, up Harperley bank, again no cheating, my bike was left in Eco mode and I ground my way up the bank, coming out at The Ox Pub. I then rode towards Stanley and when I got to the Arch Traffic lights decided to venture down South Moor and just for fun and because I had a bit of energy go up the other side of South Moor and then Wilka's bank.

At the top of Wilka's I turned on to Wagtail Lane and had a nice little bimble along the road, towards Craghead. As I was riding, looking over at the fields, thoughts of Scotland pervaded my mind. They are never far away, these thoughts. I was imagining what it would be like to get to know a local area in Scotland and head out on adventures there. Then to return to my Scottish abode and relax in front of a log burning stove, and take in the picturesque view complete with a nearby loch. When it comes to Scotland I have such a vivid imagination, of what I would like to do, and how things would be.

I rode 18.5 miles today and considering I was in two mind whether to go out, I have to say I am pleased I did. On some occasions, I even switched the battery off on my bike, and this made me feel pretty good, knowing my fitness level is quite good. Even on the hills and banks, I didn't feel as if I was working all that hard, mind you I could hear my heart beat in my ears, so I must have been exerting myself somewhat.

Day 251 and a wee ride out.

 It's day 251 today. "Day 251 of what?", you may ask. Well of riding every day this year. Most of my riding has been done indoors on my turbo trainer, something that I just got into a habit of doing due to shielding during covid. I actually rode every day last year and this year decided to continue, however do it for a good cause, which is the Arctic ONE foundation. As I am no longer on social media I have not raised a great deal, but hey every little counts, and it has spurred me on to keep going on those days I just feel like lounging around.

If you would like to help me to support Arctic ONE that would be great

Virgin Money Giving Link

Oh! And for some reason I also decided to start doing crunch sit-ups and this has now become somewhat of a further challenge as each month I increase them by 50 each day. Last month I completed 11200 for the month, having added some extra ones when I was bored or felt particularly full of energy and this month I am already up to 3200, that is 400 per day.

I have now convinced myself I quite enjoy exercising, so came up with the bright idea of buying a gym ball. I opted for a 65 cm version. My thinking was, as I didn't have enough room in my bedroom for a weights bench, I could do some gym ball exercises in combination with my dumbbells. Wow! What was I thinking? Obviously I wasn't as the exercises are so hard to do as an above knee amputee.

I have been trying to do a variety of exercises which include crunch sit-ups, a chest press and triceps curls. I'm just pleased no one has seen me in my efforts as I'm wobbling all over the shop and swearing at this stupid leg, or lack of it depending on which way you look at it. It's just so hard to maintain my balance. I do have to say though I'm quite proud of myself and have persevered and finally feel I am improving. It's amazing just how introducing a gym ball into a workout routine can really make you feel muscles you had forgotten about, it's brilliant for core stability. Saying which, it didn't stop me falling off my bike today over at Kya Bogs Lol.

So back to today. I had a ride out with my buddy John, as he has been getting a new bike. It's an Orange Clockwork Evo 29'er and a nice bit of kit. We just played it by ear with no real direction in mind, however John kind of knows I love just tootling around Chapman's Wells, as well it's just so quiet and not many people there, so it was pretty inevitable we would end up there.

John and his new steed

I can spend hours alone over there on my bike, with my Mp3 playing, and just doing loops of the nature reserve. 

I decided to take my Silverback Synergy Fat Bike on today's outing and have to say how surprised I was at my overall fitness, the turbo trainer must be keeping me in some sort of shape. Durham Road is quite a steep bank and I "granny geared" up no worries.

When John and I got over to Langley View after riding up the Black Path at South Moor, we headed down as if going towards The Drift at Quakies, however turned off into the field behind the houses. 

I decided to take a few pics, and it was at this point John spotted the plastic guard on his cassette. "I hate the look of those things" he said, so set about trying to remove it. It turned out to be a right fanny on and in the end I had to whip out my trusty £1 utility tool and try sawing, cutting and pliering off the surround. For a quid that little tool has been spot on I even think it has a thing for removing stones out of horses hooves LoL.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Anyhoo we had a lovely ride out in the beautiful sunshine, it was well worth popping in  a days annual leave. 

I will leave you with more pics from today...

 

Setting up the Camera

How the Black Dog can sneak up on you

Right from the off I don't want to be coming off all negative and what not, however I do believe in keeping it real, so as the title to this blog says I am going to mention how I have just not been feeling great the last few months.

I am sure it was Winston Churchill I maybe wrong who first wrote about The Black Dog, as he referred to it, which was a symbol of his depression following him around.

Of course, I will also go onto to set aside my low mood and concentrate on some of the positives.

Apologies for the swearing in advance

So for starters, I have deactivated my Facebook account. Facebook has changed dramatically over the years, however now I just feel it is a place mostly full of negativity, hate and people are not genuine. It's as if we live in a make believe world, with make believe friends, all of whom have an opinion and are trying to out do one another. I just don't need that shit in my life. I want to be out of the rat race, not bang smack in the middle of it, way too much drama.

Yesterday, I completed my crunch sit-ups, jumped on my turbo trainer and completed day 629 of riding every day. I then felt I had energy to burn, so went for a walk of just under 8 miles. Whilst out walking, I had my mp3 player turned on and a Keane song came on as I had the player set to random. It was the song Starting Line, It's funny how when you are in a world of your own, you tend to listen to lyrics more. Anyways the song had one particular verse and it kind of struck a chord in how I am feeling, as it went "You wanna be lost and not be found". When I think on this line in the verse, it kind of says a lot about how I have been feeling for quite some time, probably more than a few months when I analyse it. It actually relates to me wanting to head off to Scotland and be pretty much isolated and again, goes towards my feelings of NOT being involved in the rat race and just going through the motions of life. I am struggling with the question of purpose I guess, or lack of it.

Maybe it is because I feel so alone, that in my head it is a way of saying "well screw you all" I don't honestly know. I think what is scary about depression and feeling down is that when you try to ask yourself the question "Why am I feeling like this", it's as if your mind shuts down, maybe to protect you or maybe because it's just plain stubborn, or in some cases it's just fucked up.

Anyhoo on a positive note some Northern Soul popped up on my mp3 so as I continued on my walk I got in the swing of things and even busted out some moves, well there was no one around at like 10pm on a deserted woodland trail.

Today was Day630 of riding every day, so I decided to complete my crunches for this month, so that is a total of 9300 for the month of July, and I then I got ready and went out on my bike.

9300 Crunches this month

I thought I would do a few loops of the walk I had taken the previous day. I won't bore you with details. Basically around and around again, a local 8 mile'ish loop, obviously where there weren't many people. Oh! I did see a frog.

Over at Chapman Wells

So there I was off in my own little world once again when one of the bolts snapped in my Bartlett Tendon. You know what, I am so numb I couldn't even be bothered to get annoyed or upset and swear. I just hopped off my bike and began removing the inner cam and tendon to pop in my bag. As I had stopped, a very friendly lady came along walking her dog, and we began chatting. Turned out she was a veterinary nurse, and she offered some good advice when I told her about wor Baxter and his allergies.

After saying goodbye I set off again, it had started to rain, so I popped my bike in Turbo mode and set off for home at a slightly quicker pace.

Positives, well I had a turbo mode on my bike...

Oh! And I am continuing to support Arctic ONE with raising money for their Grant system. Now that I am not on Facebook, I am not entirely sure who will even read my blog. Feel free to comment on my Blog. I just think it's important to live in the real world and no it's Not always sunshine & light. Maybe someone reading my wee post will take something positive away, knowing that it's ok to put it out there that you are not going through a particularly good time or feeling down. Or that there are other people out there struggling with mental health problems.

Anyhoo if you feel you could help support me with fundraising for Arctic ONE here is the link

https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/GlennJohnstone1


Thank you

Short tough ride, is it because I am getting old?

 It has been well over 2 months since I last had a ride out with my friend John. He has had a few days off work, so suggested we have a little look out. Both of us aren't exactly as fit as we used to be. I mean I have ridden every day for 579  days now, and I am on Day 161 of this year, however that has mostly been on my turbo trainer, and although I get quite the sweat on it is totally different to being out in the real world and climbing hills and going over rougher terrain. Not only that I decided to take my Fat Bike and although it is so much fun it can be a bit harder work.

Out with John Day 161 x

Did I mention I am riding every day this year for Arctic One, a charity who have supported myself and many other people? Arctic ONE is not one of these big, well known charities, however the work they do is nothing short of amazing. If you can spare anything great or if you just would like to see what Arctic ONE is about and what they do, either search for them on Facebook or checkout www.arctic1.co.uk

Virgin Money Giving Link

This morning I had to re-attach my tendons to my Bartlett Tendon. I got the first bolt in, tightening it up with my mini torque wrench and went to put the second bolt in for the cam and the bloody bolt snapped. Fortunately I had a spare and the broken piece came out fairly easily by using a screwdriver.

 

Broken stud in my knee

By the time I had fannied on with my leg, John had arrived, so as usual he had to wait a little while till I got my gear sorted.

We were soon off just making a route up as we went and deciding as we were not exactly fit just to stay local and not go too far. It was more just about being out than how far.

Basically, we headed over to Chapman Wells Nature reserve and just had a tootle around whilst chatting.

Out on the BTK and my Fat Bike

John patiently waiting for me to position camera

My Silverback Synergy Fat developed a horrible clicking sound, which progressed to a screech at times, so I think my bottom bracket is on its way out. Ern is going to inspect it for me, never mind the bike got me home and nothing dropped off or seized up.

John and Glenn

John

Not a very exciting tale I am afraid the heat has zapped my energy over the last few days, not complaining mind you. I just feel so fortunate and grateful to be able to do all the things I am able to do.

Riding back up the trail

Fuel

   Next week I am away to see the Cancer Specialist Nurse for a review, so far the treatment has kept my Non Hodgkin's at bay and I haven't felt any lumps or bumps. I am still having a few minor issues with socket fit, however again feel fortunate as it has been probably 3 or maybe even 4 years since Pace Rehabilitation  designed my current socket and in that time I have only been back to the Disability Service Centre maybe two or three times.

All about the things you can do

By that Wind was Proper Cold Like

 My last long lie in before heading back to work tomorrow. I have been shielding since December of last year. I didn't really have anything planned for today, however received a surprise message from my friend John, asking did I fancy a tootle out on the bikes.

"May as well". I hadn't even looked outside to see what the weather was like, but Ern had said it was really cold and had been snowing. "Give over" I replied, "snowing indeed". As I came downstairs to have a quick cuppa before getting sorted to go out, sure enough as I looked out of our kitchen window, poor Myrtle sitting on axle stands and wheel less had a covering of snow on her bonnet.

"I had better get wrapped up" I thought so after finishing my brew hopped back up to my room and grabbed my gear, making sure I got my legging out and my thicker Endura Hoodie jacket.

I had to quickly pop the tendons back onto my Bartlett Tendon along with the cams, as I have been using the knee on my road bike, set on my turbo trainer, so tend not to utilise the tendons when I am just spinning, it's a waste of energy.

By the time I just about got sorted John was at the kitchen window and ready to go. As I stepped outside to go get my bike WoW! Did I feel the cold, weird as it looked such a nice day with the sun shining and blue skies.

Sorted we were ready for the off, well we would have been if my dam Specialized would connect to the bloody Mission Control app. It was keep asking for a poxy pin code to connect. It must have been after my bike was away getting repaired the other week, that and "Oh yeah" my old Samsung Galaxy S9 had gone tits up the other week, it  kept closing apps and coming up with errors, so much so that I had to do a complete system install and try and retrieve as much of my stuff back as possible. Anyhoo after about 15 minutes of fannying on I eventually figured out the pin code, it wasn't a four-digit code at all like what the app was suggesting, it was actually the BLE Code that came with my bike and I had stuck in the instruction manual. Just in case you lose your code, if you remove the display/button on your top tube apparently it's also printed there.

Now we could go. John fancied a ride down to Beamish, sounded like a plan as we could get some shelter amongst the tree lined route for a little bit of the ride.

Feels like ages since we have ridden up the farmers trail, it was surprisingly dry, so although it was a bit of a climb, it was slightly easier due to it not being so muddy. I won't bore you with the details of the whole route, just that we went down towards Beamish Hall and then detoured into Beamish Woods.

Beamish

John was dying for a tinkle, so we stopped opposite the small pond, and he headed off into the woods to relieve himself. I was complaining about a dog bag when he returned, honest John just went for a wee, he didn't have a dump, it wasn't John's bag. Oh! And there was also an old discarded bike, man why can't people just look after places.
  

First picture of the day, and it's of a Dog Poo Bag. It's not John's I can assure you!

Second picture of an old rusty thrown away bike

 

  

Still Cold

 

As we rode out of the wooded trail area and got back on to the road the wind was freezing cold. It got even worse as we crossed over by Tanfield Railway and headed down the trail with open fields on either side. 

John got this picture from the small bridge at Tanfield railway

It was freezing coming down this stretch of trail

Proper cold on this part, the wind blowing right across the open fields

Looks a lovely day, the wind was freezing though

 

We stopped off at the old ruins of a building and got out of the wind for a while, and had a bit banter. John even gave me a small chocolate egg, saying "here you go m8 and chocolate egg for Easter". It's the only one I have received, it sucks when you get old and no one cares LoL. I would have liked to take more photos, but I couldn't feel my hands. I am so glad I always carry my Arctic ONE buff, today it came in especially handy, well more ear'y, if that is even a word, as my lugs would have got the full brunt of the chilly wind.

The One and only egg I received this year

A ride back to Stanley and home, opting to cycle through Tanfield Village and onto the cycle track at the Factories and that was another little excursion done.

Upon getting back home my bike then wouldn't upload to Strava. All this technology that is supposed to make your life easier does my nut in. Eventually figured out it was because I had two Strava accounts, so I have deleted one, and it looks to be working now. So that was Day 513x of riding every single day in one form or another.

This leads me to the bit everyone gets fed up with, Sorry, but it is for a very worthwhile cause and that is Arctic ONE. If you sponsor me a penny a day that is only £3.65, just think about my sore bottom...Errrr! Well maybe don't, but go raid your piggy bank and pay it forward. Thanks

https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/GlennJohnstone1