Two birds with one stone

I am sure you know what I mean when I use the phrase "Two birds with one stone". I don't want anyone reporting me to the RSPB for bird cruelty, as I haven't been out hoying stones at birds.

No, I called this blog's title that because today's outing yielded more than one positive result. Firstly, I went out on my bike and am sure I covered around 24 miles. However, my Beeline Velo only recorded 5.9 miles, which I know is completely wrong, as I could tell by the map. Plus, I was exhausted and had only 15% battery left when I returned home.

Little cards I designed and had made up 

During the week, I had come up with a cunning and devious plan... "Muhahahahaa!". I had gone over to Instaprint and designed some business cards, well, not quite business cards, but you get the idea, the same shape and size. On one side, I put the front of my book design with a picture of little old me, and on the other, I just put where to find my book, my email and blog address. I figured that when I was out on my adventures, if I got chatting to anyone and if they appeared friendly and interested, I would mention my book and well promote it. So today I gave away a few cards, who knows, I may get a few sales and some much-needed reviews.

GOPro shots are pretty pants to be honest

The second positive was meeting some thoroughly nice people on my journey. Meeting nice folks kind of restores my faith in humanity. There is nothing quite like heading out for a ride and on the way having the opportunity to stop and chat to pleasant and friendly people. Today, I think I spoke to six people on the various trails I was on, I didn't get the names of the first couple who were out walking with their dog, or the second young lady, as I got lost; however, the next gentleman I discovered was named Digby, what an unusual and fantastic name. Digby was delightful and we chatted about the old railway lines in the area, plus ventured into putting the world to rights, touching on politics and political correctness and how the world has gone mad. I told him I pretty much take after my dad and call a spade a spade, not a shovel. We talked about the use of the words "hinne, flower and pet", all of which my dad still uses. I then chatted to two separate other gentlemen on the way up through the bank and going under the roads through these tunnels. I think it's part of the Bowes railway where I was venturing up. These other two men were Mark and then a little further on Brian, again, two lovely chaps. Following getting to Birtley and getting on to the C2C, then riding up to Stanley, I stopped in at  Young's opticians on the way home. The lasses at Young's have always been so supportive and helpful, so in passing, I thought I would drop a few of my book cards in to let them know what I had been up to. Upon my return home, I had a text message: "Lovely to see you today. Book is purchased. Need it signed for when you are a famous millionaire ". Like I say, a great bunch of girls.

On the Bowes Railway Line  overlooking the fields

Bowes Railway Track

Unfortunately, today my GoPro decided it didn't like the lighting conditions, so I didn't get many good pics. I would much rather shoot in photo mode; however, the timer is only 10 seconds, so it doesn't give me time to get on my bike. Time lapse mode is very hitty missy for exposure and quality, I find.

Weapon of choice my new Scott Lumen

Love this bike

Bit of urban art

Upon my route today, I discovered some new trails over at Hedley Hall Woods, so thinking I may use these to shoot a video. I know what I would like in my head, it's something completely different in my mind to what I normally do, but getting it caught and edited is the difficult bit.

Okay, feeling wiped out with a banging head once again, so I think I will have to hide under my duvet for a little bit in the dark. 

Catch you later.

Grabb'in a few pics whilst doing local loops.

Truth be known, I didn't feel like heading out on my bike this morning. I had a proper upset tummy, which coincided with the usual and the shits. This ulcerative colitis is really doing my head in. I don't think I can tolerate the mesalazine medication; it actually makes me feel worse, and I was supposed to be going for an urgent sigmoidoscopy, which I think is a waste of time, as I just had one in April. Obviously, I want to try and avoid yet another camera stuck up where the sun doesn't shine. It now appears as if I am just being left to my own devices, not on any treatment and just hoping and praying that the god awful symptoms start getting better.

Before I went out on my bike, I checked the weather forecast. I'm not sure if in the back of my mind I hoped it was due to rain, that way I would have even more of an excuse to just stay in. Then I thought to myself, "Glenn, just get yourself sorted, you'll feel better once you are out", and so that is what I did.

I had no real plans on where I was going and just decided to ride and see where it took me. Then I was off on my new Scott Lumen. The other day, when I was out, I was thinking, "I am sure this bike has three power settings". It only took me a few minutes to figure out that I had to hold the power button in just that bit longer to get the bike to have no assist, "Ahh that is why it had felt like the bike rolled real easy the other day", I had been riding around in eco mode, so had a little bit of assist.

A little bit of a rant! Which I am sure you will be onboard with me about.

Okay, so this blog post is going to be a bit of a rant concerning just a few things that have happened that I am sure each and every one will agree with me about. Of course, if you know me, you will also understand I tend to go off on tangents, so the post also contains a link to a video I wasn't going to post, as I didn't think I had enough footage to make it interesting. Well, maybe I still haven't, but fuck it cobbled it together and uploaded it to YouTube anyhoo.

So, to what has pissed me off, well, it's basically society in a whole, but mainly how corporations and companies, businesses and whatnot are all out to rip us off.

Some weeks ago, I got a message from my insurance provider saying words to the effect of "Dear Mr Johnstone, would you like to get a guaranteed future value on your motor vehicle?". The car in question is Grandma, my limited edition VW Beetle GSR. Grandma is on a 63 plate, so 12 years old. She is not classed as a classic, as not old enough; however, she is a very rare car as there were only 30 ever brought into the UK in this model and colour. Not only that, she has lots of top-end mods, so when I insured her, I put a valuation of £20,000 on her. Now I know a lot of people may think that is a bonkers price, but I just saw a Yellow & Black GSR for sale on Piston Heads with a lower spec and not as many mods, and it was up for £18,995.

Anyhoo, I had posted on Facebook about this valuation and one of my friends contacted me saying before I went ahead with paying the extra £52 to get the valuation, if I sent him the details of my car, so the registration and. mileage, he could get the true value that the insurance company would use. You see, he works for a company that all the insurance companies use for guide prices.

So this is what I got back from my mate. Sorry, the image isn't great.

So, as you can see, the top book is probably just over £10,000. So my point here is why the hell would I pay an extra £52 just to be told that my car is only valued at the rate the insurance company value it at in the first place. This has been nowhere near what it would actually cost to replace it in the event of an accident. Insurance companies are only too happy to quote us extortionate amounts for us to insure our vehicles, yet when we come to claim, we would be lucky to be able to go out and purchase a like-for-like example.

I think a good idea from a customer's point of view, where insurance is concerned, and it could easily be introduced, is that, say, your insurance was £1000  per year. If, after that year, you had no claims, you were reimbursed half the amount of your insurance. I mean, the insurance companies would still get interest on the money you paid them.

Anyhoo, this gets me onto my next whinge. So a few months back, I paid for an updated version of Wondershare Filmora. A piece of software so that I could edit my GoPro footage. Now I thought, in fact, I am sure I had a paid-up version of the software, version 13 or something. Yet when I went on to make a film, I was told ~I had to update to version 14. So I did this and paid once again for the latest version. Now, in making this latest video, the one I wasn't going to make Lol well, I got all the way through the editing and went to produce it, only to be told "You have used transition assets in your production", or words to that effect. I thought "WTF", I've just been on ages complaining this and now this dumb software wants to charge me more money to produce the final edition. Not only would it not allow me to just pay a one-off fee, oh no, it wanted me to fucking subscribe to a monthly payment. I hate shit like that. I mean, if you subscribe to everything that comes along nowadays, it's like signing your pay cheque away.

I had to go back and remove all the paid content out of my video, and fudged together something which is probably pretty naff, not much riding scenes in it, but it does have some pretty places I visited the other day. 

Ok rant over, here's the video. Oh, and whilst you are here, if you haven't already, why not go and grab yourself a copy of my book "Lost2bFound"? You can find it on Amazon or in other good bookshops.

Digging deep! Out for a ride on my new Bike

It is difficult trying to find motivation when things in your life aren't exactly going to plan, Don't get me wrong this isn't a blog about bleating on and "woe is me", no it's more about my self reflection and understanding the pitfalls and how to navigate things to avoid repeating mistakes I have made in the past.

So let me explain. I have spoken about taking ill around May of last year and having been diagnosed with ulcerative colitis. Well, this illness has really taken its toll on me due to its horrible symptoms, and this gets me to my point within this post. You see throughout my various long term health concerns, whenever I get down and then become isolated and unable to go out and do the regular things I like to do, for example my cycling, or camping, or just going for a walk in the country I then resort to the internet to fill in my time, and invetitabily start buying shit I don't really need. My savings take a hit, and when I say 'savings,' it's not like I'm minted. I can then go on to make big purchases, such as bikes, and end up in more debt. I think I buy stuff as my imagination creates these pictures of me doing stuff, which makes me feel good. I can see myself, for instance, riding a new bike, with new clothing, a new helmet, new shoes and new camping accessories. Maybe I should buy a new camera so that I can shoot new films. I think you get the picture. In reality, I can go out and buy all this stuff; however, it doesn't fix the root cause, and I am left feeling even more depressed.

Scott Lumen 900 TR from J's Cycles

It reminds me of a time when I was ill just after the tumour in my knee had been removed and I had that awful metal work inserted.  Because I couldn't do regular things and got bored, I would order all manner of things from the internet. T-shirts I would never wear, books I would never read, and computer games I didn't play, but to name a few. I would get my 30-second buzz when stuff arrived and I opened it, then put them away, before moving on to my next fix. I ended up getting into thousands of pounds worth of debt whilst not working, and had the potential via credit cards to get into around £50,000 of debt. I was very fortunate that I realised the error of my ways, got a consolidation loan, chopped up my credit cards and then over a 5-year period paid everything off. 

The thing that made me wake up and realise I was in trouble was my mam's voice, saying "Glenn, make sure you never bring bad debt to our door". Anyway, I have always been proud of the fact that I have managed my finances.

It's weird as I wasn't going to post about yesterday's outing, and then I thought "Ahh, why not". The thing is, when I sat down at my computer, the blog post I had intended to write turned into this self-reflection, which I have just shared, and I guess it's quite cathartic for me. I sometimes write as it helps me understand my own mind, it can be like a best friend talking sense to me, I have so much shit floating around in my head most of the time, the majority of which doesn't make sense.

Anyway, after having purchased a new bike around December of last year, my Santa Cruz Heckler, then figuring out I really liked the bike, but the range on it wasn't as far as I expected, I started looking at other bikes. My savings had taken a hit as I had helped my dad out with a new bathroom, and in my mind I thought "Fuck it, I might as well spend the rest". I know my thought process is mental. I then got my eye on a Scott Lumen. It was discounted at J's Cycle Shack, so I got in touch and ordered a size Large. What the fuck, I needed another bike for? I mean, I haven't exactly been riding much of late, but as explained earlier, my imagination kicked in and I had this vision of me riding all over the shop with a great big grin on my face and loving life as the wind blew through my hair, angelic music and birds singing in the backdrop. 

New bike in the Back of Ern's Mobile Skip

I had to wait around 2 months for my new bike to arrive. I took delivery on the 12th July, my dad and I driving down to Wakefield to pick it up. The bike then stood until yesterday, when I had my first ride out. 

Now, like I say, I wasn't even going to write a blog about yesterday's outing, I think it is because I considered it a bit of a fail, which is not true, now that I have thought about it. I think the top and bottom of it was that I was just completely knackered when I got in, sore and didn't feel particularly well. Which will lead me on to another part of my story in a little while. 

Anyhoo, now that I have had the time to reflect, I can see why I thought yesterday wasn't worth writing about, how today it was. First, the negatives I had intended to shoot a new video using my GoPro and take some photos. Well, I didn't get enough or the best footage, so on my return home, I couldn't make the video I wanted. Plus, I only took a few pics, so I thought, what is the point of blogging? My way of thinking is that no one reads my stuff; they probably just come here to look at pictures they have happened to come across by chance.

And now the positives and what made me write this post. Well, although I wasn't feeling great in the morning, I took Neville out for his morning walk, then got changed into my biking gear and headed out on my new bike. I attempted to do what makes me happy, and although I didn't ride as far as I would have liked and was thoroughly exhausted along with a migraine I had had for about a week. Well all in all I enjoyed myself, especially as on my journey, I met three lovely ladies. 

Scott Lumen on the Farmers Trail

The first was a wonderful lady over at Hedley Hall Woods, she was in a wheelchair and self-propelling herself up a rather steep hill. As I passed, I asked her,  "Do you need a hand?"  to which she replied, "No, thank you, I have got this". Huge respect, as I had to drop into a lower gear to climb the bank. I rode past her and then stopped and turned back and we began chatting. I went on to mention being a sporting ambassador for Arctic ONE and mentioned the grant system and what a fantastic organisation the foundation was. Going on to ask would she not prefer  a hand cycle, and the last commenting on another type of bike that has some sort of hand levers you pull on to  to get it to mobilise. After some time, we said our goodbyes, not before I had informed her about my book, "Lost2bFound" I mean, I have to try and get some sales somewhere. I was then off heading towards the Causey Arch. 

Pretty proud to have self-published this

I was in two minds whether to take the Causey Arch and Tanfield Railway route, as you see, I have experienced some rather irate people along there, who are like "Karens", and go on to get all worked up about people cycling along the trail. Anyway, I decided to go that way as I hate riding on the Causey Arch Road, and if  I used the pavement that turns along by the Causey Arch, well, if you think about it, that's no different to riding on the trail at Tanfield Railway as they are both classed as public footpaths.

Riding over the Causey Arch and approaching the section of trail where there are some wooden steps, two ladies were sitting on a bench with their dogs. I gave them a polite greeting and got an equally polite response in return. We then began having a lovely chat as I explained some folk didn't like cyclists coming this way, and they said they didn't mind, we agreed it was all about respect. The conversation continued on, and we spoke about the local history and the area, good places to visit for walks and shared some memories of days gone by. Yet another chance to plug my book when departing.

I was enjoying the ride on my new Scott; it felt comfortable, probably one of the best-fitting bikes I have owned. Considering this was my first ride out and I was just getting used to the bike, it felt planted beneath me. The Lumen has a TQ motor, which only offers 50 nm of torque, so it does require quite a bit of input from the rider. For XC riding, the suspension feels plush, and I don't know if it was just me, but the bike felt like it rolled well; you can't feel any drag from the motor. I was a little frustrated yesterday, and I think it was because I was tired. For some reason, I was having a nightmare clipping into my new Time ATAC pedals. I was so worn out, I was struggling to take hold of my G3 Infinity knee, bend it and then forcefully trying to clip in using my hand to guide the cleat to the pedal. So yesterday, there were many curses and loud sighs. 

I really like this Bike

Oh, and when I stopped off at Beamish near the stream, intending on getting a video shot of the water as it cascaded over some rocks, I slipped and almost fell into the water. I just couldn't keep my footing and ended up having to sit down, then crawl and clamber up the bankside. It's incredibly difficult trying to negotiate slippery terrain with a prosthetic limb that is in full extension, held in place with resisted tendons. I also ventured onto a trail I hadn't ridden in years and took. The wrong path, well, when I say path, I had to stop as there was no way through, the undergrowth was so thick and unridable. So it took me about 20 minutes to hike back the opposite way, and this proper fatigued me.

All in all, I can see that yesterday wasn't a waste of time, and although I didn't get the video footage or pictures I wanted, what does it matter, always be other days.

Oh, and you know I mentioned earlier, leading to another part of my story, well yeah, I got bored so ended up purchasing a steering wheel of all things for my wee Abarth 124 Spider. Now I really must stop...

I will post some images when the new steering wheel arrives and a bit of a write-up...

OCD Kicking in as my book Lost2bFound is published

 

The front cover of my book Lost2bFound

On Wednesday  I received an email from David over at PublishNation to inform me of the pricing for the hardcover edition of my book. David also attached a file of the finished draft.

On Thursday with nothing better to do and as I was feeling a bit ropey with this ulcerative colitis I decided to read through the final draft. Imagine my horror when within the first couple of chapters I discovered errors.

Immediately my OCD kicked in and I began getting proper stressed. What I did next was real stupid and I am still berating myself. I read all the way through my book to try and spot more errors, in which there were a few, however I didn't bloody write down where they were, what a complete tit. You see I have lost count of the number of times I have gone over my work. I think a lot of what has made things incorrect is trying to use two different computers with different operating systems, these being my Apple Mac and my dads Windows PC. 

On Friday after a restless night I decided to contact David and inform him of my mistakes. I also checked the e-book and paperback editions of my draft, and sure enough there were errors in the same places. This is a major problem as those two editions have now gone out for publication. To correct them is an additional £75 per edition, as they need to be re-published.

The errors are not huge, the thing is I know they are there. I dare say even when I correct the errors there will still be a few in there that people will spot. I have leant that writing without making the odd mistake in either punctuation or in grammar is very difficult. I couldn't afford to get a professional proofreader, I mean it would have cost me thousands.
  

Lost2bFound inside cover

 

So, what to do? Well, I went over the draft all day yesterday trying to spot errors and remember some from my previous days reading of my book. MY dad who is a legend helped me, as he could see I was having somewhat of a meltdown. One positive thing I can say is that when my dad was reading he was having the odd chuckle, so I thought "Hey I must have got some parts right, as it's making my dear old dad laugh to himself". Hopefully this is the case for other readers.

As I read through I became aware at some point  in my writing I must have tapped the "s" key on my keyboard instead of the "a", so there was a kind of incorrect and spare "s" floating around in my text. OMG! both my dad and myself were on almost all day yesterday trying to discover this mislaid "s". We eventually discovered it on page 38, chapter 4. My dad using a search believe it or not for every "s" contained within my book, just imagine how many there were in a book of over 80,000 words.

So where I am at now. Well, I can either leave the books as they are and hope anyone who purchases a copy understands this is a self-published book. As such it has been completed by a complete amateur author, and hopefully cut me some slack. Or I can pay the £150 and have the books re-published, bearing in mind I dare say there will still be some minor errors in various areas, which won't impact on the story.

I am very excited to announce... Well you will have to read further to see!

Lost2bFound - My self published book

Duh, duh, duh, duh, duh, duh duh!   That sound doesn't come across quite as well when typed as it did in my head Lol Maybe I should just stick with a "Ta Da".

Anyhoo I am very excited to announce the long-awaited release of the book I have been working on. It is called "Lost2bFound" and came about from an idea I had long ago when certain people said to me "Glenn you should write a book".

Now when they said that I am not sure if it was a polite way of just saying "Glenn you do waffle on a lot" and therefore mocking me, or did these people genuinely think I had an interesting tale or two to tell.

I would like to think the latter, so after visiting BBC Radio Tees for an interview in September of 2024 and mentioning my idea, with the host Gary Phillipson and Gary saying "You should do it", well I decided to start putting pen to paper, well really fingers to keyboard.

BBC Tees Gary Phillipson & me

 

 Now I am not a real writer or storyteller, the extent of my experience has been in doing my blog for the last 13 years. I have had various spells where I would attempt to write poetry, and quite recently write songs, which are quite secretive and I only practice to myself, needless to say not in the bath or shower as I would get my guitar all wet or worse still electrocute myself. To be fair I can't for the life of me multitask then go on to strum and attempt to sing at the same time.

Lost2bFound

So where to start? I found it difficult to try and tell my story, so that the reader could keep track. You see so much had gone on from way back, yet it had affected me moving forward right up to the present day. Another thing that was important to me was to be completely honest, so certain thoughts and getting them down were difficult and brought up quite a few home truths, where I had to stop and take a break to ask myself questions about my feelings. I had to also go back in time and try to recall certain events, some of which were very painful, and some which were possibly painful and embarrassing at the time, however, now I can see the funny side.

I am hoping my book will be received well and those people who do read it can take something from it. I am looking forward to the feedback I receive, both positive and believe it or not negative, as I think this is how we learn and can improve ourselves.

 

My book is available for pre-order from all good book stores or you can find it by doing a search for "Lost2bFound" on Amazon or follow this link.

Amazon - Lost2bFound 

Oh and the book will be available in ebook and hardback formats upon its release.
 

Thanks for your support

Glenn

What's been happening this week? And do I really need another bike? - Well of course I do...

Fox and AXS equipped 

I'm bored! And what do I do when I have a week’s holiday, and the weather hasn't exactly been great. Well apart from trying to help my dad out with our garden I have of course been looking at "Bike Porn".

I'm sure I have some sort of an addiction. My way of thinking was, as I have gone halfies on a new bathroom with the Ern, which dented my plans to save up for a campervan, well I may as well blow the remaining bit of savings on yet another bike. I was quite surprised my dad didn't put up much resistance. I guess after all these years he has just become accustomed to how I operate.

Of course, the dream of a campervan, and even one day that house in Scotland is still alive. I just printed out some pictures of the latest dream house, using my new printer I blogged about the other week, it's a Canon Selphy C1500, and I have to say it is a most excellent bit of kit for doing small postcard sized prints. The colours are vibrant and it's very quick. Just what I need to continue adding things to my now four dream boards, as Ern went and got me another one just the other day.

It has been a while since I mentioned how my book is going. That's right I have written a book about my journey, and I am in the process of getting it self-published, using a company called Publish Nation. So far, I have paid for an express critique and an express proof reading. I received some very positive feedback from the critique concerning my tone, and how my personality came through. Things to look at were as I expected my grammar, and punctuation. I have learned a lot over the last few months about writing and layout, punctuation and grammar. I didn't realise I was quite so bad at certain aspects. I have to say Publish Nation so far have been excellent and they even helped put me in touch with a friendly gentleman to help design the cover of my book. 

This will be part of the front cover to my book Lost2bFound

The cover of a book is apparently what can sell a book. I always had this idea in the back of my mind of how I wanted it to look, and what I would like it to represent; however, I am not sure everyone will get it. For me the reason I chose black and white for the cover, is because I wanted to convey a sense of "Darkness to Light", which kind of described my life’s journey.
Anyway I guess once it's out there, that will be that, and it will either be of interest to people or a complete fail. At the end of the day, I'm just pleased I had a go, and if nothing else I enjoyed the reflection, and some of the memories it brought back. If it receives some positive feedback well that would be a bonus.

I will post when my book is out and links to where anyone interested can get a copy. It will be released in ebook, paperback and hardback.

Next on the agenda, wor Neville, wor ickle border terrorist. He is settling in nicely and growing ever so slightly in size. He has a wonderful if somewhat mischievous character and has brought so much joy and happiness into our home, even if I am now getting up at around five in the morning every day. Nev is my constant companion. I can't go anywhere without him wanting to be by my side, this includes when I want to have a bath or shower. He will whine at the bottom of our stairs until I open the baby gate then follow me up into our bathroom, then stand on his little back legs with his front placed over the edge of the bath, watching as I get washed. Each morning, he goes ballistic when I let him out of his crate, as if he had not seen me in months, and once settled somewhat appears to smile and is keen to play.

Wor Neville

 

Okay well I guess onto this new bike I got my eye on, but before I do a little background. So the other week I went out on my Santa Cruz Heckler SL. I love the bike, the Fazua motor has taken a bit getting used to in how it works and the power delivery, however, I like the overall feel of the bike. I think the only drawback is that Fazua don't offer a larger battery or range extender, so upon my latest ride out I covered approximately thirty-four miles, and upon returning home I was on one bar of battery remaining. The Heckler feels and probably is more like a trail/enduro bike, something I knew before purchasing it, and I was happy with my decision to get it, as I intended to use the bike on rougher trails with jumps and drops and whatnot, I still do.

Scott Lumen eRide 900 TR

So on to this new bike. I started looking at bikes that were more XC orientated, in fact some months earlier I was actually thinking of getting an analogue gravel bike. Pretty much as soon as I went online, I saw a Scott Lumen. Now what drew my attention initially to this bike was the fact it looks so neat and tidy in its design. I particularly liked how the rear shock was hidden inside the frame. I then started researching weight, the motor, which is a TQ, the range, and whether a range extender could be fitted, specs and of course prices.

Scott Lumen eRide 900 TR

Following a little more research I could see I could get a Scott Lumen eRide 900 TR 2024 at a considerable discount from when new, and the only difference I could see between it and a 2025 model was the colour and the rear shock. The 2024 model having a Fox Nude 5 EVOL and the 2025 having a Fox Nude 6. I have to admit I am not entirely struck on the 2024 colour scheme, which is prism grey green, but saying that I haven’t seen one in the flesh as yet. One of the main reasons I went for this bike is the range, which certain sites have said can be as much as 100 miles with the range extender, and of course dependent on terrain and level of assist.

Love the frame and shock intergration

Scott Lumen eRide 900 TR with AXS 

Not sure of colour

Range extender fits canny neat

Very neat display

 

 

 

I didn't want another full power bike; part of the reason I opted for the 60nm Santa Cruz Heckler SL and now this lighter Scott Lumen which has a claimed weight of 16.6 kgs, and has a TQ motor offering 50 nm with a 300-watt hour battery. The range extender at 160 watts, adding an extra 44% battery capacity.

Now all I have to do is await J's Cycles to get my bike in from Scott and of course start saving up once more for more toys.