Baxter's Birthday and a little tootle oot on the bike

My little lad is three today, needless to say he got spoilt.I picked up 2 toys for Baxter last week, man pet stuff is expensive.  A Kong jumbo bone and a Kong cone, both in large came to £30, never mind he is worth it. I gave Baxter the bone this morning and he went mental, he even pulled poor Ern all the way around his walk so he could get back home to his new toy. The Kong cone I filled with biscuits and some peanut butter then froze it. Just gave Baxter this about and hour or so ago and he has been quite happily lying in the sun licking his make shift lolly.

Birthday Boy

Mmmmm I love peanut butter

Yum Yum

Been asked to take part in an article for Silverback Bikes

On Tuesday I was contacted by Silverback Bikes Brand Communications Specialist, Temarah. You see I am an ambassador for Silverback Bikes, having got my Silverback Synergy Fat Bike way back in 2016. Temarah went on to explain that she had seen some footage of me riding my bike using my prosthetic sports knee, the BTK Crossover and she wanted to know would I been interested in doing a short feature for Silverback's Media Centre.

Love the Silverback Synergy Fat design, carbon front triangled frame

This involved answering a few questions to get a background, things like when I started riding, how I came to become an amputee and the journey I have been on since. Including how I came to start off on the Bartlett Tendon and involving the tremendous support I have had along the way. Of course when writing a blog such as this I have to mention my Good friends over at Pace Rehabilitation, Brian Bartlett, Fabtech Sytems and The Arctic ONE Foundation. All of whom have played a part in my life and adventures.

BTK Crossover, just needed aligning

Temarah, also asked would it be possible for me to get some new footage that Silverback could use upon their media centre. So I decided to do that today. I explained to Temarah that I am just starting to get back out there. As many of you who enjoy reading my blog will have noticed I have neglected it somewhat. On reflection I can look back over the last couple of years and see I have had a bit of a nightmare health wise. At first when I started my cancer treatment I thought "hey there is nowt to this", however as time progressed man I was feeling more and more wiped out. Like proper chronic fatigue. It's funny it wasn't until just the other day when one of my good friends and work colleagues Jennifer said in general conversation "Glenn you have been really poorly for sometime", that I actually took it in. You see I tend to be one of those people that beat themselves up and won't give myself a break. I didn't think of myself as being ill, more like I was being lazy and I had lost motivation.


Never mind I turned down my last treatment and have had good news today from my cancer specialist nurse, she rang me whilst I was riding up our bank, so I was quite out of breath. I grabbed my phone and she informed me everything looks good on my CT scan.


I continued up the bank to John my mates house and after he got his bairn sorted with her Gran, we set off. Continuing up the bank and heading off towards East Stanley, with the plan to head down to Beamish woods.


Once in Beamish woods it didn't take me long to figure out my Crossover was all out of alignment. I had had to swap my new socket out for a much bigger old one, the other week as my residual limb has gained so much volume, another word for getting fat. Anyhoo I didn't have the best tools in my backpack so had to ring Ern to get assistance. 20 minutes or so later Ern rocked up with some decent allen keys and we were able to align my knee and foot a tad better. Only problem being the bolt for my pylon and foot wasn't the best so my foot was still out of skew a bit.

My bud John

Coming down the trail

Cracking day

John and I rode up through the woods chatting as we went. Finally we got to where we thought would make a good start. The video only had to be around 1:30 long. Got some nice footage as the sun was out and it didn't take long at all. Bit gutted as the final bit of recording didn't appear on my memory card. This was the bit where John and I were acting like little kids playing in the ford. Tell you what it was proper slippy and we both almost fell off.

Off the back of the bike with the Crossover

Close up of the Crossover flexed

John playing in the stream

John having a right hoot

Man it was slippery coming across the ford

Splish Splash

Where we come from

Managed to grab a few pics today. The ride home was torture. When I say ride I will admit I cheated a little and had to push my bike up the Shepherd and Shepherdess bank, even when I am fit that bank is a killer.

Out for a blast on little Nelly

Wow where has this weather appeared from? Not complaining, in fact it gave me the opportunity to head out and finally test the new brake and clutch lever set up on my little Benelli TNT. I have had the bike for quite some time now, however not really had the chance to head out. In fact, the bike had only covered approx 15 miles, then had been sitting at the bottom of our stairs in the hall.

Boys and their Toys

Originally, I paid a small fortune for a Brembo master cylinder thumb brake. However, working alongside Ern we just could not get the thumb brake in a comfortable position, plus the feel of the combined brakes was awful. I struggled to not only stop, but also in actually trying to pull in the clutch, whilst using the thumb brake. Ah well, back to the drawing board.

One of my mates, Des sent me a link to Youtube of this kid who had incorporated what is known as a stunt clutch on his Grom. Essentially, it is a small clutch lever that can be actuated by a single finger. I researched the levers and discovered there was no way I would get one to fit with the original brake levers that were on the bike. This meant ordering some new radial type brake levers from AliExpress. This would allow me to use one lever on the left hand for my rear brake and the one on the front as normal for the front. Plus I ordered a (RSC) Righteous Stunt clutch lever, medium length. It was rather expensive, however appears to have done the job. The fit to get all the levers and switch gear is tight and as I will go on to explain requires a little tweaking from a comfort/ use point of view.

RSC Stunt Clutch and Adelin radial levers

Ok so like I said earlier this is the first time using this set up. It takes a little getting used to. I have discovered I am automatically going for the rear brake, which is now on my left handlebar, thinking it is a clutch lever. This means at first I clunked a few gears. It also meant I slowed down quite dramatically as I pulled on the lever. Then I got comfortable using the small clutch lever and the opposite happened, I mistook it for a brake and instead of slowing I just disengaged the gears. Also set up wise the levers feel as if they are in the wrong position. It's totally different going out for a ride compared to just sitting on the bike in the back garden. Due to the lack of space on the bars it can be difficult to adjust the position of the levers on the left hand bar, they are just so close together. Luckily there has been a little room for movement and on returning home Ern gave me a hand to adjust the levers. The radial brakes also have screw in/out adjusters for lever travel and this has helped a lot as the levers are now within reach.

  
What's it like riding as an above knee? Errr scary, well for me it is. I have not spoken to any other above knees, but what I am discovering is I am perfectly confident turning left, but I do not like turning right at all. It's weird as normally when you ride you wouldn't put a foot down and you use the power of the engine to pull you around or through a corner. Maybe it's psychological. I have noticed the same thing when I am out on my mountain bike. Left turns are fine, however rights can prove tricky. It would be interesting to hear from fellow above knees on this.

I covered roughly 50 miles today, heading up to Smiddy Shore and around by Stanhope. I pulled in at the petrol station at Lanchester to fill up...When I say fill up I put all of £4.08 in my tank. I felt so guilty and was not sure if the attendant would accept anything under  fiver that I bought a bottle of water. I then discovered I had nowhere to carry it so stuffed it down my jacket. It kept falling down and I almost lost it a few times.

Learning curve today

Little Nelly

Over on the moors

Bike is canny loud with pipe on

All in all I had an enjoyable ride out, the weather has been ace. I figure if I can work out how to get to somewhere purely by doing left hand turns I will be fine LoL. In reality it's just a case of building up my confidence and learning this brake/clutch set up. Another reason it was scary today is a lot of where I rode was hilly and well I am running my bike in. It's not good when you have a bloody huge artic up your arse as you tootle along at 40 to 50 mph. Plus when he passed me I thought he was going to suck me under his truck. The only thing I managed to pass today was a tractor, mind you he was doing 32mph as I looked down at my clocks.

Broom Broom!!!

Over at Wagtail Lane

A big part of why I can get out on my bikes, both motorised and push is down to Pace Rehabilitation. Paul Richardson my prosthetist designed me an everyday socket and it just shows that having a decent socket can enable you to do a lot more and just get on with life... The only thing I am really disappointed with after today's outing is that my socket has rubbed a small hole in my seat. To be honest the material used on the seat is not very thick or of great quality. It's just another small challenge to sort out. Hopefully if I get the seat re-upholstered in something harder wearing it should resolve the issue.

A birthday treat to myself

Well I am the big 50 today, half a century no less. How have I celebrated my birthday? By getting up nice and early and continuing with decorating the house. Oh yeah all rock and roll me. No birthday wishes from Ern or Kyle this morning, even wor Baxter didn't pay particular attention. My aunty Claire and Uncle Dave called in yesterday like, bringing along a delicious home made chocolate cake, em-blazed with "Happy Birthday". To be honest I prefer to fly under the radar when birthdays come up and kind of pretend I am not getting any older. I am sure I had my date of birth hidden on Facebook, however I have had a number of birthday well wishes from old school friends and other friends and family. Lovely people one and all and thanks to everyone.

Awesome Birthday Treat

man I feel worn out...

As the title to this particular blog post states "man I feel worn out". It's not just a case of being or feeling tired, nope I just feel completely fatigued and no amount of sleep appears to do the trick. I go to sleep at a reasonable hour and awake feeling wrecked. 

As I have viewed my blog seeing if anything needs tweaking or I can add anything interesting I noticed my blog posts had dwindled over the last couple of years. I mean it's not just a case of not having anything interesting to write, as there is always something or other to tell you. I mean isn't that the whole point of a blog, allowing people snippets of your life, or I guess in some peoples cases "their whole life"...."Today I ate a Jaffa Cake" sort of thing.  No I can see a down turn, both in my interest to write about my adventures and also in how I have been feeling. Basically things have just not felt great since having chemotherapy back in 2015. 

Now as far as chemo goes, the 6 months treatment I had whilst I was on a drug called bendamustine was not too bad. This particular drug, meant I had no hair loss and apart from a dicky tummy now and again I was pretty much ok. I mean my bloods did drop to 0.5 at one point and I became neutropenic, which basically means I was very susceptible to infection as I had a real low immunity, however I did not catch any nasty bugs, meaning I did not require any hospital over nights stays to be monitored.


The combination of bendamustine and rituximab has been very successful, as my non Hodgkin's lymphoma appears under control and the horrible large nodes I had in my neck have shrunk right down.


Following the chemotherapy I was informed I would get 2 years treatment of the rituximab, this is called a maintenance dose. The treatments are supposed to be given every 2 months. Unfortunately I have been experiencing some issues and this can really only be put down to the rituximab. Things like a low white blood cell count, more infections and picking up bugs easily and the biggest one to date for me this lingering feeling of fatigue and just not wanting to do anything.

It has taken me ages and I mean ages to put my finger on why I have been feeling so crap. I mean most people think "Yeah I will feel shit during, then after my chemo, but give it a few months and once I am in remission I will start to feel a lot better". Yeah I thought this, so to be 2 years on more or less following my chemo, well I just thought "Glenn, you are a right lazy sod, who needs a kick up the arse"...."Come on pull yourself together".

Anyhoo after going in to work today and feeling absolutely wrecked and asking if I could take a half days annual leave. I came home and researched the drug rituximab. My findings are from the Cancer Research UK site and you can follow the link if interested. The top 3 common side effects I have had, which are feeling sick, being at a higher risk of getting an infection. I have had a terrible couple of years picking up stuff and the biggest one for me fatigue and tiredness.

I now kind of realise that may be I shouldn't be so hard on myself, as it just piles on additional stress. I have just had my treatment on the 7th December. I will now wait 3 months before my next one which I am pleased to say will be the end of my course of treatments. There have been a few delays so I have crept into my 3rd year. From there I hope I will start to get my Mojo back, recover my strength and start living again.

Never sure who reads my blog, but hope anyone reading this who may be going through the same thing can take something interesting or informative from the information.

Not a great day to try out the Buzzraw and yet proper enjoyed myself...

My dad Ern, has been feeling rather unwell the last 3 days...Man Flu it appears. He has been in bed 3 days now, so I have been handed the duty of walking Baxter. As an amputee it is not the best weather to be out walking, or should I say attempting to walk. Baxter doesn't help as he has four paw drive and has a tendency to not just go in one direction. This means it's a constant battle trying to pull him back and also stop him from tangling the leash around your legs. Then of course add to the mix all this ice.

Out on the Buzzraw

My Buzzraw has arrived

"Buzzraw" You may be thinking, "what the hell is a Buzzraw". Well it's a unique, funky, somewhat retro styled bike, some may even say a scooter (How dare you)  I prefer the term bike, as a scooter to me is one of those little things that you kind of push along with one foot and I once had a bad experience as a kid, on one of those when I face planted and got gravel rash.

Coast Cycles Buzzraw in Coast Blue

The 3 Amigos Ride Again

As the title to my blog says "The 3 Amigos Ride Again". I cannot tell you the last time I had a ride out with both John and Lee. Put it this way it has been way too long, as this mornings local trail adventure was sooooo much fun. According to Strava we covered 14.1 miles the majority of this being off road, on either farmers trails, parts of the Chapman Wells nature reserve or in the local wooded area surrounding Chapman's and Quakies. As I still do not feel 100%, being able to get a little off the beaten track and yet stay close enough to home, so that I can bail at any point is spot on.

The 3 Amigos

Had my new drone all of 10 minutes and crashed it Oops!

An exciting afternoon, as my big boys toy has arrived. It is a DJI Spark drone. Upon opening the box I was greeted with this very cute little blue drone.

DJI Spark

Everything you get in the combo bundle

I eagerly got everything out of the box and began charging him. Thank god for Youtube as the instructions came in 7, yes that is 7 small booklets. Even with my gigs on I couldn't read them. Mind you not that I am one for reading instructions. I figure if something doesn't work straight out of the box, well it's broken isn't it? I have therefore left Ern reading the vast manual which he has printed out from online.

So Cute, but very angry

Appears well made and has loads of features

So far following the Youtube guides I have managed to update both the drone and it's controllers firmware. I have also managed to get the drone started and hovering, well before I crashed it into the wall of my bedroom and thought I had broke of a rotor blade...Ooops!

  

Whilst in firmware mode, it makes some weird tunes

Rotor Guards in Place

Second attempt was much better ( I put the rotor blade guards on this time). I could get the drone to go up and down, and circle left and right 360 degrees, however could I hell get it to fly left or right and could only get it to come towards me by flying backwards, ie the camera facing away from me. Mmmmm more practice required and must get Ern reading faster to get me up to speed.

Apparently my little drone also thinks it is in China according to the on screen display, so that needs sorting. I certainly do not want it returning to base in Beijing. Batteries only last around 16 minutes per flight I think so it would be pushing it anyhoo.

So far I have just had a little bit play around in doors in my bedroom, man this little thing is loud, it kind of sounds like it's pissed off when you fly it around. I swear it had a go at poor Ern and buzzed him, wasn't me!

All batteries on charge now and I will try and figure out how to use it and get some footage, so watch this space.