At the moment all things Enduro have gone cold. No one wants to sponsor : (   It’s understandable what with Christmas looming and a lot of peeps out of work. However  to those of you that have dug deep, THANK YOU.   It is all the people that have sponsored me that keeps me going. I will make my target and get to Africa, I promise guys I won’t let you down.

As you may or may not know Curl up and Dye are launching their new retail section on December 4th so I will be collecting then. If your around pop by and check out our potential gifts for Christmas. Plus we will be welcoming 2 new designers to the salon. Tink fans don’t worry we will still be stocking Tink’s cute tees and a wide range of her funky hand-made jewellery.

Unfortunately a proposed visit to my beloved Port Vale to do a bucket collection is not happening BUT my man, busting a gut to make connections with the club, has a second plan up his sleeve. THANKS MARK you’re a star (and one of the best goal keepers Vale has ever had..even if you did debunk to the other camp ; )

I am putting together a plan to get a Fiddler Fest club night organised at an undisclosed venue in Witney. If you have any suggestions please let me know. The idea would be the same as the infamous Fiddler Fest 08, hopefully getting the same bands, maybe some comics and dance troups this time, plus a whole host of other activities on the night. It will be a brilliant excuse to get trashed and raise shed loads of cash. If you have any ideas or would like to help organise FF,  drop me a line. Plus if I get enough response I might even treat the crowd to some classic Eadon stand up (or will that scare people off)?

Guys if you have any ideas for fund raising let me know. As you know The CUAD team are doing a sky dive, Gaynor the trainer is entering me for a 1/2 and full marathon next year. My girls, from London Town, will be paying a visit to wash your vehicles in their skimpy bikinis. The HD and I will be showing a classic motorbike movie in our own open air cinema next year and we hope to get Fiddler Fest put on as a public event.

BUT is there anything you would like to see me doing? A 24 hour fast (I have no full mechanism so it would be hell….trust me)? Slave for the day (being a lazy sod it may entertain). You name it WILL be considered.

My training is going really well. I am now running twice a week, which Dave the dog LOVES. Plus I am  doing resistance training 5 days a week, so I have no excuse not to have abs like G.I Jane. I’ve had few bad weeks where I have eaten like a mad women and done NO exercise but hey this is only week 7 and I am still learning.

 Next week I will be confirming my CBT so my bike training officially starts. I still have no kit so if you want to sponsor any part of it let me know.

Well chaps I will try not to leave it so long next time. Let me know your sponsorship ideas and I will put them up on this site for a public vote…how very X-Factor.

                                                                                                    Lxx

She right though. This whole experience is a journey. Sometimes it will be easy and sometimes tough, plus I have to remind myself that I am changing habits of 15 years (or so). If the new things I am learning  are to stay with me I have accept that my life is still happening  and in my life are a whole bunch of bad habits.

So a new week and so far it is going well. Gaynor has pointed out that my deltoids are beginning to show and I am getting some triceps definition, yay!!

Sit ups are still hard but I do enjoy them! In all honesty the only thing I am really dreading is the cardio. I have done a few warm ups on the old trampoline and even after 5 minutes the pain in my throat and chest is unbelievable. Of course this is my own fault what with my love of sucky sticks but already I am building a negative block towards running et al.

Gaynor operates on a need to know bases i.e. she knows and I don’t until each session. This works well with me as it’s always a nice surprise each session, well so far. I know the day is fast approaching when she is going to send me running and it’s going to hurt like a mutter fecker.

I have started using a gaget called a Powerbreathe* a dumbbell for the old lungs (in fact I am using it as we speak-picture to follow) it is supposed to improve lung efficiency. It is hard that’s all I am saying and I look like a diver that took a wrong turning at Albuquerque!

I had more good news last week, my old school chum and fellow Good-Life-er Mish donated a wonderful £20. THANK YOU CHICK. My October deadline has gone and now the time is ticking for me to get the next installment, or else I could lose my place!!

When I had my deposit  deadline I had a fairy godmother in the form of my bessie mate and his wonderful partner so, THANK YOU Anna for donating £200 and Matt THANK YOU for donating £50. In return they get their faces on a t-shirt….a face over each nipple (their request )!!!

Who will be my fairy godmother this time. Don’t forget if you donate a wedge your face or business details will go on a t-shirt of your own!

*(you may of noticed this is the title for an earlier blog but I didn’t offer an explanation as to what it is…this is how my blog rolls, you never know when I am going to expalin anything KEEP UP)

First Dave (not Enduro or Instructor but dog Dave) had the most expensive case of constipation ever (£340 because he swallowed a bone and it lodged itself half way down his anal passage….ouch). Then The HD’s car decided to stop working in the middle of the road, in front of some traffic lights, when I was at the wheel (Austin always seems to die when I am driving).  The car incident resulted in me missing a training session with Gaynor. Both of these on top of the normal crisis that has become a normal working week for us in the salon.

I slipped up twice in my new fat busting diet. First off we had a run in with one of our shop neighbours because they felt threatened by the 19 pieces of jewellery we have in our shop window, apprently similar to their own stock (try having a barbers open almost opposite your hair salon darling, then you are in a position to moan). This resulted in me and The HD down the pub for a swift sherbet and a bloody good bitch. On the plus side I felt rubbish the next day.

Next slip up was after doing the month-end clean of the salon: 2 tinnies and 2 pints down the pub. This resulted in not only feeling like rubbish but spending my off day glued to the sofa and not completing my exercise homework, on top of the copious amounts of food I consumed.

Then I realised I had a donation installment due (the fund raising team at EnduroAfrica give you targets to hit to make the fund raising easier) I’ve had to ask for an extention. I’ve had one donation from this site (Thanks Kate, your a star) the rest of you seem to be a little tight with your purse strings (hint, hint SPONSOR ME )

Today I have a session with Gaynor and I am expecting a right bollocking, my own fault I know but right now I am feeling a litt bit sorry for myself.

When I started this adventure the aim was to test myself mentally and pysically, kick start my motivation and most importantly raise a shed load of money for some amazing charities, yet here I am 2 weeks in moaning like a goodun.

What did Master Chief John James Urgayle say to the Navy Seals in- training including my personal heroine Lieutenant Jordan O’Neil)

“I never saw a wild thing sorry for itself.

A small bird will drop frozen dead from a bough without ever having felt sorry for itself.”  (D.H Lawrence)

Give Eadon a boost by donating. Click the paypal button it couldn’t be easier!

Being a damn sight more knowledgeable about motorbikes then me, Dave had the insight to ask how tall I was. Enduro bikes, unbeknown to me, are actually very tall to enable the extra suspension that aids the rider to drive over the undriveable. This would be a major problem if I found myself all the way in South Africa and only able to follow the riders in the van carrying the bags, plus it would effectively make my sponsorships refundable!!

I immediately got onto Enduro Dave, there is a name pattern arising here, who thankfully confirmed that my inside leg was long enough for the Honda CRF230 that would be my beast for my African adventure. Phew!!

So on a rather warm September day Instructor Dave and I spent the afternoon, with his rather large motorbike, in the Curl up and Dye Salon striking some camera shy poses for the Witney Gazette. Read the not quite accurate article by clicking on the picture.

I don’t know who looks more unconfortable me or him.

So my bike riding adventure begins, or at least it does when Instructor Dave gets back from Sweden….Oh you might be interested to learn that Instructor Dave is a Snowmobile nut…check out his website

First up there is one of the HD’s clients Gaynor Mitchell who happens to be a trainer. Gaynor the trainer : ) Gaynor has donated a years worth of personal training sessions to get me ready for the tough terrain and buns of steel (to deal with all the sitting down).

Our first meeting was to see what the objectives were and come face to face with some nasty reality checks. Gaynor explained that the ultimate goal was to get fit for Africa but on the way to achieving that goal I would be completing some mini goals. At one point  I think there was talk of half marathons, full marathons and duathlons. I say “think” because at that point blind panic set in. OK October 2010 is an age away, in my mind, but half marathons by April 2010 seems a little to close for comfort especially as I only have to climb the stairs to secure a little breather.

 The tests were relatively harmless and the results actually boosted my confidence rather then send me, tail between legs,  into the arms of a calorific, comfort binge. As many jumping jacks in a minute as possible, sit ups, squats, lady push ups. Then I had to breath into some weird gadgets. Apparently my lung capacity is rather good but my lung ability is below average not helped by my love of killer sticks. To help my poor little lungs I have to invest in a ”Powerbreathe” a sort of thigh master for your breathing bags.

 My BMI is normal (hear that NHS people), my fat to muscle ratio is normal (yay) but can be made much better.

So my first set of instructions,before I get my programme, start a food and exercise diary so I am aware of whats I am putting in my gob; I would highly recommend this to anyone trying to lose weight as you would be surprised how much you actually eat. A left over potato here, a biscuit there, on top of your 3 meals a day and any other snacks all adds up, trust me.

Gaynor provided me with some nutrition guidelines. Protein and veg are high on the agenda, with a small sprinkling of good carbs. Fruit is limited because of the sugar as is my beloved cheese. The most heart rendering thing is butter is most definitely off the menu. However to keep me on the straight and narrow I have decided to have an off day on Sundays so I can indulge sensibly in all the saturated fat things that I adore.

To help with the protein intake and decrease the Guernsey butter that  is covering my potential 6 pack I am introduced to the protein shake. I know that those that know me will be wetting themselves but yes I have included protein shakes into my routine. I feel beefcake already!

My regime starts next week and although I have thrown myself wholeheartedly into my new eating habits the exercise thing is terrifying me and I am not sure why. Am I afriad of what might be? Or am I just comfortable in my comfort zone, after all what is so scary aout getting fit??

Gaynor Mitchell -Personal Trainer

The list I have made today is, inevitably, a “to do” list for Africa. First on the list,  the dreaded medical. 

Over the past few years  I have gone from health freak who over indulged at weekends to lazy sod who just over indulges.  Arriving at the surgery I was quite prepared for the feelings of naughty school girl to consume me. However it was the feelings I had as I left the surgery that really played havoc with my mental zen.

In all I was dreading the medical. I hate going to the doctors. They only seem to  hear what they want to which defeats the point of them completely. As for finding solutions to problems forget it….the problem is all in your mind anyway.

Healthworkers  have a habit of asking what the matter is and if I knew the answer was I certainly wouldn’t be bothering them. The nice, smiley nurse asks me what I am there for, even though I can quite clearly see my notes on the computer screen. “Erm I have come for a medical”.” OK, so what tests do you want?” How the hell am I supposed to know ? Surely they didn’t spend 5 years and thousands of pounds  at medical school for me, Joe Public, to attempt their jobs for them?

Irritated I mumbled something about cholesterol (having been warned during my health freak years that it was unusually high for my age). The nurse raised a neat eyebrow as if I had just informed her that I had grown an extra boob! She asked me to confirm who had told me this. I did. A slight hum hovered on her lips as she tapped furiously on her keyboard.

“All right against the wall please”. First, my height. My height has been the same for the past 17 years, 5ft 4 inches and a 1/2  (don’t forget the half). I was relived that my height hadn’t changed as the idea of premature shrinkage is certainly not agreeable, being practically a midget already. My weight is 61 kg. Super Shit, I had put on an extra stone in record time .Blood pressure: 109/80 which was surprising as even my hair had started to evacuate since my new career path has consumed me. Blood sugar levels: fine. Cholesterol: results in the post.

Finally my BMI. I am 23.1 which apparently is too high for height. I am shocked, OK I felt like I had put on a bit of weight but I didn’t think it would effect me that much. The extra roles that were beginning to show I have hidden under the HD’s t-shirts. When I walk I can feel the extra bits wobble  but I have taken no notice. I feel larger. My body feels like I imagine it will when I am in my 60’s after baring 5 odd kids.

Does all this information make me feel proactive? Does it make me think, I have to sort this out not only for Africa but for my own piece of mind. Does it make me feel like I owe it to my body to sort this out as it has served me well over the past 31 years. NO!! It makes me feel like settleing down to a cold pint of strong continental larger and a plate of chips with a mountain of mayonnaise.

So I am back to my list. Immediately after medical is…motivation find it!

A few weeks ago I was dragging my brain through the Sunday papers, to take my mind off the self induced punishment commonly known as a hangover, when I came across an ad for EnduroAfrica.

EnduroAfrica is a unique and challenging 12 day adventure along the Wild Coast of South Africa in aid of some rather amazing charities. After raising the minimum of £5000 you get to go off-roading across some of the most beautiful but challenging terrain. Challenging for your average motorcyclist but how about someone whose  motorcycle experience has been, shall we say, brief.

Upon a whim I gave Dave at EnduroAfrica a buzz. Crazy idea? ” Not at all” Dave informs me. “In fact some of our best participants have been a bit crazy so you should fit in just fine”.

So if I pass my CBT, a theory test (gulp) and get a full motorcycle license on top of  the fund raising, to get the five grand, I’m in.

What have I let myself in for? A once in a lifetime opportunity or a sore bum and brain to boot? We shall see!