Paul May

Day 4 JOGLE Sept 8th Part 2 by paul0010 at Garmin Connect - Details

2010-09-18T11:03:00.000-07:00

Day 3 JOGLE Sept 7th Part 2 by paul0010 at Garmin Connect - Details

We woke up this morning to a damp, wet and cold Northumberland. It was a bit of a rush this morning due to the late night we had last night. 2 Panics started in that morning before setting off on the bike.

The first one was needing to dispose the contents of the wonderful food we had last night pretty quickly. The only problem here was that the farm was closed up so no toilets in sight! I remember bringing some toilet roll so headed to the most remote place I could find (even though I had cows watching me!) and did what I needed to do. First time I think I have ever had a dump in a field first thing in a morning and I found it quite liberating!

The second “Panic” was like every morning getting everything ready for the day ahead. I got into a good routine of getting everything ready for the next morning and this morning was the same. I got the bike all ready but was missing my Garmin Computer for the bike. I remembered seeing it on the floor of the tent that morning so was convinced it couldn't’t have gone far. With 5 minutes to go till departure I still couldn't’t find it. I asked Ben if he had seeing and he hadn’t and he hadn’t either. I set off that day feeling like I had been rushed and the signs that my Garmin had been lost where all to visible with the vacant space on the stem.

On the flip side I was so looking forward to this day. Before the JOGLE ride itself I looked forward to this day and the following days the most. I knew there would be a great feeling of doing this JOGLE through your home county of Yorkshire and familiar roads which would give me a good sense of time and mileage in how far we to travel, and I wasn’t wrong.

Northumberland and the Yorkshire Dales where our host for one of the toughest days we had climbing, (even more frustrating that we couldn't’t see this on the Garmin!). Our first stop off would be at a place near Wear dale, a wonderful little village with a fantastic coffee shop making homemade pies, cakes and coffee to fuel and warm us up. To this point we had navigated our way out of Northumberland and Barnard Castle, the A66 and to Wear Dale through some tough little climbs, but nothing that we would experience later on that day.

The stop at Wear Dale allowed me to rest my Achilles but also my right knee that was starting to become really tender. Going uphill be painful and I felt every movement. Downhill was great to stretch it but then trying to get back into a pedaling routine would be agony. On the flats I seemed to be able to get into a manageable routine but this was proving difficult with the vast hills in the distance that seemed to be ever ending as you can see by the pictures below.

The Yorkshire Dales and a very happy me to me the sign.

Our next stop off in 40 miles was a welcome pub lunch of homemade Steak and Ale Pie. I remember this 40 mile stretch really taking its toll on my body. My tendons where tightening, my right knee was getting worse and I was starting with a chesty cough and bringing up lots of mucus.

As soon as I got to the pub, James Dad was there and I think he could see I was in pain. He checked over my Achilles and right knee which I knew about when he touched them! I had it fully supported and felt I was managing it with the pain I had. My big concern was would this worsen? No one knew that. I kept it strapped up, put some ice over it during lunch and focused on the sign in the distance that said 19% hill which was visible from the pub I the distance.

Looking back, it’s amazing how “In Tune” you get with your body. You learn every little part about it, whats going feeling great and not so great. When your body needs fuel, when your ready to step it up, when you need energy,when you fluid. It really is a great feeling understanding and managing your body to get the most out of it in situations such as this where you are pushing harder than normal. I really did feel I was managing this side of it well.

I love this picture for a number of reasons. The satisfaction of me climbing the hill we have just climbed can be seen in my face. (You know its a tough hill when we stop at the top which didn't happen very often). The sweat on my Nike top shows how hard the body has been working. Ian next to me is still getting his breath back. Oh yeah, like the spikey hair? Helmet causes this look!

It felt like all down hill from here to Keighley. At the next stop I knew we where not far away from our stopover place at Keighley Golf Club. People knew i was familiar with this area so i led the way through the busy market town of Skipton and into the G.C.

Here we where met by the site of the 19Th hole and our base. There where two things that stood out when we completed today. The first one was that we where now 50% of the distance completed,a major step in the right direction and we all felt on a massive high, high fiving each other, hugs all around, it really was a great team spirit we where creating. The second one was the time we had arrived into camp. It was about 7:30pm which was great because we didn't feel in a massive rush and we managed a beer in the club house. We held a team talk over a beer and look at the day,what went well, what could have been done better and what we would do differently the next day.

The great people who made this trip happen in the first place, Tom, JB and

Our tents for the night above.

Day 4 completed, what will day 5 hold..............

Day 3 JOGLE Sept 7th Part 1 by paul0010 at Garmin Connect - Details

2010-09-18T11:02:00.000-07:00

Day 3 JOGLE Sept 7th Part 1 by paul0010 at Garmin Connect - Details

A cycle/ pattern was starting to appear in my emotions. Waking up in a morning, feeling apprehensive and concerned about how my body was and wondering if my body was going to hold up with the injuries i was starting to feel and whether or not i was compensating with other parts of my body and putting strain on them to not put as much pressure on the areas i was struggling with. Can you tell I was getting a bit apprehensive! Making it through the day was an awesome feeling. I love breaking things down into %'s versus time gone in the way of 4 x 30 mile stints (a work thing) and i loved doing this on the rides. The feeling of exhilaration lasted until went to bed usually. I would then lay bed and start that cycle of whether my body would hold up and what the next day would bring!

The start of day 3 (only 25% completed) would see us having completed 38% and on this morning I was probably the most apprehensive I was all JOGLE trip. It was still new, still unknown what each day lay ahead of his, the weather conditions that where so inconsistent, raining one minute going down hill freezing then climbing a 19% hill for 3 miles in glorious sunshine and sweating like mad made it really difficult to get your body temperature regulated and I was always concerned about being either too cold or too warm when stopping proved difficult. I learnt quickly it would be better to be too warm than to cold and would strip leg and arm warmers off to the wrist and ankle when too hot and pull them up when too cold.

My big concern this morning was my Achilles tendon. They where really tight and painful to walk on and the first 20 miles proved challenging in trying to manage the pain and making sure it didnt get worse. I found that by pushing the ball of my foot down and not extending my achillies fully helped managed the pain but I felt I was doing it all the time and when i didnt, ouch!

Here is the team before we started on day 3 outside the farmhouse where we stayed. Today would be a big milestone and provide everyone with a big confidence boost when we crossed the border of Scotland into England.

The weather was all over the place today and I think we experienced everything apart from snow. Rain, hailstone, thunder, flash flooding, bright sunshine and wind.

A big milestone happened later on in the day in the picture below were we crossed the border of Scotland into England. When I talk about been warm on the bike, I know its not the best of looks, What a geek i look!

In the background you will see the black clouds looming. I saw my life flash before my eyes and this could well have been the last picture taken of me!!!!!

We where at a very high point here with great views south over Ki elder Forest and back north over Scotland. We had a steep decent straight after this picture which went on for a couple of miles. Imagine torrential rain causing flooding on a 17% downhill. Then imagine cycling down it on a road bike at 35mph and getting a wobble on. Not wanting to take my hands off the brakes for fear of going out of control I gradually over a period of what seemed like a lifetime managed to bring the bike to a stop. I dont think I will ever experience anything like this again, the only problem was I was still only half way down the decent and the rain was getting worse!

We talk about changing weather from moment to the next, as soon as we hit the bottom of this hill the sun came out and I will have this lasting memory of cycling the beautiful long straight roads through the Ki elder Forest with the sun going down, cycling long straights with never ending roads, thats what cycling is all about.

It proved to be a late one tonight. We stopped at a pub around 8pm and a group of us said we stay behind for the mini bus to return. We didnt get sat down for food (which was worth the wait) till 10:30pm at High House Farm Brewery.

Beef and Ale pie provided by High House Farm Brewery in Northumberland. Tradititonal music from the region by local folk quintet The Unthanks. The Hungry Cyclist (travelling with the group) aka author Tom Kevill-Davies will make Singing Hinnies (sweet scones) with local ingredients.

The home for our bikes for the night below...

A very happy me once I had showered and sat down ready for the Beef and Ale Pie.

Everyone getting stuck into their food.

After the day we had we put the tents up at midnight in a field and hit the sack around 1am. The alarms where set for 5am for a prompt 6am start on day 4 of the JOGLE. Completion of this day would see us 50% of the way and would be a huge boost, especially cycling in Yorkshire......

Day 2 JOGLE Sept 6th by paul0010 at Garmin Connect - Details

2010-09-18T11:00:00.000-07:00

Day 2 JOGLE Sept 6th by paul0010 at Garmin Connect - Details

I love this picture Fonz took. It was taken at towards the end of the 2nd day when we all re grouped. You can see me talking to Ian and the pelleton in the distance following the way of the Alfonzo into camp....... Top Man!

Day 2 of the JOGLE would be up there with the toughest days we had on the trip. There would be a number of reasons for this including the cold weather, the mountainous terrain that route would take us, the 45mph head winds that stuck with us all day, the unfortunate scenario that myself and three others got split from the main group (we got given wrong directions) which involved us taking on 50% of the day as a group of 4 and finally the most significant was the start of the injuries my body was starting to feel. I would find myself fighting against these injuries over the remainder of the JOGLE and having a constant cloud over me questioning myself as to how bad would these injuries get, would I get any others, would they force me out of the ride and could I manage them for the rest of the trip to ensure I crossed the finish line?

Day 2 took us from Inverness to Perth. The route took use through the highlands of Scotland skirting past Avie more and some of the highest ski lift resorts in Scotland. I had a flashback from a couple of years ago when we came through Grantown on Spey. We arrived at a roundabout coming out of Grantown on Spey a few years ago when we travelled up for Grant and Amy's wedding. The Sat Nav said turn left and the sign said turn right. I went with the Sat Nav but unfortunately it was a road that bend after bend and 5 Min's before we arrived at the hotel Nyah was sick everywhere and I mean everywhere! We had been traveling for 10 hours and with 5 Min's to go she was sick! The next day was a hot one and it did nothing for the smell in the car or the journey back no matter how much I cleaned it.

This was taken of me heading towards the highlands of Scotland. You can see how Barron it is in the distance and this only increased as the day went on.

I took the wrong turning at this roundabout again and it took us on 6 mile detour. Myself, Mike, Rachel and Tom worked together as a team to try and claw back the pack but we didn't want to run our bodies into the ground for the sake of trying to catch them so we made the decision to ride at our own pace.

Tom is leading the way up this hill on his £65 bike he bought from car boot sale! This guy was awesome, his dad had Parkinson's of 8 years and in his mind no matter what was thrown at him on these 8 days he would not be defeated and kept going and going. It was only mechanical failure that put him out for a day but this guy deserved a medal for riding what he did on that bike. The front wheel was as buckled as a 50p piece, just class!

The below picture shows the how the temperature dropped so much that looks like I was climbing Everest rather than cycling in Scotland.

We climbed 10,500ft on this ride and experienced some serious hills. I was glad to have finished the stage and get a lift to Hilton Farm (our second nights accommodation) where we would be in for a treat. (No shower tonight though).

Day 2's evening was a barbecue hosted by Perth Slow Food at farmer Andrew Johnson’s House (Hilton Farm, Craigend) Highland Beef, Beef, Lamb, Chicken, Wild Boar, salads, organic bread, cakes from Blair Atholl, berries, salad dressings. The local Perth Council had been going for 100 years and in celebration of this they had been presented with a matured bottle of whiskey from a local distillery. This was brought by the local councilors and shared amongst us that evening which was pretty special as it blew our socks off and made Patrick slightly pissed as you can see below!

We hit the sack about midnight having filled our faces full of food and warm drinks. I remember laying in bed thinking about my achillies tendons and for the first time in a long time saying a little prayer hoping my achillies wouldnt get any worse and I would wake up in the morning feeling fresh and ready to go to take on the challenge of Day 3 of the JOGLE into England and Northumberland................

Day 1 JOGLE Sept 5th by paul0010 at Garmin Connect - Details

2010-09-18T10:56:00.000-07:00

Cold, misty,windy and miserable was the best way to describe the weather when we awoke in JOG but the weather soon got better as we headed south.

Below is the 23 strong team that would take on the next 8 days. I had a strong feeling of apprehension, concern of my ability versus the other riders and really wanting everyone to work collectively as a team to ensure we did our best to get everyone to Lands End. There would be no prizes for finishing a day first, making a break away, riding solo or generally not working as a team. Working as a team would be critical in ensuring we had the best chance of everyone getting to Lands End.

Todays ride was awesome. My dad had told me this would be a coastal road and would be impressive on a good day, and it certainly was. The coast road stretched from Wick to Inverness and the calm blue sea was with us all day with the sun breaking out late morning. Me and Ben road alot of the morning together taking in the views, talking about what we where doing and what the next 7 days would hold.....

By Lunch time the sun was out beating down on us. Our halfway stop was at a beautiful place called Golspie at an old mill. We had fresh bread made that morning, locally sourced salmon, venison and the all important refuel of SIS for the afternoon ride in the saddle down to Inverness.

Me and Ben spent the majority of the afternoon riding together.

We had a long day in the saddle on our first day as you can see on the Garmin covering 146 miles. It didnt help taking a wrong turning that increased the ride by 6 miles but whats 6 miles when you have just done 140.

Arriving into camp on the first day was great (and was always a special feeling throughout the 8 days), one that came with a sense of accomplishment that one of the days had been completed with focus turning to refueling, showering, putting the tent up, getting the bike ready for the next day and one of the most important tasks, eating!

It was always great to see our resident hungry cyclist chef Tom preparing the teams meals for the evening. http://www.thehungrycyclist.com Tom has cycled America combining his love for food and cycling and has brought out a book recently on his travels. I will get round to reading it soon Tom.

Below was the camp site for our first nights stay just outside of Inverness. We arrived in camp just before sunset which left a quick turn around in getting everything ready.

Great first day of the JOGLE, Fantastic coastal route, 146 miles, local cuisine, met our fellow team mates and started building the relationships that would develop further over the coming 7 days. 7 days to go...........

Full Day 1 deatils below...

Day 1 JOGLE Sept 5th by paul0010 at Garmin Connect - Details

2010-09-17T11:14:00.000-07:00

Saturday Sept 4th 2010 saw the journey start of making our way to John O Groats in Scotland to start the challenge of covering 1,000 miles over 8 days and covering the country down to Lands End for Parkinson's Disease. Little did I know that this would be the most challenging, emotional, painful, rewarding and satisfying physical achievement I have ever done that would combine making alot of money for charity and lighting a fire inside me that has given me the desire to want to achieve more in he way of future challenges.......

On Saturday 4th Sept me and Ben flew from Birmingham Airport to Inverness. We met Kevin who would become instrumental within the team dynamic in getting us from JOGLE. With 7 hours to spare before the coach was due to pick us up from the center of Inverness we looked at a train / hire car to JOG with avail due to availability. In hindsight this worked out for the best as it gave us the opportunity to sit outside Pizza Express, drink and eat and meet our fellow riders that came walking along with their big bike bags.

3pm soon came around and it was time to go and get the 3.5hr coach to JOG. Due to the back up vehicle breaking down on the M1 on the way up they where not due to arrive in JOG til 12am so we made a tactical decision to stop half way and get fish and chips. Ive never a fish and chip shop where you order a large fish and chips give you 2 large haddocks! The Fish and Chip shop was in a remote little village in the middle of nowhere yet we still managed to stumble into a hen night with a difference. A male gay couple that where getting married. The bloke was dressed in drag and he was out with just girl friends! Very bizarre and not something I think I will see again.

We arrived in to a very cold, wet Barron and very depressing JOG shortly after 8pm. Not the type of place you would go on holiday to and want to spend any time there. Very depressing so it was great to know we wouldn't end up here to have our celebrations although this was very presumptuous of me expecting to make the 8 days as I would soon find out......

We errected the tents, got our bikes out the carry cases and started to re build them from their travels. It was all a bit of a rush, the light was fading fast and we didnt have much time to spare. We hit the sack about 11pm and I remeber laying in bed excited with adrenalin but also nervous in what the next 8 days would hold, what would they throw at us and how would I react to it....

Thursday 26th August - 34.37 Ride by paul0010 at Garmin Connect - Details

2010-08-26T11:50:00.000-07:00

Thursday 26th August - 34.37 Ride by paul0010 at Garmin Connect - Details

Sunday 22nd August - 50.06 Early Morning Ride by paul0010 at Garmin Connect - Details

2010-08-22T02:10:00.000-07:00

Great Riding BG - Best part of the day at 06:30am when the sun was coming up.

Home by 09:15am with 50miles under our belt ready to start the day with the family.........

Sunday 22nd August - 50.06 Early Morning Ride by paul0010 at Garmin Connect - Details

Saturday 21st August - 54.97 Ride by paul0010 at Garmin Connect - Details

2010-08-21T10:27:00.000-07:00

Saturday 21st August - 54.97 Ride by paul0010 at Garmin Connect - Details

Friday 20th August - 33.06 Ride by paul0010 at Garmin Connect - Details

2010-08-21T10:26:00.000-07:00

Friday 20th August - 33.06 Ride by paul0010 at Garmin Connect - Details

Wednesday 18th August - 53.43 Ride by paul0010 at Garmin Connect - Details

2010-08-18T13:11:00.000-07:00

Wednesday 18th August - 53.43 Ride by paul0010 at Garmin Connect - Details

Monday 16th August - 40.11Ride by paul0010 at Garmin Connect - Details

2010-08-16T13:22:00.000-07:00

Monday 16th August - 40.11Ride by paul0010 at Garmin Connect - Details

Thurday 12th Aug - 53.54 Ride by paul0010 at Garmin Connect - Details

2010-08-12T12:05:00.000-07:00

With only a few weeks to go now until the big JOGLE of 2010, I have hit a critical part in the training.

3.5 weeks till we set off and with me spending the final week letting my muscles relax and repair themselves I have two weeks to really put in the mileage and have this as my biggest priority.

54 miles done this evening and felt good despite hectic day.

TARGET - 120 Miler at the weekend + 54 Miler + 34 Miler = 208 Miles for thr weekend.

Thurday 12th Aug - 53.54 Ride by paul0010 at Garmin Connect - Details

Tuesday 10th Aug - 34.43 Ride by paul0010 at Garmin Connect - Details

2010-08-12T11:57:00.001-07:00

Tuesday 10th Aug - 34.43 Ride by paul0010 at Garmin Connect - Details

Thursday 5th Aug - 34.48 Ride by paul0010 at Garmin Connect - Details

2010-08-12T11:57:00.000-07:00

Thursday 5th Aug - 34.48 Ride by paul0010 at Garmin Connect - Details

Tuesday 3rd Aug - 34.50 Ride by paul0010 at Garmin Connect - Details

2010-08-12T11:55:00.000-07:00

Tuesday 3rd Aug - 34.50 Ride by paul0010 at Garmin Connect - Details

Sunday 1st August - 53 Mile Ride by paul0010 at Garmin Connect - Details

2010-08-01T05:54:00.000-07:00

Its been a frustrating week of the bike and one I really wanted to achieve the target of 250 miles set to carry on the momentum from last week.

A swollen and painful right nut only allowed me to do rides this week!

Having spoken to Ben and also the doctors, this is extremely common amongst long distance cyclists. Caused primarily by just been on the bike for long periods of time and I guess it makes you slightly more prone to infection..... Cant believe I'm actually writing about my balls but again its another learning curve and if I am unfortunate to get it while on the JOGLE at least I know what to expect and to try and deal with it.

So only 2 rides this week. Tuesday was such a strong ride for me. I felt confident and the strongest I probably have ever done. The conditions where challenging with a swirling wind that hit me going west and didn't really get behind me when I was coming back south easterly, but I was still so focused and I enjoyed every minute of it.

34 Miles on Tuesday night and then a steady 53 miles today eased me back into the swing of things.

Whilst not riding I admit to having a couple of beers. Due to not drinking for such a long time I had 2 cans of Guinness on Wednesday night. This led to me feeling slightly light headed and ending up spending £200 online at Wiggle! Most of it in the sale but also got stocked up with energy and recovery supplements.

This is just going to be so critical for me on this challenge and I feel I am getting more efficient and structured at drinking and eating at the right intervals. I am understanding my body more and more, when I'm ahead of myself, when I struggling, when I have gone past it and when I am fully loaded ready to push hard.

Products using at the moment....

SIS Electrolyte Energy Drink. Consuming on average a minimum of 550ml every 1hour. Small intakes on a regular basis.

MULE Bars / Go Bars. Similar to drinking I am taking small bites every 10 (ish miles). I keep a real close eye on the calories burned and know when I am ahead of myself with calories stored and when I am pushing myself with burning alot of calories and not in taking. This allows me to stay on top of this area.

Recovery / Protein. Whey Protein from Holland and Barrett which I am taking a couple of times a day and after riding to ensure I recover as quickly as possible.

Now my right nut is back to normal I have another challenging week this week as I am going away on Thursday night to Northern Ireland for the Armoy Road Races and I am not back till Sunday Lunch time.

As a result of this I wont be able to do any 100+ rides due to time but the main focus will be riding 4 times this week, Mon, Tues, Wed & Sun aiming at doing 40 miles each ride.

The following week will be key as I want to try and get out and do three back to back 120 milers as time is closing in with only 5 weeks to go till the start of the JOGLE 2010.

Last 2 notes, my Dad has gone out and spent half his pension on his new Road Bike. Team Merida are now out and about in East Yorkshire clocking up the miles....... JOGLE 2011?

My father in law Dave on the other hand has restored an MTRAX bike from 20 years ago (replaced all the rusty parts) and started riding as well so great having you both out there riding.

Have a great week and Happy Safe Riding.....

Sunday 1st August - 53 Mile Ride by paul0010 at Garmin Connect - Details

Tuesday 27th July - 34 Ride by paul0010 at Garmin Connect - Details

2010-08-01T05:13:00.000-07:00

Tuesday 27th July - 34 Ride by paul0010 at Garmin Connect - Details

Sunday 25th July - 34Mile Ride by paul0010 at Garmin Connect - Details

2010-07-26T00:07:00.000-07:00

Attached finishes off a great week of riding coming back from a bad infection.

209.66 Miles
10 Hours 20 mins on the bike
6,105 Calories burnt
Max Speed - 50.4mph - Staxton Hill!
Average Speed - 16.95mph over the 4 rides

Objectives for this week are....

250 Miles
14 Hours on the bike
7,500 Calories
Max Speed - 52mph!
Average Speed - 17mph

and, continue with the fundraising work done so far (and the great work Nikki and my Mum have done)

£490 just under half way

Sunday 25th July - 34Mile Ride by paul0010 at Garmin Connect - Details

Saturday 24th July - 111Mile Ride by paul0010 at Garmin Connect - Details

2010-07-24T07:21:00.000-07:00

Just returned from the longest ride I have done for a while (in fact I think I have ever done).

With six weeks to go I have had a really strong week on the bike and in total since last Saturday have completed 270 miles with the bike one today been 111miles.

I have been really consistent duruing the week and have been doing some intense hill work and high speed 40mile routes.

Todays 111 mile was really satisfying and again another learning curve.

I was loaded to with as much fuel as possible, 3 Mule Bars, wine gums, banana, nut bars and plenty of electrolyte fluids.

My concern is that towards the end of the ride I had a slight twinge in my left knee which sometimes I could ride off and other times it was slightly uncomfortable and I could feel myself putting more pressure on my right leg. I will give it an extra week of training and if it gets any worse I will get some physio on it.

Plan for the morning is to get out early doors and do a 40mile ride to round off a solid weekend on biking, 150miles....

Oh yeah, 50mph down Staxton Hill without pedaling has to be the highlight, check out the stats..........

Saturday 24th July - 111Mile Ride by paul0010 at Garmin Connect - Details

Bike Ride Tuesday 24th July Garmin Connect -

2010-07-23T12:24:00.000-07:00

Ride details for some hill training undertaken on the 24th July

Untitled by paul0010 at Garmin Connect - Details

Ride Thursday 26th July Garmin Connect Details

2010-07-23T11:51:00.000-07:00

Just testing the new purchase of the GPS computer from the ride out with Ben on Thursday 26th July.

Untitled by paul0010 at Garmin Connect - Details

Cant wait to download load tomorrows ride, 120miler planned..........

Highs and Lows ......

2010-07-18T05:07:00.000-07:00

I first of all want to say a massive thank you to everyone's well wishes and sponsorship for the up and coming ride. Its been incredible and has given me a real sense of support and motivation for what lays ahead.

I wite this blog with the title of Highs and Lows. The last two weeks has seen me suffer from a nasty viral infection that left me with ulcerated blisters in my mouth leaving me to only have liquids and struggle to even swallow. The last week I really was in agony and had to go to hosiptal to increase the medication in order to clear it. The medication has nearly run its course and already I feel back to my normal self. In the run up to catching this I had a really strong week on the bike, several 35milers during the week and one big 95mile ride to Bridlington and back. Work had ben extremelly busy and I am thinking I might have been burning the candle too much at both ends.......

Nevertheless, this has to go as a positve. Why? It has to be a learning curve for whats to come. I cant carry on as I have been giving 110% to work, family and trying to do this on the bike and training. You cant do everything can you and it has stretched me too far this time.............

Having this viral infection has allowed me re assess and re focus on whats important over the short time and what I need to do to achieve this goal of riding the JOGLE in 2010.

JOGLE 2010 now has to become my priority and I have to put this first. Im not moving out and going into a retreat for the next 7 weeks in prep for the ride but I have to do is get my head in focus to understand the folowing...........

Use my time management more efficiently.

I need to have a cut off piont with work otherwise I will and do at times work from 7am till 9pm. Its the nature of the job, having my pc and there always been things to do can lead to working not effeciently and "wasting time on the pc". I dont have that luxury over the next 7 weeks if I want to complete this challenge. I need to work smarter and stick to it.

Target - Start work @ 8am and finish @ 5pm. No work on an evening fullstop.

Spend that quailty time with the kids till they go down to sleep then out on the bike.

This will prove challenging as I have been promoted at work to another Sales Manager role. I have slight knowledge of the chanel and role so hopefully work load shouldnt increase too much.

Consistency

Critical is consistency on the bike and ensuring I never leave it any longer than 2 days for been out on the bike. I need as much time on the saddle as possible to get used to the longer rides.

Target - x3 35 mile rides during the week with one big ride at the weekend - 90+

In additon to this I will be looking at taking a half day holiday in the coming weeks on a Friday. I will get out for 8 hours and aim to do 120miles. The Saturday and Sunday I will aim to do the same so I get 3 back to back long rides (37.5% of what I will do on the JOGLE). I think this will give me a real indication of how the training is going and my level of fitness in the run up to the event.

I plan to do this in 3 weeks time (Friday 13th August).

Diet

For me this area is critcal. I need to support the training I am doing and the calories I am burning but also I need to build my strength and stamina back to where it was and to another few levels. I have devised a diet plan which is so far going well and involves alot planning and preparing. I need to buy some more suplements for the before, during and after rides to ensure I ride to the best of my ability but recover as quickly as possibly ready for the next session.

I want to end this short blog with how I started it and thats by thanking everyon who has sent text messages of support, made donations on the justgiving site and given their words of encouragement on there. This is isnt a challenge I am taking likely and if I am totally honest I am in the very back of my mind wondering how I am going to it! Its an ambition of mine and I know I will do it, I have a plan to work towards to get me in the best shape possible, I am going to restructure the way I work and use this time to make it more beneficial for me and one of the key reasons is the Parkinsons Charity research which I am committed to doing everything possible to achieve the £1k goal........

Date for your diaries - Saturday 18th Sept 2010 - May Towers - Party & Auction to drive that fundraising....

Finally, I have put below the list of sponsors from the justgiving site. Only a couple of weeks old and already a healthy £390. Thanks again everyone, this really feels like something special and something I know I will look back on in years to come and think, "What was I thinking!"

Sunday 18th July......

Target: £1,000.00

Raised so far: £390.00

Hi Paul, what a great thing you are doing, good luck from the Tarrier's, we know you can do it. xx Donation by Pam Tarrier on 17/07/10
£20.00 + £5.64 Gift Aid

my friend did the lejog earlier this year but over 16 days- she was knackered!good luck and hope you enjoy, Donation by sally holmes on 17/07/10
£10.00 + £2.82 Gift Aid

A real challenge to take on, we wish you every success and you have the full support of the WELTONS Donation by Michael Welton on 17/07/10
£50.00 + £14.10 Gift Aid

Hi Paul, all the best for the ride. We'll be supporting you all the way. Good luck. Nat and Dash x Donation by Darshan Inman on 16/07/10
£40.00 + £11.28 Gift Aid

Good luck mate! Sounds like it will be a great challenge! Keep the Vaseline handy! Gareth Donation by Gareth Ropke on 15/07/10
£10.00 + £2.82 Gift Aid

GO DADDY! We know you can do it because your the best daddy in the world. We love you so much xxxxxxxxxxxxxx Donation by Nyah & Ciara - Daddys Girls May on 15/07/10
£10.00 + £2.82 Gift Aid

Good Luck darling I am so proud of you and know how much this means. Ride baby ride!!!!!xxxx Donation by Nikki May on 15/07/10
£10.00 + £2.82 Gift Aid

Go Paul! Go Paul! You can do it....Be thinking about you on the 5th September. Good luck. XXXX Donation by Val Jeffery on 13/07/10
£10.00 + £2.82 Gift Aid

Grandad's are so precious Paul - so it's such a good cause. Rooting and hooting for yer! Good luck mate. Top supportive wife Nikki! Donation by David Jeffery on 13/07/10
£20.00 + £5.64 Gift Aid

All the best Paul, a good cause and will be thinking of you. Take Care x Donation by Jane McCarthy on 13/07/10
£10.00 + £2.82 Gift Aid

We've come along way since jogging around Kirkella with a rugby ball and ankle weights!. Enjoy the experience buddy. With you every step of the way. Donation by Ben Thurlow on 12/07/10
£20.00 + £5.64 Gift Aid

Good luck Paul mate. Hope you get as much as you can and sort of enjoy the whole thing!!! Donation by James Chapman on 12/07/10
£10.00 + £2.82 Gift Aid

Good luck Paul, I am sure you will do great! Donation by Sarah Curtis on 09/07/10
£10.00 + £2.82 Gift Aid

Good Luck mate. As the current North region 200 metre time trial champion you should complete this in no time. Donation by Lee Evans on 08/07/10
£10.00 + £2.82 Gift Aid

Enjoy this is a once in a lifetime challenge and not an easy one ! Donation by Leigh Hems on 08/07/10
£10.00 + £2.82 Gift Aid

Hi Paul, Great Idea for training! Cycle to North East each day to do accomps, will help with the CRS agenda and get you fit & ready. Good Luck, Paul. Donation by Paul Jacobs on 07/07/10
£20.00 + £5.64 Gift Aid

Good Luck Bro, don't get too saddle soar! xx Donation by Sarah May on 07/07/10
£10.00 + £2.82 Gift Aid

All the best Paul and good luck. Donation by David Harker on 06/07/10
£10.00 + £2.82 Gift Aid

All the very Best Paul Grandma & Grandad XX Donation by Chris May on 06/07/10
£100.00 + £28.21 Gift Aid Donate now

Lots to update..........

2010-07-06T11:06:00.000-07:00

1/ All signed up for the JOGLE 2010 is awesome. Out of any challenges I have done I think this is going to be the biggest. 1,000miles over 8 days completing 120miles a day. Seriously tough challenge but a realistic one and with the charity for Parkinson's research makes this an extra motivation for my Granddad. Training for the ride is going ok. Id like toget out more but work is manic and Im not feeling 10% at the moment, probably because work is so manic. Ben was up at the weekend so I set the alarm for 4:30am and we set off from Elloughton to Bridlington and back covering 90miles in 5 hours. We both felt really good after the ride and it gave us alot of confidence completing nearly a tonne.

Training really needs to pick up now with more consistent riding during the week nights with one big ride on a weekend. Im suffering at the moment with a bit of a sore throat and feeling hot and cold which isnt making me want to get out on the bike. As soon as I feel I am out the other side of feeling like this then I will be out on the bike.

While I am like this and Im hoping it will only last another day or so I am going to aim to nail down a training plan for the remainder of the time before the challenge. This will enable me to work towards sustainably getting fitter day by day. I want to be able to complete this challenge in one piece and as comfortably as possible, not just scrapping through as then there becomes a point of potentially not completing. I dont want to look back on the training and think, I wish I had done....... there are no excuses, its down to me.

Im just watching the Tou of France and its the 3rd stage along the cobbles section. Its awesome! There have been so many accidents since the start of the tour that it really has thrown things open.

http://www.justgiving.com/PaulMay1

I have set up the "just giving" in order to achieve the £1k target for Parkinsons.

The 1000 mile cycle from John O' Groats to Land's End (JOGLE)....... the classic cycling trip.....this time with a difference!
On september 5th 2010, I will be joining 99 other riders on an extraordinary and unique team ride to cycle the length of Britain in just 8 days. This will mean each of the 100 strong team riders averaging 120miles per day in the saddle!
Our collective aim is to each raise a minimum of £1000 pounds towards groundbreaking research into Parksinson's disease. 100 riders = £100,000. At the start of the year my Granddad was diagnosed with the start of Parkinsons so this is a challenege in not only completing the JOGLE 2010 but raising the money to see this goes into supporting the disease.
Of course this would not be possible without the imagination and ongoing hard work of James Bowthorpe, our team leader and a true cycling hero having recently smashed the guiness world record by circumnavigating the globe on a bike in just 176 days in aid of Parkinson's disease research!
This challenge would not be able to happen without the Love and Support from my wife Nikki (Letting me go for 8 days!) who is putting up with me talking bikes, training, diet and living with me eating, breathing and looking forward to this JOGLE 2010.
Wish me luck....I'm gonna need it
Best wishes and thanks again for your support
Paul

Night away in Leeds

Aside from cycling, me and Nikki had a great night away in Leeds staying at the Mal. The girls stayed at my Mum and Dads and it was great just to walk around Leeds, drink coffee and catch up as daft as that sounds. Life is so hectic sometimes that you can forgt each other but having the night away is the opportunity to spend that quality time together and as usual get so excited in the run up to it but after a couple of hours miss the girls like mad!

Defining Moments.........

2010-06-23T11:09:00.000-07:00

Wednesday 23rd June 2010 at 13:40pm my phone rings. I am sat in the garden working. I have this feeling that its Ben calling as I cant tell because my phone is upside down. I pick up the phone and see on the facia, BT. I leave it ringing for about 10 seconds wondering what he was going to say, whether he had news from the email he sent. I answered the call and said, "Have you got on news?" A reply on the other line said, "Are you ready for this!"

It was the reply I couldnt have expected in such a short space of time, "Ive had an email from him, we are onboard." I couldnt believe it. Since completing stage 5 of the Tour of Britain and even previously to that we have talked about completing the JOGLE. Having very busy careers and small families is a challenge in itself but we both have a passion for keeping fit and in particular cycling. Our aim has been to always set our sights high when aiming to do the JOGLE with the aim of completing in 8 to 10 days. Logistcally this can prove to be more difficult than actually doing the race, support cars, medical staff, where to stay, what to eat, when to eat, just a number of things to consider when taking on one of the biggest challenges you will ever do.

It all started with Ben seeing an advert in a cycling magazine that Anoushka had bought him (how she will live to regret that purchase!) so Ben sent the below email...........

Hi James,

The JOGLE 2010 sounds truely epic. I saw your advert in the cycling
magazine last night..

I write to you really in the hope that you still have places left
for the 100 rider JOGLE ??

Myself and my best buddy (Paul ) are both 30, hard working with young
families but remain keen and dedicated road cyclists . We were in fact
making plans for our own JOGLE in 9 days set for late september this
year.

Our motivation was really born out of our riding last year when we
completed a number of century rides including the Stage 5 Tour of
Britain stage in Stoke on Trent for the Prostate Cancer Charity

I work as a full time doctor and have just completed my training as a
General Practioner down in the West Midlands. I previously worked in a
Neurology unit and had quite a lot of experience with Parkinson's
disease during that job . I think it's a great cause and I'd be well
up for raising some serious cash for the charity. Paul is a highly
motivated regional Manager for Coca Cola Ltd in the North of England
lots of Powerade drinks to support our rides!!!!

Anyway, that's us. Please let me know if you are still looking for a
couple of guys to join the ride. We are would love to be part of it
and bring our own experience and skills along for the team.

Look forward to hearing from you
Regards
Ben

benthurlow@doctors.org.uk

18 hours later, Ben recieved this reply............

Hi Ben, Hi Paul.
Great to have you on board! Please find attached the info document as it stands - it really is being added to every day, but I can't keep up with it.
Congrats on completing your GP training - my dad is a semi-retired GP who will be joining us as medical officer... And Paul, that's awesome, powerade got me across a lot of the US last year. We are looking for a drinks sponsor (trying highland spring at the mo but would be well up for powerade!)...
Anyhow, have a good look at the attached and get back to me with your registration if you are still into it.
Best,
James

So from actually thinking, ill send an email and see what happens, 18 hours later and we are pretty much part of the epic JOGLE ride that will be in the Guiness Book of World Records.

Sp the planning starts here, less than 70 days to go and some serious training is going to have to take place in order to complete the 8 day challenge of 120 miles per day. A massive challenge but one that can and will be achieved through hard work, focus, grit, determination and the most importantly the will to want to do it.

What makes this even more important is that my Grandad got diagnosed at the start of the year with Parkinsons (early stages) but the main charity for the event is Parkinsons disease so this is extremelly close to my heart and something I will pursue in ensuring that £1000k fund is met through the sponsorship and achieving this challenge.

This event is still work in progress, as is the website, but below will give you a good insight into the journey thats about to take place.....

http://www.jogle2010.org/

Heres to the next 11 memorable weeks BT, and probably the 11 weeks after when we will be recovering...............

Quality time in the sun

2010-04-29T12:13:00.000-07:00

After what felt like a lifetime of cold wintery weather, summer feels like it has finally arrived. Its become alot warmer, the nights are lighter and as a result we have been getting more enjoying the warner weather with the girls with walks along the canal and just playing out in the garden.

Its been a busy couple of weeks so i guess there is no change there. What has been different is that me and Nikki managed to get away for the night to the Mal in Leeds for some quality time together. I dropped the girls off at my mum and dads on the saturday morning then back to pick Nikki up where we then headed into Leeds. The weather was fantastic with not a cloud in the sky so we made the most of it by not doing much shopping but sitting outside our favourite restaurant in Chaoipraya eating Thai food and drinking bacardi and cokes. We then visited a new bar Nikki had been told about called the roof top bar. It was in the Granary Wharf part of Leeds and was located on the 14th floor. It had floor to ceiling glass windows and had a balcaony to sit out in the sun overlooking Leeds whilst drinking a chilled beer.

We dined on the evening in the Mal restaurant. Me and Nikki ordered the Sirlion Steak (House special) which was just to die for. I have never paid that much for a main meal and had had meat like it! It just melted in your mouth, just awesome!

Thanks to Grant (again) for spoiling us as usual by looking after us with a mega room and a bottle champagne as well. Top man, really appreciate it.

The weekend after saw us arrange a Thai night with friends. What a laugh we had. I suggested fancy dress so i came as a back packer (wow my back was aching by the end of the night!) Nikki as a Thai lady, Tiny came as a lady boy and played the part well and Max came as a Thai lady. Katrina and Andrew came as British tourists!

Nikki was an absolute star. Although a bit stressful in the run up to the guests arriving in trying to get everything ready the food tasted absolutely fantastic. She had spent time making it all fresh and from scratch and did a cracking job.

Training has been going ok. Not fantastic but not desperate. Ive been averaging around 2 session a week and trying to get out on my bike as much possible.

On Saturday once we had put the girls down for a nap I jumped on the bike in the garden and did 20 miles in the gorgeous sun on Bens bike trainer which is the first time I have used it this year.

Ben, If you need it back, just shout. While the girls are having nap i think i will try and use it more frequently now the better weather is here.

Well, alot ot look forward to over the coming weeks, a trip to the http://www.manchestervelodrome.com/index.htm with BT which should be interesting!

A long bank holiday weekend which will be great for hopefully clocking up some miles but also spending time with Nikki and the girls.

And finally, Nikki went down to the Birmingham NEC for the annual Holistic and Beauty conference. She came back so inspired and motivated and has invested in a new retail product range called www.sparitual.co.uk

I am currently in the process of updating the website to include the retail side of selling the new products which even i have to admit do look impress. Bring on the Spa, one day my sexy wife.......

Nyahs 3rd Birthday

2010-04-10T12:45:00.000-07:00

This week has been an action packed week full of celebrations, starting off firstly celebrating Nyahs 3rd Birthday. Nyah had been spoilt once again for her special day by me and Nikki but also both sets of grandparents in a laptop, trampoline, wendy house and lots of other toys which would take me to long to go through.

We celebrated Nyahs birthday by having a party. My Mum and Dad came over early on the morning to see the girls and bring the presents over and spent the majority of the day at ours which was great. They helped get everything ready for the party with us along with keeping the girls entertained as they where both extremelly excited. Nyahs friends included Seth, Ellie, Molly and Sam, Connor, Evie, Charlie, Anna, and Lenny. Luckily the weather was great and everyone was able to play outside. Alan who lives around the corner who walks past our house everyday with his dog and brings him to the window for the girls to see had come round to do some video footage which was great. What we didnt expect was him to come round an hour after he had left to bring a copy of the dvd round. It was brilliant and will be a great memory for the girls in years to come.

Monday saw Ben, Anoushka and our gorgeous little god daughter come over for the day. Me and Ben in typical fashion just talked bikes and training all day and ended up going out on a ride for just over an hour clocking up 24 miles at a really good pace. We then headed to the local where we had the had probably the biggest carvery I have ever had. The plates where huge and as normal I filled my plate to the top. It was great to catch up with them and see how much Angelina has grown. I must say this everytime I write a blog after they have been but we just dont seem to see each other enough with work and one thing another. Heres to catching up more this year and putting something down on paper for this lands end to john o groats ride we keep talking about..........

In total this week I have clocked up 85 miles which I am really pleased with across three rides. One ride over to Hull (30miles), One ride with Ben (25 miles) then one early 7am start on Saturday morning (30 miles). As each ride has gone on I have felt stronger and stronger in my legs. CV really dont see to be a problem and the extra hours spent in the gym this year really seems to have paid off. My only concern is a slight twinge in my left knee which keeps re occuring. plan is to sit tight and see how it goes and if dosent go away then look at getting some physio on it.

Well a busy week ahead, 2 nights away, team training in Northampton, new starters, inductions, Meeting at Xscape and then a trip to Thirsk races on Friday to end the week.

Me and Nikki really cant wait till Saturday as my mum and dad are looking after the girls and we areheading over to Leeds for Saturday night to stay at the Mal. Wwe will probably both just sleep non stop as we are so ready for the break.

This update next week will have seen a big milestone achieved and should see me getting back to a bit more normality at work, if there ever was such a thing......................

'Citius, Altius, Fortius'

2010-04-05T13:02:00.000-07:00

DARE TO CHANGE YOUR LIFE

You have the power to make your life better.

LIVESTRONG DARES help you take charge and make a commitment to improve your lifestyle. Take a dare or give a dare today...........

Need some motivation? Then check out

http://www.livestrong.com/dares/

This is what its all about isnt it? Making changes to your life from what your doing and have come accustomed to and making it better and more fulfilled? After all we are creatures of habbit and love routine but I guess thats the difficulty in been in that routine, coming out of it and doing something different for the better. Sometimes it might be a case of not wanting to change, other times it might be not knowing how to or not knowing of any other change from what we are doing.

Why am I talking about is on a Monday Bank Holiday Easter Weekend? Well its simple, I think I have dared to change so far in 2010 (sound cornie enough!). Here is how.........

1/ Reading - Over the years I have seen reading as a good way of chilling out. The only problem is I havent felt like Ive had that time to read and chill out. I can count on one hand how many books i have read in the last 5 years. I seem to loose interest very quickly and thats probably because I have been reading the wrong books or not had enough time to finish them. 2010 has been different. Race to North Pole has seen me hooked, motivated, inspired and not like me not wanting to put the book down. I can relate to the book, it focuses on the future constantly with setting goals and working towards a specific objective. The book is about doing something that only ahandful of people of done, some that cant be done by everyone and really pushes the boundaries of team work and mental toughness to the limits.

This is something I have changed and will keep the momentum with.

2/ It Biking weather - Over The bank holiday weekend I have clocked up 55 miles. Might not sound alot but with 2 days training at the gym in the same week this is a million miles further ahead from I was this time last year. No road bike and no miles done and couldnt really go out in the gym due to the freezing temperatures. Ben came over today and we went out for just over an hour and did 25 miles. It was great to get back on the road with him and have a good catch up and look at what chalenges we where going to do in 2010.

Coast to Coast non stop looks like the favourite so far. We both really want to do Lands End to J O G but its a time thing. Is that a barrier we put in the way? Having Kids? Not really excuses as these will face us for the rest of our life. Maybe this year is a year for building on last year and 2010 might be a bit to soon for the Thurlow & May Duo?

This is something I have got the momentum with now and will be focusing on keeping it up

3/Momentum at Gym - This year has been like no other gym wise. In the first quarter of 2009 I was plagued with sickness bugs and just couldnt seem to shake them off. Going into 2010 I was concious of this and have made a real effort at the gym training on average 3 times a week at my peak but still going on my busier weeks maybe once or twice. I feel more physically and mentally stronger than I have done in a long time. Instead of just training my upper body Im giving a real focus to my overall body in particular my core, legs and cardio. The gym has also really helped me out on the bike and I fee alot stronger in my legs.

I have done a significant amount more this year than last and its creating a great foundation for my training as a whole in 2010

4/ Work Life Balance - What I am most happiest about is the fact that I have had the busiest start to the year to my work with CCE since i joined but I have really tried to not work late in an evening, every evening which has historically been the case. I like to be on top of things and action things as soon as possible (which can sometimes be a contrast to outside of work which I am aware of!) I guess i am using more hours in the day that I didnt previously.

Finally, from a work quote, "Embrace and Drive Change." Change is a common happening in our world, sometimes it comes when we expect it, sometimes when we dont, we can be happy when it happens and not so happy as well. Ultimately change happens for a reason. If you stand still, you will get over taken or not move any further forward. Everyones different, but in the pursuit of having a life full of ambitions that are fulfilled is all about embracing that change in taking ownership of driving new challenges in your life.

What will you dare to change in your life today or this week?

Make it now for the better..........

Re: Not enough hours in the day

2010-04-03T12:08:00.000-07:00

Every morning you are handed 24 golden hours. They are one of the few things in this world that you get free of charge. If you had all the money in the world, you couldn't buy an extra hour. What will you do with this priceless treasure?

3 months since i last updated my blog and trying not to sound to cornie but I really have been trying to make the most of the hours I have available during a day / week so far this year and I feel emotionally and physically much stronger because of it.

I should first of all state that I am not happy in the fact that the last update was over 3months ago when I had built up some great momentum in doing my blog. My main objective ongoing is to write a "small update" at the end of every week to deliver a short update on happenings and events.

Nevertheless the main reason for no updates (if there is to be an excuse!) is that this year has been the businest start to a year I have had to far with CCE. We have a new GTM process and I know when I reflect on these first three months (and this year) in years to come I will look back with great memories of overcoming big challenges to deliver. Implementing and been part of 6 Assessment Centers in 2 weeks, Devising and running training days, Recruitment Day at Newcastle University, Formal one to ones with team about future jobs, 4 new starters and the end of the road for another.

All in all reflecting so far this has eaten into alot of my time on an evening in order to get where I / we are today.

On the flip of work at the start of the year I was concious of the minor health problems I had at the start of the previous year with cold, sickness and general unwell feeling which lasted well into the first quarter of the year. Just after new year I joined DW Sports and its one of the best things I have done far this year. Time has been really tight but i have been managing to visit the gym at least three time a week. I have been training at 6:30am in a morning and at 8pm at night to ensure I get the sessions in. I really feel like I have some momentum with the training now and feel the best I have done in a long time, coupled with that I havent repeated any of the sickness bugs I had last year which is great.

One of the best days this year saw the family celebrate my grandma and grandads 60th Wedding Anniversary. What a special day. My Grandma hasnt been in the best of health recent, infact far from it and with my Grandad getting diagnosed with the start of Parkinsons didnt really make things feel any better. The day was just great though, my Grandma and Grandad where on brilliant form and spending it my mum and dads who had put on another great day made it feel really special.

It must be some feeling, first of all been married for 60years and secondly seeing the 4th generation of the family been born into the world........ truly amazing.

Happy Anniversary Grandma and Grandad.XX

The Decade in Review....................2007

2010-01-01T11:07:00.003-08:00

The year started off as a very busy one. We lived in a 3 bedroom house but with the new arrival coming very soon we decided to get the loft converted which was a great thing to do. It allowed us much more space than we could have ever imagined and essentially made it into a 4 bedroomed house which was spot on for having guests but also having my office up there with PC etc. The worked start with Keith in the early January and the turnaround was alot quicker than we thought in just 5 weeks, all completed.

Unfortunately that wasnt it for the decorating although i wish it had been after all the glossing!

We had to prepare the new arrivals room. We decided not to find out what sex so did the decorating in quite neutral colours. Daddy to be below with more paint on his arms than on the walls!

Mummy with only 8 weeks or so to go painting the new room.......

Wetting the babies head is a must and we decided to do it before little legs was born and on St Patricks Day. What a blast we had at the local drinking Guiness and seeing how many badges we could fit onto our bodies.......

Two days before little legs was born we went to Monk Fryston with my Grandma and Grandad to celebrate their 57th Wedding Anniversary. We had a bit of lunch and a lovely walk around the grounds as usual............

Then 2 days later.................

Nyah Nicola May

born on the 8th April 2007

The picture was taken seconds after Nyah was born. Nikki was fantastic, not just through the labour but all the way through her been pregnant. Nikkis labour lastest around 42hours with the contractions gradually getting worse and worse. Having seen Nikki go through that pain was pretty hard. My respect for women who have had kids is just endless.

August 2007 also saw my best buddy Ben get married with me been best man. They tied the knot down at Warrick and it was one of the hottest days of the day and certainly a day to remember.

IOM 2007, Our 5th year at the IOM TT.

The Decade in Review....................2006

2010-01-01T11:07:00.001-08:00

This was a milestone of a year for Nikki. She had been in sales for Inital for a couple of years and previous to that had worked all over the country in particular London where she was a Visual Merchandising Manager. Nikki had been doing this for some time and wanted to refocus her time and energy into her real passion which was Holistic and Beauty Therapy. She took time out to work part time and went back to college to study to get her qualifications in order for her to start up her own business in which she has done.

Another reason for Nikki pursuing this line of career was due to the two mis carriages she had had. Not dwelling on it but these well serious reality checks in that the stero typical view of you fall pregnant and have the baby 9 months later couldnt be further from the truth, It can be alot more complicated than that.

This picture was taken just before Nikki went for her graduation. Nikki was also recognised as the student of the year which she was over the moon with and well deserved.

http://nikkimayholistic.co.uk/

Me and Nikki also visited the North West 200 road event in Northern Island. We got the plane over then camped near to the circuit. The visit wouldnt have been the same without a trip to my hero's local bar...............

We celebrated my Grandma and Grandads 54th Wedding Anniversary this year, awesome! We celebrated by going to Crofters as a family and having some good food and few drinks. They really are remarkable for their age and really are people to look up to.

2006 also saw me get promoted from a CDDR to AE Grocery covering Bradford. This was a really enjoyable time been an AE covering the big 4 in bradford and allowed exposure to some serious volume accounts.

This picture was taken in December 2006, 3.5 months before Nikki was due to give birth. At this stage and on reflection she was quite big with still alot growing ahead of her!!!

TT 2006

We went this year with Dave and Jimmy. Me and my dad on the bikes, Dave and Jimmy in the car carrying the beers.

Morecambe’s John McGuinness won his ninth TT, blitzing the six-lap Superbike TT, winning for the second year in succession.

Riding the 1000cc HM Plant Honda Fireblade, he broke his own outright lap record from a standing start, went even quicker on the second lap and carried on to register the fastest-ever six lap average speed, winning by 39 seconds. Ian Lougher (Stobart Honda) trailed Ian Hutchinson (McAdoo Kawasaki) to begin with, but gradually reeled in the 10 seconds starting interval and maintained second to the end.

Flying Kiwi Bruce Anstey narrowly fought off the close attention of Yorkshire’s Ian Hutchinson to win his second successive Superstock TT and make it five wins in five years. The pair were rarely more than seconds apart as the four-lap race was slugged out after an hour’s delay for mist. Welshman Jason Griffiths made it three different marques in the top three placings.

At an astounding record average speed of 122.264mph and a record lap at 123.975mph John McGuinness won the Supersport TT, with Superstock race winner, Bruce Anstey second, after Ian Hutchinson was disqualified for a machine infringement. Third place was awarded to Jason Griffiths.

John McGuinness again set a blistering pace in the Senior TT race taking the outright lap record to 129.451mph on the second lap of the ‘blue-riband’ TT, and take his number of wins to 11. Australian Cameron Donald finished in runner-up place, in his second year at the TT, with fellow Antipodean Kiwi Bruce Anstey third.

2007 was going to be a massive year, new baby, new job and i guess everything that comes with that, a total new way of life............

The Decade in Review....................2005

2009-12-29T12:48:00.000-08:00

The highlight of 2005 was going to be our wedding at Monk Fryston Hall. Nikki had been organising the day for the pretty much for the last year with me moaning about the cost of everything but think that was me been a typical bloke and as usual I shut up as I knew what was good for me!

We found the venue for the wedding whilst out on the motorbike when we stopped off for coffee. The place is relatively small and has that internate, warm and welcoming feeling every time we walk through the door. The day really was perfect, Nikki looked stunning, the weather was spot on and we had all our family and closest friends their on the day. Everyone who was staying for the day was staying for the night so it really made it feel like a long weekend party!

My Stagg Doo was mental and really enjoyable. 12 of us headed out via plane to the IOM for the TT Races. Shame about the weather but nevertheless you come to expect that from the IOM.

I guess the pictures speak a thousand words.............

I guess no wedding is complete without a honeymoon so we had booked a 5star resort on the island of Gozo of the main island of Malta. We had helicopter transfers to the island and resort was just out of this world. Our rooms where not the best in world but for the time we spent in them it didnt really matter. The place had an indoor and outdoor pool, jacuzzi, sauna, steam room, gym, massage rooms and every evening we ate outside alfresco as the weather was just amazing. We would sit during the day reading and looking out over the island of Malta as Gozo and where we where was set on the top of a very large hill, amazing. The best thing of all was that we had the place to ourselves.

We spent some great times with friends in 2005 which I have put the pictures in below.

Me, Baz and Grant outside our favourite Thai restaurant in Leeds

Me and Ben also did a ride in 2005 for the British Heart Foundation down in Rugby. The day was so well organised that every corner we seemed to go around there where locals giving us food and warm drinks. It was a great circuit and really sent the benchmark for our charity rides that we would do in the furture.

2005 also saw my mum and das 30th Wedding anniversary in which we celebrated in style by booking the family on the north yorkshire railway. We camped in a little village just outside of Pickering then headed on the evening to the railway in which we had a 5 course meal as it took its way through the moors up to Goathland.

The Decade in Review....................2004

2009-12-25T14:09:00.004-08:00

We celebrated a couple of big birthdays in 2004 and also moved into our new home in Brayton, Selby. Reflecting on 2004 alot of planning went into the wedding for the following year but we still managed to get away quite a bit.

Having sold my house in Leeds I had then bought another buy to let property in Hull. I was still looking at property on a buy to let basis and when I saw the release of some properties in the sort after village of Brayton outside Selby me and Nikki made the trip there for the release of the prices. We happened to arrive first in the que and got the chance of putting a deposit down there and then, and we did on the house below. This is probably the only regret I have had so far in that I didnt buy more that where on sale that day! We did originally do this on a buy to let but as the property went on we decided to move in.

Me and Ben had another trip to the Lakes to spend a couple of nights camping, having a few beers and covering about 100 miles on the bikes. I was wondering why Ben seemed to be always pulling away from me on the downhills and I guess in general. It wasnt until we got about 10 miles back to the site that I realised my front brake was catching, Brilliant! We stayed on this occassion of onew of favourite sites at Thirlmere near Keswick.

Me and Ben at the waters edge of Thirlmere

Dave's 60th Birthday Celebration

We celebrated Dave's 60th with a surprise bash at his local watering hole the Barlicorn in Barwick in Elmet. As a present we all chipped in and got him a red letter day driving day experience.

A very happy Birthday Boy below................

In September we celebrated Nikki's 30th Birthday and did it style by going to the Lakes. We camped in the valley next to Thirlmere. When we set up the tents, not a problem, weather was good, we had a good pitch and the pub was in spitting distance. After some food and a few beers we headed back to the tents to be confronted with a massive down pour that lasted all night. Been in the valley, the winds where terrible and we seemed to get the brunt end of this storm with the campsite been flooded. Unfortunately we could only stay the one night but we did have a laugh!

Thailand 2004

In the October of September we went to Thailand for 2 weeks. We booked flights, a 1 nights stay in Bangkok then 12 nights at a Krabi resort hotel. We had an actioned packed two weeks of horse riding on the beach, eating from street vendors, hiring motorbikes, going on speedboat trips to the Phi Phi islands, snorkeling and a trip to the hospital (if you could call it that) when Nikki got an allergic reaction to the sun. She got given an injection and moments later after recieving the injection she passed out. No one in the hospital could speak English and I was stuck in this room with Nikki passed out not knowing what injection she had been given and what was going on! Should have checked the life insurance. Nevertheless the injection did seem to do the job and it made her feel alot better. The majority of time was spent in the islands and it was amazing to do everything we did. Just wish we had more time.

TT 2004 - Our 2nd visit to the IOM

2004 saw the ACU sign a 20 year agreement to hand over control of the TT to the Isle of Man Government and for the Manx Motor Cycle Club, which runs the popular Manx Grand Prix, to organise the TT Races.

John McGuinness (Yamaha) set the pace in the opening Duke Formula One race, with a sensational opening circuit of 17 minutes 43.8 seconds, (127.68mph) ensuring that the last Formula One TT went out with a ‘bang’, clinching victory by 18.6 seconds over TAS Suzuki mounted Adrian Archibald, with team-mate Bruce Anstey third.

As well as the fastest ever lap in the 97-year history of the TT, McGuinness also established a new fastest race average over four laps of 125.38mph.

John McGuinness went on to take wins in the Junior TT and Lightweight 400, three in a week, to join TT great, Mike Hailwood, Joey Dunlop, Steve Hislop and David Jefferies in the elite hat-trick club.

Kiwi Bruce Anstey spoilt the party for John McGuinness when he powered home a blistering record-breaking victory in the delayed 1000 Production race, upping the class record to 125.10mph on his TAS Suzuki. McGuinness, Yamaha, who led at the end of the opening lap was 18 seconds down at the flag, with local rider Jason Griffiths, also Yamaha-mounted, slotting into third.

Former 125 British Champion Chris Palmer created a bit of TT history, when he clinched victory in the last-ever 125cc TT, in record-breaking style, repeating his win of the previous year. Ian Lougher had no intention of letting his long-time rival Palmer have an easy win, until his efforts were thwarted when the Welshman’s Honda threw its chain at Milntown Cottage, allowing Robert Dunlop to inherit second place in what was his final TT. Manxman Nigel Beattie completed the podium in third.

After being dogged by bad luck all week, Ryan Farquhar’s fortunes took a massive turn for the better when he brilliantly won the Production 600 race, to notch his first TT triumph and give Kawasaki an important and historic TT victory. It was only Kawasaki’s sixth TT win and the marques first for 20 years, since the late Geoff Johnston won the Production race astride a 900 Kawasaki in 1984.

Farquhar took the three-lap, 113.19-mile race by the scruff of the neck from the outset, and led all the way on corrected time, after he overhauled John McGuinness during the closing stages of the first lap. McGuinness was first to complete the race, ahead of Anstey and Farquhar, but when the times were shuffled, Ryan was declared the winner by 2.3 seconds, as Production 1000 winner Anstey recorded his second runners-up slot, nine seconds ahead of McGuinness.
TAS Suzuki teamsters completed a one-two in the ‘blue-riband’ event of the TT, the Senior. It was Adrian’s second successive Senior TT triumph, as another Suzuki rider Gary Carswell took a magnificent third place.

Pictures of 2004 tour of the IOM TT, this time on my CBR600!

Pictured above, Richard Britton, one of the happiest guys in the paddock. Come rain or shine, win or loose he would always have a smile from ear to ear. He later died in 2005 at race near his home where by his engine siezed when he was only doing about 40mph. He was killed instantly.

The planning had been done in 2004 for the wedding, now to 2005 for the big day......

The Decade in Review....................2003

2009-12-25T14:09:00.003-08:00

My Proposal to Nikki.......

I proposed to Nikki in 2003. We had been together for over 3.5 years and things where going great so I rang up Nikki's Dad and asked for permission to propose to his daughter. Luckily he said yes, god knows what I would have done if he had said no! I told Nikki there would be shooting stars up on Otley Chevin at 6am and we had to get there for then to ensure we didnt miss them. I had the ring, a bottle of veuve clicquot, a rug so all i needed was a beautiful sunrise that would provide the perfect setting for my proposal. Everything went according to plan and we got there for about 6am, only problem was it was thick fog, and I mean you litterally couldnt see in front of you. Ben always reminds that when i proposed to Nikki I bet she couldnt even see the ring it that was that foggy. By the end of the year we had set a date of thr 25th June 2005.

2003 also saw the first family get together of the May and Harkers at my Mum and Dads house at Easter. As always a great spread was put on by my mum and dad and both sides of the family got on great! Check me out looking like a Goth!!

Aunt Marjorie - Trips to Birmingham

Every Easter or at least once a year we headed down to Birmigham to see Aunt Marjorie who was Nikki's Grandads sister. Nikki's Grandad still lived in Leeds so it was nice once a year to have a big family get together by going out for some food and more often than not enjoying the spring / summer weather in Aunt Margories garden.

The start of my passion and love for the IOM TT

IOM TT 2003

For me, the abiding memory of TT 2003 will have nothing to do with the racing, but the tragic death of lap record holder David Jefferies during practice on Thursday 29th May.
The loss cast a dark cloud over the meeting, although it was somewhat lifted by the fittingly superb racing that was witnessed just like every year I have since been. For me this just highlighted the danger and I guess the attraction of the races. Not in a morbid way but the fact that people come here to race and risk their lives every year for the thrill of riding around the worlds most famous road race circuit. These riders are talented, fearless, skilled and are not motivated by money. If they where they wouldnt be doing this. They are motivated by their passion and love for riding motorcycles around this unique track.

By the time racing finally got underway after the delayed start to the six lap Duke Formula One TT, Adrian Archibald and the TAS Suzuki team were in the line-up and fittingly, after taking his debut TT win, the Ulsterman dedicated his emotional victory to his late teammate DJ, Man Mountain.

McGuinness and Lougher on the V-twins set the early pace. In fact, the MonsterMob rider led for two laps until overhauled by Archibald during a slow pit stop. Once at the front, Archibald drew ahead to win by 75 seconds from Lougher's Honda SP-2 with McGuinness clinging onto third place narrowly ahead of Jason Griffiths.

Chris Palmer, now a Manx resident, took his first TT win in the Ultra Lightweight event. The veteran set off cautiously, overhauling early leader Michael Wilcox on the second lap and posting a 110.41mph lap record along the way took the flag some 40-seconds ahead of Wilcox, with three times 125cc winner Ian Lougher third.

John McGuinness, who only got hold of a 400 Honda on the eve of the race, won the Lightweight 400cc TT. Leading from start to finish, he resisted early challenges from Ulstermen Richard Britton and Ryan Farquhar, the pair finishing in that order.

Triumph won the Junior TT with Kiwi Bruce Anstey aboard, their first TT victory for nearly three decades. His winning margin was 11 seconds from Lougher's CBR600 Honda, while Adrian Archibald as GSX-R600 was another six seconds behind in third. Ryan Farquhar, a relative novice to the TT, set a new lap record of 122.30mph on his final lap.

It was the first Junior TT to be won at over 120mph.

Kiwi Shaun Harris gained his second TT victory with a win in the 1000cc Production Race with an emphatic performance on the all-conquering GSX-R1000 Suzuki. The big Suzuki grabbed 16 of the first 17 places. Harris had a 16 second advantage over fellow Kiwi Anstey with Ryan Farquhar taking the final podium place.

New Zealand's third win of the week came in the 600cc Production TT, when Shaun Harris took his second victory. Started in sunny conditions and scheduled for three laps, it was reduced to two when mist clouded out the Mountain. In second place was Ian Lougher with Ryan Farquhar taking a further excellent third place podium.

The Senior TT was reduced from six laps to four and postponed to the Saturday because of the same weather conditions that had cut short the Production 600 race. In the early stages it was McGuinness's F02 Ducati that led from Lougher's SP-2 and Archibald's GSX-R.
By Ramsey on lap one the Ulsterman had forged a narrow lead, which he increased all the way to the end. John McGuinness brought the MonsterMob Ducati home in second place with Ian Lougher placed third on the Honda from Jason Griffiths, Ryan Farquhar and Shaun Harris.

Senior at the famous Cregg N Bar

Me at the famous Bray Hill where the bikes tarvel through the dip at 160mph+

Breath taking.......

Summer 2003 - Some snap shots

I love this picture of my Grandma and Grandad. It was taken at a summer party my Mum and Dad in August 2003.

Me with my Mum and sister and my mullet!

Me and my best buddy Ben enjoying summer 2003.

Me and my dad enjoying a trip out on the motorbikes up to the Lakes and pictured above, Honiston Pass.

December 2003 was a pretty busy one, live gigs and buying more property! I love playing the drums and for a period of about 4 months I used to travel over to Hull to rehearse with a band every week. It was great fun and you cant beat the feeling of playing in a live band. Main songs / artists included Mick Jagger, Rolling Stones, Bryan Adams, Bon Jovi. We played a gig at the Adelphi In Hull which was one of the biggest buzzes I have felt, it was mental!

In December 2003 we also bought a buy to let property in Hedon on new the new Barrat estate. From the sale of my house in Leeds we had some money left over and thought with the success we had with the one in Leeds let get back on the ladder again but this time with a buy to let property. It went through in Dec 2003 and we had a tenant lined up staight away that moved in.
This venture over the period of a couple of years proved to be very challenging and not something that I would look to do again. With Unreliable tenants (not paying but the way they live), the extra money such as landlord certificates etc just seemed like extra hassle along with a full time job. Saying that, would I have done anything differently and if given a second chance would I have done the same again, Yes I would.

The Decade in Review.................. 2002

2009-12-25T14:09:00.001-08:00

2002 saw me sell my house in Leeds and move in with Nikki. It made sense from a relationship point of view and a financial point of view. Didnt seem much point in paying twice for everything yet only living under one roof! After the sale of the house falling through a couple of times it eventually went through for than the previous two failed attempts so i was made up.

2002 was a year of having alot fun. We where members of Thorpe Park Hotel and Spa round the corner from us and this got frequented most days after work and on a weekend followed by a few pints of Guiness afterwards! This is where we met our good friends Grant and Barry who we have stayed close with ever since.

We had a holiday to Tenerife that year which was a last minute thing but again had a relaxing time of sun bathing, swiming, eating and having a few drinks.

We also had a new addition to the family of our little Posh cat! I remember tapping at the door over the period of a couple nights and looking down from the top window and seeing this little scroney cat at the door. It had been in my genes passed on from my dad to throw water at cats as they where a menace. Little did I know at this point I was more under the thumb than I thought and that night, the cat was inside, eating, drinking and sleeping in the house! Wouldnt have changed it looking back.

We also enjoyed many a night out in Leeds, going for food and having some drinks down at Townhouse, the Corner Exchange and Greek Street. The party year of 2002!!!!!!!

The Decade in review....................2001

2009-12-25T14:08:00.000-08:00

In terms of reflecting on defining moments and milestones that have happened in my life, 2001 has to be the year that has provided the foundations of where I am in my life in 2009 and where I will be in the future. I am a strong believer you get out what you put in. Saying that, the journey is alot longer if you are a busy fool so its important to ensure you prioritise and doing things as effectively as possible which I feel I have tried to do and am constantly striving to do better.

They say that the three biggest worries people have are;

1. Relationship problems

2. Financial problems

3. Work/Career problems

In 2001, I made significant steps onto the ladders of each of the above which at the time I probably didn't realise how significant they would be in playing a part in my life for the long term.

In terms of relationships I had met Nikki. I don't remember at the time thinking long term about our relationship. We where having a great time and enjoying the time we spent together but where still quite independent. At the start of 2001 Nikki went to Australia for the month of January to her friend Jane's wedding. That 4 weeks felt like a life time and I feel that the time apart brought us closer together. It was probably after this point I started thinking more longer term.

In terms of Financial, I had seen my way through University and graduating in 2001 been debt free. This is largely down to my mum and dad supporting me all the way through my University life. They bought me a car (my little white vw polo) which got to Uni and back and to my job in Leeds and back 4 times a week. On that note, I used to earn £5.00 an hour. Work 4 hours so £20. The cost of petrol, parking, lunch and a drink after work usually resulted in it costing me work!!!!! Wouldn't have ever changed it though.

My mum and dad where awesome in supporting me and ensuring I got off on the right foot with no financial worries and I cant thank them enough for that because without that, I wouldn't be where I am now.

I graduated from Uni in May 2001. Me and my best buddy Ben then hit Thailand for a months traveling with our back packs. What a month we spent traveling! It was an action packed month that has stuck with me until now and something that plays a big part of my long term plan in terms of what I want to do when i retire.

Bangkok

Me and Ben drove down to Heath row to catch a flight to Bangkok. We spent a couple of nights in the heavily polluted, busy and action packed city. We ate from street vendors, went to sex shops to see women pop 8 ping pong balls out their passages and fire darts from their door number twos bursting balloons. My eyes where seriously opened after a night watching them!!!

Chang Mai

A couple of nights in the big smoke was enough and we headed on a 12 hour bus drive to Chang Mai in northern Thailand. We spent just under a week here which involved a three day trek of elephant riding, bamboo rafting, staying with tribes in the middle of nowhere and meeting up with some great people. After a week spent in Chang Mai in sampling the hot springs, nightlife of the markets and the awesome food it was time for us to head down to the southern islands of Thailand for some island hopping.

The journey down there consisted of another 12 hour bus ride down to Bangkok followed by another 12 hour bus ride through the night down to the east coast of Surratani to get a 3 hour ferry out to the island of Ko Phang Yang.

Ko Phang Yang

What a place this is! We spent just under a week here sampling the chilled out island that changed for 24 hours with the start of the Moonlight Party once a month. This amazing event takes place once a month under a full moon. The party is awesome and has been a mecca for travellers since the early nineties and then became a global dance music festival that is today attracting thousands of visitors from every walk of life. The event is basically stretched over a beautiful beach with all ends of the spectrum of music from hard core dance to chilled out tunes. It attracts thousands of people and the atmosphere is fantastic listening to music, on the beach watching the sun come come up and go down whilst having a few buckets is pretty awesome and nothing quite like it. Something to be repeated with the kids one day i think...........

One important milestone that happened on this island for me was getting my University degree results. Before setting off for the trip I had sat all my final exams and was expecting the results through the post whilst I was away and it happened to be when on the island of Ko Pang Yang. I remember me and Ben getting a couple of bikes and taking off to the other end of the island which was spectacular. It still sticks in my mind that day. I remember thinking when on the bike (with no helmet and in my shorts and flip flops!) for the 25 Min's that I was having such an amazing time here but if my i didn't get a minimum of a 2:2 grade it would really spoil the whole trip and I would be extremely disappointed. I remember finding a pat phone and akin the call to my mum who had recieved the results. She gave me the great news that overall I had achieved a 2:2. I was over the moon, mainly because I feel i had completed my Business & Marketing degree by obtaining a 2:2 but equally important I had got the relevant work experience that supported my CV in looking for my career.

The remainder of the traveling trip was spent backpacking the islands of Ko Samui and Ko Toa. Ko Toa was an amazing little island. We stayed in a little shack on the island of Ko Toa that cost about £3.20 per night that looked out over the sea. This was so relaxing, peaceful and had spectacular scenery with small islands surrounding the main island that where access able by taxi boat.

Ko Samui was more commercial and I dread to think what it would be like today. A funny story happened whilst on the island which in reflecting upon was funny, but not at the time for me!

With three days to go till our flight back to the UK, I decided to stay on the island of Samui one extra day while Ben got a bus back to Bangkok. Earlier that week we had been in to order a tux which where so reasonably priced that we couldnt resist buying one. I had paid the deposit for the suit and was due to pick up on the day I was leaving. I woke up the morning before i was due to set off back to Bangkok and went to get some money out to pay for the suit and get back to bangkok via the bus. I only had a small bit of change on me and took the walk down to the cash point. After several attempts the cash point would not allow me to get any money out. Oh shit I thought, here I am stuck on a small island off the coast of Asia with no money and no ticket to get back to bangkok! I first of all rang my dad with the little money I had whos response was well if you cant get money make sure you get the trousers for suit you have paid the deposit for, Really helpful! My mum on the other hand after a couple of trips to the Halifax worked her magic in putting some additional funds into my account. It is not something that can usually be done from the UK to other countries that transfers are available to be withdrawn from instantly, but my Mum as usual worked her magic and the following morning as I took yet another walk down to the cash point, their was money available for me to withdraw! What would we do without our Mums eh!

She was extremely relieved once I returned home safely which I did!

That is the real attraction for me and the diversity of Thailand. The combination of the hustle and bustle of one of the busiest, most polluted, hot, cultural capitals of the world. The thought of visiting Bangkok just excites me so much but when I know wen I get there I just cant stay any longer than a couple of days just purley because of the intensity of the place. A one hour flight can get you to Chang Mai in northern Thailand. Tribes living in the forest are so isolated to the point that they have never ventured outside their tribal areas and into the big city. You are then presented with some of the most beautiful and tranquil islands in the world in Ko Pang Yang, Ko Samui, Ko Toa and Ko Phi Phi to name a few.

For me, I know this month spent away traveling only touched the tip of the ice berg in terms of what is out there, but for me it lit a flame inside that is has given me the ambition to want to travel the world and explore what else is out there. Writing this blog now 10 years on from when I visited that fire inside me is still burning and I can wait to take off traveling again with Nikki and the girls.................

Below

Me returning from Thailand and receiving a bottle of Moet from my Mum and Dad in way of congratulations on graduation.

The Start of my Career with CCE

And my R reg Vauxhal Combo with 60k miles on the clock and a top speed of 74mph (downhill)

I had the traveling bug and came back home with two options. The first one was to book a flight and start that traveling bug again. This was so tempting after the great time over the last month but I had spent the last three years studying and working part time and I knew in the back of mind that I did want to get on the working ladder so I gave my self a deadline. Give it 2 months and if I dont find anything then look at setting off traveling.

Below

An apprehensive looking me taken before I set off for my interview with CCE.

When at Uni I spent a great deal time looking into companies, registering with with online recruitment agencies and generally been quite specific in what i applied for and what I was looking for. I wanted to join an fmcg company that had career prospects and job security. Having posted my CV to countless number of recruitment agencies I got invited to an interview with Michael Page recruitment in Park Row in Leeds. Following an interview with them I got selected to go for an interview for Coca Cola Enterprises as a Sales Development Representitve in Sheffield. Following the interview I was successful and got offered the job covering East Leeds, Castleford and Pontefract. I was over the moon. I had realised my ambition of getting a job from Uni to work for an fmcg company in Leeds.

This was a significant change in my life. The start of new job, moving out of home at the age of 21 and moving over to Leeds which also allowed me to be closer to Nikki.

3/09/2001 was my start with Coca Cola Enterprises.

After growing very found of my vauchal combo they decided to replace the fleet with the astra van.

As soon as i found out about the job I started looking for a house straight away. As a country we where in the middle of the Boom period with inflation rising and with property prices shooting through the roof, literally. I wanted to get on the ladder as soon as possible and after looking at city centre appartments and other properties in and around Leeds I found the perfect place in Robin Hood on the outskirs of Leeds. I purchased the house for £55,000. It was a two bedroomed spacious terraced house with a garage and good sized back garden but was in need of some desperate updating from the bright yellow skirting boards to the jungle of a back garden.

First step onto the property ladder

I was over the moon with my purchase but this could not have possible with out the support of my mum and dad and Grandma and Grandad. They had set up trust funds for me and my sister and paid into them on a regualr basis from a young age which allowed me to put a deposit on this house. 49 Bryony Court, Leeds. Without this I could have potentially not got a mortgage. My monthly mortgage payments on a £50k mortgage where £220 per month! Interest rates where at rock bottom so there was no excuse not to get o the property market.

The purchase of the property went through really quick and I had moved into the house within 3months. I was still very much seeing Nikki but always wanted to purchase my own house and at the time I guess we both didnt want to rush into anything.

I spent a good few months sorting the house out, cleaning, painting gardening to get the house back up to scratch in terms of the way it looked. The previous owner had had a dog so I put new carpets and wood flooring down which made a massive difference in giving it a newer fresher look. I was to live in the house for a year before selling and moving in with Nikki in 2002.

So theres 2001, in a nutshell Graduating, Thailand, New job, First home and moving closer to my girlfriend Nikki, what would 2002 hold..................

The Decade in Review....................2000

2009-12-25T11:19:00.000-08:00

The New Year of 2000 has to be the biggest of them all. When going into the year 2000, we celebrate that it's a special round number, a new century, a new Millennium, and that it's passed 2000 years since year 1 started. Pretty awesome when you think about it! Another reason to make the New Year of 2000 a defining moment was that it was to be the first new year I brought in with my now beautiful wife Nikki. We brought in the new year at the Millennium Square in Leeds to a countdown on the big screen followed by a spectacular fireworks display.

At this point in my life I was studying my Business and Marketing Bachelor of Arts degree at Humberside University and in addition to that I was working at Miss Selfridge in Leeds on the leather concession called Talc part time as a concession manager. I always remember my first couple of months at University not knowing if this was the right thing for me. I had chosen to go to the University in my local City of Hull.

The main reason for this was to keep costs down as Universities just started charging per semester. Not knowing if student life and further education was for me I pursued my real interest of work and in the year of 2000 I got a promotion whilst working part time from the concession in the Topshop branch in Hull to the Miss Selfridge branch. This was to b one of the most defining moments of life and where and I would meet my lifelong future soul mate and wife. My degree consisted of 6 hours study a week so on the back of this combining my studies with real life work experience and getting paid for it gave me two benefits. The first one was the feel for money and what you could do with it and the second was that I realised that I didnt want to work in the retail industry. Dont get me wrong, I would never change my time doing this, it gave me a great deal of exposure to working with different people but also working in Leeds which is something I always wanted to do. Working in a busy environment and combining that with a busy social life was great.

Works nights out included me and 20+ girls, awesome!

This picture was the first taken of me and Nikki at the Miss Selfridge branch in Leeds! Nikki was a Visual Merchandising Manager for Miss Selfridge and used to visit the store once every other week and this is where I met her. It all started with a trip to the cinema to watch the film the Beach followed by nights away with Nikki when she was working away in cities such as Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham and Derby. It was love at first sight really for me. There was something about Nikki, her personality, her looks and drive to be the best she could. We really did just connect instantly, we had the same interests in traveling, working out and going to the gym, and enjoying the simplest of things like going for walks and having bbq's in the back garden. As they say the rest is history..........

July 2nd 2000

This date is certainly a defining moment not just in the year 2000 but over the last decade and will continue to be. This is the date when Joey Dunlop one of my biggest peers / idols passed away. He is not someone I had ever met, but having seen him been interviewed, the way he approached his sport, the way he raced competitively over a period of 4 decades and to see his achievements was ore inspiring.

Joey was regarded as the worlds greatest ever road racer, the King of the roads.

Joeys phenomenal record of achievement is endless:

1/ Five Formula One World Titles

2/ 26 IOM TT Triumphs in 25 years

3/ The undisputed king of Dundrod with more Irish National road race victories than any other rider.

4/ 13 North West 200 victories, the list is endless

Its not just his list of achievements that inspires me but the way he went about it and his values. His Modesty, Combined with his natural ability it was his humility which made him so special. He treated success with equal modesty whether it be the biggest race of the race or a race in his back yard. He had a real passion for his chossen sport of road racing which is essential to be successful.

Joey was also a family man, from footage I have seen we shared the same values. He adored his family and they played a vital role in supporting him through his racing.

He was awarded the MBE in 1986 for his services to the sport, and in 1996 he was awarded the OBE for his humanitarian work for children in Romanian orphanages. Joey would often load up his race transporter and deliver clothing and food to the trouble spots of Bosnia and Romania.

His humanitarian work undertaken was tireless and was done without drawing attention to himself.

In my eyes to summarise my hero,

I would say he was a gentlemen who worked hard to get the success that regarded him as the best in his field. With this accolade, he never let stardom change him and remained as genuine and grounded as ever.

Alot of the over rated, over paid sports personailities and footballs could learn alot from the king of the roads, Yer Maun........

For me, "Great" is a much over-used word. Joey wasn't simply great he was the Greatest.

RIP JD

21st Birthday

In 2000 I also celebrated my 21st Birthday. It was qiute a surpirse when I went out for chilled out drink with Ben, Sarah and Nikki to the Beech Tree. After a few beers and thinking we where setting off in the morning I was greeted by a surprise party at my mum and dads when we got back from the pub! Totally unexpected and a real treat to end the day with the family and friends. Me and Nikki then drove down to London the following day to stay at the Marriot for a couple of nights. We had a great time and it made my 21st a real special occassion.

Review of the last Decade........

2009-12-22T11:01:00.001-08:00

I love updating my blog, although updates at times can be very brief, it gives me the opportunity to review and reflect and more importantly document things ongoing so that they can be looked back at in months, years and decades to come.

With this in mind I started doing the blog about 18months ago so dont really have any updates past this point. I have decided to review the last decade year by year with milestones, highlights and challenges that I have been faced over the last decade.

I was hoping to complete this in one night but having started on christmas eve its taken me over two weeks. There was alot more content than I thought over this period and from 2000 to 2004 I didnt have all the pictures as some had been taken not on a digital camera.

For me this will and has been an awesome way of reflecting and more importantly for the girls to reflect upon in years / decades to come.

Enjoy..........................

MONEY, MUSCLE & THE MILLENIUM SQUARE

2009-11-29T11:01:00.000-08:00

The 3 M's this week are Money, Muscle and the Millenium Square.

Why? Let me explain......

Ebay

Until last weekend I was a virgin to selling anything on Ebay, Im not now! My new hobby is selling items on Ebay! I sold a projector stand that was bought for the projector in the kitchen but didnt fit. It was still boxed and had never been used and I had 5 bids for it on Ebay and eventually sold it for £72, happy days. I curently have a multi function oven on there that is still brand new and boxed which with one day left has only had one bid for £50. What I have found out though is that the fun really starts in the last 24hrs and even more so in the final couple of hours when the bidding really starts hotting up.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260511833207&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT

We have got a few items that need selling so I plan to get these on before xmas to hopefully generate a bit of extra pat cash.

Muscle - Training

I talked last week about momentum in my training and I have continued with another great week of training. I set myself a target of training all week on the bike but it didnt turn out like that. Monday and Tuesday evening was spent on the bike covering 18 miles across the two nights on the trainer. Wednesday, Friday and Saturday evening session where short and sweet. I only spent a maximum of 30 mins each time in the gym but worked at quick reps with only a 30 second max break so I was really feeling it by the end of each session. My diet has been spot on this week again, plenty of protien, plenty of veg and regular eating times during the day.

For the first time in all long time I feel like I am going in the right direction. Main reasons behind this are momentum, keeping up the regular training session even when I have been limited for time on an evening, keeping up on the diet with plenty of protien. Granted over the last week or so I have had a couple of beers but everything I do has to be about sustainability and having a few beers once in a while is always going to be on the cards, which leads to the next M.......

The Millenium Square - The German Market - Leeds

Wow, this event is awesome, right up my street. We visited last weekend with my mum and dad and sister. We got on the train at Selby where we met them and headed over to Leeds. We went into Prohibition for a coffee then headed to the German Market. Wwe couldnt have timed this any better, both the girls fell asleep as soon we got to the market and satyed asleep for 2 hours. This allowed us to have a short walk round then head into the beer tent where we sat in a perfect little alcove eating the finest german sausage sandwiches and drinking glasses of 1 ltr german beers (2 pints in one glass). Having had 3 pints me and dad where feeling a bit light headed to say the least. The atmosphere was fantastic and it really felt like you where in Germany at one of the local beer / xmas markets.

Now thats what I call a serious bbq, MEGA................................................

Momentum...... 6 weeks to take it to the next level

2009-11-15T14:41:00.000-08:00

Last week was a great week for training, a week that was well thought out, about when I would train and the diet I would have. I watched a program on SKY that said when weight training / exercising and getting into shape its 70% diet, 30% training that constitutes getting to where you want to be? Open for discussion I guess?

My thoughts are that they both go hand in hand and that what ever you do has to be sustainable for the long term which is an aspect of my training that i am still striving for and feel I constantly will be buts it what i / we all do now that makes a difference.

Momentum Definition

The impetus of a body resulting from its motion
Driving power or strength

Planning and Prep for your goals is invaluable and with the hectic lifestyle of my wife, two kids and work, trying to have a balance and the energy to fit in the training sessions is hard. On the back of last week I feel I have found momentum.

I did a total of 4 one hour sessions. Dont sound alot but I focused on all areas of the body in chest, triceps, biceps, back, shoulders, legs and some real work done on my abs. Apart from doing the sessions I felt they where quality sessions by:

Pushing myself to failure on the weights on every muscle group

Doing abs til failure after every

High intensity on the bike and doing 5 miles on the trainer after each weights session

Based on the above statement of 30% training constitutes the way you want to be, and the good weights sessions I had last week, I backed this up with a really strong week on the diet front. How did I do this?

1. Sticking to regular eating times

2. Eating key proteins such as eggs, chicken, nuts and fish

3. Due to been on the road with work alot, I have backed this up with taking protien shakes twice a day when training both pre and post workouts.

4. Herbal tea and Coffee as a source of caffine and herbal tea at other times.

These areas of training are nothing new to me, I have known them for a long time now but its applying them on a regular basis. Momentum is a great thing, it gives you a start on something you are pursuing or wanting to achieve. Based on the week I had last week, I really cant wait for next week and taking the aspects of the training that went well into the week and ensuring I get a second week of great training.

So, whats happening 6 weeks today? Me and my Wingman DR B. Thurlow are doing the below ride I planned out today on the 27th Dec. He is back in Hull with the girls to see his family so I have put the below together. I sent the below to BT on email and along with myself I have challenged him to 120 miles on the bike trainer between now and ride, that only 20miles a week. Challenge set.

The 27th Dec Ride........

1/ Depart 7am Either Elloughton or 225 CL.
2/ Head to Walkington via same route as before.
3/ Follow back road to the outskirts of Beverley.
4/ Beverley to Bainton. Its an A road but should be pretty quite. Some great rolling hills which are great combinations of some steep short climbs and quick rapid decents.
5/ Bainton to Pocklington via the B1246. Again, havent been on some time since been on the motorbike but awesome roads in the middle of nowhere which should be really quite. Again, good combination of hills and decents but if memory serves me right there are more decents so will be great for increasing average speed.
6/ Pocklington to Shiptonthorpe via the A1079. We are only on this for 2miles and hopefully wont be too busy.
7/ Shiptonthorpe to Home on Spalding Moor via the A614. Straight flat road, aim for 19mph avg speed on that section with some serious slip streaming.
8/ Depending on how we feel, choice of two routes. Take the route we took before heading towards to Selby, then howden, Gilberdyke, Newport, North Cave, South Cave and then Elloughton. If we do the other shorter route (probably wont!) Holme on Spalding Moor to Howden to join the Gilberdyke / South Cave / Elloughton road.
9/ If we go from 225 CL , we will do spout hill head back via another challenging couple of hills then those mega rolling hills back towards raywell.

Monday Night training

Biceps and Shoulders - I made this a real intensive workout, Medium rate reps but with only 20 sec breaks between each one. I focused on all areas of the bicep and the forearms. After 20 mins my arms where bits and I was now doing my reps to failure. I felt like I had given my arms one of the best workouts for a while, despite not the quickest but certainly the most effective. I then did my shoulders to failure.

The key difference this session is keeping going through the pain barrier and at the end of the session doing 150 sit ups....... Great session, got the week off to a good start.

Tuesday Night Training

Tonights session for me was all about taking my head somewhere else as its been one of those days, cant really say why but not one I want to repeat on a regualr basis. As a result I sat on the bike trainer for 8 miles focusing on split sets. 1 mile at 16mph, 1 mile at 23mph. Felt good and as this is the first time I have tried this session its given me the benchmark to do 10 miles next time. Again, as with Mondays session my legs are in bits now and feel like jelly.

Thursday Night Training

Just a pure chest session til failure on every set followed by 250 sit ups. The big difference in this session would be I would normally not do sit ups due to, well really not been bothered! Hopefully this is going to be the difference in doing sit ups at the end of session.

Sunday Training

A killer arms session to the piont of not being able to move them for some 1 hour after! My arms felt like rocks for about an hour after. I always remember watching Arnie on youtube doing a training session and talking about the "pump." He believed the "pump" was like having sex! He talks in his distinctive Austrian accent about training your muscles to the piont of explosion and maximum tension so they feel really tight. He talks about how he feels like he is having sex at the gym and at home, "Its like im sex all the time!" Maybe not to the extent of having sex but feeling the "pump" like I did today is a pretty good feeling and for me determins on how much of a good session you have had.

My objectives for this week are purely CV and getting out on the bike. I only did 8 miles on the bike this week and I am aiming on doing 20 a week so feeling like I have had a good week on the weights I am going to aim to do 4 interval sessions on the bike this week and focus on building the time up on the bike.

Bonfire Night and Halloween in pictures!

2009-11-15T14:25:00.001-08:00

Bonfire Night spent at Monk Fryston Hall

The two spooky halloween girls!

Parent tip, never leave your 13month old daughter along for a second!

I have been concious over the last few blog updates that the content of them was quite rushed. I am not wanting to write war and peace but at the same time want each of the updates to have a point, benchmark, a reflection and a forward plan for the next day week or month. On the back of this I am going to try and and start to write a bit every couple of days.

What a great feeling..........

2009-11-13T13:44:00.001-08:00

Saturday morning, my alarm call goes off at 6am in the form of Nyah shouting "Daddy, can I come in your bed?" Theres only one answer when she says it that cutley! Nyah stays in our bed for 20 mins or so then I go down and get the girls milk for them to have in our bed. By 7am I have got the wind in my face and crusing on the 38 mile bike journey over to Hull. Early mornings are part and parcel of having kids so getting the opportunity to make the most of them and get out on the bike is a no brainer. I was aiming to head over to my mum and dads for 9ish and Nikki and the girls would meet me at my Grandma and Grandads for 09:45am.

I took the picture above onmy phone on the old A63 road from Selby to Howden. The air was fresh, the skies where clear and the sun was rising right in front of my eyes. For me, there really isnt a better way to start the day. I was really happy with the pace a made over to my mum and dads, its a total of 27 miles and having set off at 7:10am I arrived there at just before 08:45am. The journey was good and I felt I maintained a constant cadence at a higher tempo that normal. When I arrived at my mum and dads, me and PC Senior May headed to Grandma and Grandads.

On Sunday we headed to see our new born God daughter Angelina Thurlow. It was great to see the guys with the new arrival. Anoushka looked fantatsic considering what she had been through over the last month or so. Little Angelina was even cuter in real life. So proud to be god parents and she is going to be seriously spoilt in years to come! Welcome to parenthood, you guys are really going to make great parents.

Training this week.

This week has seen me complete one of the best weeks of weight training I have done all year. Why? Well because I planned what I wanted to do this week in both my weight sessions and diet and have I have stuck to it. So far I have completed 3 weights sessions:

1/ Chest and Triceps (Monday)

2/ Back and Biceps (Tuesday)

3/ Legs and Shoulders (Thursday)

Equally important if not more so I have been really strict and consistent with my diet. Eating on a regular basis and the eating the right foods have been key. This week has really given me the motivation and drive to deliver consistent training sessions over the winter months. I have spent time in getting the garage cleaned up and it looks spot on now. You are only as good as your last week so key for me will be to deliver 2 training sessions over the weekend and a further 4 sessions next week.

Quality time with my little girls

2009-11-01T12:26:00.000-08:00

I write this having just recovered from yet another stomach bug that struck me down in the early hours of Friday morning. Having been poorly since 3am I left home at 07:30am to go to Wakefield to do my team meeting with the guys but didnt even make it to the office. All i will say is good job i had a carrier bag next to me, not good. I spent the rest of the day in bed, still sorting work stuff out as I have not got a vacancy in the team so interviewing Tuesday and Thursday next week to hopefully find the right candidate to come into the team.

Well I have started this chapter the wrong way round with the end of the week first. Nikki and Nat had booked to go away for a long well deserved Spa weekend break, well i say long weekend, it was 3 nights four days which felt like a long time looking after the kids! Nikki left on the Sunday so on the Monday I planned to take the kids to the Deep in Hull. I have never been before but the girls have and they loved it last time and this time was no exception. We set off at 08:30am and arrived there at 09:15am but it didnt open till 10am so we had to wait around for a bit. Once in there, Nyah just loved it and the place is amazing. Cant believe how big it is and the viewing areas of the fish is out of this world. The views really are spectactualar. Having walked round for an hour or so we then into the soft play area which both the girls loved. We then had a further walk round then headed to the restaurant for some food. The only problem is the sandwiches they had where crab and seafood mix, not the best combination you want to give your kids! The view certainly made up for the food with great vies over the humber and we where lucky enough to see a few boats right beneath us which Nyah loved and told the whole restaurant!

Tuesday was spent out walking with the girls. We walked to the canal, fed the ducks, went to the playground and a great time just watching the world go by and been in the great outdoors. I also managed to get a mega training session in when the girls where a sleep.

It was only 25mins but I have only just stopped aching now. Here goes.........

1/ 5 pull ups

2/ 10 press ups

3/ 15 body squats

Task, do as many sets as possible in 25mins. Sounds easy, but trust me, give it a try, its a killer!!

Nikki returned on Wednesday after a fantastic and relaxing few days. We then after the girls woke in the afternoon went for a walk along the canal and to the playground. I never take for granted where we live, i absolutley love it. We are so close to the canal with great walks, next to play grounds with large open green spaces for the kids and mummy and daddy to run around.

Now onto the end of the week, we really could have opened our own ward at Hull Royal over the last few weeks. My sickness bug, My mums cyst, my grandad been diagnosed with Parkinsons, my grandma with her dizzy spells and my little sister with her little finger!

Bring on next week and heres to bulding my immune system ready for the colder weather thats on its way...........

A week of Highs and Lows

2009-10-26T12:18:00.000-07:00

This week has been a combination of highs and lows and both I guess have been at those ends of the spectrum. It started on Monday with a phone call from my mum to say my Grandad had been the hospital for a check up. Not to go into details about the whys and what fors but the doctor diagnosed my Grandad with the start of Parkinsons. My Grandad is 81 going on 60 and I guess this was a shock to him, my Grandma and the rest of the family. The doctor said he could have had this for a while but I am really sure that the true spirit of the family and my Grandad with his determination and focus will fight this all the way. We spent a few hours there on Sunday and both my Grandma and Grandad loved spending time with them. It really must be amazing to see the 4th generation of family growing up.

The start of this year has seen my Grandma not been at her best. She has suffered with her balance quite badly to the extent she has been unable to get out of bed due to dizzy spells. That fighting spirit and determination to overcome how she was feeling has been proven and she seems to be on the road to recovery. I always remember going to see her a couple of weeks after she started with these dizzy spells and her looking me in the eye and saying, "I wont let this beat me, Ill get over it!" Just inspirational words to know that know matter what life throws at you, if you put your mind to it and have a positve attitude, you can achieve it.

Keep that fighting desire going G&G!

Following on from this we had my mum who was admitted into hospital with a cyst on her back. She stayed in hospital for two nights awaiting for the operation to remove it but every time she was due to go down another emergency was admitted! The doctors eventually put her on strong antibiotics and sent her home with the instruction of if gets any worse then dont hesitate to come back. From speaking to my mum it would seem that in the situation she was in, the NHS where at max capacity. Despite the staff been as helpful as possible and doing everything they could they constantly seemed to be fighting a loosing battle of too many patients and not enough resources. My mum is now back home and hopefully the medication will kick in so she is back to her normal self again soon!

The High was that me and Nikki are proud Godparents to the little cutey below, Angelina Thurlow born on Thursday 22nd October at 2am weighting in at 7lb 2oz. Anoushka did a great job as little Angelina looked liked she would have been more than happy staying in mummys tummy until xmas than coming out. We are so proud of you guys and cant wait to spoil her and give those cheeks a big kiss! Let the good times role and the sleepless nights begin. Congratulations to you both, cant wait to see you this weekend.

Check out our gorgeous little God Daughter and that head of hair.........

Nyahs 1st Day at Play Group!

2009-10-18T10:32:00.000-07:00

Wow, After 2.5 years Nyah had her first full day at playgroup. She has been going for the last 6 months or so on a Thursday with Nikki but this was the first time this week that she would be there from 09:30am til 3pm Monday and Wednesday then 09:30am til 12pm on a Friday all by herself, a serious milestone in the May Family.

Obvious parental concerns about leaving your daughter at playgroup for the very first time are only natural, not been in control of what she does, who shes with and the learning curve that comes with it is quite daunting. The four of us dropped Nyah off at just before 9am. She looked cute with her Dora backpack and her lunch box! As soon as she got there she put her stuff in the usual place and went straight over to paint. She turned back for a milli second to say bye but then that was it, on with her apron and brush in hand away she went. (We had the pictures at the end of the day to show how much she enjoed it).

After speaking to the teacher who runs it, she Nyah was great. She had had a couple of accidents with No.1's but she said that is only natural as there is so much to do she didnt want to miss out on anything. She asked for Nikki at about 2pm a couple of times but then she just carried on playing til Nikki picked her up at 3pm. Nyah absolutely loved it, she told us all about it when she got home, who she played with and what her best bits where. Its a great reassurance to know she enjoys it and already after the first week you can see how she is developing so its exciting times ahead. The other plus is that Nikki now gets to spend some real quality time with Ciara, which she did last week.

For the first time I also went out on the new bike, wow its awesome. I just love it! The bike just glides despite going into a head wind pretty much all ride. I did 35 miles and felt really comfortable apart from the last 8 or so miles where I got a slight twinge in my left knee. Going to hit the turbo before the wife makes me sit down and watch X Factor so will see how it is. Bought a new cateye wireless cadance speedo. It mounts to the rear frame and records the speed of the back wheel which is great because it records your soeed and distance when on the turbo which I aming to do quite a bit on between now and xmas.

We also caught up with my Grandma and Grandad. My Grandma hasnt been the best of health recently which has resulted in her struggling with her balance and feeling very dizzy. This has been ongoing for about 3 months now and for the first time in a long while she had been into town with my grandad. Considering how she has been I was really surpirsed at how well she looked. What I love as well is the fact they are in their 80's but they both always look imaculately dressed and the house looks as modern and clean as a Charles Church show room. They really are the generation and model grand and great parents to look up to and to aim to be like. They still have that twinkle in each others eye when they look at each other, it really is great to see. I think them both seeing the girls as well and how much they have grown was a great boost for them both, even though a little tyring!

After visiting them we then headed with my Mum and Dad and Sarah to Hull Fair. What a site that is, well especially from the big wheel. Thought I would be absolutley fine but that is seriously high up and did make me cling to the side railings. Nyah absoultely loved it though, and she loved the merry go round, the trains, the helter skelta and the wackey fun house! We couldnt get her off some of the rides.

Well another week comes to an end, a busy one next week with recruitment fairs with Newcastle Uni at Newcastle FC and meetings so main objective for my training is to do:

One session of chest & triceps
One session of Back and Biceps
One session of legs and shoulders
50 miles on the bike (turbo trainer)

Big focus on the diet this week and looking forward to another biking accesary purchase with my Turbo Trainer which comes into stock at Evans on Friday.

How could I forgot, No matter what happens this next week we will have a new addition to the Thurlow family. Heres wishing Anoushka and Ben all the best for the begining of the week and their new addition................................

My New Road Bike

2009-10-11T12:01:00.000-07:00

My New little Baby!

Cannondale Synapse

After month's of indecision on what bike to get I have hit the jackpot by picking up this gem of a bike at a bargain price.

So what I have bought...............

Cannondale Synapse

2009 Model

56cm

Full carbon frame and forks

Blue white and Black

Cannondale Carbon Crank

Full Shimano Ultegra SL fIZIK

Arione saddle

Mavic Ksyrium Elite wheels

FSA Carbon Seat Post

Upgraded FSA Stem 110 White

Upgraded FSA Bars 42 White

Upgraded Fizik Bar Tape Black

NEW Bottle cages

Fizik clip saddle bag

Bontrager bar end stops (help reduce vibration)

The bike really is awesome and I have to thank Ben G for letting me know of the bike which was for sale on the Leeds Triathalon website. It was slightly more than what I wanted to pay but the upgrades that have been added make it a long term investment that will bring years of riding pleasure and pain!!

Heres to the New Bike and where ever it will take me........................

The Birthday Fun continues.....................

2009-10-03T05:17:00.000-07:00

After a fantastic weekend party we headed off first thing Monday morning to Centre Parcs at Whinfell Forest nr Penrith for the week. It was about a year ago when we went to Centre Parcs with Nyah who was about 18 months and Nikki was pregnant with Ciara. We had booked into a luxury log cabin with log fire, outdoor bbq area and three bedrooms.

Monday.

Ciara's 1st Birthday!

We arrived on Monday at about 1:30pm after the girls had had a good sleep on the two hour drive up there. After we checked in which took all off 2 mins we parked the car and headed for a coffee and a bite to eat in the complex. Nyah at this point at been under the weather for a couple of days with a sickness bug. She wasnt herself as she was complaining of feeling sick and just wanting to sit down in front of the TV and not move, which certainly isnt like Nyah. Ciara on the other hand was her bubbly smiley self although was starting to get some more teeth coming through which was resulting in her been a little grumpy and crying. Nevertheless, she was still happy most of the time.

Biggest milestone we had on the Monday during the week was Ciara taking her first steps on the walker!

It was a amazing to see Ciara taking her first steps. I always thought she would take a while to walk just because she loves crawling so much and is so quick but there she was starting at one end of the living room making her way to the other. Nothing could stop her! I was looking at old pictures of Nyah and thought it would be good to look at Nyah and Ciara when they where at a similiar age. Take a look below!

Tuesday

Daddy's 30th Birthday

Nikki had booked me and my dad in for quad biking on the Tuesday morning. After we had our breakfast of bacon and eggs we headed off to the quad biking circuit about 25mins walk away. I had never done quad biking before but been on my motorbike and biking etc was really looking forward to something similiar but on four wheels. We started off with the compulsary introductions etc then onto the bikes. The hardest thing was getting used to the throttle which was a little lever, similiar to that of a push bike gear. We started off by doing an emergency stop. After this we then headed onto a circuit to get familiar with the bikes, then it was off onto the bigger circuit! We where in a group of 8 and i was second to last with senior bringing up the rear. Think it took my dad a while to get familiar with the controls in particular the throttle. Sorry Dad but the tears where streaming down my eyes seeing you on the bike making up your own course and your knees going in all kinds of directions! Once you got the swing of it though you where right on the pace. After an hour or so of wheel spinning, managing obstacles, watching one of the girls over turn the bike we headed back to the cabin to get have a well earned bite to eat and rest for the afternoon. Everyone was that shattered that by 1pm everyone was asleep apart from me and Ciara. So with Ciara not really settling we headed out on the bike for an hour and did a couple of circuits around Centre Parcs. She loved it on the bike and was beaming from ear to ear all the way round.

Tuesday night saw us booked in at a restaurant in the main complex. We arrived to Nyah complaining of feeling sick so we ordered the food and took back home with us to have at the cabin where Nyah sat in front of the TV until she fell asleep. She really wasnt herself.

Thankyou Nikki and the girls and my M&D for making it such a special birthday, not just today but the weekend and for the things we had planned for the rest of the week.

Heres to the next 30!!!!

Wednesday

Today was the day we had booked Nyah into Bubblebees play group for the morning. We both really felt she would be ready for it and have a great time. Due to her not feeling well at all we cancelled it and decided to book her on a pony ride the next day. My mum and dad headed over to the Lakes today to see Elizabeth and have a walk around Kendal. This left me and the girls the day to fly around on the bikes. We had borrowed Sarah's mountain bike from round the corner. Nikki fell in love with it. The gear weight of it and gears made her do things on this bike that she just couldnt possible do on hers so thats now resulted in Nikki wanting a new bike!

We had lunch at the sports bar where Nyah played in the play ground which as always was a nightmare getting her off! At 2.5 Nyah really is fearless, she would walk across small blanks of wood set up off the ground and go down slides that took Nikki 2 mins to physic herself up for!

Wednesday night was my kind of night. Blue sky, in a forest having a bbq with the family. The pictures speak for themselves but I would much rather get the bbq on and cook the food myself than go out and spend a fortune for food that that you can cook just as well at home. My M&D had got the food from M&S, We got the bbq, Nyah was picking accorns up and putting them in a bag and Ciara was sat outside in her travel cot eating breadsticks like they where going out of fashion. Happy days. Not to mention rounding the day off by sitting in side on the sofa watching TV (Robert Dunlop Story, Joeys Brother!) next to the log fire (with only wood bought from the complex of course Dad!)

Thursday

The totally relaxing day of the holiday! As Nyah had not been herself all week we booked her in for a horse riding trek this morning. Nyah was so excited and like a natural on the horse. The picture says a million words below and she absolutely loved it! She went on the ride for around 45mins and from the second she got on the horse to her coming off the horse she had a smile from ear to ear. Having spoken to my mum about a friend of hers that has a horse and the £450 a month it costs to maintain it, Nyah and Ciara can think again if they think they will ever get their own horse!!!!

In the afternoon Nikki and my mum where booked into the Spa for treatments and a relaxation. They where that relaxed they didnt come back till 6:30pm. In this time me and dad took the girls on a bike ride then hit the play ground. When it comes to playgrounds, slides, obstacles, Nyah is fearless. One of the funniest things was seeing my dad come down this steep slide. He had built up that much speed coming down that his whole body took off from the end of the slide and he landed on his backside on the wood chippens on the floor! Nice one senior!

Me and Dad then hit the Spa ourselves. Wow, forgot how good that place is. Swimming outside in a hot swiming pool in the dark, looking at the stars followed by an ice cold shower, 15 mins in a turkish steam room then after that hard effort laying on a water bed and falling asleep! I was that relaxed I feel into a real deep sleep and did what my dad usually does, wake up not having a clue where I am waving my arms and legs around in the air!

Friday morning was spent around Centre Parcs then we headed over to Stavely in the Lakes to have some food at the Eagle and Child. We then went to wheelbase to look at my new bike. Change of mind on that front as not going to get the 1.2 2010 Trek. I loved the colour scheme on the net but in real life it didnt blow me away. What did was the Trek 2010 1.5 in the black and white colour scheme. Only problem, they dont have any in stock in Evans so looks like I will have to get from Wheelbase........ Watch this space!

This bad boy will take me places...........................................

A 30th Birthday party to remember!

2009-09-27T12:28:00.000-07:00

29th Septemeber 1979, the day I was born. 30 years on we celebrated the big 30 in style by having a party at May Towers.

A 12x3 mtr Gazebo with Lights, Live Band (or two brothers and guest drummer "Birthday Boy" and Harmonica player "Senior May"), 35 close family and friends, lots of food and drink topped off by one the warmest days of the year. The party kicked off about 2:30pm. We had the Dunwell brothers from Leeds starting at 2:30pm and they played on till about 7ish. Having them there added a great atmosphere to the bash. I had set up my drum kit and played about a dozen songs with them. I had forgotten how good it is just jaming away. Its certainly given me that bug again to kick start my drum lessons. Senior did a handful of songs on the harmonica which sounded awesome, especially when he was taking the lead.

I really couldnt have asked for a better day and as always it was great having everyone together and having a good catch up. Pretty short update in terms of comments but im show the pictures tell the story better...............................

Pro Tour Ride - 145km - 6th Sept 2009 Stoke on Trent

2009-09-07T13:53:00.000-07:00

For me and Ben, this was the ultimate challenge. The opportunity to be one of the first ever amateurs to ride an actual full stage of the Tour of Britain, the very same the pro's will ride.

The venue was the Stoke on Trent Stage 5 on the 6th September, 145km described as a "rollercoaster ride of ups and downs."

I left the house on Saturday at 3pm and arrived at Bens around 5pm. Anoushka has only 5 weeks or so to go before they have a little daughter in the family so it was great to see her looking so well and all baby! Me and Ben went straight out on the bikes for 10 miles just to stretch the legs. Felt good on the bike and followed by a massive bowl of pasta, a steak and about 3 litres of Isotonics I hit the sack for an early night in preparation for the 5:30am start the following morning.

I didnt really know what to expect of the day as I guess this is the first time I have done a ride like this but I can 100% say it was one of the best sporting experiences I have taken part in. The organisation was first class from turning up and registering to completing the race and getting our medal and our free pasta meal.

We set off around 8:30am in a pack of 40. It was amazing to be riding with a group this big and the first 10 miles or so just felt effortless as you were just slip streaming from the person in front. One thing I was concerned of and had in the back of my mind is the training I had done and how much that had prepared me the ride. The most we had done in the run up to the ride was 67 miles. We had another 30 miles to do on top of that and the terrain was different to what we had experienced before. I was really concious to not go out at full tempo then to be struggling at the end. I would have much prepared to have started steady and finished strong.

The first third of the stage saw us take in 60km which reached a maximum gradient of 200mtrs. It was from this point the hard work really started. We hit Wootton Hill which at the base starts at around a gradient 100mtrs but works its way up to 500mtrs in the space of 26km. The gradient and hills are just relentless and continuous across thgis section.

The thing with training at home in and around Selby is that it is the flatest place in the world. The nearest thing we have to a hill is a speed bump. This is great for continuous pushing yourself and keeping your heart rate at a steady rate but then when it comes to hills of this degree, it can take its toll if you havent trained for it properly.

The steepest hill we undertook on the course and the main feature was the well known Gun Hill near Leek. This hit us at 86km and had an incline of 150mtrs to 350 mtrs in the space of 5km. It was an absolute killer but with only 2 cogs still managed to climb the hill without stopping. We were rewarded after this climb with a fantastic downhill to Leek which I managed to get 42mph.

What only felt like a handful of downhill sections

The long climb up Wootton Hill...............

In the zone focusing on getting up Gun Hill

We then had a much needed stop (MULE BARS!) at the top of Cheddleton Hill before the final 34km to the

finish

The great feeling crossing the line knowing we had achieved what we had set out to do which was ride the 94 miles. While 6 people had lost their lives to Prostate Cancer while doing the ride as around 1 perosn every hour dies from this form of cancer, for me it made it even more worthwhile and an achievement.

Its strange because out of all the blogs I have wrote, I thought this would be the most detailed and clear in my memory. In a situation like this when your primary focus is completing the course, when I look back it all seems to have rolled into one because you are constantly looking forward.

Let me share some of the highlights of the day for me:

Nikki, Nyah & Ciara's voice message at the start of the day saying "Come on Daddy, you can do it!"
At the start line when me and Ben were getting really hyped up shaking each others hand and hugging each other wishing each other the best of luck while everyone else was looking at us like we had 3 heads between us!
Setting off at the start line with the pack of a 40 strong peleton for about 15 miles, awesome!
Been overtook by a woman. Me and Ben looking at each other saying has that just happened. Picking up the speed to overtake her and grin only to be overtaken by her again a mile down the road and never to be seen again!
Some of the downhills - 42mph!!!!!
Getting to 1 mile from the finish and seeing a dad with his young daughter of maybe 5 riding this little pink bike. I just though of my girls and cant wait for the day we can all go out together on our bikes and do something like this.

Crossing that finish line with BT, Mega

I guess you are only as good as your last adventure / race so heres to planning of the next one.......................

Thanks for a great memorable day BT.

Brief Update - A week to go to the big ride.......

2009-09-01T11:41:00.000-07:00

Evening All, Brief update tonight as I'm a day late updating the blog and conscious with less than 5 days till the big race I didn't have an update of this weekends events.

The August Bank Holiday weekend was an eventful one both training and spending time with the family. Myself and Ben G had an early start Sunday morning and headed out on a ride. We covered 38 miles with an average speed of 18.2mph in just over 2 hours. We did a new circuit I ha vent done before and it was excellent and something I would do again soon. I have talked abut it in previous blogs how flat the area is were we live. This is great for riding continuous with no let up.

The August Bank Holiday on the 31st always sees my dad and fay celebrate their birthdays so this year we had a shindig at ours on the Sunday afternoon. It was great to have the family together and felt like ages since we had last done it. The bad weather didn't stop us having a BBQ and a good time!!!

The Monday saw us head up to the coast and spend the day on the beach at Filey, having fish and chips on the front, ice cream for the girls and watching the RAF helicopter from Leconfield save someone who had fallen down the cliff edge, exiting stuff.

Well, 5 days till the big race, just going to take it easy this week, couple of gentle rides for 30mins or so to keep the legs ticking over but more importantly making sure I eat the right stuff. The hard work of training has been done now its just down to the day and the hope of some good weather and a good race. Until the next update.............

September Challenge - Minimum of 100 sit ups everyday.

140 Miles on the Bike in 2 days

2009-08-23T11:26:00.000-07:00

Evening! Im writing this blog laid in bed with my feet up feeling the effects of a grueling 67 mile ride with Ben that was quite different to the one of last week!

The start of this blog replicates pretty much last weeks update. This week at work has yet again been a combination of driving (700miles not including Coventry) and pretty long days out with the team but all has ended pretty well with the team finishing No.1 on a period focus we have every month. On the back of this we have £400 to spend on a day out so will let you know how we get on and what we decide.

This weekend we had planned to do back to back long rides, this time down in Coventry at Bens. Ben has planned this route after doing several stages himself but not all at once. We were really proud of our ride, time and average speed but didnt want to led into a false sense of security as the ride we did last week, although 65 miles was relatively flat. The challenge Ben had set this early Sunday morning was a 67 mile route that took in the surronding countryside arou8nd Coventry, including Foss Road (the longest Roman built road in England).

The route Ben had done looked as follows:

1. BT Towers (approx 1-2 mile cycle to coombe abbey then clear countryside)

2. Brinklow village

3. Kings Newnham (short climb to a farm top)

4. Little Lawford road (fast rolling descent approx 1mile)

5. Harbourough Magna (steady queit rolling roads to the village)

6. Pailton (possibly via Easenhall back roads)

7. Monks Kirby (fast exit from Pailton 1mile stretch)

8. Claybrooke Parva/Magna (country back roads to villages in a loop)

9. The Fosse Way (Most famous Roman road in England! Runs all way to Bath)

10. Withybrook (mega country lanes rolling virtually never seen a car!)

11. Fosse Way

12. Bretford

13. Kings Newnham lower village = continue down to Church Lawford village

14. Cross and down to A45

15. Dunchurch

16. Draycote Water (Lunch stop 30-45mins?) X2 5mile loop velodrome style if we feel up to it to clock up the miles)

17. Draycote Water to Kites Hardwick

18. Leamington Hastings to Birdnigbury

19. Frankton to Streton on Dunsmore

20. Streton = Fosse Way

21 . Wolston

22. Binley Woods to Binley = Home to BT Towers

67 Miles

Summary of the Ride:

1/ 67 Miles done

2/ Average Speed of 16.9mph

3/ Completed in 4hrs

Credit to BT, the circuit we did was great. Great in the respect of it pushed us again to new limits and was quite different to last week. The roads were very quite, with some really challenging hills. My preparation going into this ride wasnt that good in terms of training and diet. For me the build up to any ride like this you have to be well prepared in both training and diet for the ride so you can reach your full potential. Once again I felt we worked really well together as a team in terms of taking the lead and the other in the slip stream for half a mile at a time. This ensured that at the more difficult areas and also the sections we could get ahead of ourselves, we did just that.

The wind played a major part in the ride as well. It was very windy in places, no more so than at Dracote Water. What a beautiful this is. A 5 mile cirucit of this against the wind at full pace (after 45 miles) was a real test of both our legs. By the end of it we were both ready for the bacon and egg sandwich that awaitied us!

Another learning from the ride today was that on race day we must try and limit our stops to only toilet ones. In your mind sometimes all you want to do is stop and have a break but in practice, when we did this for 10 mins we would seize up quite quickly and it would then take us a couple of miles to get back in the rythmn.

Overall, a really enjoyable ride and with 2 weeks to go one which we both really needed.

Objectives for the next two weeks are:

Light training every night this week (minimum of 20 mins on the turbo) and light wieghts.

Big ride at the weekend at some point (70 miles)

The week after will be one of taking it easy with just maybe a couple of 20 mins cycle to keep the legs stretched and ticking over.

PS. Ben G - Thanks for letting me borrow your Trek over the last few weeks. Although the frame might be a little too small i just love the bike and feel I can just keep pushing and pushing. I promise to look at getting one soon!

Other great news is that BT and Anoushka are having a baby girl in about 7 weeks. Congratulations, cant wait for you to join the world of parenting!!!!!

2009-08-16T05:04:00.000-07:00

This week has a been combination of both good and bad. Work has been one of those weeks where the to do lists and the priorities have just got bigger and longer and on top that the new dasboards came out for the sales managers and the TSR's for the seconf half of the year which has meant disecting the information out of there to ensure they are correct but at the same understand where we are and where we need to be and what we need to do to get there so yeah, pretty challenging week. Good news on the sales manager dashboard front is that I am currently 2nd out of 31 sales managers nationally. We still have the rest of the year to go but the quicker you get out the blocks the more effective you can be later on in the year driving the specifics.

The weekend has been a great one. With the ever closing bike race on the 6th Sept coming up, me and my best buddy Ben made a big milestone this weekend. Dr Ben lives in Coventry and the nature of his job can be quite long hours so from that point of view we have both been doing similiar amounts of training. Last weekend we both did 30 miles on Saturday and Sunday so we seemed to be both going in the right direction.

Saturday morning saw my alarm go off at 05:45am although i felt like i was awake for the majority of the night due to heat and the prospect of doing a 60 mile ride with Ben in the morning. I had planned the route from Bens mum and dads house in Willerby which saw us take in the following route.

1/Willerby - Cottingham - Skidby - Walkington - North Newbald - Sancton - Market Weighton - Holme Upon Spalding Moor - Bubwith - Wressle - Howden - Gilberdyke - North Cave - South Cave - Brantingham (Spout Hill!) - Elloughton - Willerby.

In the run up to the 94 mile race on the 6th Sept, me and Ben this year have done no more than around 30 miles on the bike in one ride. We used to ride every week when we were at home, trips to Lakes where we would do 70 miles (with my front brake rubbing on the front wheel for 50 of those miles). Resistance training I called it! I had this ride at been about 64 miles so quite a big jump from what we have done recently and 10 years on from those biking days in Hull we where both wondering how our bodies would react!

I could detail the ride stage by stage but in trying to keep my blogging short and sweet, Ill just highlight key areas.

1/ 65 miles Completed

2/ 3hours 40mins

3/ Avg Speed 17.6mph

4/ We thought we had prepared well by taking onboard plenty of fluids, energy bars / gels / shots! but what one key learning was that at around 40 miles we had nothing really substancial to eat like a tuna sandwich etc. We had plenty of energy in the form of taurine / glucose / caffeine but nothing really substancial in the way of protein for the hours we had been on the bike and more importantly the calories that we had burnt. On the day of the race we will be looking at burning 4,000 calories so it is vitally important that we get that extra protein before its too late. Big learning curve.

5/ The big positive for me was how well we both worked as a team as we are both very similiar strength and stamina wise on the bike. For sections we took it in turns leading for a mile while the other had a rest and so on. One of the highlights for me was when we left my mum and dads, 7 miles from Bens. As soon as we set off my legs were really struggling and we headed for a long stretch of road called Great Gutter Lane. Its relatively flat but really open and if you hit a head wind the legs really take a battering over the 5 mile stretch. The wind was behind us though and this seemed to give us the energy to give a massive push. For this 5 mile stretch we averaged the 30mph mark non stop. It was amazing, the bikes just glided and it was a great end to what had been a fantastic ride.

Our next planned ride together is next weekend. Me and the girls are driving down on Saturday and we are going out again, early in the morning to do the same amount of miles.

Objectives for this ride.

1/ Ride 70 miles minimum

2/ To complete in less than 3hours 45mins

3/ Increase our average speed to 18mph.

4/ Take onboard key proteins at the half way stage and energy bars / gels / shots ongoing to prevent muscle and energy fatigue.

My aim is to do 3 nights this week on the bike trainer for 30 mins at a time to keep the legs ticking over and really maintain the focus on the diet to ensure I am well prepared again for 6 days time...................

Link to our Prostate Cancer Charity Team X-Treme website is

www.prostatecancercharity.org.uk/personalPage.aspx?registrationID=276730

Slack on the blogging front...........

2009-08-12T13:40:00.000-07:00

Hey all, its been seriously slack on the blogging front on my part. Why? well just a number of reasons. 1/ Work over the last few months has just been manic and spending so much time during the day on the laptop dosent really want me entice me to then spend another hour updating the blog. so going forward my aim is to try and update ongoing, short and sweet.

So whats happened over the last few months???????

Charity Bike Ride for Prostate Cancer - Me and my best buddy Ben had originally set out to do coast to coast in one go. Thats around 140 miles from Whitehaven to Sunderland. Whilst surfing the net BT came up with a great idea of doing a different ride for Prostate Cancer instead that the professional riders do on the tour of britain. It is an actual leg of 94 miles we are doing so the last few weeks have been a real focus in getting into shape, focusing on the diet and the training in which both have been successful. We are doing this on the 6th Sept and to make any donations then please visit www.prostatecancercharity.org.uk/personalpage.aspx?registartionID=276730

It really has given me the bug again for training and even more so to get on the bike. Last weekend I covered just under 60 miles by doing two 30 mile rides. I felt really comfortable with both rides and am really looking forward to this weekend and meeting up with Ben to do a ride we have set out to do (64miles) so will update on sunday to see how we got on. We are aiming for 4 hours door to door.

The Girls! - Nyah and Ciara are growing faster than ever. Nyahs personality is really starting to come through and she is picking up on so much. Ciara is now starting to stand up and its not going to be long till she will be taking her first steps. We have taken the girls swimming, on the bikes and on longs walk which Nyah is always leading the way!

Retirement - My father in Law Dave has retired after an amazing 50 years services with his company. If that wasnt enough he is going back to work part time after a couple of offers so that should still keep him busy.

IOM TT - This was a couple of months ago now but me and my Dad had a great time. On the back of our 7th year visiting the island we decided to do it differently this and we went over on the bikes without the engines. We stayed a mile out of Ballaugh with a lovely family. It was amazing to do the visit on the bikes as it just gave such a different dimmension to the island and its beauty, not to mention the racing. We viewed from the Gooseneck which was awesome. Guy Martin was unlucky not to get his first win on the island, John McGuniess was denied his 2nd victory on the week in the senior after his chain came off on the last lap. Spaking to him the following day he said that cost around £50k! Steve Plater as the man of the week for me. Only been a relative newcomer to some of the more experienced riders to win two races was a fantastic achievement. We will certainly do the bike run again next for our 8th year!

Career - I have been made permant as middle manager which I am made up with. My new team are based around the North East in Newcastle and Teeside so after a strong to finish to the half year finishing 8th out of 34 Sales Managers I am aiming for that No.1 position by the end of the year. Watch this space..........

How do you make a proper cup of tea? Milk in first or last? First of course........ an imulsion is a much better combination than a mixture right??????????

2nd Birthdays / Pregancies / Wedding Anniversary / Back Training

2009-05-03T11:18:00.000-07:00

Wow, this chapter is going to include a serious amout of updating. Its been nearly 6 weeks since I last updated the blog. I usually update the blog on the weeks events every Sunday but this just hasnt happened recently. Alot has happened in this time and I would first of all like to congratulate my best buddy Ben and his wife Anoushka on finding out Anoushka is due at the begining of October. Its great news for them both and me and Nikki are over the moon for them. Ben should cope with Fatherhood alot better them me as he is used to getting about 6 hours sleep every night so getting used to 4 hours a night wont be to difficult for him! You guys will make awesome parents and it will be great for the girls to have a little Thurlow to play with.

We have also celebrated Nyah's 2nd birthday! Nikki had arranged for some of Nyah's friends to come round for a party. I came home about 4:30pm to a house that looked like a bomb had hit it! Kids running around the house, food everywhereand crayon marks all over. You could hardly move for the amount of toys but everyone looked liked they where having a great time and lots of fun.

We have also celebrated Pam and Mikes wedding anniversary. We had arranged for James and Lauren to stay at ours and we had booked Pam and Mike to stay at Monk Fryston for the night. We then had Sunday lunch followed by a walk around the gardens. It was really good visit Monk Fryston again and especially when Pam and Mike were celebrating a milestone occassion.

Well the IOM TT 2009 is fast approaching and with me and my Dad biking over there this year for the first time, I spent this morning out on the bike with Nyah. We did our usual circuit of 15 miles but it took a bit longer today as Nyah's helmet kept following off, then when we stopped to feed the horses I noticed her hat had gone missing so we had to bike back a mile to collect it, then we stopped off at the park at West Haddlesley for 20 mins while Nyah played on the swings, the slide and the climbing frame. It not far I know, but my legs and lungs felt really good. We are going over to Hull tomorrow to have an official house warming for my sisters new apartment I am hoping to do the circuit again in the morning before we set off.

At some point over the summer period me and Ben are planning on doing coast to coast from Whitehaven to Sunderland. Its 140 miles and in doing something different for charity we are planning on doing it non stop. This is something I am really looking forward to and in particular the training running up to doing it.

Well thats pretty much the last 6 weeks updated! Ill try not to leave it as long next time................

Our 1st Family Holiday - Lanzarote March 2009

2009-04-09T11:51:00.000-07:00

The May's on Tour!

Our two week holiday destination was the Playa Blanca Resort in Lanzarote. This has been one of holiday destinations for some time now as we visited this resort on a regular basis when I was younger with my mum, dad and sister, and now we were returning with the next generation of the family along with my mum and dad.

The holiday began with an early start on Wednesday 18th April for a departure time of 7am. Having successfully negotiated check in, then passport control we then headed for security. It was at this point the fun really started! Nyah's best friend Dora was snatched from her hand and put through the security checks. What happened as a result of this was Nyah having a huge tantrum because her pride and joy had been taken from her. Nyah laid on the floor kicking and screaming and crying and nothing we could do (in front of the 50 or so other travelers) could console her. The thought of saving money by going on holiday before Nyahs 2nd birthday and paying infant prices seemed a great idea, that is until walking onto a cramped, full and hot plane with the prospect of having my little bundle of energy sat on my knee for the next 4 hours. Never have I been on holiday and would have done anything to be back at work. Only joking!!

That aside, the holiday from then on was really great and looking back, we laugh at the airport and plane fun! We stayed at the playa flamingo apartments went self catering which suited us to the ground to keep with the girls routine. Below was the view from our apartment, the ocean and the beach.

The holiday really was great. The beach was in view of the apartment and we made good use of it nearly everyday. The walks along the sea front were always accompanied by a stop to have a coffee. It was great spending quality time with the girls and amazing to see how both have them have come on so much. Nyah is such an independent little soul and has so much confidence with very little fear. She would run into the sea without a second thought, she loved playing tennis and football on the tennis courts and would walk for miles until she couldnt walk no more.

When you are away from your normal environment it gives you time to reflect on things. This is something that I wrote down while I was away.

Its times like this I feel it is important to document in some way thoughts and feelings. Why? Well when you havent had a two week holiday abroad for four years, its a total change of lifestyle. Having my phone on constantly over this period, checking and been on my laptop everyday, the responsibility of two beautiful girls has resulted in a massive release for me and Nikki. It didnt take long to establish that when we are at home our whole life evolves arounds the girls and to be honest we wouldnt have it any other way. You can though quite easily fall into the trap of the majority of conversations you have just been practical ones about the kids. Let me explain......

We wake in the morning, usually around 06:30am. Questions to Nikki are, Are you working today? Who's looking after the girls? What time is my mum coming? What time is my mum leaving?Who's getting who ready? Feed them then set off to work. Phone call during the day, How are the girls? Has Ciara had her solids? Has she had a poo? Return from work, who needs feeding? Have they had a good day, entertain, feed, showers, milk, bedtime story. Have tea, get ready for the next day then zzzzzzzzzzzz. So as you can imagine it was great to get on holiday and reflect a little on this.

I dont want to come across as sounding negative or that I am not happy. All I am saying is that I know when you have kids they take up alot of time and sometimes you forget about yourself.

Any how, spending quality time with the Nikki, the kids and my mum and dad was great. From having coffee at mid morning over looking the sea to playing tennis, swiming in the sea and walking miles it really was a relaxing two weeks.

Heres to the next holiday......................

On the road to recovery

2009-03-07T11:39:00.000-08:00

This week has been a week of progression. I have felt much better in myself, building my strength back up and getting back into my routine. In the back of my mind because the sickness has happened twice I have been questioning myself when I have been getting the odd tummy twitch or not feeling 100% thinking, is it going to make a third appearance! Luckily when it last happened I stayed off the Imodium and other medication and tried to make a real effort to ensure i got rid of the bug fully by drinking just boiled water. Time will tell but I am feeling much better.

I have had a really good week this week. The girls are fantastic! They really are developing by the day. Ciara is now starting to turn over onto her front a regular basis and is constantly smiling whenever she sees me or a Nikki. From sleeping through the night from 7pm to 7am after a couple of months, Ciara had been waking up around 4am resulting in us feeding her. We have now started feeding her again at 10:30pm and at the moment seems to be doing the trick as she is sleeping till 7am which is good. I think she is going through a growth spurt at the moment and combined with putting her onto solids I think she is just a little bit unsettled at the moment. These last 6 months have passed so quickly and I really cant wait till the better weather kicks in so we can enjoy some good times out playing in the garden.

I had some really good news at work. The team had got off to a really good start to the year and the targets started again as of P2 (February). We had a focus on Relentless and as usual the targets were briefed. The team had a cracking period and came 1st in the region and 2nd nationally so I was really pleased and proud of the team for their performance, they really did do fantastic job.

The gym has been put on hold since I have been ill. This has mainly been due to the fact that I just haven't felt 100% and I have been really busy at work. I'm going to make a real conscious effort next week to build on the weights and do some running.

Just a short update this week. Catch you next week.

2009-02-24T10:26:00.000-08:00

Light at the end of the tunnel,

although it feels like a very long tunnel....................

One of my philosophy's in life is doing things for the future, whether that be working hard to get that promotion at work, saving to go on holiday, training to lead a healthier lifestyle or just planning for the up and coming weekend so as a family we make the most of it. The light at the end of the tunnel signifies I'm hoping to have eradicated our families sickness bug sometime soon so we can get back to some kind of normality. Since the start of the year its been really tough. Sickness has plagued the whole family and the last couple of weeks have been no different. Nikki and Nyah started on Friday with the sickness and diarrhoea bug that they had some two weeks ago which lasted till Sunday afternoon. Thinking that was it and we were over the worst, I came down with awful stomach cramps and sickness on Sunday night along with Ciara in which I am in bed now writing this still not feeling great. The doctor explained that last time when we all had the bug, we hadn't got rid of it fully and as a result this is why it has made a second appearance. He advised that to let nature takes its course and take no Imodium or sickness medicine so we got rid of it fully. In doing this the last 48 hours have been pretty tough but touch wood we are all over the worst of it. One positive, this six pack is coming on treat!

Nikki has been brilliant. She has looked after the three of us while we have been ill and still kept the fortress running. Non stop all day feeding, entertaining, cleaning and washing.

Im really hoping to feel back to normal within the next couple of days and in doing so getting back into a routine. Spring feels like it has arrived as the sun has been shining bright the last couple of mornings, the temperatures have jumped upto around 10dgc and the nights are getting a bit lighter.

Light at the end of the tunnel

To the end of the sickness bugs and the cold winter days

Have a good week and avoid the bugs.

2009-02-10T02:10:00.000-08:00

The start of 2009 has been quite different to the start of any other year that I can remember. Myself and Nikki have very active lifestyles and what with work and looking after the kids, we are also very conscious of eating healthy for the whole family to maintain that health and avoid sickness. In saying that, the whole family has been plagued by sickness at the start of the year.

I'm still feeling sick myself after starting with a sickness and diarrhea bug on Saturday. I haven't felt or suffered with a dose of sickness like this for a long time. My actual sickness has now turned to just feeling very tierd, weak and lethargic. I hate feeling like this, its not much and very frustrating. When I start to feel like I am feeling better after been on my feet for 10 Min's, I feel beat, although I do feel like I am moving in the right direction. To be honest, from how I felt on Saturday and Sunday I feel like I am on top of the world! I spent most of the weekend either sat or over the toilet (not going into to much detail). Really intense stomach pains and going hot and cold didn't really make for a pleasant time. I guess this is what happens when you double your family size over a couple of years. Nyah has started going to nursery and interacting more with children her age and older which increases her chances of catching infections and Ciara is in the process of having her first injections, all I guess add to the risk of us all catching things.

Before this all started we had a lovely Friday evening with our friends Dash and Nat. I cooked for the first time (and no it wasnt my cooking that made me ill and everyone else was ok!) Sirlion Steak medium cooked for the boys and Salmon for the girls with veg and potatoes. It went down really well.

Also recieved notiftication through the post for my entry for the Great North Run in August which I am excited about. The training has been on and off over the last couple of weeks due to sickness and the weather but when I have been training I have felt great and have really been pushing myself. I will be looking to include more CV training and gaining more miles under my belt over the coming months. As I mentioned in an earlier blog, this years training is all about sustainability in delivering results.

I am hoping to be back at work for Wednesday and building up my strength with a view to training at the back end of the week. Im also hoping that thew weather is going to improve. We have had some serious amounts of snow and freezing temperatures which has resulted in ice so hoping this will clear to enable me start on those running miles.

Have a good week and hope you dont catch the traveling sickness bugs!

Twycross Zoo

2009-02-01T04:21:00.000-08:00

The weekend of the 24th was sprent down in Coventry with the girls godparents Ben and Anoushka. We set off on Friday after work and arrived down there about 7pm. I had been feeling ok during the day but by the time I got down there I was suffering with a few tummy pains. They stayed with me and I must have past them onto Nikki as we seemed to both have them for the weekend and into the start of the following week. The weekend was fantastic. Ben and Anoushka had arranged to take us to Twycross Zoo which was excellent, not just for us adults but Nyah loved it. They have everything at this zoo, Lions, Gorrilas, Monkeys (and lots of them!) Giraffes, Penguins. The place is huge and it looked like they were extending aswell. We arrived there just after 10:30am and didnt leave till gone 4. Nyah walked all day and was shouting out all the names of the animals, even little Ciara loved it.

I was in my element with my camera. I was using my 80 to 300mm lenses and some of the shots I was getting froma distance of the lions in particular, I was really pleased with. Thanks for a great weekend guys, really enjoyed it and cant wait to do it again!

TENNIS - 1st Feb 2009

Mens Final - Australian Open

WOW, We had plans for this Sunday to get up and visit Atkinsons Fencings to order a Pergola and some sleepers for the garden. I am made up with the garden but before we started the whole extension I had a vision in my head of how I wanted the garden and its not quite there yet. I want it to be an extension of our kitchen / dining room with a seating area and under cover area so I wanted to go and order the parts so I could start on it next weekend.

That all went to pot when I switched on the TV this morning and the Mens Australian Open Final was on between Nadal and Federer. It started about 9am (9pm Aussie time) and finished at . I have never seen a tennis match like it before. When I was younger I used to play alot of tennis, training three times a week and playing in competitons in and around the north of England in which I represented Yorkshire. One of my sporting highlights of the year when I was younger was watching the two weeks of Wimbledon. The likes of Edberg, Mcenroe, Lendal, Bates, Graf, Navratalova and Chang to name a few were all great to watch.

The mens final betweeen Federer and Nadal was just amazing. Federed was playing to equal Pete Sampras record of 14 major wins while Nadal was playing for his first Australian Open title.

Nadal came out the eventual winner but the level of performance was just something else. Points were won as apposed to unforced errors. Total point won Nadal 173 versus Federer 174 over the duration of the game which goes to show how close the two players are. They are both amazing athletes, physically and mentally. The game was just awesome.

Training has been pretty poor over the last week and a half. No excuses really apart from been busy at work. I have been doing PDR's and meeting which has take up so much time. One thing I am happy with is my diet and the fact I have only had 2 bottles of beers this year so far, and dont really fancy any either. Next week, I am back into more of a routine which I have set myself a target of training a minimum of 4 nights. I feel that the increased focused on my diet will really help in my training and I really cant wait to get back into the routine.

We have been plagued with really bad weather over the last week with snow and freezing temperatures. One positive came out of it, Nyah loved it!

Music Review & News

2009-01-18T12:43:00.000-08:00

Out 2nd March 2009

No line on the Horizon

I love my music, I find it so uplifting and motivational, especially when you can relate to the song or the lyrics or just the beat it has. I look back over the last 15 to 20 years and holidays, marriage, new births, holidays, years, graduating and in general milestones that I have had in my life can be associated to songs of that period.

Three albums that I am listening to at the moment quite frequently are James Morrison, Songs for you, truths for me. Its a great album, quite bluesie, acoustic and really soulful. Three songs on the album that really stand out for me that are on continous play on the Bose system and in the car are track 4 - Please dont stop the rain. Track 5 - Broken strings. Track 6 - Nothing ever hurt like you. Hes got a great voice and is playing in concert at Leeds Academy on the 2nd April which I have just booked so really looking forward to that.

The wife bought me the Kings of Leon album and as time has gone on I still havent tierd of this album. I have been practicing the drumming of "Your Sex is on Fire" from a clip I saw Youtube. Its pretty much there now so just need to get the a band together to play the rest!

Jason Mraz was passed onto me by Ben who lives round the corner. Its just such a great chilling out album. There are so many albums that can be easy listening but the words make you want to slit your wrist. This guy is really uplifting and is great to play on those lazy Sunday afternoons, playing with the kids, reading the papers and having a cup of Nettle and Peppermint Tea, pleasent.

The one musical highlight for me this year is going to be the launch of U2's new album on the 2nd March, No line on the horizon. I really cant wait. Vertigo was such an awesome album for a number of reasons. Each song had really powerful lyrics that were wrote from the heart. Edges guitar playing on the album was as innovative but the same old same old as ever if that makes sense.

The making of the new album from the boys.

Only 44 days to go until the release.......

A visit to the Peak District

2009-01-17T11:36:00.000-08:00

This week has gone by so quick yet looking back on reflection their are only two things that I am going to talk about. Work has been really busy and productive this week doing appraisals with my team and some planning for the next couple of months. We have a dashboard that track, ranks and publishes on sales managers performance nationally. This is produced on a monthly basis and tracks your teams core KBI performance then ranks it nationally. I started the job in Spetember where the team were currently performing 23rd out of 34 nationally. I soon implemented and gave the team increased direction and motivation and as a result the full year results for 2008 that came out on Friday showed I moved from 23rd to 13th over three months so I was over the moon and more importantly really proud of the team for the hard work and commitment they had shown in the last quarter of 2008.

I set my training objectives a couple of weeks ago and I must admit these where to quite a disciplined standard. I am however really happy with the start I have made to 2009. Over the last two weeks I have achieved 6 wieghts sessions, 3 1 miles runs and 14 mile bike ride in which I am planning on doing this again in the morning with Nyah on the back. What I am most pleased with is my diet. I have made a real concious effort to eat 5 meals a day, each one with protien and so far I have not been far off this. I have found supporting my training with the right diet is a so important. I burning more callories by training in the gym so its important that I am not only intaking the right amount of callories but the right source of food. Mentally and physically I can tell the difference so I know I am on the right tracks.

Today has been a great day. For me, nothing beats getting up in a morning and heading off somewhere whether it be the coast, the lakes, dales and going on a long walk. Our good friends Dash and Natty (Nyahs new name for Nat!) headed down to Baslow near Chatsworth House for the weekend in their home on wheels. We headed to see them on Saturday morning and arrived down their about 10am to be greeted by sausage and egg sandwiches and a cup of horlicks! After eating mine in a matter of minutes we headed out into the open Derbyshire Dales which was amazing. We followed the road on a long walk to Chatsworth Garden Center were we stopped and had some lunch. After lunch and a short nap Nyah was great, she walked all the way back to the caravan site along the river. Little Ciara was great to, when she wasnt sleeping she was looking around and taking in all the views! I love going to the Lakes because its what we have always done and it is great, but door to door to get to Chatsworth and the Peak District was an hour and it was a really enjoyable day with great scenery, views, history and walks. It is something we will do again, and very soon.

Really looking forward to next weekend as we are visiting the girls godparents Ben and Anoushka which we havent seen since the back end of last year. Think we are taking the girls to the zoo for the day so that should be really good fun.

Here is to another week of good training.

2009 Objectives and Plan

2009-01-11T11:11:00.000-08:00

Its bizzare, I talked last week about my training goals and my objectives for 2009 and this chapter was going to look at my objectives and goals for 2009 in general. I buy a magazine at the start of every year called "The World in what ever year it is) and this year it is 2009! Its a great read and makes predictions about the financial, political, cultural and travel issues that we face in 2009 around the world, and this year it is a very interesting read considering the economic crisis we are experiencing not just in GB but across the world.

In addition to this I ran a briefing day with my team on Wednesday and within it I ran a training course on Planning and Preparation for 2009 and putting the ownership on the team to take responsibility for their own development. An example I used was that I will support and coach them but They have to take it all onboard and work on this themselves. I could spoon feed them but this would achieve nothing. I couldnt go into their promotional interviews with them and answer the questions, they have to do that themselves with the knowledge they have.

Anyway, the point I am trying to make is that when I started to update the blog I noticed that my good friend Ben had also done something similiar about setting goals and plans for 2009 in his blog! Ben and Sarahs little daughter Evie has not been to well recently and had to go into hospital. She is home now and the May family hope she gets better soon.

Onto the Plans and Objectives for 2009.

Travel

I love traveling, experiences new places, new cultures, meeting new people from around the world and tasting the local cuisine. Its something me and Nikki havent done as much of in recent years due to a number of reasons. Home improvements and our daughters have been the main reasons but I wouldnt have changed any of these for the world. We have booked our first holiday to Lanzarote which we are really looking forward to. One main reason for booking this was to take Nyah, seeing her in a warm climate, on the beach playing in the sea will be magic so really looking forward to that. (And my Mum and Dad are going so they might even babysit one or two nights so I can take the wife out for a lovely romantic meal and skinny dipping!)

We visited Centre Parcs in 2008 and had a fanatstic time. The place is so perfect for families and Nyah loved it when we went so we plan to visit their again.

Me and Nikki have said that we would love to try and get away on two long weekend city breaks. Barcelona and Dublin are two that have been highlighted so hopefully we can plan those in soon.

In addition to this me and Nikki really want to book weekends away with the girls to go tourist attractions such as Chester Zoo etc.

I highlighted in my Road Racing Chapter that I wanted to visited the IOM again for the TT. Other road racing dates I would like to visit are the NW200 and the Ulster GP. I really want to get as many quality pictures of these races as possible so I can start to put my book together. Me and Nikki started thinking of names to day for the book. "Open Roads" was a favourite??????

Use our garden!

After nine months spent last year doing our extension the garden was a right off for the majority of it. Me and Nikki have spent some great times in the garden, not just in Selby but in Leeds aswell. BBQ's, late night chats and entertaining in the garden are certainly a big plan for summer!

Training

I talked about my training objectives for 09 but one thing I didnt mention was a long ambition that hasnt yet been fulfilled and thats to do the coast to coast. I hope to carry this out this year over three days and do it with my Dad and best buddy Dr Ben. If anyone fancies, just shout!

I also love taking Nyah out on the bike which I want to do as much as possible this summer.

Drum Lessons

I have started back with the drum lessons and have now had 4. I have really enjoyed each one. When im there and then driving home I always feel that I have been overloaded with too many routines and I struggle to remember them but then as soon as I get on my kit at home later that week I seem to pick them up straight away! I really want to maintain my lesson once a week with a view to do doing some jamming sessions at some point in the year.

Alot to fit into a year, but aim high and you will achieve alot!!

Bring on the good times

My Training - Qtr1 2009

2009-01-04T00:14:00.000-08:00

In terms of training, 2008 has seen up and downs and no real consistent focus to my training. The main reasons for this are having a house extension done which took nine months, a new arrival in Ciara and the start of a new job at work. All are very big milestones in my life and a significant amount of time has been taken up with these, and some will continue too!

In my training, routine is everything. My main focuses at the start of every week is planning and preparation. This way I know where I am, what I am doing, when I am doing it and how I am doing it. I did this to a certain extent in 08 but as you can imagine with a new baby and job, routine can change.

Sport and training has always been a big part of my life, from playing Rugby for Hessle RU, Football for Hull City Boys, Tennis for Yorkshire, Cricket for Humberside or whether it be training with my best buddy Ben at Haltemprice Sports Center at 10 at night or in my garage smashing lights with the punch bag!

I want 2009 to be a year of sustainability and taking it to the next level in my training. Words sustainability and taking it to the next level don't necessarily go in the same sentence but for me I feel I have the routine and resources. eg the gym and routine with the girls and work and in terms of taking it to the next level, with this is a number of things. As mentioned above, planning and preparation is key. With this in mind, I have wrote down a plan below. I have done something similar before on a number of occasions but never really stuck to it and don't think it was necessarily the best way of training.

The Focus. The below routine encompasses weight training, cardiovascular training and puts emphasis on the diet as well.

Taking it to the next level via a plan and sticking to it!

I have 4 training sessions to do a week and If I am pushed for time one particular week then I can reduce this down to 3 sessions. Each session focuses on CV first to get the heart rate up then weights on a particular muscle group. This means by the end of the week a full body workout will have been carried out.

Objectives for training - QTR1 2009

Carry out a minimum of 3 weight training sessions every wk
Carry out a minimum of 3 CV sessions every wk

3. Maintain the diet across the week with one treat day

4. Train til I fail pushing harder than before

The great thing about the bog is that I will be able to update on my performance every week on how I have done versus the the Plan. I feel really motivated about the plan and training in 2009. I know that there will be times when I don't feel like training or could have a lapse but the difference is that this time is that I have a plan in place, I know what I am doing, and I have the motivation.

Let the training begin..................

Road Racing Season 2009

2009-01-03T01:23:00.000-08:00

Looking back at the road racings season in 2008 saw me and dad make visits to the IOM for the fifth year to see the best road race event on the planet, the TT. The two main favourites for the TT in 2008 were John McGuniness and Guy Martin. John eneded up winning the big race of the week, the Senior with a titanic battle that went down to the last lap with Cameron Donald. This really was one of the closest races contested at the TT in recent years. Guy on the other hand was plagued by mechanical problems in nearly every race and and left the TT with still no wins at the IOM to his name. Cameron Donald and Brue Anstey were the main men at the TT in 2008.

We also made the ususal trip up to Olivers Mount at Scarborough to see Guy Martin join some of the elite riders that have riden their. He is the only rider in the history of racing at Olivers Mount to win the Gold Cup five years on the trot. The most successful man around the 2.5mile course is Welshman Ian Lougher with a tally of over 100 wins at the circuit.

We also made the trip to Dundrod on the outskirts of Belfast for the Ulster Grand Prix. For the first time in its history it was called off on the day due to flooding. This was a real shame as the Ulster is the faster road circuit of all of them and some of the viewing points looked amazing. Maybe next year!

We also had the sad loss of two top riders in Rober Dunlop, the most successfull man at the North West and Martin Finnegan, one of the most promising riders to come out of Ireland in recent years. It really looked like 2008 would have been a good year for Finnegan following the good start he had to the season.

Most importantly in 2009, i want their to be safe racing with no fatalities. Road racing is the most dangerous sport in the world and the riders dont get the financial or emotional reognition that they deserve. A quote in one paper shortly after Martin Finnegan died said Ronnie O'Sulivan had just won the snooker masters. A weekends work had given him the championship but also the grand prize of £250k. The race Finnegan won before the tragic accident saw him recieve a cheque for £200! There is something wrong here. You could probably take the money away and the riders would still race. They do it for the love and the passion of the sport and thats why road racing still remains such an attractive sport for riders and spectators because over the years, the sport hasnt really changed that much apart from the bikes getting much quicker causing the sport to become more dangerous.

I would really like to see Guy Martin get his first win at the IOM. He deserves it. At such a young age he is very talented rider and is one of the fastest riders around the circuit. I am a strong believer you make your own luck but Guy didnt really have any in 2008. He really needs to ensure that all the bases are covered to have the success in 2009 and Im sure he will. John McGuiness is one of my favourite riders for a number of reasons. I love his passion for the sport, the knowledge he has of the TT, the circuit, the history, the riders and what he needs to do. John wears his heart on his sleeve so you get to see how he is feeling on the inside, on the outside. Because of his knowledge and love of the sport you can see how much winning means to him when he come into the paddock.

My objectives for this year are to again visit the IOM for the sixth year in a row, probably for 3 days to see the Senior Race. Scarborough is a must as its an hours drive away. I would really like to visit Skerries which is on the outskirts on Dublin. This is said to be one of the scariest road racing circuits in Ireland so I would like to visit here. Despite the weather and no racing me and my dad had a great time at Dundrod and if possible I would really like to visit for the racing in 2009.

I am really looking forward to documenting the racing I see onto the blog. This will be a great way of looking back in years to come. I now have my new SLR camera for the 09 season so I will post plenty of pictures from the events I visit. In a few years Id love to be able to have enough quality images to put together a book / compliation based on my experience and love of road racing.

Guy Martin Quote:

"The TT is the best thing in the world - ever. You could win a BSB race and I guess your phone would be red hot for two days and then what?

Win a TT and people remember that. I dont want to go to my grave not having won a TT. I want to win 5 TT's in a week but I have got to win a 6 lap TT if I do nothing else.

Thats passion for you..............................

Seasons Greetings

2008-12-28T13:18:00.000-08:00

Well what a great week its been. I broke up on Wednesday 17th December and dont start back until Monday 5th January so that gives me a good two and bit weeks off to spend some quality with the family. Nikki was working on the Thursday and Friday and thats one of the reasons I took the holidays so I could after the kidlets.

I had been in touch with an old work colleague on facebook Claire, who had left the business about a year ago and I havent seen for some time. She interviewed me for my first job and I worked for her for about 3 and a half years. We met at the designer outlet for a coffee and good catch up. The girls were really good and we enjoyed a good session on the activity area for the kids as well.

In the afternoon we headed out for a walk doen to the canal to feed the ducks. Nyah is so cute, whenever I give her bread to the feed the ducks she always eats it instead of throwing it to the birds!

Friday, me and the girls visited my G&G. My grandad had fallen off his bike a couple of days ago in the ice and at the ripe old age of 82, as you can imagine this shook him up a bit and caused a some danage to his knee. I was surprised when I saw him that he was in really good form and his knee was making a really a good recovery. Saying that, I wouldnt expect anything else from my Grandad! My Grandma was on really good form as well and looked well. They love seeing the girls. It must be one of the most amazing feelings when you are young, having a family and watching that family grow to become bigger with a son in law, then to see it grow further with grandchildren and to see it grow even further with great grandchildren must be an amazing sense of achivement, satisfaction and been very proud of your family. Its great to see them both looking so well and I love visiting them whenever we can.

Sunday saw a very special day in the christening of our latest arrival. We had Nyah's christening at Brayton church then at Monk Fryston. As much as Monk Fryston is like a second home to us, we were inviting quite a few kids and we thought it would be too formal so we had the christening at Brayton church followed by food and a wetting the babies head at the community centre. We had a great day and it was great to see everyone, the Tarriers, Weltons, Mckenzies, Wilsons, Inmans and inparticular my best buddy and the girls god parents Ben and Noush. Ben had done a night shift the previous night, finished at 09:30am, drove from Coventry tothe christening then headed back to start another night shift at 08:30! Amazing Guy!

Monday I had arranged to meet up with some old school friends who I hadnt seen for quite a few years. Mikey P has moved down to London now with his partner and has been there for a year or so. Wwe also met Helen and and Louise V who again I havent seen for years now. We all met at the big coffee in Anlaby and it was great to catch up and find out what everyone was up to. We spent a good couple of hours drinking tea and reminising about the good old days, Our boyband, Boys R Us!, teachers, holidays etc. Its really was good and we are planning to do it again at some point in the new year.

By this time, five days had flown by and we were getting closer and closer to santa visiting!

Tuesday Nikki had finished work and we headed out with the girls at 9am and walked into town. We didnt really stop walking all day and having been shopping, eating at Frankie and Bennys and having a few cocktails we eventually got home at about 4pm. The girls were worn out but we had had a great day and Nyah had loved walking all day!

It was great spending time with them over the last 5 days. They really are great. Nyah is just coming on so much and little Ciara has changed so much since she was born. The girls really are my world.

With the hectic past few days I started to come down with a bit of man flu on the eve of xmas, not great timing. Xmas eve soon came round and my mum, dad and sister came round about 3 and we started on the xmas spirit. Dash and Nat came round about 7 for an hour so it was great to see them. Nikki had done a lovely meal of Salmon and veg and that was washed down by a few glasses of wine and beer. I retired early (about 10:30) on xmas eve as the cold had really kicked in and I felt my bed was calling me. When I wake up, will santa have been????

Some snaps from Xmas Day 2008

Xmas was great! My mum and dad and sister had stayed xmas eve and were there to see the girls wake and open their presents, and boy did that take a long time! They were both really spoilt from everyone and it seemed to take forever to open the presents then all we did was play with them all day. The girls loved it and so did I! Mummy did an amazing xmas dinner which we all promptly eat far to much off then finished off by eating xmas pudding.Aanother good thing that came out of xmas day it was my motivation for getting back in the gym had increased massively. By the end of the day, I was already thinking of my goals and action plan for getting back in the gym. I will come onto those in the next update.

Boxing Day saw us head over to Leeds to see the wifes family. Our first stop was to see great grandad who has recently moved into a home. Although his memory is not what it used to be he still has his wit and sence of humour. He enjoyed seeing the girls and even helped them with Nyahs drawings!

We then headed onto the mother and father in laws for brunch with Mel, V and Al. It was good to catch up with them all and again Ciara and Nyah had been spoilt with lots of presents, in particular Dora. We even had time to have a competiton between the boys on the rowing machine which was fun. We then left there and last minute decided to stop off at Monk Fryston for tea. Me and Nikki love it there and we are made to feel like its our second home when we go. We sat in the bar area by ourselves and had tea while me and Nyah played hide and seek behind the curtains.

On Sunday we headed up to Filey for the day. we met my mum, dad and sister up. We went to a lovely little modern coffee shop for tea and teacakes then a lovely long walk down to the beach. As we were walking down to the beach we could hear a helicopter but couldnt see it. Then between the trees I saw it hovering over the sea. As quick as I could I got my camera and ran to get a view of the helicopter. Just when I got the chopper in view it tilted forward and flew away. 10 minutes earlier and I would have had a great picture of the helicopter hovering over the lifeboat which had just come back to shore. I still managed to get quite a few of the lifeboat and their crew bringing their vessell back into the yard.

Visiting the coast wouldnt be the same if you didnt have fish and chips so we went to Browns and had the best britain has to offer, wonderful.

What a fantastic xmas i have had spending it with my girls and family. Its how xmas should be. Only 363 days left til santa visits again................

Serious amount of updating needed!

2008-12-04T11:28:00.000-08:00

My last update was on the 6th of November which is 24 days ago! How time flys and with that in mind I best writing about the events over the last 24 days.

I feel I am really starting to settle into the new role now. As with any new job there is alot to take on board and implement so the team are really starting to make some good strides into their KBI's.

Little Ciara is coming on an absolute dream. She really is amazing, sleeping through the night, mumbling under her voice, content during the day and she is now starting to give us some cheeky big smiles. The smell of those temples and cheeks are divine, I could spend all day smelling them. She will be 9 weeks old this Sunday!

Nyah is also been a little star as usual. Her speech and communication is coming on massively. She is now stating to put together the words she has learnt into sentences such as, "come on mummy," "I love you," "Where is Mikki?" Its amazing how she is now starting to pick up on everything we say (need to be really carefully what we say!)

I have started back with my drumming lessons in which I have set my kit up in the garage and have been going to a place in Selby called the Ore House. I was really lucky to find this place as its the only place in Selby that dose drum lessons. I got such a buzz after my first lesson back I couldn't wait til the following week so I re arranged the garage and got my kit set up. Not to sure if the neighbours are impressed with the noise I am making. The guy who gives me the lessons (Oli) is a cracking drummer and in just a couple of weeks he has really pushed me to learn new styles and beats. Its just a case of practising now until I'm not concentrating so much I'm pulling really daft faces like the man Vinnie Calluata! I'm really going to keep at it because I look at the way Oli plays and I think god, "I have got alot more to learn and I really want to get to that stage!" Watch out Larry M Jnr!

We have spent a two great times going shopping. Last Sunday we went to Leeds for the day to meet up with Pam and Mike and Vanessa and Alex. We had lunch in Cafe Rouge then I walked the girls around the German market while Nikki went to see her Grandad who is in hospital at the moment. The German Market is amazing, loads of stalls selling curry wursts, authentic items and chocolate. We then had a really good look around the shops. Don't know if its a man thing or just me but the thought of going to Leeds shopping and having a really good look around excites me. On the way there I was like a little kid, walking to the shops I was then as soon as i walk into a shop a just freek out! I cant find what I'm looking for, The cheapest pair of jeans I saw where £13 from Primark which where so tight around the crotch I may aswell have been wearing tights, then the next pair were near to £100! I must be getting a tight git in my old age but I cant bring myself to spend that money on a pair of Jeans. Needless to say we drove home with me not buying anything!

Then last night we got the girls wrapped up and headed down to Meadowhall to do a bit of shopping. Again, so excited about walking around and seeing what bargains I could find but I just couldn't see anything I liked and everything was too expensive. It even got to the point were I felt dizzy at the end of the evening from going in and out of shops, funny!

Its great, one of Nikki's best friends from school has moved back with her mum and dad round the corner from us. They have been seeing each other about 3 times a week and its great that they are back in touch again. We even set up a blind date for Donna and Kieth, (even though Nikki wont admit it) and they have hit it off really well. I don't want to say anymore as I don't want to tempt fate but I hope it works out for them. Watch this space...................

I have had a couple of sessions back in the gym now Nyah is settling more when she goes to bed and feel alot better for it.

Well its now Thursday evening and Nikki has gone shopping with Donna and the girls to White Rose, (wish I was with them!). It had been snowing really bad this morning and luckily I had only to go to Hull so not to far.

Really looking forward to Saturday night as we are hitting Leeds for a few drinks and bit of a disco dance with Dash & Nat and Kieth and Donna so really looking forward to it. Hopefully going to meet Barry and Lisa later on in the evening if they can make it.

9 more days left at work, then 2 and a bit weeks off. 21 days til Santa comes, HO HO HO HO

Playing Catch Up..........

2008-11-06T12:34:00.000-08:00

Its been two weeks since I last updated my blog and I really dont feel I have had a spare minute. Things really have been non stop. The last two weeks have seen a visit to see Lee Evans in Newcastle, Golf and team night out at Aldwark Manor, Assesment centres, Halloween parties, and thats not to mention looking after the girls.

I guess one of the main reasons for not updating the blog is that there have been so many developments with the girls that this has taken up more and more time. Ciara is continuing to go from strength to strength drinking milk like there is no tomorrow and piling on the pounds. She is now weighing in at 9lb 4oz. Thats 3lb in 6 weeks!! We will be taking her to Pizza Hut next weekend for the "all you can buffet" for a fiver. Her sleeping routine is also coming on a treat aswell. She is sleeping from 18:30pm til 22:30pm then till 04:30pm so we are not far off getting her through the night. Just a couple more hours and we will be there. If there is one thing that is killing me at the moment its the lack of sleep. I love my sleep, I usually need on average a good 8 hours but at the moment this is been limited to about 6.

Nyah is also changing all the time. Two weeks ago we changed her cot into a bed. The first two nights were great. She went to bed at the normal time, then woke around 6:30ish and came running into out bedroom shouting "Mummy, Daddy, Milk." The honeymoon period soon ended and since Bonfire night, Nyah has cried non stop for about an hour and a half and will not go to bed. She is past it with tierdness but still just wont go down. I have been to check on her in the night and she has fallen asleep sat upright against the baby gate and laid flat out in the middle of her room. She is so cute! Nyahs vocab is also developing. She is putting words together and creating sentences which is great as we are understanding her more and she is understanding us more.

The new job is going really well. I will be glad when Ciara is sleeping through the night then I will start to feel a bit more myself again. That saying, you might be there in body, but not in spirit can certainly be applied to the last couple of weeks!

I also recieved 3 lovely points of my driving license and a £60 fine going to york this week for doing 78mph in 60mph zone!

My rowing machine arrived last weekend and despite one session with my dad last weekend the rowing machine is gathering dust, but not for much longer. My objective for this week is to carry out 4 split sessions.

Day 1 - Chest (1 hr)

Day 2 - Arms (1 hr)

Day3 - Legs (1 hr)

Day 4 - Back (1 hr)

I did these sessions two weeks ago from a book that my mate Ben gave me. Its awesome and to be fair I know alot of the exercises but when you do your normal gym routines you tend to forget about the other exercises and stick to what you know. I ached for days after each session and instantly saw better results so I am determined to carry out these sessions this week.

I am made up for Nikki, her best friend from school Donna who she hasnt seen for 6 years has moved back from the IOM and moved in with her family round the corner from us, how bizzare! She has been round for cups of tea as they have had lots of catching up to do. She also came round for food and drinks on Friday with another close friend of ours Keith. (They seemed to get on really well!)

Just on my final note before I sign off, Nikki has been a star since Ciara has been born. Looking after both the girls at this stage is no easy job, but as always Nikki just gets on with it and does a great job!

Practice what you preach!

2008-10-20T09:34:00.000-07:00

My first week back at work has been manic to say the least! As within previous blogs, I have alluded to how important time management is and this week has just totally gone out the window! I returned back to work with 270 emails, voice messages and urgent requests so what I had planned to do on Monday didn't happen at all, in fact I didn't get anywhere close to it.

Monday was spent all day picking up with my team, sorting out issues and going through emails. Its strange, before you go on holiday (or paternity) you rush around trying to get things done for when you are away and when you come back its no different! By 10am on Monday morning I hadn't felt like I had had the last 2 weeks off, in fact I felt like I had never been away.

Monday ended on a great high through, my buddy Ben and me had an awesome training session. We started off with a 15 minute run, then some really intense workouts on the punch bag, free weights, working on core stability and generally getting the heart rate pumped whilst doing the weights. After the session I was feeling really pumped and the adrenaline was running high. Ben went onto have a great week of training, I on the other hand, didn't do anything else that week.
There are two main reasons why I only had one training session. First of all the volume of work and secondly not feeling 100%. Symptoms been sore throat, headache and general lack of energy.

To emphasis the time, its now over two weeks since I initially started this chapter of the blog so I have decided to write that week off........................

Striving for Better, The Essence of your Imagination..............MOTIVATION.

2008-10-15T13:57:00.000-07:00

"Motivation is the art of creating an environment in which you want to perform in order to satisfy your own needs or desires".

This level of Motivation can be applied to your personal life, goals, family, home, financial status, Social & Cultural beliefs and your physical health. To what level we succeed at this is down to you the individual as you are the biggest instrumental factor in how much "Fire you have in your belly" to satisfy your needs and desires.

The below "Essence of Imagination" can only be fully achieved with the imagination to see below the surface and bring that to the forefront. As individuals, its in our nature to strive for better and increase our personal development. Our possibilities are endless!

We can all be inspired by other people, what see and what we hear but ultimately unless we have the motivation within ourselves to change and become better through personal development, we will look back on missed opportunities, under personal development and generally not being the best we can be.

Having that inner desire and pushing our motivation levels to the max will inevitably deliver against our needs and desires and ultimatley deliver Self Actualisation which I believe is an ongoing framework we work towards.

So get MOTIVATED!

Start as we mean to go on...................

2008-10-09T12:04:00.000-07:00

Does thou love life?

Then do not squander time, for that is the stuff life is made of.

Life doesn't get much better at the moment. Ive had two weeks off to spend quality time with my three girls. Now Nikki is well on the road to recovery after the pregnancy and we have settled into the new routine with the both the girls, it has allowed us to make to make the most of the second week of my paternity.

To look at Nikki a couple of hours after the pregnancy, you wouldn't think she had gone through giving birth to our second daughter. Two weeks on, Nikki is virtually back to normal and looks fantastic. I'm really proud of her, she really is a great wife and mum to Nyah and Ciara. Saying that, I have respect for any women who have given birth, truly amazing!

I'm really pleased with my commitment to the gym this week and especially my diet. I find reading the Men's Health magazines and researching on the web about healthy eating and training a real dose of motivation. I have been training on and off over the last 15 years and never really feel I have reached the "blue sky physique". This is down to a number of reasons, work, home improvements, children. These are all big milestones in my life that have taken up time. These are all reasons for not maintaining the gym but not really excuses. I pride myself on been organized and utilizing my time effectively. I have realised that even when you don't necessarily want to do something, for example go in the gym, if you force yourself to go in and do the session, when you have finished, showered and sat down you can reflect and think that was a good session and I'm glad I have done it. More importantly because the gym is in the garage my turn around for start to finish (gym & showered is between 30 - 45mins). No excuses now, cover model for xmas!

Motto's we use at work and that will be at the forefront of my training will be:

Passion for action

Being the best we can

Pride in what we do and how we do it

Honest, fair and determined to win

My aim is to maintain the hard work I have done over this week and keep to the training regime 4 times a week and diet.

Anyway enough of the training talk and back to the family. This second week has really been an action packed week. We visited a kiddies play house called Creepy Crawlies in York on Wednesday. Creepy Crawlies is an activity centre for kids with ball pools, slides, climbing frames and an outdoor farm with horses, pigs etc. Nyah loved it, especially on the slides where I flew down with her. Its a great chance for Nyah to interact with other kids of the same age so it is something we would definitely do again. After we had been there for a couple of hours we decided to head to my mums to feed the girls. Luckily we arrived just in time to see an old school friend Sukina and little Izac and Isabella. Its been years since we saw each other so it was really good to catch up.

Nikki is from Leeds originally and we lived together for 2 years in Colton. We had some great times when we lived in Leeds and dont really visit as often as we would both like. On Thursday we visted for the day. We arrived in good time and went to visit our good friend Grant who is the General Manager of the Malmaison Hotel in Leeds. He is a top guy and has done extremelly well for himself at such a young age to achieve this position. Having had our own personal guide of the hotel we then headed for a walk around the shops. I love the atmosphere in Leeds with its bustling coffee shops, trendy fashion boutiques and peoples individuality. Alot of window shopping was done but we still seemed to spend a fortune!

We then visited Filey on the east yorkshire coast on the Friday with my mum and dad. To say we are in October the weather was great, very windy but great. We met at 10am in a wonderful coffee shop Nikki and mum went to a couple of months ago then headed down to the beach. Nyah totally loves the beach and the sea an couldnt get for going when we could see the sea! My dad went to buy a football for Nyah to have play around with. Now I must stress, the weather was lovely but so very very windy. My dad bought the lightest inflatable ball that shop sold. He threw the ball to me and the ball took off in the direction of the wind which I naturally chased (forgetting about Nyah who was running to the sea). Needless to say I got the ball back safely and senior saved Nyah! I managed to get some great snaps with the Nikon aswell of Nyah and my mum and dad. It wouldnt be right visiting the coast and not having Fish & Chips so we headed to Browns Restaurant. I remember going their years ago with my grandma and grandad and it brought back some great memories.

Friday night saw us entertain some really good friends of ours, Dash and Nat. We met them initially through Nikki when she worked at the Student Support Centre and since then they have become really good friends. I also agreed that I would do the Great North Run next year with him and Carl his bestman so thats now in the diary!

Its now the eve before I go back to work after two weeks off paternity. The time has flown by so quickbut its been great spending quality time with the girls, family and friends. With only 10 weeks till Xmas, its going to be a real special time with Nyah been more aware of Santa and all her presents! My work load is going to be quite high and intense for the rest of month and really up until Xmas. I am determined to get my team up the dashboard ladder to finish on a high for the end of the year. Heres starting as we mean to go on with the family, gym and work.......

What a great first week on paternity!

2008-10-05T14:21:00.000-07:00

If this week is anything to go by I am going to cherish every minute with my girls as the first week of my paternity has flown by, but what an exciting and bonding week it has been.

We have had lots of visitors to see Ciara, Grandparents and Great Grandparents, Auntie Sarah and Vanessa, Natalie, Katrina and Seth, Keith, Sarah & Ben, Chris and Vicky, Louise, Jane and Peter and Stuart and Fin to name a few.

Friday saw me, Nyah and Grandad May go on our usual bike ride (although first time for Grandad). Its a great circuit me and Nyah normally do and she really enjoys it. We leave Brayton and head towards the Canal then over to the air field at Burn. From here we head on the Trans Pennine route that takes us towards Snaith, but then we divert to Temple Hirst, West Haddeseley, Chapel Haddesely, Gateforth then past Brayton Barff back home. The circuit is about 15 miles and gives Nyah a great way of seeing and experiencing new things. We always see Grandad Mays Hull train going past at which point she shouts "Chu Chuu".Seeing Cows, sheep's, planes and feeding the horses are all part of the ride.

On Friday evening I made a long list of jobs that I wanted to try and get done while I was off and I managed to make a big dent into the list over Saturday and Sunday.

Following the completion of our extension I still had the drive way to jet wash and clean. I managed to get this done on Saturday and probably double our Water bill for this month! Over the past 9 months while we have had the extension done, the garage has been used as a storage place which has restricted me working out. As a result, I was up till around 10pm on Saturday and finished off building my shed on Sunday around lunch time. This has created alot more room in the garage for me to train and room for my rowing machine when it arrives next week!

I even had some help from Nyah cleaning up afterwards!

I have enjoyed every minute of this week spending time with the girls. Nyah is growing and developing at such a rapid rate, I didn't really realise how much until having this week off. She picks up on everything you say, she is understanding alot more and as a result communicating more. As a parent, its a real sense of satisfaction when you teach your children something, they do it and really enjoy doing it. For example with Nyah, she is carrying her dirty nappy (in a bag) from her bedroom down stairs to the utility and putting it in the bin.

Nikki is well on the road back to recovery now so we have said that next week we are going to get out for days as much as possible. A day to Leeds, York and the coast are all in the plans (along with a couple of bikes rides) so lets keep the fingers crossed for some good weather.

Well, just watched Match of the Day and seen the Tigers roar to yet another amazing victory, 1-0 against Tottenham. Last week they beat Arsenal and the teams confidence is going from strength to strength. Hull have now scored the same amount of points as Derby (promoted) did for the whole of last season. That's some achievement from the boys. The city of Hull will certainly be buzzing at the moment.

Here's to another Mega week with the girls..........

My Three Special Girls........and the new routine!

2008-10-01T11:39:00.000-07:00

Its been 72 Hours at home with the latest edition to the family and what a dream she has been! It brings back so many happy memories of when we brought Nyah home but its been better this time round. The reason for this is Nyah is now 18 months old and its great to see her interact with her little sister. She really has been great and is doing some really cute things like kissing her little sister, feeding her milk, passing her toys and stroking her, the perfect big sis!

Monday was quite emotional as my Grandma and Grandad came over. I know that seeing four generations together is amazing but for my Grandma and Grandad it must be something special. Its like me still been around to see Nyah and Ciara's children have children, it must be such an awesome feeling and an amazing sense of how important a close knit family is.
I can only hope that me and Nikki are around to see this replicated.................

Little Ciara is perfect, I got my first little smile today. Her skin is so soft its like velvet and the smell of her temples and body, I could just smell it all day (apart from when she has a poo!)

As with Nyah, we wanted to adopt the same routine for Ciara and so far this is going really well. Myself and Nikki feel that it is really important to keep a structured routine so that we get to spend quality time with the girls but also get that quality time for me and Nikki especially on an evening to reflect on the day or week.

(That last paragraph was wrote 20 minutes ago! Little one has been crying so I have been up to check her nappy, wind her and give her a some water.........and she is still crying!) so much for so far so good.

Today has been a really good day, we have just spent it together the four of us so it has enabled us to get a bit more familiar with things. Nyah is really developing at such a rapid rate, especially with her vocab. Words and sentences she is saying at the moment are, "Come on then", "Sooorry", "Book", "Go walk". I took her out in the car today and as a little treat I put her in the front in her car seat, she loved it! Again it was so cute seeing her with her thumb in looking through the front and side window smiling. I really am looking forward to spending some quality time with my three girls over the next couple of weeks!

Once the kids had been put to bed tonight at about 6:30pm I got changed and headed into the gym and had a really good session. Its been a week or so since I last trained so I had a really good session on my abs and chest......I am aching already and I only finished the session a couple of hours ago. Its one of the best things I did converting the garage into my rocky style gym. Its time effecient, convenient and allows me to keep up to training with no real excuses as its on my door step!

It really feels like autumn now, the nights are fast closing in, the temperatures have really dropped and the garden is now covered in leaves. Guess thats the summer over with for 2008, or you could say, "Did the summer even start?"

Ciara Ann May - New arrival in the May Family!

2008-09-29T11:35:00.000-07:00

Ciara Ann May
Born 28th September 2008
Weighing in @ 6lb 5oz

Well, what a past 72 hours we have had! The weekend got off to a great start as we set off down to Coventry to see Anoushka on her 30th Birthday. Nikki found the journey really relaxing and comfortable and even managed to get some sleep (she certainly wouldn't have slept if we had been at home, she would have been doing jobs and cleaning and things that expectant mothers do, anything but rest!)

We arrived shortly after 10am to be greeted by Ben and Anoushka and Anoushka's family. It was great to Anoushka on her 30th Birthday and have a good catch up with my best buddy. (In fact we made a promise that next year we will do the Coast to Coast on the bike). Equally good was catching up with Ben & Anoushka's family. Chris has three daughters and is in a great position to give me tips for the future, mainly just to do as I'm told because I'm out numbered!)

We left the Thurlow home around 2pm and got back to Tower 29 around 4ish. As we were un loading the car Ben and Sarah walked around so we cranked up the bbq and had some good food and a couple of drinks.

It must have been my cooking but that evening at around 8ish Nikki started with her contractions. They gradually got stronger and stronger to the point in which I rang my mum and dad to come over about 11pm. By about 3pm they had stopped altogether which was quite bizarre as myself and Nikki (primarily) had prepared ourselves for this happening straight away. By 9am that morning, Nikki was concerned that she hadn't felt the baby move for around 7 hours. Following over the phone consultation with the doctors they advised her to come to the hospital asap to get the baby checked out.

The staff at the Labour Unit at York District Hospital are amazing, they made us feel so comfortable and reassured that everything would be OK and following the quick tests, baby was doing well. Again, the sense of De ja vu was very surreal, the drive up to the hospital, parking the car, and if that wasn't enough Nikki was in same room that she gave birth to Nyah in!!!!!

Further examinations showed that Nikki was not dilated and that for the time being, the contractions had stopped so we headed back for home. Once again I cranked the bbq up for a speciality of bacon and eggs! At around 12pm on the Sunday, the contractions kick started again, this time more frequently and intense. They became that intense that I phoned the hospital and we headed back, again! Following examinations on arrival, Nikki was still not dilated. The contractions were that strong that they admitted her onto the ward with her own room and bath. Following 1 hour in a warm bath with really intense contractions, Nikki was examined again in which she had gone from no dilation to 6cm dilated! With Nyah, that 6cm took about 24hours!

In the final stages Nikki had gas and air and then a pain killing injection called meptin then at 5pm on that Sunday afternoon, Nikki gave birth to our little daughter, Ciarra Ann May weighing 6lb 5oz!

Seeing the women you love carry your baby for 9 months then giving birth is the most amazing experience. The helpless feeling of going through the labour not been able to do anything or take away the pain is hard but is totally rewarded by the beautiful little girl (s) that arrived.

Equally amazing was the fact that we were home by 9pm with the new arrival.

Well its 9pm now and little one has just started crying so father duties have been called into action for the night...................

Its the final Countdown!

2008-09-26T11:11:00.000-07:00

Well what a week. I have started this new role as sales manager but at the same time I am still covering my old role as account manager. The work load this week has been on the limit and I have struggled with the "work life balance" but next week should bring an easier week. Oh I forgot, Nikki is due on Wed, maybe its just the start!

Nikki has been a real truper during this pregnancy. Things were pretty smooth with Nyah but the new addition has certainly made her presence known

(surely she cant be as active as Nyah!?)

Nikki is the type of person that what every she gets dealt with or what ever she sets her mind to she will always succeed and do well, (thats why I never win a bebate or argument with her!)

Over the last 27 months, Nikki has been pregnant for 18 months! WOW, thats a long time!

Despite the work load this week I have managed time to fit in 3 sessions in the gym and just as important really watch my diet (saying that I am having a can of Guiness while I write this!). I have been training on and off now for 12 years and really enjoy it but I never feel I have reached my Optimum, in fact far from it. Milestones in our life have meant prioritising on more important aspects. This is fine because I feel that I am getting closer to realizing my dreams of my home, family, financial and personal standards.

Its interesting, I am doing an IMP (Introduction to Management) course at work at the moment. As part of the coursework I have watched a video by Professor Randy Pausch. Randy is a renowned speaker and this pod cast is an excellent motivational piece of work that stresses the importance of "time management". He refers to the old moto, Failing to plan is planning to fail, and this is so true. Being successful dosent make you manage your time well, managing your time well makes you successful. Whats more amazing and unique about Randys position is that he has terminal cancer with only months to live so you can see importance of Time Management.

The very nature of my work invloves concious time management, but this is more impotant in my personal life. Not just for what I plan to do with my wife and daughter (s) when I finish work on an evening, but what I want to achieve with them that weekend, that month, that year all invloves time management. This is further extended to milestones in life such as planning for retirement, childrens education, birthdays, weddings and holidays to name a few.

Plan each day, week, month, quarter and year. You can change your plan, but only if you have one!

http://download.srv.cs.cmu.edu/~pausch/

Since our honeymoon, myself and Nikki have not been abroad so a big part of my plan for next year is to book two holidays. I would like to get the ferry from Portsmouth to Santander in Northern Spain then travel through Roija to Barcelona then up to the north east coast of Spain. A friend of ours Kat did the similiar with her son and they stayed at Euro Camp. This is really affordable accomodation and at the same time puts you in great locations next to some of the greatest cities in the world.

Its now Friday night and Nikki is due next Wednesday. Its Nyahs Godmothers 30th Birthday tommorrow (27th September). They live down in Coventry and we were both really eager to see Noushy on her special birthday (and so is Nyah) so we have the plan of setting off at 07:30am on saturday morning and staying for a couple hours then driving back. It will be great to see them, they love Nyah and are great with her. I am just keeping my fingers crossed I dont have to turn into a midwife on the M1 and deliver daughter number 2!!!

You see, im planning my time more effectively already...............

Scarborough - Olivers Mount - 58th Gold Cup 21st September 2008

2008-09-23T12:57:00.000-07:00

The official last day of summer saw the 58th year of the Scarborough road racing event held at Olivers Mount. The only remaining real road racing circuit in England had their 58th International Gold Cup races, and what a way to end the season after such a bad start.

The start of May saw one of the great irish road racing talents Martin Finegan loose his life in a freak accident in which his bike engine ceased up and he was thrown from the bike at 150mph. I remember meeting Martin in the paddock in 2006, he was a true Irish family man with a real passion for road racing. "Finbar" as he was known had started riding for Yamaha and took the first 2 wins at Tandragee where he was tipped for success in 2008, especially at the IOM.

Gone but never forgotton.................................................................. RIP Boys

Further bad news followed at the North West 200. Practice on the Thursday night saw Robert Dunlop (brother to my hero and legend Joey) die as he suffered servere chest injuries after coming off his bike at Mathers Cross. Robert was the most successful rider around the triangle circuit in Northern Island with a total of 15 wins. Motrocycle racing was in Roberts blood. He had suffered life threatening injuries before but had work hard and returned to fitness to compete at the top flite again.

Robert, Joey, Finbar, DJ, Richard Britton, Darren Burns all had one thing in common, a Passion and love for road racing. That was their life. Yes they are gone, but we must be greatful for the pleasure they have given us. If we could all apply the same motivation, enthusiasm and passion for doing the things we love, we would all achieve alot more and become better people.

As mentioned at the start of this chapter, Scarborough hosted once again the Gold Cup races at Olivers Mount. All the big names had put in an appearance, Mc G, Martin, Locker, Archibald, and the Dunlop brothers to mention a few. Guy martin was on fire on the Sunday. If the Steve Henshaw race had of been any more than 12 laps then I think the old Kirmington lad would have had to come in and change his back tyre. In the 10 years I have been going to the mount I have never seen anyone pulling out the corners sliding the back wheel then struggling to keep the front wheel down as he accelerated away, he truly is awesome and I really feel for him not getting the success at the IOM this year. Mechanical problems cost him in nearly every race but one things is for sure, if he rides like this next year, he will be a tough man to beat!

I don't have any regrets really, I believe in that you make your own destiny and choices and you have to learn from them and move on. If I do have one regret though it not meeting or seeing Joey Dunlop ride. I watch his story over and over on DVD and I am never ceased to be amazed by how such an ordinary, down to earth, shy and humble Ballymoney man did those extraordinary things. What did make up for it on Sunday was seeing something very special which I hope will continue for many years to come and that was seeing the Dunlop brothers competing for their repsective positions on the final finish line. Seeing them race their hearts out and competing with the likes of Locker and Archibald made me think this is the start of a new generation of road racing, or at least a new generation for the Dunlop road racing family!