It proved to be a drizzly day but I had sunshine in my heart – with my own two feet I raced on the circuit in Montmelo for two full laps. I’d signed up for Mou-Te per L’Esclerosi Múltiple, a charity race supporting people with MS and their families. As it was a family event, there were activities for everyone including paddock entertainment. For competitors there was a choice of racing on the track by foot, rollerblades or bicycle, and different distances to choose from. In addition, people were taking part running with their family members in wheelchairs and, for the one mile distance, many with obvious difficulty walking took part – all with good spirit and a feeling of inclusion.
Coming through the last corner before the straight and clocking my best lap time, out of the two.Sprinting towards the finish line, no champagne for me but a well-earned Aquarius.
We all got an orange t-shirt upon registration and the goody bag contained a mix of sweets, vegetable stock and Pritt sticks – odd, but perfect for the freelance teacher I must add.
Ride & Run at Montmelo – the perfect way to spend International WIMA Day
Just when I thought I had the perfect life being able to ride my bike all year, have interesting job opportunities and running in amazing places, I get accused of stealing my own bread in our shared flat. Oh, well, some things still need improving.
Välkomen till något så ovanligt som en blogpost på Svenska, i all ärlighet händer det ju inte så ofta, men det ska bli mer av det framöver.
Jag vill berätta mer om Pikilily, en organisation som startades av en av mina WIMA vänner, Claire Elsdon. Under sin resa genom Afrika upptäckte hon att avsaknaden av underhåll på motorcyklar var en stor orsak till trafikolyckor – devisen kör tills det rasar, bokstavligen. Trafikolyckor är nu på väg att bli en större hälsorisk än sjukdomar som AIDS och malaria. Som den handlingskraftiga och godhjäratade människa hon är ville Claire göra något åt detta. Claire återvände till Afrika, närmare bestämt Mwanza, i Tanzania, där hon nu är bosatt och fullt engagerad i uppstarten av Pikilily – en motorcykelverkstad med plats för upplärning av kvinnliga mekaniker.
Claire i Mwanza. Publicerat med tillstånd av Pikilily
Som ni kanske minns önskade jag mej donationer till Pikilily istället för presenter på min 40års dag och att jag firade med att springa Beachy Head 10k till förmån för Pikilily. Nu är verkstaden snart klar och de kommer intervjua för traineeplatserna innom kort. Jag är fantastiskt stolt över att ha kunnat vara med och bidra till något så viktigt som ökad trafiksäkerhet och jag vill återigen tacka alla mina vänner och min familj som så generöst donerade pengar under hösten! Tack! <3
Paralellt med verkstaden kommer Pikilily köra ett pilotprojekt som återigen syftar till att öka medvetenheten av vikten av underhåll och regelbunden service, men även att rädda liv – på ett mer direkt sätt. Projektet är nämligen specifikt riktat mot ambulansmotorcyklar. Dessa finns redan på många sjukhus i Tanzania, men de är ofta så eftersatta med underhåll att de inte är körbara. Istället för att brukas i sammhällets tjänst, genom att hämta sjuka människor eller gravida kvinnor och köra dem till sjukhuset, blir motorcyklarna stående i obrukbart tillstånd. För att sjuktransporterna ska fungera behöver motorcyklarna skötas om med regelbunden service. Pikililys ämnar köpa loss 4 stycken illa medfarna ambulansmotorcyklar från ett närliggande sjukhus samt renovera dem till full körbarhet. Sedan kommer Pikilily tillhandahålla service under ett år och på så sätt bevisa att genom underhåll och service kan motorcyklarna fungera tillförlitligt och utan haveri.
De nu obrukbara motorcykelambulancer som Pikilily hoppas kunna restaurera. Bild: Pikilily
När motorcykelambulancerna väl är körbara kommer de att användas i samhällets service genom att hämta akut sjuka människor, med prioritet för gravida kvinnor med komplikationer. I Tanzania dör 20 gravida kvinnor varje dag av komplikationer som skulle kunna förebyggas med enkla medel om sjuktransport fanns. Att få tillgång till sjukvård i dessa situationer är helt enkelt livsavgörande, så med tanke på de få alternativ som finns till sjuktransport kommer Pikilily att fylla en viktig funktion i samhället.
För mer information besök gärna Pikililys hemsida och se videodagböckerna på youtube, de illustrerar hela förloppet från början och uppdateras fortlöpande.
Finally, it was time for Beachy Head. We set out from Weymouth on Thursday, to break up the journey and stay a night in Brighton, but also to make the most of our weekend away. The last few days the temperature had gone up and I found myself rather overdressed and needed to open a couple of air vents in my riding gear – I do not complain, we had lovely riding both ways although some stretches had to be done on rather tedious dual carriageway. Other bits, though, were done on small picturesque roads, such as the area of Swanage and Beachy Head itself. We did some reconnaissance on Beachy Head and had coffee on the beach. It was exciting to see the race markers and get a feel for the hills, oh yes, they were steep.
We’re on our way! Bournemouth has quite a Mediterranean feel to it and I love palm trees.Coffee break on the beach at Birling GapThe hills – you got to love the hills!
In Eastbourne, we met with the Sudbury Court mob and went for Italian, pasta is a good call before a long run and most of the others were there for the full marathon so we needed a solid meal. In addition, we needed a good night’s sleep so our social evening was kept short and we went to bed early. For me, I never sleep much before a race. Regardless of when I go to sleep, I just never sleep much, I’m always too excited. Of course, this event was no different.
We do look like quite ordinary people before we gear up.The 10k group geared up and ready for the hills.Embrace the hills, it will go on for a kilometre and that is just the first one!
Saturday offered excellent running conditions, grey sky and sprinkles of rain – my favourite running weather. It was still quite warm and no wind so I realised that I was extremely overdressed in my woollen top – it had to go after 4k.
Up up to the mountain ahead…Towards 40 (years) with a strong stride
The race start was at the edge of the city, uphill and it continued uphill for about 1km followed by a few kilometres of slight downhill and returning over “the sisters”, the undulating hills along the coasts. Quite steeply undulating I must add, about 4 kilometres of that J before returning down the same hill and finishing at the start. I had Christopher and Sue waiting and cheering me on before the downhill and it was an extremely happy me that flew down the hill and clocked 1h 6min 41sec – a good ten minutes or so faster than estimated. Alternative training had helped; I had managed to recover both my foot and my fitness and to a level near my pre-injury self. Well done me!
Post-race lunch with Sue, our Brighton host and dear WIMA friendWhile others were put of by the early hour and rain, Sue and Barbara geared up and came to cheer for me, thank you!
One perk of “only” running the 10k was that I could go for lunch and then shower and come back to cheer for my mates as they were finishing the full marathon. I was deeply impressed by their efforts and I know that there have been many hours of training in preparation for this day so it was fantastic to see how well they all did. After this we all needed a rest and then heaps of food and drink – a grand celebration was in order. And some solid sleep.
After this fantastic running weekend, Christopher and I had some good riding awaiting us. First up to Wessons biker café in Horam to meet Sue and then onwards to meet up with a couple of WIMA-Londoners who were out for a Sunday ride. After another good night’s sleep, we had a stroll in Brighton and lunch in Arundel before getting back to Weymouth. As for the actual birthday, on the first of November, we made a somewhat smaller outing this time to the Tout Quarry in Portland, where we had coffee in the sculpture park and picked blackberries for a birthday crumble. If only I could turn 40 every year!
A stroll on Brighton pier and then we’re on the road againWhat a delight, picking blackberries for my birthday crumble.Apple and blackberry crumble – happy birthday to me!
I want to extend my deepest appreciations to all of you who have donated to Pikilily on behalf of my birthday (I traced £380 worth of donations on the JustGiving page and a further £550 from offline donations) – it is an important project which will make a difference for the local community in Mwanza with regards to traffic safety, as well as providing job opportunities for women, and help making the motorbikes last longer and therefore be more environmentally friendly – among other things. Latest news from Claire concerns some derelict ambulance motorbikes which she hopes being able to bring back to life. You can hear about it in the Pikilily video diary number 11.
