The beer that broke the camel's back

I know my recent blogs have not been laugh a minute what with all the intense dieting, grueling miles and hills I’ve had to endure and not to mention the copious amounts of tears and vomit but I’m happy to say most of you have hung in there with me (I hope). Given that y’all are still here I thought I would share a couple of funny things that happened this week.

As you know if you read my blog last week my parents arrived here on holiday now I could fill a blog just about them but given that I only have 2 or 3 MS150 blogs left I think I will save that wee chestnut till after the ride. Plus they can read it from a safe distance away from me, 4000 miles being a safe enough distance away! But to get you in the mood here is a wee taster of a blog to come to a computer screen near you.

Monday was my 48th birthday so I thought I would invite a couple of our Scottish friends over (to make my mum and dad feel at home) for a wee bite to eat. I got up really early to start preparing food AND to make my own birthday cake. I have made so many cakes this year and up to now have not eaten any so I was going to make my own and enjoy it! About 2 o’clock Amanda and her husband Alan arrive and Amanda gives my mother a gift, wait is it not my birthday?

My mother opens the gift and lets out this little scream.

Mother “Oh my god! This is the BEST gift I have ever got!

I look over.

Me “What?”

Mother “Oh this is the best gift I ever got!”

Me “Seriously, that’s the BEST gift you ever got?”

Mother just laughs

Me “No seriously BEST gift ever?”

Mother laughs again

Me “Wait, we flew you and my dad over here and that’s the BEST gift ever”

Mother “What? It’s a John Wayne mug?”

Me “eh… can somebody pour me a large drink!”

And that ladies and gentlemen is just a taster there’s plenty more where that came from.

So far this week I have done a little bit of riding and a big bit of eating. I’m putting it down to emotional eating and believe me I’m an emotional wreck but again that’s for another blog. I’ve been trying to catch up on some well needed sleep but try as I might I cannot sleep in late in the morning which brings me nicely on to the second funny thing that happened this week.

The damaged cat – I know y’all have seen the Facebook picture about the dog’s great life and the poor, poor cat who is being held in captivity well the damaged cat (who obviously has Stockholm syndrome because he is allowed out but keeps returning to captivity every morning) is meowing to get in at 6:00am the other morning, I open the door but he’s nowhere to be seen but I can hear him. I look around and he’s there lying on the other side of the gate, obviously can’t be arsed to jump over the gate and just meowing till I open it. When I open it he just looks at me and walks straight past me to the laundry room where his food is and starts eating. A wee while later he starts meowing again, so again I get up to let him out but instead of walking to the back door he goes towards the laundry room. I’m thinking that’s funny maybe there’s no water and he need a drink. I get to the laundry room and he’s just standing there looking at a big pile of cat vomit like ok lady clean that up! I can just hear him thinking (lady look I’d do this myself but I have no opposable thumbs) so I clean up the vomit and then he just heads to the back door where I can resume my duties as cat captor although I wonder who owns who?

I hope that has put a smile on your faces and made this blog a bit funnier than my recent ones. Now back to the serious bike riding stuff. After my great bike ride last week I was thinking that would be my last long ride before the big day however there is one ride left in the training series but it is back where I had my horrible ride I now feel like it’s my nemesis and as the week has gone on while I really don’t want to ride it, I feel like if I don’t I will have not completed the whole training and what if I could not complete the MS150? Would I always think… if only I had done that last ride? I don’t think I could cope with that so with all that in mind I’m going to do the penultimate ride tomorrow morning. 43 miles with apparently 3 big hills, the weather forecast is for a lovely but windy day and I’ll fill you all in on how it went on Sunday.

Well folks it is Sunday morning and the last of the training rides is done! It was a bloody hard ride and I’ll give you “just 3 hills”! Well I guess there were 3 hard hill but lots of wee rolling hills and the wind was not good. I’ve ridden in the wind before but this was not head on it was blowing at the sides and at about 20 miles an hour so depending on what part of the ride you were on it was hitting you at every angle. After the second and final rest stop of the day I could see the final hill coming in the distance and I knew this was going to be a tough one but just as I start to climb this truck just ahead of me coming in the other direction drops a cooler and everything falls out ice, sodas and BEER! What the hell! That was just enough to throw me off my stride (obviously the thought of all those beers going to waste) and then I could not recover and I had to get off the bike and walk up the rest of the hill but not before I have a wee bit of an argument with one of the ride marshals. Well actually it wasn’t an argument as much as a me shouting at her for stating the obvious. Ok let me explain, after the beer rolled past me and I was horrified I was sort of wobbling all over the road and I veered close to the center yellow line. She starts to yell at me to get back from the yellow line and I start screaming back at her that I was not doing it on purpose (did she not see the beer?). Then when I get off the bike she yells at me again to stay to the far right! Duh! That’s what I was doing, oh she was so lucky I could not get up that hill! Stupid tart! Anyway I get to the top of the hill, get back on the bike and head to the finish. That was one tough ride so glad it’s done now. There is nothing left for me to do but doubt myself for the next week and feel sick every time I think of the ride but apart from that I think I’m good to go….

Serious Bit

It’s not really serious just filling you all in on the leg well actually the hip I’m still in pain but the good news it’s not arthritis bad news still don’t know what it is I’m scheduled for a MRI on Monday afternoon so I will keep you posted on any news.
And it’s still not too late if you want to donate.

Here is my link http://main.nationalmssociety.org/goto/izzi

Thanks for reading see y’all next week… love Iz

Oh just to let y’all know I might be a wee bit busy next week but I’ll post something then be ready for a biggy the following week!