Bit of a change

I mentioned George in my last blog entry. In order to get to his funeral in Cumbernauld on Tuesday I have altered my schedule. I am now travelling with bike and trailer (after a 28 hour battle with Scot rail) Aberdeen to Edinburgh on Monday, staying with with my daughter and family overnight. We travel through to Cumbernauld for the funeral then back to Edinburgh to catch the train to Perth. I then pick up my planned cycle route to Comrie for Tuesday night. I miss out on seeing old friends in Forfar and Rog and Rose in Netherley, I also miss out on 100 plus miles of cycling, thanks George but I would rather have you around.
Of to bed night for a good nights sleep. Next blog will be on the road.

Head winds and other trials

I can't say this weeks weather is what I would want for next week but I've had 2 good cycles out in the pouring rain and strong headwinds. I keep telling myself that it is good for me but I really won't enjoy cycling 200 plus miles into strong winds. This week they have been from the N.W. It would be great if they move round to the N.E. I won't hold my breath.
I've also revised my itinerary so that I will be going further on Sunday night and stopping with cousin Roger and wife, Rose at Netherley. Roger and his late wife (my amazing cousin) Ally, cycled all over the world including across Canada, New Zealand, Vietnam, Cambodia and more so I am hoping to get some free advice along with a bed for the night. Thanks Rog and Rose
I have mastered the clippless pedals......when I remember that I'm wearing them. I only fell off once, having forgotten as I approached a junction. I am also practicing using my i-phone for my blog.
Finally I had the sad news yesterday that my brother-in-law, George, died after many years of poor health including a kidney transplant. George has sponsored me on this trip so I will be thinking of him and his own special form of bravery, he has endured a lot over the years. I am hoping to be able to get to the funeral next week by getting the train from wherever I am on my trip. My thoughts are with Ray, Caroline, George and Michelle.

One or two Hiccups

Before I talk about the hiccups the great news is that I have reached my target and beyond for sponsorship. But don't let that stop you sponsoring me if you haven't yet got around to it. It would be great to get half as much again!

 I speculated last week about getting seasick swimming. I wasn’t really serious but had occasionally felt a little woozy, something I put down to tiredness.  At the start of this week the conditions in Hackley Bay couldn’t have been better. The tides were right and there was a decent swell but no large breakers. My condition was less than perfect. I started fine but after a couple of crossings felt lethargic, headachy and slightly giddy, I rolled over onto my back to see if that helped, it only made things worse. I closed my eyes and a larger wave took me up, then down and I almost lost my breakfast. Conclusion I get seasick swimming.

Back home I sought advice on Facebook and instantly my friends came up with a number of options I could try. On Gayle and Pat’s advice I chose the wristband route first; having a pair left over from cetacean watch days onboard the Hascosay. Tuesday saw me back down at HB, slightly sceptical about whether the bands would work but they did and I had three more good swims this week feeling much better. It may be psychological . I don't know but it doesn't matter!

The trip is not just about swimming. I have been concentrating on that because it is the big unknown. However I have a fair bit to cycle to get there and some big (for me) days. On Wednesday I had things to do in Aberdeen, not least picking up my tent which has been away since 28^th May supposedly having a leaky groundsheet fixed. It is not fixed and it has taken far longer to get to nowhere than I was told it would take to have it mended but that is another story. End result is that I am now travelling with an extra groundsheet which I rather do without. The cycle to Aberdeen (37 miles round trip) included my trailer half full and therefore could give me an idea of how I fast (slow) I would be travelling. I had hoped to average 10m.p.h (this allows time for stoppages, photography etc). Forget 10 mph, forget stoppages, I will be lucky if I make an average 7mph. It is now just week before I leave so I need to get some serious cycling in. This is difficult as I am on a run of 9 shifts in 9 days until I leave plus having to go to some day time meetings.  

To make life a bit easier I have decided to invest in some clip-less pedals and spd cycle shoes. For non cycling readers this is the way to fix your foot to the pedal so you make use of the upward motion of the pedal as well as the down. They take a bit of practise and apparently you have to get used to falling off your bike to begin with. I had wanted a pair that would be comfortable for walking in and suitable for the Paps but the gortex ones only come in men’s sizes.  This is something I often find with cycling (and to a less extent walking) it is all geared towards men. I have to make do with waterproof trousers that are about a foot too long, my road bike is a man’s etc etc. Anyway the pair of spd shoes I was recommended as an alternative would not be suitable for the Paps of Jura so I am faced with carrying 2 pairs of shoes. My trailer is beginning to look small. Cycling and hill walking gear can be compatible but I like to be high viz on the road and no viz on the hill so I have yet to sort this out with separate jackets for each activity.

Whilst I was making my purchases in the Edinburgh Cycle Co-op I was talking to Les, who was advising me on the pedals and shoes, about why I was buying them. He rather cheerily told me that towing a trailer was like doubling your distance each day. Next Monday I may have to leave Aberdeen at 05.00 in order to get to Forfar before dark! It was also quite concerning that many of the staff in the bike shop have had accidents on their bikes when mixing with cars. One had been hit by an audi travelling at 70 mph on the very road I am travelling. Leastways with the trailer I should be more visible. Back home it took me the best part of the evening to sort one shoe and pedal so no time for the practise. The other shoe took less than 5 minutes but both need to be properly adjusted and I can’t find my 3mm allan key. The tension is too tight at the momentt and I can’t get the shoe into the pedal, let alone off.

What I have got sorted is my itinerary whether I will stick to it remains to be seen!.

Sunday 14th work until 5p.m. (hopefully) 

17.30 Leave home ( with Claire and Caspar looking after the house while I am away)

20.00 Arrive at Mary's and Nigel's at Bridge of Don (18.5 miles)

Monday 15th 

Early, Leave Bridge of Don , cycle to Forfar via Montrose and the North Sea Cycle Route 70 plus miles .
Collapse at Tom's and Irene's overnight . A few years to catch up on.
Tuesday 16th
Forfar to Comrie 55 miles, will I still be able to stand by the time I roll up at Vicky's and Jimmy's?
Wednesday 17th
Comrie to Blarghour (Loch Awe) including up and over Glen Ogle. 62 miles.
Thursday 18th
Blarghour to Kennacraig and the ferry across to Port Askaig, Islay 42 miles.
Friday 19th
Gentle day exploring Islay but possibly not going as far as I had hoped. would like to see the Port Ellen lighthouse but that is 20 plus miles from Port Askaig so I may just give it a miss!
Saturday 20th
Over to Jura and the Paps, weather permitting. If not.....
Sunday 21st
Paps of Jura and then head up to Tarbert or as far as I can get before setting up camp
Monday 22nd
to Kinauchdrachd if I haven't already got there. A gentle day of  strolling and swimming etc.
Tuesday 23 rd
Bike, trailer and myself collected by the guys from Coastal Connection .swim the Corryvreckan. Get dropped back on the mainland and start cycling for home probably camping enroute rather than staying with cousin Ian near Oban.
Wednesday 23rd
Get to Crieff and stop over with fellow trustee Deirdre and her parents.
After this it gets a bit vague as I need to get as far up the road as possible, hopefully camping somewhere on the coast on Thursday and getting to Aberdeen by Friday. I am due back to work 08.45 Sunday 28th

 

An offer, a really good one!

Who wants to come and have a jolly time whilst I fight against jellyfish, killer whales and currents? I have a limited number of places on the support boat which I will offer to interested folk on the following basis;

1)if  you can guarantee £75 sponsorship money ( doesn’t have to be all your own but it does have to be raised legally!). I don't need to have this in advance but if you subsequently fail to raise it .......

2)if as far as possible you can make your way to Loch Feochan and the base for Coastal Connection (google post code PA344SF.) in a green as possible way. Car sharing will be acceptable as you need to be there by 08.00 on August 23^rd. 

3) you are on time for departure... the boat WILL NOT WAIT.

Please contact me via this blog if you are interested. 

Time has started to rush towards the 23 rd and I have to remind myself of how far I have come since my first post in March. I can now swim front crawl reasonably well (if slowly) in the sea: I am no longer worried about getting swamped: the sponsor ship money is getting nearer my target. The jelly fish remain a concern though particularly the lion's mane variety. I have heard that this is a "good" year for jellyfish i.e. a bad year for anything that runs into its stinging tentacles. It is thought that overfishing  is one possible cause.    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-14235582  Although lion’s mane jellyfish can grow to 2 metres across the ones found  in UK waters are considerably smaller.  Their sting  is not fatal but not something I will relish receiving on my uncovered face, hands an feet.

This week’s training

Tues 26/07 11.30 Exactly 4 weeks to go to my swim. Meanwhile at Hackley Bay I saw my first positive sighting of a grayling butterfly at Forvie this year.  It is difficult to show its lovely wing patterns as it usually closes its wings when resting (as below)This species is on the UK Boidiversity Action Plan. There are concerns that numbers are declining and a certain golf development just south of Forvie may well have a detrimental effect on the numbers locally.

Grayling butterfly ( Hackley Bay)

Swim-wise the wind was onshore and the surf just the wrong side of moderate. Still I managed to swim 8 widths with a fair bit of stopping to avoid the bigger waves. As I bobbed around like a cork I wondered if you can get sea sick swimming....

27/07 Lovely day, warm sunshine, blue skies: is summer finally coming? Saw 6 flavours of butterfly plus 3 of damsel fly on the walk to and from Hackley. The grayling are definitely here with many seen flitting about the cliff. Also found out that one of my favourite flowers,  grass-of-parnassus (Parnassia palustris), flowering right down on the edge of the beach.

Grass-of-Parnassus

This is a surprise as I have only ever seen it in ditches before and would not have associated it with the harsh conditions found on a N.E. seashore boundary but looking it up not only does it grow in bogs but it also grows in the arctic and in dune systems. There was still moderate swell but I did more swimming and less waiting for the bigger breakers to pass.

28/07 Dull, overcast day with rain at times. This doesn't matter for a swimmer except making sure that towel and clothes are covered up whilst  swimming. The wind had shifted to the west and this meant an offshore wind so the surf had all but gone. Still it was slightly choppy and I looked forward to a continuous swim for the first time in a few weeks.  I have developed my own way of overcoming the gasping of the first few strokes by swimming without totally submerging my face for the first 50 metres or so , then gradually getting down to it. I still breath every alternate stroke rather than every 3 , the latter is more efficient . Unfortunately after a good first length I seemed to run out of steam and ended up doing a lot of slow breast stroke. The consequence of this was a really tardy time of 39 minutes. This is a bit depressing to say the least. Still next week the tides are all in my favour so fingers-crossed that the wind stays moderate and I will have some better swims to build my confidence. This will be my final push before I set off.

Inhaling diesel

Its been difficult getting in the water:last week the tides were right but the weather wrong, this week the tides and weather are right but I have my 2 grandchildren to stay, aged 5 and 8. I can't exactly abandon them on Hackley Bay beach and swim for half an hour. I was then told about the Bay swim, part of Peterhead Scottish week and something to give me a taste of swimming under pressure if I could find someone to look after Joe and Ellie. So Claire, their adored auntie stepped into the breach, for once she was not working and agreed to to do the necessary.
The swim was at 6.30 p.m. and details were sparse. Registration was from 6pm at Peterhead Sailing club. A boat was to take us to the start somewhere in the Bay at Peterhead. We were then to swim back into the Marina;no information about distance,  rules, entry fee or age limit . I decided that I would go , with wetsuit and decide when I got there but first I had a whole day to  spend with Ellie and Joe so it was off to Hackley Bay for a picnic , scramble (on the rocks) surf jumping ( the children), and generally butterfly (6 flavours) , damselfly (2 flavours), plant (loads), birds (loads) spotting. Not to mention the crabs and the dead seal pup ("aawwh granny how did it die?"). We picked up Claire ( auntie) on the way back and headed for Pizzahead (Joe's understanding of where we were headed) Sailing club ( 15 miles north of me).
At the sailing club there were loads of  youngish people of all shapes and sizes milling around with towels. Generally these turned out to be the parents of the swimmers. I was by far the oldest and the only one as far as I could see contemplating using a wetsuit.....but wait there was a man in a wetsuit (and shades...was he here for the surfing???!!!) who was a tad older and slightly nearer my age. So I collared him and found out that a) there was no entry fee, b) we were swimming from the green buoy just outside the marina wall (not far at all) c) Anything goes for costume but he would really, really like it if some other woose wore a wet suit. That was it, when George arrived to take our registration details I was in.
On the walk down to the Marina and the lifeboat (yes, nothing like coming prepared) that was taking us to the start (an orange buoy is now mentioned beyond the green one) the shady guy (46 years) with the wet suit reveals he is an ex Royal Marine but gives me the best advice of the day, i.e. board last ( swim first). Even with this as the rest of the swimmers are obviously current competitive swimmers average age 16, I doubted if I would finish anything else but last. As we boarded I noted a couple of other wetsuits, one that looked like it was a few sizes too big for its wearer.
 20 minutes later after a 10 minute wait out in the bay as they cleared the course of jet skiers, speed boats etc  we were told to come to the stern. I turned out to be 2nd  up and found that I had to dive in (what other way was there?). No time to dither and I was in the diesel coated waters of Peterhead bay. I struck out in front crawl and was amazed at how quickly  ...... ..................everyone  else went passed, the ex RM included swimming breaststroke. I seemed to be inhaling pure diesel every time I took a breath so I gave up and went over onto my back, horrified to discover that the lifeboat wasn't any further away. Still there were some swimmers behind me. I continued on my back, admiring the clear blue sky until shouts from a support vessel warned me that I was heading for the breakwater rocks. I dropped back a few places to get back on course, tried a few more mouthfuls of diesel, then again onto back stroke heading for the crowds that had gathered on the beach. The lifeboat was still just behind be and I finally realised that this was because it was following us in.
I finished 17th ( I think) out of ....20 with at least 2 wetsuits behind me including the extra large one. (RM way in front). I have no idea of the distance (200-300 m maybe) or the time I took. The grandchildren had been to the funfair, had a great time and somewhere ( although I didn't wait around the extra hour for it) there is a medal for me.
Main lessons, the adrenalin wasn't too debilitating, I haven't lost the ability to dive off a boat ( last time circa 1970), the Corryvreckan won't be full of diesel fumes.

A bit of smooth, a bit of rough, a bit of the other

I am either getting used to the cold or the sea temperature is definitely warmer. So much so I am planning (but not yet executing) to complete each practice swim with a length across the bay without my wet suit. A sunny day would be ideal for this but I may have a long wait and only 6 weeks to go.
At the end of June I was over at Corrour for a week on a JMT work party. Most days I went for a short swim in Loch Ossian.I found I really prefer to swim in the sea. The conditions were benign on the Loch but I never felt that I got into my stroke. Avoiding fallen trees and sinking into the sediment on the bottom were enough to put me off. Other than that the beautiful setting and not having to watch for tides or currents were somewhat liberating. Given another week I may have become happier with it.

Loch Ossian, looking North

Back at Hackley Bay the Kittiwake, fulmar and shag chicks are growing and conditions in the bay are never the same from one visit to the next. I am easily distracted by taking photos of damselflies and butterflies on the way to and from the bay.

Emerald Damselfly

Delayed by photography one day I arrived too late for a swim but was able to walk across the route I normally swim, measuring the length by GPS. I made it 152 +/- 5m so am upping my crossings to 8 to make sure I am used to swimming the distance required.
Yesterday my sister, Mary, came too. The weather was dull and there was a fair swell into the bay.

Swimming in the swell

I didn't manage much of a swim but more practice at this sort of swimming should stand me in great stead for the conditions at the Corryvreckan. Mary took a few photos.

Swell

Heading for the Rocks

Mary has also put me in touch with Joan and Mike Richardson who are old friends of my parents. They live at Kinuachdrachd which is where I will be camping on my last night before my Corryvreckan swim
.
You will note some improvements to my Blog over the past week. This is thanks to Dave, fellow JMT volunteer on the Corrour work party at the end of June. Now you will be able to see the weather on Jur (live), a countdown to my swim and brief headlines of previous posting. I hope to be able to upload a slide show of all the locations I have swum at.  Thank-you Dave.
 Finally I have confirmed my itinerary for the cycle route across to Jura. The home  run needs some confirmations.


          

A personal best

This week work has been particularly demanding with the weekend eating up 28 hours plus. During the week I was either recovering before my evening shifts or attending day time meetings but such is life and I enjoy the variety my work throws at me, never quite knowing what will be in front of me as I start my shift. So yesterday was my first swim for 10 days and time was short. I almost didn’t go as there is much to do around house and garden but hey ho that is not going to go away and will be there for another day.

I started badly and was going to give up after a couple of turns of the bay but then something kicked in and I got into the rhythm completing the distance whilst fulmars skimmed over me and the sun shone . It felt wonderful and I would have liked to stay for more, maybe a seal would arrive or I would see dolphins further out but work beckoned. A quick time check revealed that I had managed the distance in approximately 30 minutes. I don’t have a stop watch so this is approximate but it is certainly the way I want to head and although conditions were benign and very unlike what is ahead of me it does give me a bit of a margin.

it was near perfect weather. The walk to Hackley Bay was exceptionally beautiful with the wild flowers appearing in their best. Lady’s bedstraw, speedwell, thyme and orchid by the bucket-load. The violas are still going strong and whilst the thrift is beginning to show signs of age it still waves its purple head as I pass. Here and there lousewort flowers are less showy but add a splash of pink to the picture. I come across a huge patch of butterwort in a damp runnel, their purple flower spike rising above the pale lemon coloured “starfish” leaves. The zygomorphic flowers of eyebright (the flower that figures on my JMT calendar for June) are relative easy to spot with their pouting lower lip. Patches of bell heather flower in drier spots with its relative the cross-leaved heath in the damper areas. Bright green crowberry with their shiny black berries against pale grey lichens show that nothing can beat nature’s colour scheme. Then there are the lemon flowers of the mouse-eared hawkweed that bring to mind my good friend and former walking companion, Heather who is always on the lookout for this particular hawkweed.

I didn’t have time to stop for photographs although if I had spotted a small copper (butterfly) I may have been tempted. On this front there were a few small heath butterflies, a dark green fritillary and various micro moths. This is disappointing. April and early May seemed exceptionally good for butterflies with the overwintering species making a strong start but perhaps the run of stormy weather set other species back. Still like me they have a couple of months to improve!

 Dark green fritillary taken a couple of years ago