Ordinary cycling

There is to be a slight change of direction for this blog. I have begun to find that writing about cycling comes more easily to me than writing about sewing and sewing machines. I started the blog in 2015 with the intention of writing what I thought would be useful things about sewing that might help other people - just as I had found other sewing blogs useful. Cycling was also to be a big part of the blog, and anything else of interest to me, such as make do and mend, preserving and foraging.

However, I have found lately that I have rather lost my enthusiasm for writing about sewing, unless perhaps it is cycling related. Having said that, I do enjoy writing posts about repairs, such as the one on my Barbour jacket. That is actually my most popular post, with 2498 views! That seems like an awful lot of views to me! My sewing machine posts have been quite popular too. Somewhere in between come my cycling posts, some with much higher viewing figures than others. My review of Peter Walker's book "Bike Nation" has had over 500.

Many bloggers give up. I haven't run out of enthusiasm, but sometimes I think that I should blog about such and such on the sewing front, but I really don't feel like doing it - whereas I certainly do feel like blogging about cycling. So now cycling will take priority, although anything on the sewing front that is cycling related will definitely be included.

Now, my explanation for the title of this post is that I don't do a lot of cycling that is extra-ordinary in any way - only occasionally. Most of my cycling is very ordinary and every day, but actually, although I do love reading about other cyclists' extra-ordinary adventures, I am also very interested in the ordinary cycling that people do, the shopping, the commuting, the school runs, the awful rides, the fantastic rides, the just-using-the-bike-to-get-somewhere-because-that's-the-way-you-travel rides. I have never really written about my ordinary cycling; I thought that people would only really want to read about my more adventurous cycling, if you can call it that. But realizing how interested I am in the everyday cycling of others, I've decided to start writing about just that, and to try to write more frequent posts.

I actually find that even the most ordinary of cycle rides often becomes something quite out of the ordinary. Every one includes something of interest. I am very much the type of person who stops to look at things, and pick up things; I'm a natural scavenger and forager. The other day I picked up a dying pot plant thrown in the verge, and which I think is now coming back to life, and a very expensive pair of sunglasses, which I have put on the appropriate "Spotted" page on Facebook. They do rather suit me so I'm hoping I don't get any replies! I also stop and talk to people. And when I ring my friendly bell, people turn and smile!

So, here we go, let's start with today's ride! Bear in mind that when I say today, I am writing on what is expected to be the hottest day of the year (so far), Thursday, July 25th 2019. Most weeks I join my local CTC on a Thursday daytime ride, and really enjoy it. I normally ride to the start to join them, about 6 miles, and then either finish with them and ride the 6 miles home, or leave them at some point near the end to ride home. We do about 15-20 miles; the total for me usually ends up being in the region of 25-35 miles. The only things that have stopped me this year have been ice, illness and the birth of another grandchild - we had a third granddaughter in May!

Yesterday I had cycled to go shopping , and despite the heat had even chosen a long way home, with a good hill included, but I had set off about 8 am before it got too hot, and was home by 10.45, having done about 11 miles. But today I knew would be even hotter, and the ride was due to start at 10.30. To be honest, I knew it probably wasn't a good idea for me to go in this heat, but I didn't want to let people down as this ride has been advertised as a family bike ride, suitable for parents and children and slower and shorter than our usual rides. It's always good to have plenty of regular riders along to support the less regular, or even new, ones. I also very much enjoy the social side of these rides as well, chatting as we go along and stopping for coffee somewhere en route.

I was well prepared, having put one bottle of water in the freezer last night, and two others in the fridge, mostly for drinking (or as spare if anyone else needed any) but also for pouring over myself if I got too hot. I did that on very hot rides last year and it really helped. (Just to add that about 7.45 I'd  walked about 1 1/2 miles up a local track to look for, and hopefully give water to, a little cat that Husband had spotted on a bike ride last night, but I didn't find said cat, though I left some water near where he had seen it.) I drank plenty before I left, ate some yogurt and banana - breakfast had been about 6am - and I put on sunglasses and even my Tilley hat (I don't wear a helmet) which I don't particularly like wearing as it may shield me from the sun but it makes my head hotter, and set off about 9.40, on my choice of steed for today - my steel Trek of 20 plus years of age - by which time the temperature was already 30 degrees C.......

As I rode I was thinking -

"It's already incredibly hot, and I've got to ride back later on when it will be even hotter."

And then I thought -

"This is stupid. I shouldn't be cycling. For my own safety I'm going to turn back".

And so, after 2.8 miles, I did just that, cycling a total of 5.68 miles altogether. I was disappointed to miss the ride, but knew it was a sensible decision to turn back. I'm still sweating sitting here at the computer!

So that's the first report on my very ordinary bike rides! The one that got aborted!

Lizzie

Mending a vintage silk blouse

I was recently asked to mend this silk blouse. The owner did not know exactly how old it was, but my guess is 1930s. The amazing thing is that virtually all the stitching is done by hand and as you can see from the photos below, there is an awful lot of it! Every single seam, all the pin tucks, the attaching of the lace......... it must have taken hundreds of hours.The photos are not the best - I'm still having trouble with my camera..... but I hope you get the gist of things.

The pintucks -

The collar -

The under side of the collar, showing the hand stitching -

French seams at the sides - 

There were various parts of seams that needed mending. On the far right of this sleeve seam you can see the original stitching, and to the left is my repair; not quite as neat and small -

This is where someone had mended it before, using backstitch instead of the running stitch that was used originally, and which I used. The backstitch is a bit thick and lumpy - 

Previous repair

An underarm seam, a bit sweat stained........ I did think of asking the owner to wash the blouse before I mended it, as there were other dirty marks on it too, but I refrained, and just got on and did it. I have read that you should mend old garments before washing them but personally I don't like mending grubby things and won't do it again.

Another previous repair

There is a button missing from the bottom of the blouse now as I had to use it to replace one on a cuff. I also had to make a new button loop, seen here at the top, and looking rather white compared to the one at the bottom. That might be due to a different coloured thread or just that the old one is grubby -

New button loop

Here there was a tiny loop attached to the shoulder seam, with a popper fastening, for holding in place the straps of undergarments, and this is a bit of a mystery, because - the stitching you can see is done by machine! The photo is not that clear but I can assure you that that bit of stitching is done by machine. It's the only bit of machine stitching that I found on the whole blouse, and how strange to find it here on this tiny loop! -  

It was a privilege to work on a lovely vintage garment like this.

Savoury flapjack recipe

A somewhat different sort of post for me! What inspired it was an episode of Dragon's Den earlier this year, in which the founders of a snack company called Oatein pitched for investment by the Dragons. I have since looked up their bars and have not been impressed with their ingredients.


As I watched the programme, I thought about snack bars generally and in particular the ones that Husband and I keep in the cupboard (from Aldi) and realized that delicious though they are, and very good for bike rides, most of the ingredients are grown abroad. Also, the wrappers are not recyclable. Then I wondered - could I produce something that was based on oats but which would not be very sweet and which would contain ingredients which were grown in this country? Something that even contained vegetables perhaps? So the next day I set to work, and this was what I came up with!

Savoury Flapjack

8 oz oats (I used rolled)
8oz hazelnuts
8 oz grated carrot
4 oz butter
2 oz honey
2 eggs, beaten
A large pinch each of salt and pepper

Melt together the honey and butter and mix it all up. Talk about easy.....

I put it in a tin which is about 9" square I think, and cooked it at 150 degrees C (fan) for 45 minutes.
Cut it up when it has cooled slightly, then leave to cool in the tin completely before turning out.

I kept it in the cupboard when I first made it but it went mouldy after a few days so I now keep it in the fridge. And I think it's delicious!

The only ingredient which was not from this country was the hazelnuts, but I chose them because you can obviously get them in this country in the autumn, as you can walnuts or almonds but I'm not sure that their flavour would go so well with the carrots. It's not unlike a nut roast recipe - in fact you could probably make it as that.

It is excellent for taking on bike rides as it is pretty filling stuff and is very quick to just get out of the fridge and wrap up - in something reusable. I think it is a good balance of carbohydrate, protein, fibre and vitamins and minerals. It is actually a lot more than a "snack" - I have taken it instead of sandwiches and it has kept me going for a long time.

If anyone would like to test this out, do let me know your opinions.