Two weeks to go!

Been living on Paracetamol for the past week waiting for an 'emergency' appointment to get an offending tooth   pulled!  It was one of those 'Murphy's Law' things, I'd recently been on a standard six monthly check up appointment and had a 'drill and fill' and a polish.  Not long after getting home I began to notice sensitivity in a particular tooth; it soon became unbearable until controlled by paracetamol.  I had seven days to wait before a special appointment could be set up and so used up all of the out of date paracetamol that we owned!  Bus up the road, a short walk to the surgery and wait; not long thankfully.  After peering at my molar and giving it a prod with his pointy tooth prodding tool he agree "Yes, I think its got to come out".  Two ampoules of novacane injected and a five minute wait for things to 'numb up'; during this time we had a wee chat about my Parkinson's medication and how effective I found it.  This all seemed like polite chat but then it dawned on me that my medication is designed to improve neuro transmissions (messages along nerves), while the novacane is aimed at stopping nerve impulses!  The two drugs were trying to counteract each other!!  Dentist is now fired up and grippy things are clutching tooth.  "Here we go" he says!  Grinding, crunchy noises along with acute pain!  Toes were curled up and fingers leaving deep indents in the chair arms.  "Say if it's hurting"  I gurgled something unintelligible and the pulling and twisting stopped.  Another amp of freezer went in; a couple of minutes while it took effect and the dentist agreed that the med to deal with Parkinson's was most likely wiping out much of the anaesthetic effect on my tooth!!  Wonderful!  "Well it's loose now and needs to come out"......... Fifteen minutes later I'm heading off to get the bus back to Elgin, a gauze swab wedged in the tooth space and a dental information leaflet in my pocket.  Still, It's better than toothache any day!!

Tuesday and time for my seventh anti-androgen implant; so far, so good!  I should get my blood results on Monday 1st April and see how it's all going.  10.00, meeting at The Bothy the Men's 'Gang', part of Elgin and District Cancer Support Group off the leash and out for their monthly meet up, coffee, scone and put the world to rights!

Waiting for the coffee and scones and hogging the table nearest the fire!  L-R Ack, John, Don and Gordon.  The obligatory photo has to be taken for Elizabeth the Group's Secretary, to go into the newsletter.

The remainder of the week has been taken up with spinning, giving the bike a good going over and getting a few bits and pieces of spare parts, split chain links, brake pads etc.  Next job, a spare brake and gear cable.

A very pleasant evening out on Thursday with some of the Parkinson's group, a meal at Elgin College restaurant.  The Hospitality course were putting on a French menu; first class food and service!  All the diners were very impressed with the professional manner the food was prepared, presented and served!  I'm sure we will be back.

Sunday night I'm off back up the road to Inversneckie, Son Phil is playing with Woodenbox at Hootananny's , so a night out to see the gig and then give him a lift back to stay with us for a couple of days before he has to shoot off back to Glasgow to get sorted for a three week continental tour with Hidden Orchestra.  Both bands have just released CD's, they're bound to do a complementary one for the lads dad!?!?

Three Week Countdown

Monday 18th.  Mostly admin stuff, I had my arm twisted (Verbally) to write an article about my proposed ride and why, for BASP (British Association of Ski Patrollers).  I had said I would get it done over the weekend but life intervened!  Saturday and the restless natives (And 'Incomers') were revolting!  I'll re-phrase that!!  Many Burghead residents and some folk from local arts and drama groups were demonstrating about the savage cuts proposed by Moray Council to the library and arts budgets (Burghead is due to lose its library facilities) so not only the books but the few computers providing Internet access used by those without their own computers and broadband systems.  Once they're gone I can't see them being reinstated.
Pessimistic!  Moi!!  Never!!!

Burghead protesters gather in the rain to be led by The Grim Reaper, scythe ready for the cuts!

Monday evening; Elgin and District Parkinson's Support Group monthly meeting, this evening we had two speakers, Pat, the sister of Evelyn, one of our 'Parky suffering' members, and Seonaidh (Shona) her companion on The Inca Trail to Machu Picchu.  They did an illustrated presentation of their walk in to the awe inspiring Inca Ruins and presented a cheque (They raised in excess of £3,000, with £1,175 being

From Left: Gillian (Group Secretary) Pat and Seonaidh

donated to our local support group.
Well done, and a big thank you to Pat And Seonaidh.

Tuesday, got a big packet of venison mince which was slowly turned into a big pot of curry!  Done slowly to savour  the spices and to let it mature!!  Curry bubbling away it's back to working out roughly where I'll be and when during the next three months.

Fortified by coffee and chocolate the plan takes shape.  Ferry out and flight back are booked, it's just the bits in between to get sorted now!!

Wednesday, Bus into Elgin, get specs adjusted so they don't slide forward, tick that one off.
To the Leisure Centre, spinning class, legs, lungs and heart still functioning? Yep, tick that one off.
Back on-line to see if Sustrans have done any up-dates on various parts of the route.  Found an NSCR (North Sea Cycle Route) guide book for Denmark at about a third of the usual price and am now awaiting delivery.  The NSCR is supposed to be way marked but I'm not relying on that, anyway, what's an adventure if you can't get lost now and again!!

Thursday, start messing about with dry-bags and seeing how small I can squash a sleeping bag.  The weather is still freezing!  Decisions on what clothes??  The Vernal Equinox yesterday, officially Spring; nine more days to the 31st and British Summer Time begins!!  Yea Right!!

Update!!

I should have headed it Oops!!  I forgot to put the justgiving links in, it's obviously time I was in my bed!!

http://www.justgiving.com/Tony-Cardwell  should get you Parkinson's page

http://www.justgiving.com/Tony-Cardwell1     for Maggie's

http://www.justgiving.com/Tony-Cardwell3     for Clan

Sorted (so far)

Bed time.

Sunday 17th.
Have been doing some checking with justgiving and there seems to be no way of working from just one page  and then splitting the proceeds.  Anyway, that's the way it is then.  Now, back to peering at maps to get a rough idea of daily travel and where I might be getting my head down!  21 days to kick off (I guess it should be pedal off!!).........

Project prep.

Project Wee Bike Ride:  A bike trip I've had my eye on for a while is Thee North Sea Cycle Route (Google it!).

 Did a bit of research and discovered ferries no longer run between Bergen and Shetland, so a run down through the Islands is out until I get my act together for another trip, as is the Englandshire bit south of Newcastle (I want to have a few days in hand to do all the foreign stuff).

Plan:  Set off April 8th (Bound to be cracking weather by then!!), back roads and cycle ways on NCR1 to Aberdeen, down to Stonehaven, Montrose, Arbroath, Dundee, St Andrews, Kirkcaldy and over the bridge to Edinburgh and a comfy kip at daughter Louise's.  She's promised to take a couple of days off work and pace me over some of the next section!  NCR1 goes in land a bit via Melrose and Coldstream, so to stick close to the sea it's NCR76 through Dunbar, Berwick upon Tweed (Rejoin NCR1), Bamburgh, Amble and Blyth to Newcastle.  DFDS ferry to Ijmuden (Near Amsterdam), turn left and head north-ish through The Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, ferry to Sweden, on to Norway and to Stavanger, then it's a flight back to Aberdeen and back up the road to Burghead.  Around 4500 km, flight booked for 2nd July, got to get back for the birthday bash!!  70, or if you're a 'facebooker' 103.

The ride is for me, it's therapy!  The just giving links are there if you feel like dipping your hand in your pocket, hammering your American Express Platinum card (Visa, Mastercard or any other kind of plastic that will entice money from a hole in the wall), you can even text it!!  Go on, you know you want to!

A sincere thanks to anyone who parts with some of their hard earned cash; as I say, the ride is a therapeutic thing for me and not specifically done as a fund raiser but if the justgiving pages bring in a pound or two to help out the organisations that have helped me so much the better.

March...spring time!!

March 1st, shed painting done! (must take a photo)

That's it, shelves up, bikes in.  April's project taking shape!!  More research to do and bits to gather but it's all coming together!!