It was dirty and I loved it, every second of it, I had forgotten what fun you could have in a field full of “mud for it “ people.

Glastonbury Mudfest

It was dirty and I loved it, every second of it, I had forgotten what fun you could have in a field full of “mud for it “ people. My new alias Tinkerbell Mud has formed a band, I’m on lead with my inflatable air guitar and Dale is on drums, we are called Aerosol, anybody that fancies joining us must be awful at singing and not care, be able to wear wellies like they are the best fashion accessory in the world, drink like a fish and dance like a loon!! With “Wild thing” being my best performed number at the weekend I think I’m off to a pretty good start, Pyramid stage for me next year!.

With my fairylove skirt and hydration pack filled with vodka I was certainly ready to rock, which, with the help of old friends and new I certainly did. With Dale at my side orienteering around Glastonbury was easy, without him I might have got lost (in Lost Vagueness) and never made it back to our caravan at all. The site is too huge to comprehend and I believe it is about a 9 mile hike all the way around, which is incredibly good exercise when wading through extremely sticky mud. With over 165,000 people all trampling around there are certainly some real sites to be seen, I did hear that nudity was banned this year……….I wish somebody told the guy I saw naked mud sliding, believe me it was not pretty!!

With so much to see and do the only stress you really have, apart from the mud and intermittent showers, is deciding which band to entertain you and where, my favourites had to be Kasabian who totally rock and have amazing stage presence and the Chemical Brothers who’s laser show and song “Do it again" - Got a brain like bubblegum totally suited my mood at the time!!? A big shout out to my “Chair leader” friends who joined me in re-cycling old muddy chairs into great pedestals to get a better view. I met a real soul sister who also carried vodka and pinapple juice on her back, totally admired her ability to also “find” a gazebo to party under when the clouds opened up. Telephone numbers have been exchanged and I look forward to meeting again, some people you just know you were destined to meet, regardless of the love of vodka!!

The whole experience took me away from work and training for a week and the recovery will probably take me a lot longer, Jo nearly had kittens with me being unobtainable for so long I think she should come along for the ride next year. I could do with some backing singers…………

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I kinda feel like a mother whose daughter has just shared too much information with her. Glastonbury clashes with Mountain Mayhem so I will be at Eastnor with GR2 shop while Heather is at a Festival with 2.5 litres of vodka strapped to her back; Tracy is racing 24 hour solo, I am going to be a wreck with worry. My girls are very precious.
The thing that makes me feel old is that Heather having badly abused herself for several days will be back training the day afterwards with no ill effects, if I strapped 2.5 litres of vodka to my back, I would be at the chiropractors before I’d taken a sip!

I rode home from work the other day and have managed a couple of gym sessions but to be honest I am finding it very difficult to concentrate on training now as ~ Glastonbury Festival is nearly here Yipee, this year I am going with my sister and our respective partners who are all festival virgins. (first time is always the best…….)

We have had numerous discussions on what outfit to wear or not, how to carry ample supplies of booze etc and will it rain or shine. I am taking my caravan this year so will have relative luxury compared to my previous visits, my own sink to wash in and my own toilet to… lets say no more!!

My new festival essential this year will be one of our Ultimate direction hydration packs, Jo has promised that I can have one if I behave myself I shall be filling it with vodka and orange rather than water. After many festivals carrying drinks around in bag I can think of nothing easier than to have it strapped to my back, it also has a handy pocket or two to keep the waterproofs in should it rain.

I shall cycle home this evening sporting a new Sugoi Campari Jersey, very nice indeed, excellent temperature control and it covers my shoulders which I burnt whilst camping this weekend. I can manage to do the whole journey home without stopping for breath now, which is encouraging and may even go a slightly longer way depending on how I feel. Progress is slow but I’m getting there…

Inspiration…….

Being unwell for a couple of weeks and having moved house not so long ago my training schedule nearly hit rock bottom. With the London Triathlon looming I really needed to get out on the road, with enthusiasm at a low Jo flashed the new range of Nalini in front of me, what else could a girl ask for?, beautiful candy colours and fabric to die for. With a promise of some new kit for the show I dragged my bike out and hauled myself over my first 20k in ages.

Living very rurally the roads are quite a hazard, hills that make your lungs bleed and lorries that come far too close for comfort, I gave myself an hour and a half to meet my fella from work, I called and informed him that I was setting out, just in case I collapsed or got squished along the way.

With the wind in my hair and some very speedy downhills I made it to his work in 50 minutes, needless to say I was absolutely thrilled, as was he when his work colleagues practically cheered me into the yard, hiding my jelly legs I took the praise gratefully and felt a real sense of pride. The ride had been hard at times and on one occasion I had to stop and catch my breath but it’s a good route which challenges both the mind and body, having done it once I am really looking forward to tackling it again, hopefully improving my time and stamina.

With not long to go until London I am still looking at my brand new clip on shoes, I must admit they scare me to death, the thought of coming off the bike at speed really does put me off wearing them at all, with some encouragement and the promise of a better time all round I shall be giving them a go shortly..” To clip on or not to clip on that is the question……..”

Enduro Challenge

Having just watched Jo complete the Enduro ladies challenge there was no way I could back out, being the more experienced rider of the two of us the pressure was on to not only complete the lap but to finish with a smile on my face and un-wounded. With trepidation I went out with Warren, having given him instructions not to let me get carried away too quickly but also definitely wanting to beat Jo’s time of 1 hour and 1 minute.

Very soon the trial led into the most beautiful blue bell woods I have ever seen and whilst admiring the view I nearly came a cropper on a naughty root that lay hidden in front of me, as I wobbled and caught my balance I glimpsed Joolze in the woods taking photographs, damn, not looking so good now I thought! With a sigh of relief at not injuring myself I happily carried on. Warren was fantastic, talking me through any difficult parts but when we came across a sheer drop which I can only liken to like riding down the Eiffel Tower I knew that there was no other way to carry on but to walk this bit, with more experience I am sure I would have tackled it with vigour. Towards the end my confidence grew and I felt like I could have carried on further, unlike my butt which was becoming rather sore from inappropriate shorts.(a moment of vanity on my part!!).

The course itself was easier than I expected and with plenty of encouragement from Warren I managed to complete it in a very pleasing 49 minutes, with a certificate and a medal at the end I felt a real sense of achievement, the only question now is how to change my boyfriends hobby from kite surfing to mountain biking so we can have a go together.

Thank you to Warren

Posted by Heather on May 11, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (0)

Heather Rowlands
DOB: 02/04/1974
Height: 158cms (ish)
Weight: fluctuating
Lives: Herefordshire
Works: Girls Run Too full-time and beyond!!
Loves: Vodka and live gigs
Hates: Hangovers
Worst sporting moment: Falling flat on my face in the 100m hurdles when I was 8 years old, I was in the lead until I looked over my shoulder!
Best sporting moment: getting my first medal for competing in the London Triathlon Sprint Relay
Favourite Food: everything but Marmite
Aspirations: save the world and live in an eco house
Goals for the year: to race London Triathlon using clip on shoes and pedals without crashing and burning.

Heather has worked at GR2 for nearly three years and is the leading light of our customer services department. She finds training difficult to balance with a rather full and hectic social life but is getting the eventing/racing bug, I think we will see more of her on the MTB scene as it offers good racing with a party atmosphere. If anyone mentions camping Heather's brain thinks festival and she is packed!