Party in Forest Row

What a joy it is to cycle to the station on the Brompton, fold it up and pop it on the train. The journey down to London was good, only croissant for breakfast though at the weekend - no nice little pancakes. Then I unfolded the Brompton [running nicely thanks to Cycle Heaven] and set off through London to Mark and Mandy's in Wimbledon. It is always good cycling through London and today being a Saturday morning was quite calm and pleasant. Got there in good time and had a sandwich [to make up for the croissant-only breakfast] then we drove down through horrible Surrey to Forest Row in Sussex [yuck, why do people consider this load of roundabouts to be "desirable"?]. Rob and Kath arrived and we had lunch in the pub, which was the Brambletye Hotel which features prominently in the Sherlock Holmes story The Adventure of Black Peter. Then it was up to Andy & Liz's 30th wedding anniversary party. This was a lavish affair - two bands, marquees, lots of food etc. We all enjoyed it. There was a scrolling selection of photos from the past going round, one of them was of Mark, Rob and I in about 1980. Not much difference from this photo really.

Size

My sister's Suffolk cottage is delightful, but not really built for someone who is six foot two.

All seems to be going well in the states. Today Rowan starts at George School.

The Tunnel of Uncertainty

Rowan's last High Jump training at Wakefield for a long while was on Saturday. I did my usual mountain bike ride around the place and discovered this footbridge over the river inside a railway bridge. A triumph of Victorian design but not for the feint-hearted.
Faye and Edward invited me round for dinner last night, perfect for me.

The Traveller

This was Rowan on her way to the airport yesterday with her luggage. Unfortunately Milo was not allowed on the plane so he stayed with me.

Today I went a good long ride, 113km, to Fountains Abbey which did me good.

'Tis Done

I went on the train with Danielle and Rowan to Manchester Airport, and said goodbye to Rowan there. Next time she is the UK will be December. It was a medium tearful goodbye - we held it together pretty well.

My main hope is that Rowan is happy over there. I can deal with her being away as long as I know she is OK herself.

The photo is from the Islington Museum which lives under the library in Finsbury. Setting up the Museum was a seemingly forlorn pet project of one of the councillors I used to work with back in the 90s, Pat Haynes, so it is good to see that it came to fruition in the end.

The Big Adventure

Just about everyone at the party asked "why is Rowan going to the states?". The answer is;

a] she wanted to do the International Baccalaureate and it was no longer available in York. The IB means she can study a far wider range of subjects at advanced level [rather than the three or four at A level] which she is very keen to do. She likes science, maths and history and english and languages, so it seems crazy to give them up. It will be hard work though.

b] she got a big scholarship to attend the George School, and we got financial help as well.

c] she wants to stay in touch with her American heritage. She has family and family friends nearby in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

d] she seems to want to live adventurously [Quaker text http://www.quaker.org.uk/advices/27 ] and we wanted to support her in that.

The reality is that I am thinking, "oh no, why is she going away?" Got to be strong.

The photo is an action shot of me on the harp from yesterday, taken by Rowan.

Party Party

We had a party this afternoon which was a low key farewell to Rowan from people who have know her over the years. It went really well, a really good mix of people. The undoubted highlight was the world premiere of Greg and my band Don Valley and the Broken Promises.
Went down well and felt great to play for people 
again [19 years I reckon]. You can Soundcloud it at https://soundcloud.com/lenoir/don-valley-the-broken-promises-2014-august-gig

Guided Busway

On the way back from Suffolk I found a good place to stop and walk the dog. It was a fen with a good footpath past some small lakes with hides etc. We walked on then came to this most surreal sight. It is a guided busway http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cambridgeshire_Guided_Busway , where a railway used to stand there is now a concrete track for buses to hurtle along, with a cycle track alongside. Although much criticised by rail enthusiasts when it was built [expensive, silly, what is wrong with the train? etc] I can see its appeal as a cheap to run and low risk service. Weird but strangely interesting.

Last Train to London

This time next week Rowan will be in the US about to start her new high-school life. So today she and I went down to London for one last Heritage Walk around places from our family past, and to meet up with Victor at the Soho House for lunch. A really lovely day, and great to see Victor for the first time in a couple of years. Photos will follow, meantime here is Rowan and I at the results session yesterday. Unbelievably they chose not to put it in the local paper!

Results Day

Today was the day that Rowan got her GCSE results. They went well, 10 A*'s and 2 A's. Pretty amazing. We all went to celebrate at lunchtime at the Star Inn the City [reserved for treats]. Starter for Rowan and me was Yorkshire Pud with gravy [can't really go wrong after that].

Gardens

Sister Rosemary's vegetable garden is very impressive and puts mine to shame. We have been able to live off lots of the produce whilst we have been here, beans and courgettes, lettuce etc. Here is the daily tomato harvest

Suffolk Walking

Walking the fields of Suffolk is certainly different to up North - no livestock for a start - and it could not be called dramatic, but it is very pleasant. There is a whole network of paths and bridleways at Great Glemham and we have explored quite a lot of them. This one crosses a field of wheat ready for harvest.

Break

The drive from York to Suffolk is long and tedious. Rather than always stop at services, I look on the map and try and find a spot off the main road where we can walk the dog and have a break. This time I found a lake in Cambridgeshire that looked to meet our requirements. It did not, there was nowhere to park. So we ended up in this field, which had a path for Rowan to walk Milo down and not a lot else. But I like this shot. So all was not in vain.

Folk East

Considering my sister's village is such a quiet backwater kind of place in Suffolk, it has quite a lot going on around it. In June the cycle sportive I rode went right through the village, and the Folk East festival is just down the road. Danielle and I went to the festival whilst Rowan looked after my Mum for the day. We enjoyed it a lot; there was a band called The Willows  http://www.thewillowsband.co.uk/ who were really impressive. It was great being able to walk the mile or so from Great to Little Glemham and not worry about the car etc. A really good atmosphere too.

Venice

Quite rare to get a photo of Danielle and I together.So here we are in Venice, taken by Rowan.

Pisa

Rowan and I went for a last ceremonial walk in the Wolds and lunch at the garden centre. Then it was getting some bees with Danielle from friend David Gray.

97% of all photos taken of Pisa feature the leaning tower. But the river at night is quite good too.

Iceland

This is a photo that has emerged from Rowan's Iceland trip back in April of this year. It seems an absolute age away now, before GCSEs etc.

Rowan has been busy saying goodbye to lots of school friends this week in various film and meal locations. They seem genuinely sad to see her go. Not the only ones.

They Do It With Mirrors

There are quite a few photographs over the years of Rowan and I looking strange in mirrors. These were in a pavilion at the Bienalle.

Pasta

The sun of Toscana is starting to feel a way away. This shot was on our day in Montepulciano just before a great lunch.
When they were on their cooking course Danielle and Rowan made their own pasta, and yesterday they tried it out at home with a pasta maker. The ravioli was great!

Bertha

This shot was taken by the cistern in Siena.

A lot of rain here as Hurricane Bertha comes knocking on the windows. Danielle was at a blind and partially sighted sports event in York which Rowan went to this morning as well.

Family Bike Ride

The three of us went on a bike ride, 65km around Cawood south of York. It was good to be out on the bikes all together. Then I had to perform the duty of watching Ipswich on the TV in the pub with friends Paul and Paul, and they won! 2-1! against Fulham!
The photo is from one of the Tuscan hilltop towns. Not quite sure if it makes the grade.

Photo Editing

I have finished the initial edit of the photos from the trip. It is always a case of a gradual whittling down to the best photos. At the moment I am not sure if this is best in black and white, or colour. I think it could be black and white - time will tell. It shows the dry Tuscan fields and cypress trees stretching to the mountains behind. It was taken from a hill top village walls.

Finland

In the Finnish Bienalle exhibition was this bamboo thought-space. I am pretty pleased with this shot.
Gradually getting stuff sorted out at home after the 3 week break - found time to go a great walk with Rowan along the river today. Nice to be home.

Stats

The photo is from St Peters Bridge on the road to Lucca. I always feel a little uneasy about taking a picture of someone else's creation and claiming credit. But in this case I like the photo as a whole with the juxtaposition of the sky and the cross etc.
Stats from the holiday. 1,200 kilometres cycled, 16,100 metres climbed.

Back Home

The bike fitted in the box, the check in could not have been more stressless and the bike emerged at Manchester Airport undamaged. So we had a lot to be thankful for.
Alex who has been housesitting has done a great job, and everything is fine.

Whilst we were away a cow got off the Moor and had an excursion up our street which was caught on video by a neighbour. Looks fun.

Day 23

We had a family day in Pisa and Lucca, taking the train to the latter.

I have decided to fly home with Danielle and Rowan rather than get the bus back in 6 days time. That is the theory; the practise involves getting my bike "packed" to a degree that satisfies the airline. Back in the day it was a matter of turning up with the bike at check-in, deflating the tyres [entirely unnecessary in pressurised holds, but it made people feel better] and that was it. I have travelled to Italy, Norway, Spain, Portugal, Holland, India, Turkey in this way. Not any more, now it costs and now there are packaging requirements. So my task was to

a] find a bike box [cardboard box used by manufacturers to send bikes to bike shops]

b] persuade the owner to give it to me

c] get it back to the hotel

d] work out how to get my bike and rack and mudguards into it

e] persuade the airline that it was all OK

Not easy. First efforts yesterday found two shut bike shops, a quite-cross gym owner being asked "where are the bikes" before I realised I had duff information, and a wait-until-Monday [flight day] resignation.

Then Sunday in Lucca we were walking on the walls where many people leisure-cycle hire bikes round and round. One of the hire places seemed to be a real bike shop as well. I wander in and find the owner, who now has Parkinsons, shuffling in the back. He is a kind man who hears my request and, although he cannot respond with a box, he points me to a man who might be able to. The man is friendly and understands perfectly what I want but says, "I am sorry but we get rid of them straightaway, and we have no new bikes due for three days time. If you come then ..."

I am resigned and disappointed as I walk out the shop, then catch sight of an empty box tucked away in a corner. I rush back "I have found one!". "Oh yes, of course!" He is almost as pleased as I am. Hand shakes and smiles, and I carry the very large cardboard box out the shop.

Next task is to fold it down to size without ruining its rigidity. We manage, then Danielle and I walk with it between us; Rowan joins in by singing "Right Said Fred" which seems appropriate as we stumble around the town. We get it onto the train and back to our B&B.

Of course it could all go wrong tomorrow big time and I could be stuck here with a badly bagged bike and no family. Time will tell. Watch this space.

Family Selfy en route to Lucca

Day 22

So the final day of cycling dawns. Eric drives Rowan and Danielle to Siena to catch the train to Pisa, I cycle off for the 120km ride to Pisa. It is a beautiful morning, with cloud beneath me in the valleys that soon clears for a hot sunny day. I ride the ridge then steep descent to Poggibonsi before pushing on to San Gimignano which I have not visited before. I can ride right into the main square and look around at the famous skyscraper medieval towers - an ego driven desire by families to have something as tall as their neighbours. In some ways it is reassuring that man was as unhinged then as now, in others just a bit pathetic. Anyway the road climbs on and over the last of the Tuscan hills, with Voltarra looking imposing in the west atop its plateau, and finally brings me to the Arno valley en route from Florence to Pisa. I follow the old, hot, dusty Saturday afternoon road on its deserted way into Pisa. I was last here 19 years ago, and it made a big impression on me. Pisa is a cycling town [ordinary folk on old bikes] with a lot less tourist pressure than elsewhere. The Tower has been stabilised, and together with the Cathedral and other buildings it makes for a lovely airy experience after the claustrophobic mesh of Venice and Florence. We got a brilliant B&B in Pisa with a really helpful patrone [my bike is locked in the garage].

Farewell to Chianti

Day 21

Last day in the villa. Tim, Brian and Briana drove Danielle and I into Siena. It was good to be able to show Danielle the city which I like so much. Still just as impressive. Rowan stayed and enjoyed the pool and the sun.

The lavender outside the villa has butterflies and bees in abundance. Not sure what type this is, will have to check upon return.

Day 20

Two car loads of us went to Montepulciano. I visited this hilltop Tuscan town 19 years ago and was totally smitten. It is small, hyper-dramatic and has amazing views across the plains and hills of Tuscany and Umbria. If anything I was even more impressed this time. We walked to the top of the town, saw the B&B I stayed in back in the day, listened to practising musicians for the upcoming festival, and had a really great meal at a family run restaurant. Next we descended deep into the cellars of an old old wine producing house - Montepulciano Vino Nobile is a great wine and no relation at all to Montepulciano d'Abruzzo - had a tasting and ordered some wine to be shipped home. Then on to Pienza with more peaceful hill top musings.

These are not small barrels - full of 11,000 litres of wine