Garry McGivern’s Travelsonabike2 3rd-February-2018 update. Due to some technical difficulty, or maybe it was me, I’m not too sure! January’s update didn’t get sent out.
So this is partly a test to see if the email is working but also a link to January’s update. Hopefully, this will now work!
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To see if Garry’s currently away touring on his bike, head over to the Where’s Garry web page.
Thankfully January’s over with the weather has been awful! It just seems to have been wet and windy all the time! Especially on weekends!
Felpham seafront closed off to cycling
On any normal month when I’m not touring I usually manage to do at least 250-miles on various rides or just going to the shops, but this month all I’ve managed is 60-miles! And most of that was on one day!
Stone covered prom
Because of the bad weather, I decided to make another annoying video! It seemed quite appropriate as it was after a windy night on the Isle of Wight last year!
On the health front, I had appointments at the hospital for my back and hips both on the same day, which was rather handy although not at the same time. The first appointment of the day was for my back. Unfortunately, when I turned up for the appointment, it was cancelled due to the doctor being ill! Not the best of starts!
The second appointment in the afternoon was for my hip, which thankfully they didn’t cancel! As this was my first appointment, I had to go through my various health issues! An hour later when I’d finished telling him, he sat back and said: “you’re in a pretty bad way, what the hell have you been doing to yourself?!” After more discussion and examinations he came up with his verdict, a new hip! Which he thinks will also help my back. I’m now waiting for a phone call telling me when I’m going in.
It was only a few days ago on the 29th that I went to the hospital and thinking about it all now there’s a couple of good points 1; it’s a hip for life, I’m having a ceramic hip opposed to a metal one they only last about 20 years. 2; he thinks I’ve got at least 20 years left in me!
Hopefully, the weather will be better in February, and I can get out on the bike a bit more and maybe even do a spot of winter camping, especially if I’m going to be laid up for a month or two!
Garry McGivern’s Travelsonabike2 December-2017 cycle touring photos. Photographs that Garry has taken while travelling around on his bike that have appeared on the website over the past month.
From his trip to London at the beginning of the month, then all the festivities of December with birthdays and Christmas. He finished the month off with his ride around the Southdowns National Park. Click here to see those photos.
You can also find photos on Garry’s Facebook and Instagram pages, which you can view without subscribing. But if you already subscribe to social media, why not follow Garry?
Garry McGivern’s December-2017 Photos
(pictures added to the website this month)
Garry’s route to London the view from Bury Hill
Old house next to the cricket pitch in Ockley, a village on Garry’s route to London
The Oxo building London
The busy London skyline with new buildings going up all the time
Garry in London outside his favourite shop Stanfords
Garry (missing a front tooth) with his brother Eamonn and sister Mary
Christmas market in Portsmouth
Poached egg and pine nut salad one of the meals eaten out this month
Garry’s huge Dover sole
Julie, her mum and dad and Julie’s mum’s brother and sister-in-law
Julies mums birthday cake
Christmas decorations in Brighton
The snow in Garry’s garden, it didn’t last long
Garry’s friend Mick didn’t know which bike to take home after a visit to the pub
Garry all dressed up for the cold weather before his ride up to the Southdowns
Felpham Seafront a lovely morning to go on a ride
Garry at the top of the hill at Goodwood
Subscribe to my blog and follow me as I travel around on my bike. Plus, as a subscriber, you’ll be among the first to receive news and updates on future tours. And, of course, you can always follow me on social media: Facebook, X, Instagram, YouTube and Pinterest. And, of course, I’m on Flickr, where I publish my monthly photos first. Pictures from all my tours, along with my monthly photos, can also be found on Flickr.
If you want to find out if Garry’s away touring at the moment and check his location, visit the Where’s Garry web page.
A quiet month on the cycling front as you’d expect for the time of year. It’s been a bit busier on the socialising front with a few birthdays; the normal Christmas meet up with my brother and sister, and the Christmas festivities.
Garry (missing a front tooth) with his brother Eamonn and sister Mary
trip to london
At the beginning of the month, I was at a loose end, so I decided to cycle to London, as one does! And in the process make a video of it.
The ride up was good with no dramas, and by the time I got to London, it was already starting to get dark! That’s the problem with cycling or doing anything at this time of year there’s just not enough hours of daylight!
But at least we’re over the worst now as we’ve had the shortest day and the days are now getting longer! Not that you can notice it yet, but they are!
december festivities
The first birthday of the month was Julie’s mum, it was her eightieth, so there was a party held for her with all her friends, which I fitted in with just fine!
Julie with her mum, dad and Julies mums brother and sister in-law
The following weekend It was my birthday which was a quiet affair with work in the day and down the pub in the evening followed by fish and chips on the way home! A normal Friday basically, just as I like it! We did, however, go out for a meal in Brighton with Vicky and Paul.
Christmas decorations in Brighton
Three days after my birthday it was my daughter Vicky’s thirtieth, where we once again went out for a meal.
I’ve also decided that this will be my last birthday I’m not going to get any older I’m staying at this age, things are bad enough as it is without ageing anymore! What with my sciatica and bad skin, I’ve also now been told that I’ve got severe osteoarthritis in my right hip, my lumbar spine and also my sacroiliac, whatever that is! I’ve got an appointment with the hospital at the end of January to see what they’re going to do if anything at all!
christmas
Christmas came and went thankfully, with the afternoon/evening being good, it was spent round Julies with both her family and mine. But the morning was a bit of a waste! Normally I would have gone out for a ride to see friends and down the pub at lunchtime but the weather was just awful, and even the pub never opened this year!
In fact, the weather throughout the Christmas break has been pretty awful with strong winds and heavy rain; we even had some snow albeit very briefly! I did at least manage to get out once on the bike and went for a 40-mile ride around the Southdowns, which at times was a little hairy as there was still snow and ice on the roads there!
The icy road leading up to Goodwood
At least with the weather being so bad over Christmas, it has given me some time to look at trips that I could do next year, although I’ll wait until the end of January once I’ve been to the hospital about my hip and back before I book anything!
