A few days to go yet but March has been a quick months – lots of running and biking though and another weeks skiing in the French Alps.

Glad of the longer days but must get bike lights sorted though – was asked to work overtime a few weeks ago – not a problem as I was there anyway and the money will come in handy but then remembered I didn’t have my front light and it was well passed dark-oclock when I finished.   I cycled the 7 miles back home as fast as I could on the stretches that I could see,  hoping that cars would come along so their headlights would guide me on my way – when I struggled to see I slowed right down just in case I missed the road all together and / or went through one of the many large potholes.   BIG,  BIG note to self – ALWAYS REMEMBER TO TAKE FRONT LIGHTS WITH ME!.   So the following week I was doing overtime again but made sure I head my front lights with me and that it was fully charged – fully charged it might have been but it decided to pack in and I had a repeat of Wednesday’s bike ride home – EVEN BIGGER NOTE – MAKE SURE LIGHTS ARE WORKING!

Running mostly going well except for the night I either ate too late and / or too much and / or too spicy before meeting up with Tal and Katie – by the time  I ran to the agreed meeting point at the train station my stomach decided it needed an emergency loo stop – luckily the ticket man took pity on me and let me through the barriers so I could run over the bridge to use the loos at the other side of the railway lines – all well now,  well for the next 2 miles when I had another emergency stop,  this time at The William Wallace Pub – this time thank you to the old boys at the bar who didn’t seem too bothered when a wee sweaty runner ran in looking for the loos – must go back for pint some time – this time all was definitely well and we carried on our way and I did another 7 miles with just one more stop – but this time to take photo of Stirling Castle in the mist and spot lights 

Had another great weeks skiing,  this time in Les 2 Alpes – the icing on the cake was the day we took the helicopter to l’Alpe d’Huez so that we could ski there – now we could have taken the bus but this would have been closer to a 3 hour return journey – €40 on the bus or €70 for a 4 minute helicopter ride each way – we all opted for the helicopter!   One chairlift first thing in the morning and a beautiful ski down to the snowy landing pad to wait in queue for our helicopter taxi – absolutely brilliant day out and I got front seat on the way back – the closest I will probably get to Heli-Skiing!

And a wee bit of America planning – looking for something to watch on TV that didn’t involve too much thinking I found Men In Black II and there is a lighthouse featured in it – looks like a cracking lighthouse – quick bit of research and discover that it is the “Fire Island Lighthouse” on Fire Island,  New York  which you can get to by ferry or by bridge from Long Island and looks like a good wee detour.    Click here for the Men In Black Lighthouse scene

I’ve also bought myself a Garmin cycle computer so hopefully I can log my route – cheers to Alan for the advice;  done some more route planning;  investigated insurance which is a complete nightmare – does anyone read all the small print??   Finally I’ve filled in my online ESTA (electronic system for travel authorisation) and am now waiting the 72 hours to know if me and Bertie are allowed to enter the USA – ridiculous form – tick yes or no to whether I have done anything illegal / got any terrorist connections etc etc – even if I did I wouldn’t be ticking the yes box??

According to Strava it took me 2hr 32min and 8 seconds to ride 27.1 miles this morning – what it doesn’t take into account was the length of time it took me to peel out of my soaking wet cycle gear with numb fingers when I got home before even attempting to find my phone in bottom of pannier so that,  with still numb fingers,  I could push the stop button – reckon I can knock about 15 mins off my time.   Despite the peeing rain and wind and the fact that neither my jacket or gloves could stand up to the amount of rain it was a good bike ride – I just need to rethink my cycling wardrobe before the Loch Ness Etape in case we have similar conditions on the day – it wasn’t particularly cold today but combination of soaking wet gloves and the wind setting in,  it made it feel cold.   Today’s bike ride.

Moving on from rain and wind I finally had my first skiing fix of the year – a week in Les Gets,  France,  with my sister Emma and nephew Ben.   I didn’t learn to ski until my mid 30’s and I’m never going to be very brave or fast – Ben had his first ski holiday when he was 4 and is now 11 and is very good,  brave and fast.   Great holiday and I’m looking forward to my other ski holiday in a couple of weeks time.

My research and route plannning is taking shape – previously though I thought I had plenty of time to get organised – now I only have 5 months left and I’m starting to panic a little – maybe I should just make it up as I go along and see what happens??

Research has included watching the BBC 3 part programme on Yellowstone – great programme – lots of sceenery and wildlife,  including bears and I now have bush fires to think about.   Also watched  A Walk In The Woods – the film based on the book of the same name by Bill Bryson,  when he walked the Appalachian Trail – no relevance to my journey really except I assume I will cross it at some point – but good film and it also had bears in it!

Route planning has picked up again,  with the help of the friendly folks on the Adventure Cycling Association forum now got my route planned through Yellowstone National Park, then east to Granite Pass (51/100 on the top US cycle climbs) and onto to Mount Rushmore. Got lots of tips on where to camp and what to see when in Yellowstone and also advised not to eat in my tent EVER!! – grizzly bears have an incredibly good sense of smell and I’m now trying to remember what and when I last ate in my tent – should I be hanging my tent out to air for the next few months?? – should I be hanging lavender in to detract from the food smell and what is more appealing to a grizzly bear a sweaty cyclist or a freshly scrubbed up one??   According to the National Park Service I need not worry – chances are 1 in 2.7 million that I will be injured by a bear,  far less eaten by one – fingers crossed and all that.

“Bear Inflicted Human Injuries and Fatalities in Yellowstone – From 1980-2015, over 104 million people visited Yellowstone National Park. During the same 36-year period, 38 people were injured by grizzly bears in the park. For all park visitors combined, the chances of being injured by a grizzly bear are approximately 1 in 2.7 million. The risk is significantly lower for those visitors that don’t leave park developments or roadsides, but much higher for those hiking in backcountry areas. When backcountry hiking, you can reduce the odds of being injured by a bear by: 1) hiking in groups of 3 or more people, 2) staying alert, 3) making noise in areas with poor visibility,4) carrying bear spray, and 5) not running during encounters with bears.”

I now have my new mini Trangia Stove – had a full sized one for years but decided to downsize to minimise on size and weight – reckon its just perfect for what I need it for – big thank you to my wee sis Emma for my Christmas vouchers.

The snow has all nearly vanished so no skiing yet this year but good bike ride yesterday.   Went to a talk on Friday night in Glasgow – Ishbel – aka World Bike Girl – really inspirational the places she has cycled to but also her promotion for animal welfare and cycling for women,  amongst other stuff – check out her blog.   I stayed in Glasgow and cycled home yesterday – took the cycle route 7 to Drymen and then joined the main road to Stirling – cold but sunny when I left Glasgow but misty and chilly most of the way as I was low down and near the Forth and Clyde Canal and the River Leven – good bike ride though and lots of interesting stuff to see.

Finished the weekend with a good 16 mile run today – cheers to Tal for the company.

Yesterday it was a slightly longer bike ride to Alva (approx 8 miles) and good walk up Ben Cleuch – descended via The Law into Tillicoultry and returned to Alva on the Diamond Jubilee Way.   Great wee loop and discovered that there is an old Silver Mine just above Alva.