BIKE RIDING

Gaynor is on a 'mission'!! I don't think I've mentioned on my blog (for fear of raging jealousy) that Roger and I have planned a cycling tour of the Loire Valley in France. Here's the link if you want to have a peek! May I just say that this adventure has been on the top of our 'bucket list' and it seems unbelievable that it is only just over 3 weeks away. We leave by train for Paris on 22 May and on the 23 May we meet up with Joshua and Jayne (Roger's nephew from Sydney and his wife) and we will travel to Tours together. We are VERY excited, as you can imagine. We have organized a tandem, so I might even be able to get away with less leg action - oops, don't tell Roger!

http://www.cycletours.com/bedbike/france-spain-greece_along-loire_86.php

As you can imagine, one can't just go on a cycling tour without some physical preparation! I have never really enjoyed bike riding. Roger LOVES cycling and almost lives on the bike. What I am getting to is that I am particularly proud of myself at the moment. Yesterday and today I have been on a 10km bike ride and it has felt great. Bottom is a bit sore, but could be worse!! The idea is that I try and do this at least 5 days in the week until we go on the tour. Then I just might pension my bike off!!

Here are some highlights of my bike riding in the last couple of days:

• Traffic stopped as I crossed the intersection near our home (embarrassing!)
• Gentle climb going out of town along the Weisse River but nothing I couldn't handle
• Saying 'Guten Tag' to everyone I passed!
• The eagles soaring overhead near the golf course
• Bike path fantastic so no cars to worry me once I got on it
• Coming home a nice tail wind and slope to help me make it back
• A very good feeling that I can actually do it all by myself without Rog!!!!!

Sorry, no pictures as I was too busy cycling. Besides, I don't exactly look a million dollars when I get on the bike! A bonus is that this is helping to get rid of my 'winter warmth' in a nice kind of way (plus being very careful what I am eating for a couple of weeks). So far so good.

Filling our days

Spring has arrived and we can't get the smiles off our faces!! Gone are the heavy coats, scarves, hats, gloves, socks, etc!! Even the heating has (just about) been turned off!! The trees are getting lovely new green leaves, the cherry blossoms are in full bloom and the tulips are bursting forth. We have so much to smile about.

Although life for us has had a big turn around with Roger's ALS, we are trying to remain positive and are doing pretty well. No one wants to see a long face, or to see misery, least of all us! The friends that surround us here in Schopfheim and Basel have been incredibly supportive and helpful as we face the uncertain future. But we all need to realize that we only have one day to live, and live it we must, to the very best of our ability. Our faith in God and trusting him for each day is the highest priority for us.

So, here we are having just climbed a rather tough 'hill' at the back of our home in Schopfheim, but the view is worth it, as you can see. We were with new friends Alan and Sandra, Fabiano and Debora. We were rewarded at the top with various drinks all round. I settled for champagne (!!) and Roger for a large glass of beer. Then we were ready for the walk down the hill.

EASTER ESCAPE WITH RUTH and ANDREAS

I have no excuse for not uploading these photo's sooner and putting them on my blog. I have had gentle reminders from several quarters about my lack of blogging these past couple of weeks. I'm not liking the computer very much at the moment! That's the only excuse I can give.

Roger and I travelled to a little village called Huels where our lovely friends Ruth and Andreas live. We left on the Wednesday before Easter so that we could get cheap rail fares. We had a wonderful trip up (just love train travel - I'm always saying this), taking about 6 hours and a great week with our friends. We did all sorts of lovely things together, but most of all relaxing and lots of talking. Here are just a few pictures of our trip.

A small castle where we had afternoon tea whilst visiting Essen

Andreas loves to photograph old trees, so we had to get in the act as well!

It has been an Easter tradition that we have Easter Day lunch at Maria Karsten's home. We come away very well fed and not needing to eat for the rest of the day.

l-r Phillip, Stefi and Jan tucking in!!

Easter Monday we visited Cologne - a very beautiful city

We had a good walk around on a very pleasant Monday. Lots of people around
because the weather was so nice.