Bike ride from Brighton to Ditchling Beacon, Plumpton & Lewes

So this was my third big bike ride as part of my training for Brighton to Paris, which I'm doing to raise funds for Brighton-based charity AudioActive. 


We started out on the Lewes Road at the fantastically named Vogue Gyratory then cycled up through Hollingbury (killer), up to Five Ways and onwards up Ditchling Road to the top where the golf course is (also killer). 


We then cycled over the A27 towards Ditchling Beacon, the biggest nemesis I have yet to encounter IN MY LIFE. My cycle ride wasn't helped by the fact that I was hungover (I wasn't alone), wearing inappropriate clothing and in terms of cycling, fairly unfit (apart from running marathons but that doesn't count). 


Needless to say, this expedition to a Sussex high point did not feel like a high point to me (at the time); however, now that I've put in so much work into a 3/4 hour ride, I am feeling a lot more fit for purpose when facing minor hills around Brighton - that is, apart from my main street home, Elm Grove, which I struggle to even get a third of the way up.


However, I was saved greatly by Lucozade, Skittles, Airwaves, water, a borrowed scarf, a stop off at a fab pub with great local Sussex fare (I tried the deep fried pigs ears !?), beautiful lush scenery and good company. 


The cycle from Lewes to Brighton wasn't as flat or as smooth as I'd expected, but after everything, it wasn't the worst uphill journey I'd faced that day. I have to say, the real killer for me was actually the terrifying, death defying journey down Ditchling Beacon. It was like being strapped into a horrific rollercoaster that stuck to no health and safety. While my group went freefall down the steepest incline known to man, I was trying to brake at every curve, to no avail. 


So on that note, here are a few pics from our bike ride. Unfortunately, no brilliant scenic shots, mainly due to me nearly having an asthma attack everytime we paused for water, but as I've been dubbed the Group Photographer for the trip, you can expect a continued photo blog right through our Sussex training, to the start of our epic ride and right at the end, when we arrive in Paris. And then again, when we have to cycle from Newhaven to Brighton. 

All and any donations warmly welcome to help me reach my £300 target: https://www.charitiestrust.org/members_data/event/amy-s-big-cycle-from-brighton-to-paris/index.html

Cycling Brighton to Paris for local charity Audioactive

Many of you saw me get into the whole marathon thing last year, with a half in Brighton and a full one in Berlin, both for charity. Well this year, I'm shaking things up a bit and I'm throwing myself into a new challenge: a massive cycle ride from Brighton to Paris with a group of 5 other people. 

Once again, I'm embarking on this slightly mad adventure to raise funds for Audioactive registered charity (1123891), a Brighton-based children and young people's charity that transforms young lives through contemporary music production, urban arts and performance, and of which I'm a Trustee.


 My fundraising goal is £300. I thank you in advance for any support you can give towards my mission. To contribute, you can donate at my Charities Trust page: https://www.charitiestrust.org/members_data/event/amy-s-big-cycle-from-brighton-to-paris/index.html 


We will be setting off from Brighton on our bikes en masse on Friday 4 May, cycling to Newhaven, where we will take the ferry to Dieppe. From there, we will cycle to our first b&b in France. 


 We will then cycle all day Saturday and all day Sunday until we end up in Paris, stopping of course along the way for the night - and lunch I hope! We will then take a train back to the UK on Monday 7 May. Unless I decide to stay in Paris a few days longer - tempting! 


I got my bike (picture above) at the end of March and have since been on two 3-hour rides along the sea front, to Peacehaven and to Shoreham. This Sunday will see a monster of a ride, a 30-mile ride around Sussex. Slightly nervous as this area is so hilly. But I know I have 22 more days to really focus on training and get as fit as I can. 


 Since deciding to agree to this independently-organised group bike trip, I've learned that the London to Paris route is a well travelled one - last night I heard about the British Legion ride, which is one of three major events when Paris stops traffic in Champs Elysee and cyclists are escorted through the Arc de Triomphe (the other two events being for the French president and for Tour de France). 


 I'll be reporting on my travels with further blog posts and photos shortly. I will also put further information about our Dieppe to Paris route, which was found on the internet.


 This Sunday is also Brighton Marathon so I'm planning to go down to support the runners, I'm sure secretly wishing I was amongst them. However, there are a few people I will be cheering along and hope that the runners enjoy it as much as I did last September.

What can I make with coconut oil?

When you're looking for recipes that are not part of a more mainstream diet, such as the BBC Food, Delia or Jamie Oliver type of fare, you quickly begin to feel like you're exploring a strange and foreign land. Websites that look they've been built before Web 2.0 and forums whose entries date from 2005.

I feel like I've entered some weird food cult, a society for people with odd and unusual cooking habits: vegans, fruitarians, raw diet, Atkins, Weight Watchers, detoxers, healthy eaters and fussy people. Have I become a freak like them, I wonder?

Curried coconut chicken fingers. Photo from Free Coconut Recipes - Tabitha http://www.freecoconutrecipes.com/index.cfm/2012/3/7/curried-coconut-chicken-fingers

One of my finds is curried coconut chicken fingers. I've been dying to find recipes that are similar to the ones that I used to make when I 'ate normally' and this is a near replica (in appearance although probably not taste) of my favourite Southern foods, breaded chicken tenders, which I used to make along with corn on the cob, mashed potatoes and buttered garlicky sauteed greens of some variety. I love breadcrumbs and deep frying and batters. I know I could just pick up some gluten free flour, but the detox level 3 says not to have rice or legumes, which is a bit of a constraint when it comes to substitution. So this is perfect.

Chocolate coconut kale chips. No, not just pieces of lettuce. Photo from Averie Cooks http://www.loveveggiesandyoga.com

Another variation of kale chips: chocolate coconut kale chips. Haven't had kale in my last two veg boxes so must remember to phone and ask to get it included.


My best online find so far is Youtube celebrity, raw food guru Dan aka Life Regenerator, whose raw food smoothie demonstration includes hilarious asides, commentary and anecdotes including the one about his mate, Dave the raw food trucker and how they like to hang out, drink wheatgrass, drive around to all the raw food restaurants and talk to girls who recognise them from Youtube, followed by a quasi sales pitch for raw food living.



In the 2009 video, Dan says he'll never stop making videos, which makes me want to check out his profile and see if he's still making videos, whether he's stayed true to his promise (he has, he's posted a video one day ago). He advises that we should 'become addicted to growth', which I think is good advice for anyone.

Last but not least, I found a treasure trove of recipes from a rather dated online forum, Low Carb Friends. Coconut mayonaise, coconut treats, virgin coconut oil coleslaw and creamy vinaigrette (made with coconut) all caught my eye. I'll be attempting those when I've gotten over this cold, which sees me spending the day in bed and wondering when the pain in my head will subside. A question: can too much detox see you catching colds?

The one thing I've noticed a lot when visiting these healthy eating blogs was how much product placement was slipped into the pages. Spotting instances of product references, which I always associate as being an American habit, is as exciting (?) as playing product placement bingo when watching American Hollywood films from the 80s. Do they really think no one will notice?

To be continued.

Break from detox for birthday drinks at Sticky Mike's Frog Bar and other excuses

Bar staff serving up shots, Sticky Mike's Frog Bar, Brighton, 2012. Photo by Eliot Gill

My weekend off was largely understandable. From Thursday night to Monday evening, I was officially off the detox. My birthday drinks, farewell to Nadege and that handbag auction were all good reasons to drink and be merry. See that photo above; it accounts for a lot.

This week: I spent Tuesday this week back on the detox, followed by a Wednesday where I wasn't because it was writers group and the rule of writers group is that you drink unsensible amounts, talk serious writer's shop, then stay up late going from bar to bar, drinking even more.  We had our inaugural meeting at The Eagle upstairs function room - only to discover it was closing down in a few days. "They told me they didn't have any more red wine," said Tara. "I asked, how can you not have any red wine?"she replied. "The bar staff said they're shutting down so they're serving literally whatever they have left."

I stared at the red walls in the upstairs, and noticed how mirrors and decoration had already been removed. It felt like a ghostly room. I felt sad. So many memories from when I first moved to Brighton, going to parties up here full of people I didn't know at the time, but would get to know.  More recent memories too: Mark Walkers leaving do from SCIP only a few weeks before. I know closures aren't a permanent thing, but it felt like a sign of the times, that the downturn in the world around us might actually make it a final farewell for The Eagle. Shame. Food was topnotch these days. 

To my credit, I stopped drinking long before everyone else last night, when we left the Great Eastern; at The Green Door Store, I sat without a drink while everyone else easily sunk two more down. We ran into a North African musician I had on two years ago at my night, and his mate. One of my friends knew the mate. I taught everyone how to snap and do the California handshake. Jazz was playing next door, and suddenly a man I once went out on a blind date with early last year was standing in front of me, talking in my face. Not in an unpleasant way. He was there and then he was gone, and I'm not sure what I said.

Two of my friends decided to make an impulsive decision to stay on, while I called it a night. Scraped coins to get a taxi take me up the hill. When I got home, I sawed off two slices of my mate's loaf and stuck them in the toaster. The ungodly wheat.

My detox/nondetox this week has also been accompanied by a killer cold. It's literally gone for my throat. Symptom of the detox working - or susceptible victim to the nasty bug that's been doing the rounds at work? Who can say.

Today, I was doing all the right things again - vitamins, milk thistle, no caffein, etc, apart from not having lunch packed and buying a paella from Tesco. Yeah, the detox says no rice, but I can live with that.  Actually nothing about this pre-made food is part of the detox, but I didn't feel like I was going to do myself any favours eating another weird mixture of a palm sized bag of sugar peas zapped in the microwave tossed with lukewarm prawns for a second lunch this week. I picked the bits of potato and red pepper as a small nod to the detox and the 'things I'm not supposed to eat'. Two days of sucking on cough drops probably isn't hitting that detox YES button, but having a cold that makes you feel like you're wandering around in a fog isn't worry suffering over detox perfection for. 

Tonight, I sat in the Grand Central pub to kill some time before my massage. I felt heartened by a story the bartender told me. He once detoxed for a month and a half. "It was the worst timing when I did mine. Everyone was having events."

"And what did you do? Did you have little breaks to drink?"

He shrugged. "I just drank lots of soda water - and juice. It's not easy, even at the best of times, unless you're completely by yourself all of the time, then it's easy."

Then he took a half step backwards, nearly knocking over a row of red wine bottles behind him, and laughed.

The moral of the story is that I should probably stop making excuses for my detox detour and just get on with it. Maybe I should skip the beer and cider festival this Saturday? I'll let the cold decide. 

End of Detox trial

Right, so in the past week I managed to last for four whole days of what is, from what I'm learning, one of the toughest detoxes to undertake. It was a single glass of premeditated prosecco that tipped the regime. I knew that my trial was just a 'trial', what with Thursday's handbag auction at a local cafe and my birthday drinks on Friday so no serious guilt about my boozy diversion.

What have I learned from my trial?

1. Detoxing is not easy.

I've spent the week largely feeling dizzy, a bit spaced out and sometimes really tired. I passed out whenever I was on trains, watching films on my laptop, any spare time when I wasn't at work. A detox is not easy to carry out when you've got a mountain of work during the week: my work isn't buy, buy, sell, sell but I have to be on top of my game.

2. There are certain foods I miss and there are some I don't give a shit about.

I didn't mind cutting out so many foods and substances from my life, but due to the restrictive nature of this programme's Level 3, I also couldn't have legumes, rice, oats and members of the nightshade family, my favourite of course being corn. Come on, I'm a native Texan with three-quarters Mexican blood running through my veins. Corn is essential. Not eating potatoes and tomatoes didn't bother me that much, nor did giving up wheat or dairy.

3. I can live without coffee, tea and Coke.

Formerly, they propped me up. I honestly believed they did my work for me. What I've learned this week is that, without them, my life doesn't fall apart, I'm still as productive and focused.

4. Booze is a bit overrated.

It feels good to come to this point, this take it or leave it attitude. Especially living in such a boozy country, you forget what it's like to take a break. I can look at a glass of wine and no longer think that it's the road to nirvana (unless I've had a media nightmare, that is!). And after last night's birthday blowout, with untold numbers of shots and drinks, I woke up reaching for the milk thistle, teas and water (and ibuprofen), wanting to cleanse the toxins out.

5. There are some fascinating recipes out there.

A friend just alerted me to this raw diet website The Raw Chef, which has some pretty awesome looking recipes, all made without cooking. A lot of interesting creative substitution which I can definitely take tips from. I'm seriously all over these recipes. Pomegranate Cheesecake with Clementine Gelato - largely fashioned from cashew nuts, agave, coconut oil and almond milk. Pink Nori Sprout Rolls - the pink sauce is made of cashews, beetroot, lemon, and a bit of water. And Falafel Hummus wrap with Mediterranean 'Roasted' Vegetables - the wrap is made with courgettes, falafel is made with pumpkin seeds, olives, sundried tomatoes and loads of spices, and the hummus is made of mac nuts, lemon and tahini.

We'll see what next week holds. More to come on this detox front, I'm sure. 

Day 2 of Detox Trial (read: Detox Hell)

Today was painful, in a word. I was woken up by the worst headache and memories of creepy dreams. In the night, I dreamt about a woman who went out with a man who kidnapped her and kept having reconstructive surgery to his face to keep her interested in him. Only he was hideous. He was big, ginger and had acne scarred cheeks. The surgery did little to make him attractive, only continuously change the way he looked, in differing unattractive ways.

It was a struggle to walk to work. I was dizzy again and spacy and it was another shit grey day in England. My mood when I got to the office was low. I knew I would the withdrawals would make me irritable. But you never can be quite sure what that actually means or how much it manifests itself.

For me it was irritability, followed by pure exhaustion. For the first part of the day, everything and everyone seemed irritating and somehow off. What to do? I felt like the office grump, and not in a cool way. Then around 1pm, I hit a wall of exhaustion which lasted for about two hours. It felt like really bad jetlag. Trying to force myself to work and be the buzzy productive person I normally am was torture. All I wanted to do was put my head down on the desk and sleep.

But then something amazing happened. At about 3 or 4pm, my mood picked up and I was awake. I probably could have stayed at work for a lot longer than I did. I'll try to go to sleep earlier and see if that helps tomorrow. No more walls of exhaustion!

The other thing that is annoying me is the lack of real detox diet recipes online. I've found a few that are lovely to look at and have delicious recipes - but they all contain foods I can't have. Bananas, chocolate, sugar replacement. What are they detoxing from, I wonder?

I did find a lamb kofta recipe that I want to try (minus the tomato) which includes a nice garlic lemon sauce. I'm desperate for sweet things: dates, goji berries, fruit of any description only in a desert. Looking for any recipes with dates and coconut oil.

I know I will never get so desperate that I will look on a raw food diet website (although they might have some good desert recipes, come to think of it....)

Last thing: I can't sleep!

Detox: looking at the other end of the pint glass

The sun setting. I just liked this photo.
Not sure it's meant to be metaphorical or what.
You tell me.
http://www.onbrightsky.co.uk/pics/14Sunset-Brighton-Beach.jpg

Just had my 37th birthday yesterday. It's not a significant milestone; and yet, when I woke up this morning, full of that sweaty, slightly paranoid half regret and half concern that you might have done something stupid, I knew exactly what I needed to do. Detox. All the way and now.

I know I'm always slipping in and out some health and fitness regime as quickly as a fashionista changes handbags. Giving up cigarettes, taking up acupuncture, becoming obsessed with yoga, suddenly going all gung-ho about marathon training. I'm fascinated with health and diet, without ever wanting to geek out on the science behind it. I'm a doer, a taker-uper, a person who likes to jump straight into the new and unknown - at least until the novelty wears off. I guess I'm no different to most folks. 

But in this case, the seeds have slowly been sown in my mind. A little how I was able to - in one day - quit smoking (a regrettable habit that I picked up again when I was 30.) I've known for a while that something needed to change in the way that I was living. 

The biggest factor was incredibly quick weight gain - from September, which is when I ran the marathon and consequently stopped doing any serious training, to this month, I've managed to put on 1-2 dress sizes. I haven't really changed the way I've been eating. If anything, I've actually tried to pay a bit more attention since January. I still go on a few runs a week. I eat relatively healthily. I do like a drop of wine, but my drinking habits haven't changed at all. So what is going on? 

My gut feeling is that I have a number of food allergies, compounded by a shortage of nutrients. I've always noticed reactions to certain things, like bread, potatoes, starchy foods and anything with dairy. Over the past two years, I've developed a painful rash across my face and neck, have suffered intermittently from digestion problems and then there's the weight issue. 

The detox I'm preparing to do is one that my hairdresser forwarded on to me, which another friend recommended to her: Dax Moy's Elimination Diet. For 30 days, cut our caffeine, sugars, alcohol, processed foods, wheat, rice and grains, plus members of the nightshade family. Then, slowly reintroduce one food item at a time and notice what, if any, effect that food item has. From there, you should be able to detect which foods you're allergic to. 

The diet was created by a personal trainer in London, who offers the diet programme for free on his website. The writing style of the manual is a too much of a health sales pitch. However, if you get past all the arguments, there's actually a decent and simple approach to detoxing, which seems sound to me - and I'm someone who's done everything from get seriously involved in weight training for two years, to marathon training in under a year. It makes sense, and it doesn't take a rocket scientist to work out that excess sugar and processed foods and meats are bad for you. 

The thing that excites me about detoxing for just over a month is not just losing weight, or improved health, but the food and the new recipes and the inventive approach to cooking, which is something I love doing. Dax Moy offers a cookbook for sale for the elimination diet, which I may be, out of interest, but I'm also loving spending the day cruising websites for recipes. Kale crisps, almond butter, cinnamon sunflower truffles, lettuce wraps, and a gazillion kinds of smoothies. And the wonderful thing about the detox is that you can eat as much as you want. I can't wait to try out these recipes. 

I feel like the detox has set me a new and difficult challenge, but one that I know I can step up to, providing my birthday drink on Friday doesn't make me reconsider the benefits of sticking to the status quo. Unlikely I think. 

This week is my trial week, where I'm giving it all a proper go: cutting out the above, plus bringing in cod liver oil (which tasted like a greasy piece of sushi), magnesium, zinc, milk thistle,  some other Indian Ayurvedic remedy called ashwaghanda (the woman in Holland & Barrett corrected me when I asked for it, saying it in a funny garbled way), a few new herbal teas (although not the tulsi tea, which I've since learned is made by Pukka and is in Sainsbury's so will have to go tomorrow). 

Image of ashwghanda, the word I cannot say, but the sales attendant
at Holland & Barrett can.
http://psychoactiveherbs.com/catalog/images/ashwaghanda.jpg

The people who bring me my veg box, Hankhams, were extremely understanding when I explained that I needed to amend my order. "What are all the things you can't eat?" Miles asked. "There's quite a few," I said guiltily, knowing that at the top of my list were their veg box staples, potatoes and carrots. "That's not a problem, just give me the full list," he said.  I was grateful for their help, and I added in a fruit box every fortnight, which will come in handy as I think I'm going to be craving the sugars. Their veg box - by the way - is out of this world, always crammed with more stuff than I can keep up eating (not a complaint there), which I've recently started sharing on a swap forum on Facebook. 

The last thing for me to do is to whack the detox programme onto my Kindle, so I can carry around the acceptable food lists for when I go shopping, plus the dos and donts. 

I can't wait to see the results. So far, I've felt slightly dizzy, like I'm swimming through the air, although that could just be the effects of the birthday drinking session from yesterday. Maybe my memory will improve. Maybe I will become a writing machine. Maybe I will write the great American novel. Or maybe I will just continue to faff all of the time, littering Facebooks with my likes, searching recipes and looking up the meanings of words I probably should have learned by now. Oh god, I've just had the fear: what if become one of those hyper sober people who have too much energy?

This is Day 1, unofficially. Day 1 of the trial I should say. I'll check in with Day 2, just to see what weird new sensation I'm experiencing and tell you all about it.