garethhendy

[garethhendy]

women’s tour review

Now its finished for 2017 what a race we had Kasia attack on stage 1 was special as was amazing, the finish of stage 2 that hill in stoke that seen Amy Pieters win on was brilliant for her and then stage 3 the horrible moment for Marianne Vos breaking her collarbone and seeing her in so much pain wasn’t nice to see as Marianne is amazing and hope she comes back strong but got to give Chloe so much praise as that sprint wasn’t easy, stage 4 the crowds were amazing and that day sealed the win for Kasia she road so well to keep the jersey on roads that had no flat in it and Sarh Roy taking the stage win for Orica and London i will remember for Jolien D’hoore sprinting to victory my favourite memory of this years race.

Thanks to all teams and riders were putting on such a amazing race in not easy conditions, Sweetsport for putting on this race, Mick Bennett and Guy Elliot for their part in organising this great race, the sponsors OVO ENERGY, Wiggle espeically the 3 the members who i spoke to alot sorry i don’t know your names but a credit to your group, Adnams, Skoda and Eisberg and Breast cancer care. and Joe Fisher and Carl Lawrenson for getting the crowd going and giving out information at the finish line, who ever was in charge of twitter for the race thank you as you made the wait for the next tweet so exciting the information you gave was the best and thanks to the police for keeping all the riders safe at all times and all the volunteers who lined the route thanks

[garethhendy]

Stage 5 London Crit

i left sheffield behind and headed for london a new 3 hour journey down for the last stage i predictied Jolien D’hoore would win today on day 1 so was in a happy mood, i first went to Trafalgar square to see the route was shocked how warm it was there as the Breast cancer charity ride started i walked the route and found a good spot about 250 meters from the line but the last corner and had a tv screen but considering i had a few hours to wait i decided to walk a bit further walking past Lizzie Deignan and her Boels Doleman team mates who were enjoying the London sun and were having drawings of them selves and lots of other riders were having fun and mention to Chloe Hosking about cookies for Daiva and she said at the time they didn’t have them but when i told Chloe she seemed happy there was some them.

Before the race started i went and had my chat with Wiggle staff who were amazing before heading for my spot i liked earlier, the race kicked of from lap 1 with Boels taking it to the other teams and with the first sprint on lap 2 they had a 30 second gap on leah kirchmann after the sprint which Hannah Barnes took and Majerus took second which made her level with D’hoore for the sprint jersey, the race came back together thanks to great work by Sunweb and Wiggle sprint 2 and it was again Hannah Barnes who took the max points from Majerus who took the sprints jersey from D’hoore and Kirchmann in 3rd, the race stayed full on till the last 500 meters.

as i could see the tv i was shaking my head thinking Jolien was to close to the front luckily she knew how to get cover and as she went pass me she was in a great postion as i shouted go Jolien my eyes went to screen and was so happy when she crossed the line first, Hannah Barnes was second and Christine Majerus 3rd which changed the podium on gc.

The final gc

1 Kaisa Niewiadoma

2. Chrstine Majerus

3 Hannah Barnes

4 Leah Kirchmann

the wiggle sprints jersey and Eisberg sprint went to Christine  Majerus

Audrey Cordon Ragot the Skoda queen of the mountains.

Hannah Barnes the Adnams best of british jersey

and Sunweb for best team and Lucinda Brand as most combativity

[garethhendy]

Stage 4 Chesterfield-Chesterfield

The queen stage woke up in my hotel room to the horrible sound of rain outside so waterproof clothing was a must as i headed to the start line i met Lizzie Deignan first and she signed my program and so did her team mate Chantel Blaak which was really nice, i also chatted away to alot of the girls which was nice especially as the rain was coming down still, luckily for the riders just after they started the rain stopped.

Before the riders came back to me in Chesterfield i messaged Loren Rowney and Carlee Taylor for help on who to get treats for as last year i bought cookies for those 2 and Taylor Wiles sadly all 3 weren’t there this year Carlee is altitude training whilst Loren is now retired but also DS for Roxsaltattaquer and Taylor team wasn’t invited, but Carlee seen my tweet and she said her team mate Daiva Tuslaite so i bought cookies.

Again the twiiter feed was superb keeping me upto date  with the stage which was manic with Leah Kirchmann attacking of the front with Sarah Roy  and  Sharraw Gillow before being joined by Christine Majerus who attacked from the green jersey group they build up a huge lead i thought that was it for Niewiadoma but no thanks to herself Anouska Koster and Canyon Sram the gap tumbled down and was limited to 30 seconds in the end Sarah Roy sprinted it out for the victory with Majerus second and Leah Kichmann a brave 3rd. The GC had little change except for Leah moving upto 2nd and majerus upto 3rd thanks to bonus seconds, Audrey Cordon Ragot won the Skoda queen of the mountains jersey which i was glad as a Wiggle High 5 fan and Hannah Barnes retook the Adnams best of british jersey of Alice in another change Majerus took the lead in the wiggle sprint competion with 1 stage to go

After the stage i went looking for Daiva but couldn’t see her, i asked her DS to give them to here and the team the next day as stage 5 is know as treat day but also as i made friends with the staff from Wiggle tent i gave them a bag a cookies for their drive to London which they really enjoyed.

[garethhendy]

Stage 3 Atherstone to Royal Leamington Spa

setting from Coventry where i stayed the night i had a small train ride to Royal Leamington Spa for the stage finish which was nice the town was beauitful and finish was on a little rise i put the information out there that the sprinters who surived the climbs would have to leave it as late as possible to sprint for the line.

Whilst having a coffee waiting for the riders i noticed Wiggle had a put up their golden bottle competion to win £25 worth of vouchers  and other goodies so went over to their stand and took a selfie with the bottle and they told me i was the first 1 that day to do so and won the prize and enjoyed then talking to members of their staff who i got to more throughout the tour

 The stage was super exciting Cecille Uttrup Ludwig briefly leading on the road escaping on the narrow Warwickshire lanes with Gracie Elvin and Shara Gillow and 3 other riders before the peleton caught them with 5 k to go before the first of 2 crashes taking out Elsia Longo Borgini and Amy Pieters  who both got back on to the pelton and a sprint loomed sadly Marianne Vos crashed inside the last k breaking her Collarbone. The sprint it self Chloe Hosking won after great work by her team to postion her and  Chloe herself following the right wheels in second was Alice Barnes and Ellen Van Dijk in 3rd.

The GC didn’t change except for the next day Marianne didn’t start, Jolien D’hoore lead the Eisberg sprint jersey and Alice taking over the Adnams best of british jersey and Audrey Cordon Ragot the Skoda queen on the mountains.

after the stage i headed north to Sheffield as Chesterfield hotel were full i decided to use the city as my base for 2 days,

[garethhendy]

Stage 2 of the OVO energy women’s tour 2017

On Thursday i set out to go to the women’s tour 2017 my first stage would be stage 2 stoke - stoke, the leader after day 1 was Kasia Niewiadoma a lead of 1′46 which was a huge amount, after 3 hours of travelling from Neath i got to stoke the first thing i noticed was the hill upto the centre around a mile of all uphill, when i got to the centre i had a look around the Publicity area where you could buy replica leaders jerseys from dare 2 be, bikes from Wiggle and other stuff they sell and of  Course OVO energy promoting what they do and letting people take part in a virtual realtiy ride.

After looking around and having dinner I went and chose my spot at the finish line opted for 75 meters from the line because i could see down to around 250 to go, while i waited for the riders to come twitter was amazing keeping me informed on information from the roadside and Joe Fisher aka the man on the mic getting the crowd pumped up, hearing Lucianda Brand had been caught after another great effort out front we had a small group of 30 hit the hill which split the bunch, Amy Pieters was the first rider to pass me winning stage 2 for the second year in a row with Hannah Barnes in second and Ellen Van Dijk in 3rd with Vos and Niewiadoma in 4th and 5th and none of the pre event favourites losing no  more than 12 seconds except for Lizzie Deignan who lost  more than 6′40 as turns out she had been ill. so after stage 2 the gc looked like this;

Kasia Niewiadoma in green leading by 1′46 to Vos and Hannah Barnes and 2 seconds further back to Ellen Van Dijk and stage winner Amy Pieters. Kasia was also leading the wiggle points jersey, Audrey Cordon Ragot leading the Skoda queen of the mountains  Lisa Klein in the Eisberg sprint jersey and Hannah Barnes in the Adnams best of british jersey.

Leaving stoke behind i starting tagging riders in photos and got message from  Lisa Klein asking me could i sent her the photo i took of her which i did and she thanked me for it which i thought was really nice.

[garethhendy]

My favourite moment of 2016

My favourite moments of 2016

My own personal highlight of 2016 is tough because I haven't got 1 I got 2, the first 1 was being at the women’s tour of Britain it was such a amazing 4 days following the tour from Stratford upon Avon  to chesterfield to Nottingham to Kettering, the 4 days were just great meeting Tiffany Cromwell and Jolien D'hoore and Elisa Longo Borghini and Emma Johansson and Rochelle Gilmore who I am not afraid to say I was shaking when I met her as she is the boss of Wiggle High 5 but was so lovely and had a laugh with her, these girls are stars yet for some reason I felt like I knew these girls for years as felt so easy to talk to them. And on the last night something I will not forgot which was being on Twitter in the hotel and seeing Taylor Wiles saying she wanted cookies at the finish and Carlee Taylor added she wanted some to sparking a fun evening with Loren Rowney chipping in as well so I told them I would buy some and the finish area next day the last day of the tour after the riders finished I went straight to the Orica motor home and seen Taylor she was so great full and didn't realise at the time she crashed earlier in the stage but yet she was still nice enough to have a photo with me and then went to Liv Plantur and seen Carlee Taylor and gave her some to and she got her phone out and put the image of me and her on her instagram with the cookies.

My Second personal highlight of 2016 is getting my 2 awards for volunteering as part of national volunteering week, I had a letter a few weeks before the event inviting me to attend Neath Port Talbot event, on the night I had 1 award which felt amazing then in another part of evening they went through winners of a award for Neath Port Talbot in each category I had another award which I was stunned and really shocked and still am now as felt so honoured to be given the awards

[garethhendy]

My Favourite moment

My favourite moment of volunteering

Sadly last week due to lack of people attending the walks I decided to finish the walks that Go Green 4 Health set up, I really wanted to carry them on but when people tell me they will not be back I had no choice, so I thought I would write about my favourite moment of Volunteering for Go Green 4 Health which was every thing as everything I did I really enjoyed, it got me being active and encouraging others to be active, walking which is great for the mind as can talk easier and enjoy the wildlife you see and meeting such lovely people who would come on the walks, the fun days which was a great experience of promoting the project and trying to recruit new members and also having fun playing games like tug of war, and lastly everyone I met who worked for Go Green 4 Health/Groundwork everyone was so lovely and made me feel like part of their team

[garethhendy]

my favourite walk

My Favourite walk with Go Green 4 Health

as you know by now Go Green 4 Health is finishing next week so I thought I would write about my favourite walk which is the Gnoll, we would meet in Victoria gardens and slowly walk up past the memorial gates to the people who died during the 2 world wars from Neath, then up to the bottom pond and tap the cards on the first box then we would look at the baby cygnets who would eventually after along time grow up from the ugly duckling to the beautiful animals they become, then up the hill the main gnoll pond and tap the box then a slow walk around the pond and tap the box at the other side of the lake and walk back to the first box on the main pond and walk back down to the bottom which everyone enjoys as they can relax and enjoy the views, and if Gail noticed something on the floor she would point it out like little frog lets which most of wouldn't notice and tell us about them.and then back to Victoria Gardens

Thats was my favourite walk will do another one tomorrow with my favourite moment of volunteering with Go Green 4 Health

[garethhendy]

dyspraxia and change

Dyspraxia and change

with dyspraxia I like to be able to do the same routine every day get up same time for a example if I am out of my routine I can end up getting stressed and feel that the world is against me, I know kids gets annoyed if their routine is changed they slowly get use to it but sadly with dyspraxia I must keep mine going, and its not just getting up where I am in a routine and change sadly next week I have to say bye to the final members of go green 4 health, for the last 1 ½ years every Wednesday almost without fail I been there doing the afternoon walks and evening walks.

For me the change and saying bye to people is so hard last week on the Thursday I had to say bye to Lee and Jaye it was so hard before to focus on my job as my mind was feeling upset before hand as they been a huge help for me for so long and that even though we stay in contact I been so use to going into the office on a Thursday for a talk about the walks or cycling.

Next week I know isn't going to be easy saying my goodbyes so if people see me looking down that is the reason nothing else just the change ahead.

[garethhendy]

Dyspraxia Awareness

This week is Dyspraxia awareness week I have known I had dyspraxia since I was a young kid, I will put a link up to the Dyspraxia foundation website and the end as that explains dyspraxia the best,  Dyspraxia effects me personally a lot like in work some days I can be flying and do the same as others but some days my mind for a example the other day I was feeling really sad about having to say bye to people I volunteer with I was rubbish and I let people down but that was my dyspraxia not letting me focus on the job I was doing.

Dyspraxia also gets me fatigued a lot as after 3 hours sometimes I feel awful and really sleepy people think its laziness but its dyspraxia its who I am, I also struggle to say to people how I am feeling I find it so much easier to write it down like on the card I wrote to groundwork I could never have told them that in person as I would have been crying so I wrote it down it down.

Next year my goal is ride 100 miles and it will be for the dyspraxia foundation will put up details when I find a suitable route

https://dyspraxiafoundation.org.uk/dyspraxia-adults/

[garethhendy]

Goodbye Go Green 4 Health

In 2 weeks time we say to Go Green 4 Health the project which aimed people to be active and be outdoors is sadly coming to a end, as a volunteer the project has been run amazing, everyone has been so nice and we done so much as a group from action days in Gnoll Park to Eaglebush valley days litter picking

in my 1 1/2 years with the organisation i learned so much from learning about nature to leading walks to walking football to litter picking, i have gained so much experience.

I will really miss it when its gone as been like a second job to me and been so proud to be their volunteer

and i have met so many great people of all i wish the best of the luck in the future and hopefully will stay in touch with everyone.

But special thanks to Gail who has been there since the start and has been so lovely to work under, she is so knowledgable and has been so supportive of me

thanks Go Green 4 Health and Groundwork

[garethhendy]

Ponteddfechan waterfalls walk

On Sunday 7 august we started a special walk as part of Go Green 4 Health walking festival a festival aimed at getting new members. We met outside the former visitor centre which is now closed at 10a.m and 7 of us went up to see the waterfalls which took around 20 minuites to get to the first one you see photos in post before, as someone who has lived close to them before it was my first time seeing them and was totally amazed how beauitful it was up there, after a quick stop for photos we went across a bridge and went up to another set of waterfalls which took around 15 minutes and again i was blown away how amazing it was up there we stopped for a little rest and then walked backed down arriving back to the visting centre at about 11.30. as a volunteer for Go Green 4 Health i can only thank them for putting on the walks and hopefully we can get more people on more of our walks to keep it going.

Our next walk is Wednesday at 12.30 from Victoria Gardens and 5.30 from same place for a tour by Cadw of Neath Abbey

[garethhendy]

photos from yesterday walk upto ponteddfechan waterfalls with go green 4 health

[garethhendy]

a example of a walk

We meet at a the same point every week at the same time mainly Victoria Gardens in Neath, we get everyone to sign a form to say they who they are if they are regualar walkers with us if they are first timers we get them registered and give them a card.

We decide then where we are going to go mainly the Gnoll park but we got lots of other places we go, we set of with 1 of us leading and either 1 or 2 of us at the back all depending on numbers, we walk and talk keeping a eye out for traffic and wildlife, if i am at the back i walk with the slowest and let the others go ahead if they want to with a walk leader, as our walks are mainly a hour we turn around after 30 minutes and and have a little rest if people need it and head back keeping a eye out for traffic and other objects, when we get back to the start point we say bye and we tell them about our next walk which for most will be the same time the following week.

I will now enter another blog next Wednesday when I go for another 2 walks and will add photos from them

[garethhendy]

Volunteering For Go Green 4 Health from when i started till now

I Started volunteering for Go Green 4 Health when i seen a leaflet saying they wanted Volunteers, as at the time i was unemployed i emailed them and arranged to go on my first walk in April 2015, since then i have learned so much from them and ended up getting a job in August 2015 but i still continue to volunteer with them and recently been awarded 2 awards from the local CVS and Wales CVS for volunteering.

 here are some of the courses i have passed and now have qualifcations in -

Health Walk Leader - so i can take groups on a walk for a hour as long as we checked the route before hand,

FAW Football leaders - so basically a level 1 coach so can coach football but also a first aid certificate

I have also helped out on days where we go litter picking and also keeping the local area tidy and on some days we try and get more people to attend my doing events to promote the project which are really good fun.