Reading my 'Real Life Story' (even though it wasn't written by me...)

I wrote to Women's Cycling magazine a few months ago to pitch an idea for an article. It was a bit of a long shot so I wasn't too surprised when Lara Dunn, the editor, didn't accept a suggestion from some middle aged wifey with no previous 'published article in a magazine' work to show for herself! 

All, however, was not lost as Lara did, instead, pass my details over to one of her staff writers - Jill Eckersley - who then contacted me to ask if I'd be interested in being interviewed for one of the magazine's 'Real Life Rider' story slots. It wasn't what I'd had in mind, but I did appreciate the gesture - and I saw it as a good opportunity to give Women V Cancer and Action for Charity a little plug!

I thoroughly enjoyed my blether on the phone with Jill, but I must admit that it was with more than a little trepidation that I opened the latest edition of the magazine today. I hadn't been able to proof read the article and I was a bit anxious about something appearing in print that wasn't quite as I'd said it. I'd also been letting my imagination run away with me and I was all psyched up for reading a 'Real Life Story' that would've been more at home in Bella than in a biking magazine!

However, I needn't have worried as Jill had written a good article and nothing more than my passion for cycling had been revealed! I did find it hard, though, to read something about me that's written in a style very different from my own. There were a few little errors (it's Sandhy not Sandy, and I cycled 32 miles not 24...not that I'm pedantic about my mileage...) and one slightly mis-leading comment (which seemed to imply that I devised the whole Women V Cancer Ride the Night event rather than just sign up to take part!!) but these were pretty minor points in what did turn out to be a pretty accurate piece. And, it did indeed give Women V Cancer and Action for Charity a nice little plug, for which I'm grateful to both Jill and Lara for. Every opportunity to raise awareness is a welcome one.

Ocht, I've also got to be honest and admit that it did give me a bit of a buzz to see my ugly mug appear in the magazine! And, I'm still hopeful that if ever Lara's short of copy and fancies taking a chance on a middle aged wifey who's making the most of life - grabbing it by the handle bars with one hand and a pen with the other - she'll know who to call...!

Riding, writing and raising funds

Well hello old friend. It's been a while! 

I've mostly had a very ordinary day today sat in front of the computer catching up on some admin, writing a post for one of my other blogs and doing some research (em, in other words, jumping around from one link to another trying to glean information and ideas for that ground-breaking piece of writing...!) But something a bit more out of the ordinary did happen this morning in the shape of a telephone call from a writer from the magazine Women's Cycling. 

I would've loved the opportunity to write my own piece for the magazine (maybe one day...), but it was nice of the editor to take an interest in my exploits. The writer asked me a load of questions and I've been mulling over my responses thinking 'Ocht, I missed that bit out' or 'Ocht, I shouldn't have said that!' or 'Ocht, am I going to come across like a numpty?!' So, needless to say, I'm slightly apprehensive about how the article will turn out. I'm just hoping that any publicity turns out to be good publicity! Especially as I'm still selling copies of my wee book to raise funds for Women V Cancer, and I did make sure I got a good plug in for that!

I'm not sure which edition the article will be published in (if at all) but it definitely won't be for a while yet.

Anyhow, the reason I'm on here tonight telling you about it is that during the course of the conversation the writer asked how things had been for me this past year, in the context of being bitten by the cycling bug, and I replied, 'I've had a great year. It's mostly been about riding, writing and raising funds...'

And I went on to tell her, as concisely as I possibly could, about the pleasure I get from being on my bike, from writing stuff down and from raising cash to help make a difference. Riding, writing and raising funds. I like that. 

It's like having a wee tag line to my current brand of 'what makes me feel good'. And that in itself is what's making me feel good today!