End of the year

2015 finally draws to a close.  It's been an interesting year with lots of new experiences and adventures on the way.  I've been able to see lots of my family and friends and I am eternally grateful for their help and ongoing support.  Thanks all for being there for William and myself.

2016 can be found at http://turtino2016.blogspot.co.uk

Families

Where would we be without them?

Spent a lovely Christmas Day with my lot in Kingswinsford, great to see them all and Steve fitted in perfectly.

Boxing Day with Gatehouses, playing games and laughing a lot.

Thanks all

Muddy Spin

Yesterday me and William got the bikes out and headed out over Leckhampton Hill, very, very muddy and cold, but great to get out with my lovely boy and enjoy being with each other.

The FT's

Spent a fabulous long weekend with my lovely friends Jerry and Claire in Cornwall.  Gig rowing, coast to coast cycling, beach walks, good food and great fun.

Thanks guys for a great time in blessed company.

Aberdovey

In Aberdovey to set up my exhibition of Snowdonia landscape paintings. Hope it all goes well.

They look really good as a collection

Two years on

Where has the time gone?  Two years that have been a constant journey, that has lurched between great sadness and joy, to discover who I am without Christine. Its about faith and God - why am I here, what do I want, there must be more? Insecurities come and bite you when you least expect them and threaten to derail you.

So thank you Christine for our life together, and for the gift of life that you gave me when you said 'I don't want you to grieve for ever, I want you to find happiness' - I'm getting there and continue to walk the road to a new life.

Vietnam

Vietnam first impressions, hot, sweaty, lush green, with friendly gentle folk everywhere.

As you cycle through the cities you battle with scooters, cars and pedestrians to get to where you're going. The traffic moves continuously in an unbroken stream, parting to get passed you, like water around rocks in a river, you never slow down, you just dodge each other, looking left, right, in front and behind, as you wend your way to get across, "stay sharp" I heard myself say - a real hoot.

Villages are equally exciting, especially at school closing time. Hundreds of bikes ridden by kids dressed in crisp white shirts with red neckerchiefs, heading towards you, on narrow dusty roads lined with all manner of stalls spilling goods and people into your path, whilst trucks, farm carts and, scooters with their drivers balancing enormous loads, hurtle up behind you - there is a constant buzz of horns and people shouting!

The wiry, sun tanned villagers sit squat by the roadside, cooking and mixing giant pots of steaming broth, chewing the fat, repairing scooters, welding broken farm equipment, playing cards look up to say hello.

On the sleeper train, as the sun shone through the window in the early hours we drank tea with condensed milk out of plastic cups, followed by chocolate muffins.

A nine hour delay from Manchester meant I missed my Doha connection, arriving in Ho Chi Min city twenty four hours late without my luggage - agh no cycling gear!  After two overnight flights and endless hours in airpots I was pooped - my luggage arrived four days later.  In the interim I bought a pair of shorts and a teeshirt, not the best fit, they're not big blokes in Vietnam.

Two, 100 klm days, over high passes was great fun.

The first over the stunning Hon Giao Pass (2026 m) took us into lush vegetation where at the top the low cloud shrouded us in heavy rain.  But worth it the down hill was fantastic - 25 klm's all the way down. Leaving the rain behind it opened up into panoramic vistas of distant mountains, passing tumbling streams and waterfalls as we flew down hill.  Dropping it down a cog I peddled frantically to catch Colin and Randall, but they were too quick as they leant their bikes over to get round the hairpins at speed.

The second long day, over the historic Hai Van Pass, included a 500 m vertical height gain mountain in 10 klm, to take us to an American bunker used during the Tet offensive. The guide said the record was 30 minutes, so with the bit between my teeth I dug deep and peddled hard all the way.  I did it in 43 minutes not bad considering 30 mins was for elite riders on road bikes.

The days flowed seamlessly into each other as we cycled, singularly, in pairs or as a group. We soaked up the sounds, the smells, the noise, the views and the people like as  sponge - cycling gets you into what a country is really like.

Exploring beautiful cities like Hoi An, Saigon and Hanoi, walking through the markets to buy stuff, eating in tiny little places drinking the local beer '333', 'Saigon' and 'Huda" - it was all great fun.