Grizz's Redneck Express 1966 Chevy Short Fleetside RESTO-GO!

[Grizz1963]

Weekend is over..... again?

Spent it over at Katy's place.

It was a hot one, BBQ Saturday late and Sunday early bootfair at RSPCA charity boot fair with £1.00 Charitable donation entry fee.

Everything we got was 50p per item or £1.00 and then really good Bacon rolls with two large chunks of fried bacon and a large instant coffee, total £6.00



Glass hearts for Katy at £1.00 each made her happy, because though hating bootfairs, she knows her prices and likes a bit of a bargain.
These were bought for the garden, but found to be too nice, so after a wash, found their way into the house, dangling in front of the windows.




Katy did most of the driving this weekend so my view from the passenger seat was mostly this.....



After the bootfair we spent close to 5 hours helping her parents, who at age 73/75 have decided to sell their house and move to the coast, so it was furniture dismantling, ornament moving, furniture, and all the television sets etc.....
Then we moved some furniture about 15 miles away into a storage unit for her sister who is getting some tables, chairs etc.

Never been in one of these modern storage units, no idea on cost etc, but have to say it is a really great idea and the facilities were faultless.

Late lunch at 4.00pm then back to her place.

At 5.30 it was still hot as anything but we decided to go ride the bikes.

I had anticipated a gentle saunter through some fields, maybe a mile or two, but it seems Katy is made of sterner stuff.
While riding was slow, I was able to explain to her the workings of gearchange, which till now was not part of her rides.
I had previously also raised her new gel saddle by about 100mm so that she could ride more efficiently and comfortably



In the end we did do 5km away from her home and then back, I did a bit of a hilly detour the last kilometre so that I could work a bit harder.

Happy to say, my legs were rubbery after the last kilometre.

So for those still watching to see me in Lycra for this Charity Bicycle Ride..........

It has happened, I bought some cycling shorts, for under my cargo pants, and it sucks, may be more comfy, but when you walk, it feels like you pooped yourself.





And the donations/support/sponsorships continue to come in.

Australia, England etc....


THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR EVERY DOLLAR, POUND, RAND ETC....




I hope you all have a good week, it seems it will be hot in the UK.

[flashed]

Rian ,glad the donations are still coming in .After my seed implant next week Im going to try to get back to riding my bike daily to lose some more weight ,need to lose another 40 pounds .

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by flashed

Rian ,glad the donations are still coming in .After my seed implant next week Im going to try to get back to riding my bike daily to lose some more weight ,need to lose another 40 pounds .

John, trust me...... so am I my friend, so am I.

The thing is, we cannot all do this thing by ourselves, but every Dollar, and I mean even single figure Dollars make the difference.

What is a seed implant?

40 pounds will make a massive difference to how you feel as well.

And as I had to do for myself, I set small targets of two or three pounds at a time.

It's never easy, and it's not the will power, it's the won't power for me when it comes to snacks and chocolate

I do wish you well I this pursuit, as I am on one myself so understand totally.



Thought I would add in today's ride, a bit further, a bit faster after work.
Kind of keeping those who paid for ringside seats to my self induced torture up to date regarding their investment.

A few more contributions overnight, some anonymous and others from around the world again, America, Western Australia, Maidstone, Kent etc.



Thank all of you guys and ladies again, as mentioned before, the price of a beer or McDonalds kids meal is as welcome as any other contribution that suits your pocket or bank account.

To the people who run these charities every penny truely does count.


Tonight's details.



The route



And for the guys from other parts of the world, just to put in perspective where I live, it really is in the middle of nowhere, but works for me.



And yes, the shirt was washed last night.
I am hoping that the yellow mustard colour and also my red shirts will be more visible for those not paying attention on the road.

[flashed]

Rian ,the Seed Implant is for Prostate Cancer ,they are little rice sized pieces of titanium treated with radiation to kill the cancer . I have already lost 40 pounds a while back so this is just a continuation of that , I started trying to get healthy again right after my wife passed away .

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by flashed

Rian ,the Seed Implant is for Prostate Cancer ,they are little rice sized pieces of titanium treated with radiation to kill the cancer . I have already lost 40 pounds a while back so this is just a continuation of that , I started trying to get healthy again right after my wife passed away .

Thanks for that mate.

I hope you get to regain your health and lose weight.

It does feel good.



I live out in the middle of nowhere, it suits me, and more importantly, it suits the animals, both domestic as well as wild.

Who else has a woodpecker visit, or a family of four black crows come to scavenge the leftover catfood I put out on the deck every day?

This morning I was alerted by a massive racket outside, previously only one crow would collect the left over food......

Today, two parents feeding two fledged children, shouting to be fed out on the lawn.

Privileged for sure.



Overnight a couple of donations came in from Australia and Ontario, Canada.... thanks a mil guys, this is wonderful



Well, I had not planned on doing any updates but it seems the world continues to turn.

So I need to keep up.

Been in London today..... it was HOT !!

Came home tonight via this tunnel under the railway line, I love British architecture, and these are lovely.

When I walk through here I feel I am home, despite a 15 minute drive home.



Walked in home and found a padded envelope in the post.

Included were a pair of retaining clips for Prozac the van..... I had been looking for them and was not able to find them anywhere to buy.

Pete "Strikey" did find them for me.... !!!! Thank you so much mate, it was quite irritating having the panel under the dash hang down.

Fixed:



Included was also £5.00 to add to the "Together for short lives" charity for my bike ride, I just needed to do the logistics, so I created my own account and did it.

Thank you Pete.



Also got a PM from Ernie "PedalcarJoe" to say he wanted to send me £20.00 via PayPal so that I could deposit it on his behalf. Another big thank you for the support.



When I started to do this write up I saw another donation that had come in........... from a Unicorn.

Anonymous, but I think I know who it is.



Got to be time for a Bud Light now, beer works well in these temperatures.

Later guys, gals.

[Grizz1963]

More contributions coming in since yesterday.

I am really thankful and optimistic that we will make a difference.

Unfortunately, here and there I do not recognise names as real and forum names differ, but you know who you are, as well as the anonymous contributors.



It was a bit windy yesterday afternoon, which is actually harder work head on, but nice to cool one down a bit.

I also pushed up to 13km and was very pleased with my time. Under 3min/km

I have no idea what the gym bodies do that sort of distance in, probably under 2min/km



Also found the tracking app I use has more functions, including elevation over the route. Not that it makes much sense.



And another donation later in the evening from Germany.



Looks like I will have to make you guys proud (without any Lycra visible though)

Almost the weekend, hope to do a more time in the saddle.

Work now.

Later guys.

[Grizz1963]

Weekend gone....!

Friday night Miss Katy came over to visit.

For a change I thought we could go out for dinner, not something I do very often as it's both costly and boring if you make a habit of it.

Katy chose Italian as she was in the mood for a lasagne.

We got to Simply Italian in Rochester at about 20.40 and were turned away.... for 20 minutes till a table became available, so we took a walk up to Rochester Castle. Sunset is a good time of day.



And Rochester Cathedral



Of course I had pizza and a couple of beers.



On Saturday morning early Katy and I had a few jobs to do and when I got back there was a letter from Florida from Mr Zog with a couple of very special stickers, suffice it to say that they are special and have a special place in my heart going back to cheildhood, as well as about 2kg of freshly picked cherries from Mickey next doors tree balanced in a bowl on the hedge between our homes.

Life is good.



In the evening we had a BBQ booked from 5.00pm over in Maidstone at friends Kevin and Theresa's place along with Dave and Helen from Essex.
All of this friendship based in a shared love of motorcycles.

Dinner and beer was awesome and we eventually got home and to bed after midnight.
At 3.00am I heard Katy coming in, she had been downstairs reading as insomnia had hit her.

By 06.00 Harley had me out of bed and ready to go to a bootfair...... Katy does not do more than one or two a year, under protest.

I found some little ornaments, though damaged, I loved them and for £1.00 for all three....... happy to pay.




Only did one bootfair in the end as I had to go collect 8 plastic pallets for craigrk

Got unopened 5 liter can of Black Hammerite for mate Martin £10.00
Three silver serving spoons for Katy 20p each
Rubberised Gloves 50p/paur
Bananas £1.00
New unused bicycle pump £2.00
Unused can of gloss white spraypaint 50p
Coffee mug for Katy 50p
Small "damaged" pewter ornaments £1.00 for the three.

Hammerite though for Martin makes it worthwhile.




Got home by 08.30 and got some bacon in the grill to make Miss Katy a bacon sandwich, she loves them and had done all my ironing yesterday and was going to help me dust and clean the house some time too.

After brekkie, I took Prozac and went off to collect 8 large plastic pallets for @CraigRK over in Strood, I will deliver them next weekend to where he lives.

Once again.......


Prozac impressed me with its ability to swallow a large load.



Once I got back and parked the little van that can down by the garage, we went back to Rochester, charity shops and Costa coffee and cake thanks to Katy.
Then to a Retro Festival.
Nothing bought, but lovely stuff to look at.

Back home by 2.30pm....

Weekend not yet over.

[mjh1965]

Thanks for getting me the paint . That's great for the truck

[Grizz1963]

So after coming back from town we decided to take the bikes out for a quick ride as well.

Before we get there, some ideas for those of you who like to make stuff.....



It was the first time Katy went on a ride along my training route.

This charity ride is in less than two weeks and there are many days I will not be on the bike as I am out early and back late.

So we decided to do 10km together, a bit slow and leisurely but of course going at the best pace she could maintain.
It was also quite windy today, so I could not blame her for stopping and pushing a few times (frustrated me though)



Getting there....... this pic somehow made me laugh later when a friend in South Africa sent me a photo as she was in a nature park.



Similarity?

Death wish?



After 10km just when we got back home, I left Katy and headed out at a more forceful pace and did another 7km.

Ultimately this was my timing, distance and pace.



After the torture I put her through, I was quite surprised that Miss Katy also popped up on the donation board.



Thanks a mil Katy.

And so another good weekend has come to an end.

Have a good week all.

[flashed]

My work week will only be 2 days then go for Implants and take it easy the rest of the week .Going to be bored unless we get to take the boat out in the lake .

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by mjh1965

Thanks for getting me the paint . That's great for the truck

Was asked elsewhere who sells am5 liter unopened tin of Hammerite......

These guys.




No idea where they get their stock, but hey..... bargain is a bargain.

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by flashed

My work week will only be 2 days then go for Implants and take it easy the rest of the week .Going to be bored unless we get to take the boat out in the lake .

I can only wish you luck and good fishing John.

Hope it all goes well my friend.


Just a short update tonight.

Traffic was a dog tonight, took me over two hours to do 30 miles and had to go. Get food to, so never went riding, but will make up for it on Wednesday.

Overnight there were some more Charity contributions from the USA and U.K.

Thanks to Jack, Ric and Andrew.

Guys, I appreciate it massively on behalf of the kids.



Martin sent me a pic of his limited edition Lamborghini today, seems it is a bit of a rarity.

The Avio models will come exclusively with polished black 20-inch wheels and five matte body paints, although more color options are available through Lamborghini’s custom Ad Personam program. We personally dig the Avio in Verde Turbine with gray accents [as seen above], which could be a nod to the Curtiss P-40 Warhawk flown by the Allies in World War II, minus the teeth. But any way you paint it, the Avio is a lot more tasteful than Chris Brown’s jet fighter wrap over his old Gallardo. The engine bay’s “L 63” lettering isn’t an endorsement of AMG’s products, bur rather is shorthand for “Lamborghini” and the company’s founding year of 1963.



Not at all something Imwould want to own, but I like it.

The number 63 of course one of Dennis' race numbers and my year of birth and Prozacs number.

[flashed]

I too would not want to own it ,drive it once or twice or a dozen times ,Hell Yes .I do like it though. Rian ,I will let you know how the proceedure goes ,Im not at all worried ,ready to get own with it actually .

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by flashed

I too would not want to own it ,drive it once or twice or a dozen times ,Hell Yes .I do like it though. Rian ,I will let you know how the proceedure goes ,Im not at all worried ,ready to get own with it actually .

Yup. Not interested in owning one John

Let us know how you are doing.



Couple of quick updates.

Its been a very long day for me.

The giving goes on and on.

Thank you to Darkspeed for the generous contribution.

Its greatly appreciated.



And also to Mustang Garttell for the dollars in the piggy bank. (Trying to figure if its one of KZN's Gartrells)



I hope to be home by midnight. Still on a train headed home.

Soooo ready for bed.

Thank you one and all for every penny and pound, Dime or Dollar contributed to this small but worthwhile charity.

[Grizz1963]

I seem to be saying a lot of thank you's every day.

And rightly so.

I continue to be blown away by the generosity and willingness of everyone to contribute to this action for Fund Raising.



Today a couple more from Bus Stop Jim and also Bstard Child.

Thanks guys.



Today the drive broke into 40% of the target amount by hitting £10000.00



I thought it would have progressed much faster.

This makes me even more proud of this comminity we are all part of for the support of "Together for short lives" to date.

I do hope that the other participants in this whole Triathlon and Fun Day are going to make a decent effort in the days left over.

If you still want to contibute a Dollar or a Pound please do make the effort and mention that you are supporting me.

Link here: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraisi...eTriathlon2017


Plan B for those not able to access or who cannot be bothered with that process, remember there is the PayPal route.

Thanks again, you are all amazing.

[Grizz1963]

[quote author="@grumpynorthener" source="/post/2331671/thread" timestamp="1498677233"]Rian - I think you will also find that 'George Bryden' is a certain forum friend in Manila [/quote]


Thanks Chris

Funny you mention it. I was kind of baffled as it did not have a note to say it was supporting me.
I suspect there are other anonymous and undedicated contributions made on my behalf that we do not know of.
I just continue to be so thankful for all the support coming on.

So you from the North
George in Manila, Philipines
Fredrik from Sweden
Bus Stop Jim from out there somewhere.

This has become a real international effort.
And it is reinforcing my belief in us all as humans.




Bed time now as its up at 5.30'and off to London at 07.00

[flashed]

Congrats Rian ,well deserved ,besides you are doing the hard part of this .

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by flashed

Congrats Rian ,well deserved ,besides you are doing the hard part of this .

Thanks John,

See report below...... hardest part done last night.

Just wish a few more people would drop a dime or two in the tin..... to help me get to my personal goal.



30 July.....!!!

What has happened to the year?

Halfway gone.

Even Dukey was surprised.




Part of the speed it's gone with is he fact that my job has stepped up a notch or two and that I am certainly more busy now than ever before, leaving less time for the good stuff.

Speaking of good stuff,

Thank you CraigRK and wife Lorraine for supporting the ride and charity.

I actually posted on FB, which I had not planned on ever doing to see if I could generate any more support, even the single units and price of a burger or a pint of beer donations make a difference.
I was thinking of the loose coins in a wallet that people often toss into a rattle can on the street.......

Not proud, happy to have them added to the total or sent via PayPal for me to deposit onto the Just Giving page.





Last night I wanted to get as close as I could to "Race Day" distance as I could, but have to say that after 3 km I did wonder why I had even set off to ride.........

Anyway, I carried on and ended up riding as hard as I could all the way, with the river Thames and Medway river keeping me company all he way. Thames in the background with Essex on the horizon



In the end I did 21.39 km in under an hour, only just but considering my lack of fitness, I was very pleased.

I duplicated quite a bit of the route to get the distance and then also went and stretched it up at the farm.



And for the clever analysts.......




Today is Friday and next Friday 7th of July is the ride of course.

The next week is filled with meetings etc, and I have to get up at 04.30 tomorrow (Saturday) to be on a 06.00 train to London for an academic meeting at the Royal College of Physicians to 5.00pm
Sunday delivering pallets to CraigRK and a BBQ with them....

Looking forward to having a cold beer tonight when the admin is out the way.


Please if you have considered contributing, continue to consider and then do it.

Later all.

[Grizz1963]

Hopefully this time next week I will be rehidrating and rubbing cream on my butt.

In the mean time today was another day to say thank you for the continued support from all of you out there.

I have spoken to a couple of colleagues and they have not been able to generate the support you have all given me.




Long day in London tomorrow.

Hope to get a ride in in the evening when I get in.

[Grizz1963]

Sunday....
Bootfair day.
Rubbish night, little sleep for me, but of course not for the returned prodigal cat.

He seems oblivious to pretty much anything happening around him, except the sound of a tin opener and Tuna.



So yesterday was an early day, to go to work in London at the Royal College of Physicians.

Up at 04.30 to get the right train and tube so that I could be there before 08.00 to start setting up.

Out the house with only a mug of tea, and no Overpriced coffee along the way, meant that was the first thing I asked for when I got to the venue.

Being one of the organisers, I was taken to the member's restaurant and and waited on hand and foot.........

Scrambled egg on the plate was the second best I have ever had, and I have traveled a lot.



Even a very nice Café Latté to bolster my mood.

Yup, that is my happy food face.



The rest of the day was long and hard, with loads of lectures by incredibly capable medics.
Eventually finishing at 4.00 pm.

Tubes and train back home saw me indoors 13 hours after leaving.

My one lodger, Gary had also brought me some prezzies.....

Stainless steel welding brushes, rubberised gloves and two pairs of Tig Welding gloves to add to my garage supplies.



He then also gave me rent for the next week and added a £20.00 note, saying that it was "For the children, they need all the help we can give them"

After which we did the donation from my PayPal account while he posted his message. Which made me smile.




Seems it has started raining outside, which usually means the bootfairs get cancelled.....

But I will go out anyway and look to see if there is anything happening.

Then later over to Craig's place to deliver the 8 plastic pallets I collected in Prozac last weekend. Plus a BBQ with his family.

And finally when I get back, hopefully a ride on the bike, as this week is filled with long days of training and meetings before Fridays Charity Ride.

Later guys.

[flashed]

Congrats on the Goodies you got ,shop supplies are always good gifts .

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by flashed

Congrats on the Goodies you got ,shop supplies are always good gifts .

It certainly was a nice surprise.

Good to speak with you today John.


Overall this charity drive seems to have slowed down, but then today it suddenly went up a few percentage points.

Still, I am quite saddened that they have not even managed to make the 50% mark with three days left before the event.

What would be cool is a lottery win, in order to bump the target, but I guess that's just silly. So I will be riding the bike on Friday and keeping my fingers crossed for some more contributions to come in on my behalf.



Thanks to,Steve in Romford, Essex for his contribution today.

I hope this gets you some random extra customers needing bespoke cabinet making.



And tonight another Steve dropped a bunch of coins in the kitty too.

Mr Love and Thunder....... https://love-and-thunder.com/ let's hope you get some extra sales from here.

And for those interested In a pretty cool PT Cruiser panel conversion.......

http://retrorides.proboards.com/thre...van-conversion




Bed time for me now, than you all for the support and encouragement.

Friday is headed this way fast.

[Grizz1963]

[quote author="@grizz" source="/post/2333028/thread" timestamp="1499118208"][quote author="@delux" timestamp="1499115763" source="/post/2333019/thread"]Love it dude! Happy riding.[/quote]
Thanks mate.

Funny how I started off not being too bothered.

However, it has now become a matter of pride.

I would love to kick this thing over the goal line by Friday.

I had a personal goal of £250.00 when I started, however we smashed it through the 300, 400 and this weekend..... £500.00 Mark.

By my optimistic wishes and dreams we as a collective may just hit £600.00 by Friday, especially if we get a few small donations.

Thank you also for your contribution.[/quote]


Overnight it seems we have crept even closer to the £600.00 mark.


Of course that poses the question.........

DO WE KEEP GOING AND TRY FOR THE NEXT GOAL.....??

And what will it be.

Thank you Disasterbus for the contribution.

As you are a very keen cyclist, I guess the 20km ride I will be doing is small change for someone like you.
But your change will make a big change for these kids.

This is a good thing.




Have a good day everyone.

I am stuck in training all day

[Grizz1963]

Long day

Good lunch

Too much coffee.

Traffic sucked on the M25

Got in to see a few more donations

You guys certainly are not making it easy for me

(To pull out of this, that is)

We are now clear over £600.00 and I suspect over £650.00 which translates into about $840.00-ish.

A great achievement on the 4th of July.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA



Stopped by at Miss Katy's place on the way home for dinner as she is exectly midway in my 100 mile drive home from Reading where I spent the last two days.

Contributions from all over again and embarassed to say I do not recognise one of the names (will feel like an idiot onceI know of course) Mark Forrest.... make yourself known.
Paul and the Phantom Creme Egg donor, thanks guys. You all make it worthwhile.




And of course Ashley, Thanks a lot mate.



Lastly maybe a relevant technological pic.

Perfect to whisper into other peoples ears to let them know about this challenge.



Now going to go out and cut Miss Katy's lawn, dressed in a suit.

Then dinner and head out home. Suspect the cats will be shouting at me when I get in. (Yes, they have been fed, by the lodgers)

[Grizz1963]

Got home tonight at 21.20 from the two days training in Reading, via Katy's place where I had dinner and cut.her grass and found a small,postal parcel indoors.

Contained a card, cycle themed of course, wishing me luck and some snacks for he ride, or ismthat the trip to the ride.



Also a donation from Sharon who I have known since 1976 when we were in boarding school, her brother is a General or Major General in the SADF and we all used to hang around, she was a year older than us, and often used to beat us up as kids......
Still trying to make me lose my dignity, this time for money though.
Thanks Sharon, but tripling the offer won't cut it.



Also took this pic at 21.40 tonight, just shows what a blessed and privileged life we live.




For those following the donation tally, we are almost at £650.00 now....

Let's hope some more pocket change finds its way into he collection overnight.

Thanks again all for the support and encouragement.