Blogs
Fri, 27 Aug 2010
The life and times of Ella
By Ella Sadler-Andrews - Horizon Fitness Racing Team
Finding a flight to Australia is proving to be one massive headache. Six weeks ago when I realised I was serious about this adventure, I went looking for tickets. £700 seemed to be pretty average, but it wasn’t with the best airlines. Six weeks on and I still haven’t got a ticket. I’m looking now and it looks like I won’t be paying anything under £1000.
I am a pretty accustomed traveller, but my parents have always done the organising for the big trips such as Australia and New Zealand. I can get myself to France for £50 no problems!
Not only have the ticket prices gone up, but I have a problem with getting a credit card to buy any tickets I may eventually want. It’s not that it is difficult to get a credit card, it’s impossible. I am 18, making tuppence a month, and plan to leave the country in January. I wouldn’t even give me one! Money will have to appear from somewhere though to fuel this somewhat hazardous idea of mine.
Talking of hazardous things, my training for the Three Peaks is back breaking. I rode to Ingleborough (one of the horrible 3 Peaks) on Saturday, parked my bike at a friend’s house and ran (crawled) up and down. I can’t run. I used to be able to, but I’ve lost any sort of elegance I once had. It’s more of a bumble now, which has resulted in some very sore bingo wings (they were flapping all over the show). I then rode home. I had been on a high pretty much all day, it hadn’t rained and I had really enjoyed myself. However 10 miles from home I hit the wall. A diet of wine gums, muesli bars and jaffa cakes for six hours proved to be a fatal combination. I was sooo grumpy when I got home, and went straight to bed (after a delicious tea of corn on the cob and pasta and vege meatballs mmm).
I would love to say that apart from working, training and organising my Australia trip, things have been pretty boring and calm. But that is never the case in the Sadler-Andrews’ house. My car has recently been a MAJOR PAIN, breaking down on me four days in a row. The romantic relationship I once had with Bessie, my VW, has somewhat frayed and now I just want her gone. Well, sort of. If I could, I’d keep her and buy a new car, but I just don’t have the moolah. Anyways, she is fixed now with the addition of a ‘For Sale’ ad in her window – I was nearly in tears when the Blu-Tack stuck to the window.
So not only am I wanting to buy an air ticket with no money, I also need a new car. Where is my knight in shining armour a.k.a. Andy Schleck to write me a big fat cheque?!
I realise that this has all been one big moan! I guess that’s what happens when you become an independent adult. Oh I forgot to mention that I got my A-level results last week. They were far from what I expected. I passed them all, but not to the level I hoped so lucky I hadn’t set my sights on Oxbridge really.
Fingers crossed I will have some good news to write about next time. Time for a ride in which I guarantee I will get rained on.
Can’t wait to see what sort of sponsors we get next year. Perhaps we can all get kitted up with brand new Honda Civics or Apple Macs? I wouldn’t put it past Gayle our PR lady! I really hope to be part of the team for next year. The plans already sound awesome.
Ella x
For more information on the Horizon Fitness Racing Team, visit www.onthedrops.com.