About

Learning Life’s lessons as I pedal the yellow bicycle across France.

My name is Stephanie.

My blog is about an ordinary woman with an extraordinary yellow bicycle and how together as a team, they overcame one of life’s dreaded obstacles. It is also about my thoughts and philosophies and stories over the course of that time.

If you are still interested then read on;

If not I wish you well on your journey through this great and fabulous life, where the only certainty is the present moment.

My Story;

I always took my health and indeed my life for granted.

I cycled as my main form of transport.

I grew organic vegetables, kept a small herd of milking goats for milk and cheese and a flock of hens for eggs.

I encountered some stressful times, a divorce, a move away from the life mentioned above but nothing I couldn’t handle.

In time I bought a little camper van and would head away in it whenever I could with my bike on board.

Finding a pleasant place to park, I’d potter around small country lanes on my bike exploring, looking for inspiration for photo’s or drawings, coming back in the evenings to pour a glass of wine and settle down to a bit of writing or painting before crawling into my cozy camper bed for the night.

One year taking the wrong turn home I chanced upon a bike shop and there outside was a yellow bicycle.

An hour later the yellow bicycle was mine.

A month later I was diagnosed with an aggressive cancer that had already metastasized.

And I was bound speedily for death (or so I thought).

Better cycle the yellow bicycle as much as I could.

Get my money’s worth so to speak.

And I did.

As soon as my surgery was over I was up on that bike (two surgical drains still in my legs pinned to a pair of pyjama bottoms worn under a long skirt to prevent them getting caught in the spokes)

And during a year of gruelling treatment I continued to cycle.

Surprisingly I didn’t die.

And when my treatment was over, I took the yellow bike to france and we cycled together from the atlantic to the mediterranean

I learnt many lessons from the saddle as I pedalled along.

She inspired me to continue writing my stories and still does.

She keeps me calm when life becomes hectic so that no matter how furiously I am pedalling below I always appear sedate on top.

We have many adventures together.

Through rust and punctures,

Through illness and good health

till death do us part….

‘I Do’

I hope you will enjoy reading my blog as much as I love writing it and may I mention all Photo’s splattered haphazardly throughout are my own.

THE PROUD OWNER OF MY NEW YELLOW BICYCLE, LOOKING HEALTHY ENOUGH, BUT HAVING NO IDEA WHAT LAY AHEAD.