I've started cycling again. I used to cycle a lot, when I lived somewhere flatter and didn't own a car, but convenience and idleness caught up with me and cycling became mostly something I did for fun, not for transport. 

Not any more though! My bike has been retrieved from the cellar, panniers retrieved from the box they were packed in, and I'm now cycling to work every day, as well as further away places at the weekend. 

All this cycling has prompted me to think more about how I travel around, which fits nicely with the Uber Frugal January theme of questioning all of your expenses. 

Cycling: panniers are the key

Right now, cycling to work feels ridiculous - it's less than two miles away so it takes me ten minutes to get there, and longer to cycle home than to walk as it's so uphill. But I'm hoping I'll be fitter soon, and I'm planning to add more miles to the journey home once the evenings start getting lighter. 

For me, panniers are the key to cycling. Without them, you have to use a rucksack, which makes for hot, sweaty cycling and squashed chocolate brownies (in my experience). With them, you can carry many things in comfort and safety. Mine are lovely, they're enormous, and waterproof, and easily to remove. They weren't cheap (about £50 I think) but so far they've lasted fifteen years and are still going strong. 

This bike folds in half, which is (in my opinion) a useless feature as it then takes up far more space. But the handlebars and pedals fold in too - very useful for storing in a hallway without bits sticking out to trip you up. 

I also have a 'proper' folding bike - a Brompton. This was expensive (about £600 I think, although now the cheapest seem to be £950) but again, it's lasted about seventeen years and I adore it. It folds up so small you can take it on the train without booking in advance, and you can even get it onto a bus. Perfect for my old bike-train-bike commute, and for slinging in the car to take on holidays (we have one each). Peter bought me a pannier to go on the front a couple of years ago and now it is the very pinnacle of bicycling perfection. 

I will say something about hills and traffic, as those are the reasons that people seem to give for not cycling more often. I've used hills as an excuse myself plenty of times but it is just that - an excuse. Yes, I have to get off and push sometimes, but the more I cycle, the fitter I get, and I can now get all the way home from work without getting off, which two weeks ago seemed like it would never happen. Learn how to use those gears and get cycling!

As for traffic, yes, it can be daunting. But the routes I drive are rarely the routes I cycle. I use cycle lanes where I can, quieter roads when I can't, make sure I'm lit up like a Christmas tree (no Stealth Cycling) and most importantly, I remain vigilant. I make eye contact with people turning out of side roads (to make sure they've noticed me) and I am always prepared to slow down if in a car is being unpredictable. 

Walking: sensible shoes and bags at all times

My bicycling enthusiasm has only recently been rekindled, in part because I've been conned into entering a 62 mile bike race in March. Before that, I walked (and drove, but we'll get to that in a minute). I love walking. I'll happily walk from one side of the city to another to meet a friend for a cup of tea (and often do). 

I'll walk to work in whatever shoes I'm wearing, but for longer walks, comfy shoes are best. And for walking, a rucksack (although now I think about it, panniers around the waist might not be a bad idea). Preferably no carrier bags dangling from wrists, and if I'm going to be longer than an hour, I find it best to have a drink and snack as it's very easy to pop into a shop for a bar of chocolate when you're walking. 

Walking is slower than cycling, but I often natter on the phone, listen to a podcast, or take picture of my own feet. You can look around more when you're walking, and I've seen many parts of the city I never would have seen from a car. 

For both cycling and walking you need to plan ahead. Cycling needs a bike pump, spare tyre, a few tools (or someone at home with a car who can rescue you), panniers, lights, reflective jacket. Walking needs less preparation, but for both you need enough time. I've had to run before now, and with a rucksack and walking boots it's not pleasant. You don't want to be cycling in a rush either. 

But I find that there is usually time if you pay attention, it's just a matter of getting into the right habits, and factoring in the benefits of fresh air, exercise and general wellbeing you get alongside. 

Public transport

I live in a large city, so there are plenty of buses. They're great for getting into town and back, but across town usually requires two, and at that point I often either walk or get in the car. Our local bus now charges £1.80 for a single journey to town (just over two miles) so I've usually walked in and got the bus home, although these days I'm cycling both ways which makes it free. We also have trams here, but sadly I rarely need to be anywhere along the route. 

I love trains though, and managed a train commute for nearly six years without too much fussing. 

The main thing I love about trains is that you can do other things while you're travelling - very difficult on a bike or while driving. ​

They're not automatically the frugal option though, but it's always worth checking. It doesn't necessarily follow that because you have a car, it's never worth considering public transport. In my old job, I commuted to another city 60 miles away. Yes, I could have driven - but it was on small, windy roads so would have taken an hour and a half, I would have had to pay for parking, and it would have meant leaving Peter with no car, as we only have one. The train cost £20 a day (I travelled two days a week) but I could read (or sleep, it was quite early) on the train, and walking or cycling to or from the stations at each end (about 2 miles each way in each city) gave me plenty of fresh air and exercise. 

For longer train journeys, I've always managed to get tickets cheaper than the 'standard' price by booking in advance, travelling at odd times, or committing to a specific train. I usually use the Red Spotted Hanky website and always check the fabulously-named Tickety Split site to see if it's worth buying separate tickets for different stages of the journey.

Driving

We have one car between the two of us. It's thirteen years old (although we've only had it for three years) and we found it through Gumtree. It does around 45 miles per gallon, and so far (touch wood) hasn't had anything go too wrong. We deliberately bought one that was (just about) big enough to sleep in the back of. It's a bit cramped with two of us, so I wouldn't want to stay in it for more than one night, but I've been away in it on my own for several days and it's been fine, and it's great for sleeping outside friend's houses after parties, or a cheap night away in another city. 

I've fallen into the habit of hopping into the car for small journeys over the last few years - even to the local shops, which are only ten minutes walk away. I usually justify this because I'm running late, or I'm in the middle of something and don't want to take half an hour out. 

But Uber Frugal January is making me question those justifications and see what I can do to get rid of them. Planning ahead always helps - if I know we're running low on milk, I can get some while I'm out anyway, instead of having to make an emergency dash when we run out. If I allow plenty of time to get ready, I can be on time, rather than having to take the car because I'm late. This is working so far this month, and I've barely got in the car except for longer journeys or to ferry large pieces of wood or furniture (I don't yet  have a bike trailer...).

Still, we spend roughly £60 a month on diesel, and even though that includes days out and trips to see family, neither of us drive to work so this still seems quite high. 

Overall

I like being able to get about under my own steam, and I prefer it when I create enough time and space to be able to cycle and walk to places. I've never been reliant on a car to get to work and I'd like to keep it that way if possible although there may be some compromise if we move somewhere rural. We'll see. 

Up til now I've always made decisions about where to live and work as if I didn't have a car, so the addition of one is a bonus to be used for longer trips, rather than a necessity. I've still found it far too easy to hop in for short trips though and that's something I've started to change this month. 

​More bicycling, I say! 

I went back to work this week after a fortnight off, and while I'm enjoying the work itself, I'm not enjoying being shut in an office (even a light and airy one) for most of my daylight hours. Flicking back through my camera, my photos from the last couple of weeks are of outside (although I admit the sunrise above was taken through the bedroom window).

It's too cold to linger outside for long, but a brief spell always reminds me that this season isn't only sticks and drizzle. We stayed with some friends in Wales for new year, and I would happily have stared at their view for weeks on end.

It reminded me how important a nice view is in our house search. Right now we can see the houses on the other side of the street. There's more of a view from the attic, of course, but that's not where we spend most of our time. And that sunrise, while beautiful, was taken while standing on the bed, leaning out of the skylight - not the most relaxing place to have a cup of tea. 

I think I'd be happy even if all I could see was my own garden. Just a bit of greenery to gaze on. 

In the absence of such delightful views from my own living room, a friend and I found ourselves in the cafe at Idle Valley nature reserve last week. Their cafe overlooks a lake, and I could sit and stare at it all day. 

As it happens we did stay for a good while, as it was rather chilly outside, and a nice elderly man in a tweed hat was regaling us with tales of his decades living abroad. But eventually he went back to his wife and, deciding we couldn't spend the entire day in the cafe (it is Uber Frugal January, after all), we wrapped up and walked around the lake. 

The scenery isn't spectacular there, but it still looks good in the winter light with no leaves on the trees. 

Closer to home, the local botanical gardens are looking rather more sculptural than usual. 

I walked across town to meet a friend (in another cafe, oh dear - I will confess all at the end of the month). For once I was early, so I meandered through the gardens instead of taking the shorter route. 

I often meet friends there in the summer, but never think to walk through in the winter. 

Inside is cosy and warm, and it's far too easy to doze off under a blanket, but being outside makes me feel awake. And it reminds me that yes, it's cold, but spring will come soon enough. 

A couple of days of sitting around is all I can manage it seems, and as the sun was shining this morning, I pulled on my boots and went for a walk. 

I didn't take the car, just walked out of the front door and up the road. We're fortunate that we can be out in the countryside in about fifteen minutes here, and it wasn't long before I felt really quite far away. 

You can just about see the city there in the middle of that picture above, about 3 miles and a whole world away. 

After about four miles I was getting a bit peckish. Fortunately I'd packed a picnic.

Nothing fancy, just a bit of leftover pasta and a flask of hot chocolate (with a sprinkling of mixed spice and a dash of almond extract which made it feel ever-so-luxurious). 

Oh, and a couple of biscuits, because you can't have a picnic without biscuits. 

I love how food always tastes so much better when you're hungry and in the fresh air. 

After my dinner (which didn't last long, as it was too chilly to be sitting down) I was revived and carried on with a spring in my step. A lot of my wanderings were on roads, but they were quiet back roads, and I barely saw anyone all afternoon.

Out in the middle of nowhere, I came across several sculptures in the woods.

At first I thought it was someone's garden, but it turned out to be the home of stoneface creative, a couple of local stone artists. Someone was hauling wood by the stream, and gave me a cheery wave. Most unexpected, and most cheerful. 

I walked just over nine miles in the end, and it was so lovely to be out in the sunshine and the fresh air. It's been quite warm today - at one point I even considered taking my jumper off - but now I'm home I'm curled up under a blanket and very grateful for my hot water bottle. 

I'm toying with making *move* my word of the year for 2017. Move house, yes, but also move me. I remembered today how much I love a nice long walk, and I plan to do a whole lot more of them next year. In between finishing the half marathon and starting the 62 mile bike ride I seem to have signed up for in March, that is...

Merry Christmas! 

It's been a quiet day round here. A restful lie in, and then a spot of leisurely present-opening with a nice cup of tea (those are for the whole of our families, by the way, not just us two). A couple of chocolate coins before a wholesome porridgey breakfast, and then a couple of hours of reading, a spot of yoga, and then we settled in for a tasty dinner on a makeshift picnic basket table. 

After dinner we went for a walk around the fields. The light was fading a little, but it was lovely to be out, and we barely saw a soul. 

After it went dark, I went back out for a run. The sky was bright, and the clouds seemed almost lit up as they scudded across the sky. 

This time of year always feel spare somehow, separate from the rest of the year. For the past few years I've been fortunate to be able to take a couple of years off work over Christmas, and so the whole fortnight feels like the start of the new year. Today I feel like I've started as I mean to go on next year - fresh air, exercise, and a whole lot of sitting down and reading. I hope you had a good day too, whatever you've been doing.  

Such a lot of something-and-nothing has happened since I was last here. My days are filled with work, mostly, and worrying about work when I'm not there. Not exactly my ideal state of mind. And as you may have guessed, we are still not living in a show home (but we have plans on that front, soon, soon!)

Anyway. Too much thinking about work is not good for the soul, however cheery your job is. And so last week, I was collected straight from work on Wednesday evening and we went to the seaside. Hooray! 

​We arrived in the dark, and the next morning was misty but as we walked along the front the sky cleared and the sun came out. 

I love Scarborough. I know people who hate its tackiness, down-at-heelness, and propensity for doughnut stalls and amusement arcades, but I love all those things about it, and many more. This holiday in particular I appreciated the wide variety of eating establishments it offers, even at this gloomy time of year. 

Yes, we were only there for four days, and yes, I did eat all that cake, and more. It was purely in the interests of staying warm and dry...

The weather wasn't too bad actually - the kind of weather that looks grim through the window, but when you're out in it, it's fine. The forecast for our second day was nice, so we took off down the coast on our foldy bikes and had lunch sitting outside.

I was quite taken with the beach huts. So cheerful! And the colours were matched in the older buildings too.

We managed to squeeze in a few trips to other little towns dotted along the coast too - Whitby, Bridlingon, Filey... I love them all. Whitby was bathed in golden light when we arrived. 

Filey is the quietest of all those places, and I love the vastness of the beach. 

The cliffs rise up behind the beach, but they're not-so-slowly crumbling into the sea, and the effect is quite striking. 

We wandered along the sand for a while, and had a cup of tea sitting outside the cafe (outside, again!)

(No, that is not a teabag floating in my mug - perish the thought! It's just a reflection. Always milk after the teabag is out for my tea, please!)

We're home now, and work is still there, and the house still needs doing, but I do at least feel a little bit restored. Just being able to hear the sea helps sometimes, doesn't it? 

Looking back at my pictures for the last few weeks, it seems I've been spending quite a lot of time outside, most of it in the woods. Of course, I've actually spend far more time at work, and in the house - but neither of those places are quite so photogenic (there will be a house update post soon, I promise). 

In the meantime, here's a bit of seasonal cheer. 

I've taken most of these pictures while out running (yes, I know I'd speed up if I didn't keep stopping but I can't help myself). I do love this time of year. We had our first frost this week. 

I had to laugh at those two photos - I took them a week apart in completely different places and they're so similar. Seems I like taking pictures of my shoes...

I love the skies at this time of year too. I often find myself out at dusk and I love the shadow of the trees against the sky. 

Yesterday I found myself in the woods again. The light wasn't great for photographs, but the colours were overwhelming. 

Today the sun's shining again. I've already done my long run this week, but I do need to walk into town so I'll find the most scenic route, and I'll try to persuade Peter out for a bike ride later too if the weather holds. There's nothing better than being outside at this time of year. 

Yet again, I've fallen into my traditional running pattern. Enter a race, don't train enough, drag my way around, collect the medal, then collapse in a heap and don't run for months. Not exactly the strategy of an olympic athlete, but it's served me well over the years, and means I do at least end up doing a couple of races a year. 

My last races were in June - a half marathon, a slightly odd but excellent trail race and a triathlon. True to form, I barely ran at all through July, August and September. 

But no longer! I have been persuaded to enter another half marathon, a couple of weeks after Christmas. This time, I'm attempting to follow a proper training plan. It lasted two weeks, two weeks of running before work in the early(ish) morning light, and then I hit a busy week at work and it all stopped again. 

Still, that was just a blip, and today I'm already in my running kit and plotting a gentle 4.5 miles just as soon as I've finished this cup of tea. 

It's funny, when I'm in a running phase, I can't imagine not doing it, but as soon as I do stop, I can't imagine how I found all that time and effort. I suppose the answer is to just keep going... 

The last week or so has been a flurry of outings and goings-on, and it's really felt quite summery. Of course, the decorating has been sorely neglected, but, well, it's not going anywhere. 

I'd quite forgotten that our city centre has a 'seaside' event for the whole summer. We're just about as far as it's possible to get from the coast in Britain (about 75 miles), so each year the city centre takes on a festive air of a seaside town, with a helter skelter, stalls, sand, and an array of stripey deckchairs around the fountains. 

Of course, it's not quite the same as being at the real seaside, but for people with young children, who can't easily travel over to the coast, I think it's a brilliant idea. Much of the entertainment is free, and I imagine if you took a picnic it could be quite a thrifty and fun day out. 

My next bit of summery sunshine came at Idle Valley nature reserve, in Nottinghamshire. I'd not been there before, but I met a friend for lunch and we spent a happy few hours sat in the cafe and wandering around the lake. 

Our next outing was a little longer - we spent a gentle few days staying in Lincolnshire in one of the most fabulously-decorated holiday cottages I've ever encountered.

I must say, it was quite a tonic to be somewhere so colourful, after we've spent some time painting our own house various shades of white. I don't think I've ever stayed anywhere with leopard-print curtains before. 

We spent a few days bimbling around market towns and cycling along little trails. 

On our final day, we were looking for somewhere to eat our picnic, and came across a brass band playing a park by a river. It was really most pleasant, it looked like half the town was there with their folding chairs and flasks of tea. It was all rather unexpectedly cheerful. 

So finally, I feel like I've had a bit of a summer. I'm not quite ready to give it up yet though. There will be more painting, but I have promised myself I'll spend a good bit of time in the garden this weekend. Watch this space... 

We're not having a big holiday this year, but we have managed to sneak away for a day or two, here and there, to visit friends or new places. 

Last weekend we disappeared up into the Welsh hills for a birthday party.  The house is alone, at the end of a long gravel track leading up a hill. I found myself dreaming of living somewhere like that myself (although I admit living in a different country is not really very practical for getting to work). 

Coming back to urban reality was a bit of a nuisance after all that space and quiet. 

But as my mum always said, if you don't go home, then you can't come back, and there are, as ever, things to do. The bathroom looks more and more like a bathroom with each passing day. 

I've painted that plaster today, but it still looks patchy and needs a third coat. That green wall on the left is proving somewhat problematic as well (no surprises there). 

I'm off work again this week, so hoping to get a good deal done in the house. I even ventured out into the garden today, and was met with shrivelled, brown disasters everywhere I looked. Hmm. It's been warm today but once the sun goes behind the houses this evening I'll be out there, trying to salvage what I can and make it look a bit tidier. 

I'll be posting progress reports this week as I'm in need of a bit of encouragement - hope to have a nearly-finished bathroom to show you very soon... 

It's been rather warm round here of late. I confess I haven't really made the most of it - between work and decorating I've been mostly inside. 

​We did get outside yesterday though. 

My mum was here, and we hopped down to a local festival in the park to listen to some friends playing some music. It really was most jolly, sitting in the sunshine under a tree, eating a sandwich and watching the world go by. 

I was quite taken by these giant crocheted bluebells, high up on an archway. 

We couldn't stay lazing around in the sunshine all day though - there was work to do. 

Mum had kindly offered to help with my never-ending list of tasks, and I thought it would be nice to do something in the garden, which is rather overgrown. We did some lopping and clearing and weeding, and spread a load of woodchip, which will hopefully mean No More Weeding for a while (not that I ever did that much, clearly). 

We only got as far as the bird table, which isn't very far at all, but that generated an entire car full of branches and weeds for the tip. I really don't know where it all comes from. 

​Today we're in charge of this little fella. 

He's very cute, but not particularly good at DIY. We went for a walk around the fields instead. 

On the way back, he tugged and pulled towards his own house, and so I took advantage and locked him in it for a couple of hours while I tried to sort out this mess. 

Hmm. Still, it's all properly plastered now, and I had time to do a good deal of painting (not of that wall!) before we collected our little furry pal again. 

I'm off work this week, and have many grand and ambitious plans, mostly house-related. Plastering, painting, gardening - we'll be practically a show home by the end of the week I'm sure (or not). Would you like to see a bit of bathroom progress? 

​This is how we started. 

What fun! Perhaps not appealing to all tastes in the house-buying public though... And if you look closely, you can see those pictures were stuck onto polystyrene sheets, which in quite a lot of places were coming off the walls, and the plaster behind was crumbling and falling off. 

We lived with it like this for years, but figured other people might not be quite so happy to... And anyway, I needed to practice my plastering skills, so off it all came, and we started the lengthy process of repairing the walls. 

It's not finished yet, but the walls are now (a) not crumbling and (b) relatively smooth. Hooray! 

I'm hoping to have a nice shiny TaDa! photo to share with you by the end of this week. Watch this space... 

In the meantime, me and the furry one are off for an evening stroll.