Monsoon Riding

[Woolly]

Just got back from a 300 mile ride from Middlesbro to Liverpool and back to M'bro., - charity bike ride for Zoes place - a children's hospice with bases in (yes, you've guessed it!) M'bro & L'pool. Bout 60 bikes entered - out of those, 3 went back courtesy of the AA - electrical problems (considering it was a bit moist out there today, not really surprising). We
(my posse of 2) decided to keep off motorways, and 1st ciggy break was at Skipton. I then re-programmed Sat Nag, to take us to L'pool hospice, avoiding 'Highways' - we ended up going through about every 'mill town' in Yorkshire & Lancashire (as well as over every manhole cover, every traffic light and every tarsnake - and everyone seemed to be headed to a footy game - 4 hours to get there http://www.throttlejockey.co.uk/forum/images/smilies/dazed053.gif- you can see why motorways were invented). Everyone got a free XXXXXXL t-shirt, to wear over their bike gear, it was the worst wet t-shirt comp I've seen in my life, but the delight on the faces of the kids from the hospice in M'bro made it well worthwhile.

There was one entrant who didn't mind the weather at all . . .

[PMitchell]

Wooly,
Is that a SHEEP . . . dog?

[Woolly]

Wooly,
Is that a SHEEP . . . dog?

:):) - an 'Old English SHEEP . . . dog' at that !!

[munson]

...the delight on the faces of the kids from the hospice in M'bro made it well worthwhile.

Good for you Woolly! :)

[sonnata]

That trailer is way cool. The dog looks too small to be an OES, more like a Bearded Collie to me ( and the sticker looks like a BC) , but hey, I wasn't there, so what do I know?

Sounds like your efforts were well rewarded. Hope you raised a bunch of money for Zoe's place as well as the spirits of the staff & kids! Good for you, Wooly!

[Woolly]

. . . The dog looks too small to be an OES, more like a Bearded Collie to me ( and the sticker looks like a BC) , but hey, I wasn't there, so what do I know?



Hi, Kevin, you know a lot more about dogs than me (and Paul!!). . .

[Woolly]

OK, from now on, I promise I'll keep on the easy stuff :).

[sonnata]

Hi, Kevin, you know a lot more about dogs than me (and Paul!!). . .
Not really, I have an advantage because I happen to have herding breed dog myself. A terrier person could probably also tell the difference between a Norwich & a Norfolk terrier, but I sure couldn't!

Thanks for the close up of the trailer. I love the "I'm not a bloody Dulux Dog" sign!

Does Abbey just happen to be a therapy dog also? This would make a great story for my therapy dog group if you give me permission to post it!

[Woolly]

Not really, I have an advantage because I happen to have herding breed dog myself. A terrier person could probably also tell the difference between a Norwich & a Norfolk terrier, but I sure couldn't!

Thanks for the close up of the trailer. I love the "I'm not a bloody Dulux Dog" sign!

Does Abbey just happen to be a therapy dog also? This would make a great story for my therapy dog group if you give me permission to post it!

Hi again, Kevin - do you know what 'Dulux dogs' are in the States - looks like you do. Most therapy dogs in the UK tend to be old(ish) golden labs - shame really, cos BC's have a similar tempremant, but much more personality.

[sonnata]

Hi again, Kevin - do you know what 'Dulux dogs' are in the States - looks like you do. Most therapy dogs in the UK tend to be old(ish) golden labs - shame really, cos BC's have a similar tempremant, but much more personality.
Well, I know what they are, but most people who live here do not. I had seen a reference to them on a dog rescue site talking about companies using dogs to sell brands & the effect it had on breed rescue organizations. When a breed gets popular, puppy mills start churning out that breed.

We have all sorts of dogs as therapy dogs in the U.S. I have a Bouvier, but our local group has everything from Yorkshire Terriers to Bull Terriers to Greater Swiss Mountain Dogs. I believe the head of the national registry we belong to has either a Pit Bull or Rottweiler. Many insurance companies won't insure people's homes if they happen to own these breeds because of irresponsible owners. Dog laws in the U.S. either go way too far one way or not far enough the other. OK, I'll get off of my high horse now. :-D

[Woolly]

Does Abbey just happen to be a therapy dog also? This would make a great story for my therapy dog group if you give me permission to post it!

Yes, she does, but not in the conventional sense - she does not go inside Hospices & Hospitals, but she rides up outside many - as you know, any change from the boring & mundane for hospitalised people must be for the better. Sad to say, the kids who enter Zoes place do not come out. If something like our ride out and Abbey turning up brightens their day, then, moreso than the money we raise, the variety must be a good thing. Please feel free to use any of the images if you think they will help other people.