FionaOutdoors

I “met” Peter Syme on LinkedIn. He started a discussion thread on Social Media: My next start-up has no search volume so there is no need to work the SEO. The number of potential clients and geographical location of them make print advertising a waste of money so that leaves SM as the route to [...]

I met Marianne on the Marmot Tour of the Pyrenees. She’s a keen cyclist and takes part in the odd sportive event with the “aim of completing rather than competing”. She admitted feeling a little intimidated by the cycling trip, but she was determined to enjoy herself. She also confessed to being 38 but sometimes [...]

Poring over the maps and graphs of the day’s cycling, our group digests both a huge breakfast and the statistics. Four magnificent mountains in the French Pyrenees. Four long, and often steep, ascents up four famous Tour de France cols. Four superbly fast but tricky descents.  A total distance of 107km. A total ascent of 3215m [...]

Holidays aren’t always the easiest times for keep-fit motivation. Hot sun, too many sangrias and an abundance of addictive yet trashy novels can mean that a week or two fly by in foreign climes without so much as a light jog. But I have the answer. Well, actually, I have two answers! 1) Book a [...]

Everything is relative and so the high and the low featured in this blog– and the next – might not seem that dramatic in the grand scale of ordinary life! In fact there were too many highs to recount during my fab week on the sports heaven isle of Lanzarote but this one high is [...]

I love Club La Santa, even if it does make me feel unfit and a tad out of shape. At this sports heaven on the island of Lanzarote, it is absolutely normal to take part in three, four or five different sports a day. And, abnormally for a holiday resort, the majority of people are [...]

I love Scotland. I like my home and I relish the opportunity to get out and about in our fabulous Scottish countryside. But I also love snowboarding abroad. I’ll be blogging about my recent snowboarding holiday in full soon but in the meantime check out the pics of my week spent on the slopes of [...]

Over the last month or so I’ve had numerous flattering comments about how good my clothes look. People have enquired about my “stylish jacket” and commented on how nicely my trousers fit.  It’s making me wonder what people previously thought of my dress sense! I’m well aware that I have a reputation for being “the [...]

Today the Tour de France cyclists reach the Haute Pyrenees. Just a few weeks ago I was in the region to experience some of the high climbs, including the beast of a col known as the Tourmalet. I have already blogged about this but here’s what I also wrote about my trip in The Herald [...]

The sheep give you respect. So do the llamas (yes llamas!). As do an enthusiastic French public. Even the drivers respect cyclists in the Pyrenees. Our recent cycling holiday in the south-west of France was so spirit-lifting that the G-Force and I want to move there the minute we’re free of domestic ties! I’m not [...]