There were heaps of blackberries in the hedges so if I needed a bonus snack I had one. The folk who ran the B&Bs were insanely kind. A particular shout out to the Tourist Information Centre in Brampton which is staffed entirely by volunteers and run on £1000 per year (plus any donations from saturated passersby who are given a cup of tea!). They sheltered me from the rain, gave me a hot cup of tea and called a B&B, the Hollies on the Wall, and explained I had reached my physical limit for the day (I had. There were tears), and could they please come get me. Which they did. (I was three miles downhill from them and would’ve arrived under nightfall if I had continued.) Upon arrival, they stuffed my saturated cycle shoes with newspaper, let me play with their dog and gave me the best breakfast of the ride. (I hasten to add the breakfast at the Hallbank Guesthouse in Hexham was also tremendous and the hospitality was fabulous.)
It was really hard and it was also unbelievably satisfying to achieve. In a weird way, I was grateful for all of the bonus ‘hardships’ I had to manoeuvre as it helped compound processing all of the emotional turmoil each of my characters was going through. Pushing your bicycle through shin-deep water for healthy chunks of the ride bring out the philosopher in a person. And the calf muscles!
I did some fundraising for the charity Mind and a lot of people donated. It was truly humbling. If you fancy leaving a donation for them or Samaritans (or volunteering to help), here’s how you do it:
https://www.mind.org.uk
https://www.samaritans.org
If you know someone you are frightened for, you can also ring the charities and they will advise you on ways to help. Well done, you. xx
Acknowledgements
Big thanks to Chacha for answering a thousand million questions about 111. Gratitude to the wonderfully generous Debbie Macomber for her endless supply of valuable advice and introducing me to chocolate-covered bacon. RIDICULOUS. And lovely. To Jackie for reading and reading and reading. Jackie (still you) and Pam and Christine for reading in that final week when I thought I wouldn’t finish. Your cheerleading ensured that I did. Janet, Alison, Kate, Ruth, Jeev & Immi for being a wonderfully supportive trampoline of friendship and suppliers of hilarious gifs.
Big juicy love to my spectacular husband for offering to drive alongside me during the cycle ride and not taking it too badly when I said no, but being proud of me when I finished and taking me out for sticky toffee pudding before I set off. For everyone who cheered me on during that ride. It was bloody difficult, so thank you for being there. To all of the amazing people who ran the B&Bs where I stayed because you were so nice. I was filthy, and bedraggled and not entirely charming upon my arrivals, but you always made sure my tum tum was full and I had a smile on my face when I set off in the pouring rain each day. To Pedal Power cycle holidays for supplying me with a bicycle and picking me up at the end (and letting me use your name in the book). Hearing your story made me even more determined to write mine.
Thanks to my agent, Jo, for being fabulous and introducing me to Go Away Doctor juice. That is some magic carrot and ginger potion. Ditto on the thanks (mental and health) to Sophia Bartleet (friend extraordinaire), Natasha Hogben (snap), and Chantal Prince, friend and all-important osteopath, for making sure my shoulder and arm remained in working order and that my knees weren’t paralysed after riding along Hadrian’s Wall. Deep, happy belly thanks to Matt, Mich, JP and Andy for all of the Friday night suppers. Yum. Your friendship means the world to me. To Sue and Stu for your fabulous positivity (and unbelievably enviable allotment plot). Amazing.
Heartfelt thanks to my editor Kate for trusting me to take Sue on the right journey and shepherding me back in when I went off on whatever is smaller than a B road.
I do, or, sadly, have known, several people who have ended their lives. The holes left in their wake … all I can say is, if you think you’ve had enough, please, please, think again. There is someone, someone you might not even know yet, who can help.
If you enjoyed
A Bicycle Made for Sue
, discover
The Happy Glampers
, Daisy Tate’s uplifting tale of tents, tantrums and the enduring power of friendship.
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About the Author
Daisy Tate loves telling stories. Telling them in books is even better. When not writing, she raises stripey, Scottish cows, performs in amateur dramatics, pretends her life is a musical and bakes cakes that will never win her a place on a television baking show. She was born in the USA but has never met Bruce Springsteen. She now calls East Sussex home.
daisy.tate92167
@DaisyTatetastic
www.daisytatewrites.com
Also by Daisy Tate
The Happy Glampers
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