I dunno where the time is going; right now everything is measured by the date my dissertation is due in (20th September) and that date is less than 20 weeks away. It definitely sounds less intimidating when I say I have 5 months left, but I just realised this minute that now we are in May I have 4 months… Anyway, go grab yourself a cuppa tea, maybe even a biscuit and let’s do some catching up. In no particular order…
“Just” My Dissertation To Complete
Finishing off the University talk, I completed my exams at the end of March so now all that is left to do is to complete my research project aka dissertation. I’m not gonna lie though, it’s been stressing me out massively as I keep being drawn to the big picture and although I can “see” the finish line, I can’t see the exact route for getting there.
Back End Blog Updates
At the end of 2018, Wordpress updated the whole of their editing system and initially I was dubious. I put off using the Gutenburg editor for as long as I could but once I did start to get to know it (and they fixed a few bugs) I realised that it was a much easier process than the classic editor. During the last few months I also moved hosting… twice. When I initially became self hosted on Wordpress back in 2018 I chose Siteground based on recommendation from Pipdig who moved my blog from Blogger to Wordpress for me. Once the year was coming to an end Siteground sent me the costs for renewal which were astronomical!!! But it seems this is typical of them and as luck would have it Pipdig started their own hosting which was much more affordable. If you’re in the blogging world however, you will have heard about the whole Pipdig fiasco (if not, jus search in a blogger forum) which resulted in Pipdig handing over all their hosted sites to Kualo Ltd (who Pipdig were a reseller for). In all honesty though, I never had any issues with Siteground and would highly recommend them for a great deal in year one and to date have had no issues with Pigdig / Kualo.
RELATED: I had a Dermatologist appointment to chat about my post-pill acne
I Became an Ambassador For Liv
In January of 2019, I officially became an ambassador for Liv Cycling in the UK. I’ve been using their gear for the majority of 2018 and road tested one of their female specific mountain bikes during the cyclocross season so it was the perfect progression and just the excuse I needed to get back on my bike more to help me keep some balance during the rest of my studies.
Over the course of my contract, I will be creating content for Liv – such as this blog post on 5 Dynamic Exercises To To Before You Ride – hosting events at my local stores (Loughton and Chelmsford, Essex) as well as leading rides from the stores. Keep an eye on the Train with Elle Page for upcoming dates. If you live in and around the area you can also join the West Essex Women’s Cycling Chapter group on Facebook.
What’s Coming Up?
In between all my dissertation work I’m still trying to live a little! I’m off to Antigua on a press trip v. v. soon and to say I’m excited is an understatement. I’m from the Caribbean (Barbados) but haven’t been to any of the other islands except Jamaica. It’s a fitness based trip with Fleur East and her product W8 Gym.
When I get back, I am due to be on the British Rowing indoor rowing training for fitness professionals, volunteering at Hackney Half as Lead Cyclist, completing my Breeze training (and associated first aid training)… maybe even going on a yoga and surfing retreat. And once I’m closer to my hand in date (20th September) I can start visioning life post MSc and get as many adventures and social catch ups planned as possible!
How’s your Spring and Summer panning out?!
Elle
Yay for the press trip! Do you get to do them that often? And also yay for becoming an ambassador! Big things poppin!!
I wouldn’t say I get to go on press trips often; I’v been lucky to have been on a few in the last year or so considering I’m not a travel blogger! And thank you 🙂 I’m excited to be able to represent a wider range of women in cycling!