'Have you been riding round today?' asked Jo...

We set off in without a wind for a change and the forecast was good.  We were on our way to the Green Fair in Chesterfield, but we decided it would still be leisurely.  Lots of smiles as usual and a big wave from the Lady in Newton who recognised us from our first day out.

We meandered down country roads, deciding which routes to take to Chesterfield.  It was lovely to be on small roads and we didn't envy people on the motorway.

We were planning to go through Temple Normanton and Hasland after Heath, then Sally L spotted the signpost for Sutton Scarsdale, and it proved a very fruitful route.  We met 7 adults and 2 children, people from Aylesbury, America, Chesterfield and Sutton Scarsdale itself. 

Well worth the detour.  More stories for the Museum and really lovely conversations and true intrigue.  The stories around the stories, the conversations we had were set against the amazing background of Sutton Scarsdale Hall.

We mosied on and made more route decisions, going via Inkersall Green rather than Calow.  In Inkersall Green the waft of a delicious chip smell lured us to a halt at the parade of shops in the centre of the village.  People were quite puzzled by our unannounced, garish arrival.  Sally L strolled into the chip shop and was soon deep in conversation about our adventures to the two men serving.  They were very intrigued but not sure if they had stories that were suitable to share.  She told them she would be back once we had eaten the chips.  While eating the chips a young women and two children stopped by and asked us about the museum.  She really wanted to tell a story but couldn't bring to mind anything she really felt she needed to share.  After a couple of attempts she wrote some things that she seemed to be happy with.  Meanwhile, Sally was lucky enough to also get a story from one of the chippy men.  The other one said we ought to broadcast some of the stories in the newspaper and get them funded through advertising.  He was full of good ideas. 

We carried on to Chesterfield, and by this time it was 12'o'clock and we thought we better get there before the Green Fair was finished.  We met lots of people in Chesterfield.  We Saw Johnny's sculpture made of recycled materials that was getting a lot of attention.  Pam Butler was there to greet us on behalf of the Chesterfield Borough Council as the Arts co-ordinator.  We caught up with Andy and Jenny from Chesterfield Transition Group who were busy making smoothies with cycle power and fixing people's bike problems.  We also met Alastair at the Paper Girl Gallery and saw Sally's art work on the wall.

Final stop before leaving Chesterfield was a brief breather on benches by the Church, when up should come Jo saying 'Have you been riding around?'.  We thought it was some car driver about to give us some trouble, but it turned out he had seen us from the bus and was intrigued by our outfits. He was our last customer- we left the town behind and then headed home with our escorts, who ditched us before we got to Grassmoor!

Shall we, Sharn't we

Well we did. It was well worth it for the two and a half hours out in the fresh air.  We missed all the showers and there was enough blue sky to make a pair of sailor's trousers.

We met 5 lovely people, a tiny baby asleep and 3 dogs.

Lovely walkers from Leicester who were doing the Limestone Way.

The Millennium Stone in Sheldon, formerly a gate post in Top Farm.



Lark and Tess (we think this was her name) from Top Farm.

It was a lovely, gentle and rolling ride.  Compact and bijou, a neat little route around the top of the moors, mainly on quiet roads so that we could ride side by side and chat and talk.  It fulfilled our decision to amble without any route and see what turned up- an amble.

Rainy Day Philosophies

Well, stymied by the rain, we are sitting here categorising the stories we have collected so far.  First of all we did it by the days we were out, then by the stories that were stories and those that weren't (or we couldn't read) and now we are thinking about how people can access them- or categorising them so that people can access them. 

Categorising doesn't have to be static, it can change over time.  And, change according to who is doing it.  It was important that people chose which box to put their story in, but now we have taken them out of the boxes to view them, it can no longer be so important.  It was about not being in charge somehow, but by taking them out we are in charge.  It is also important about how we direct the stories.  We thought, or we wanted, to collect histories and geographies, important bits/tales that people in Derbyshire wanted to share.  We didn't really think we had done that.  On looking at the stories, we can see that there is already a wealth of social anthropology from a personal point of view- the minutiae of everyday life. 

Sally L posed the question- 'What should we do with the stories?'  'How should we keep them?'.  Do we have a physical museum that we keep all these labels in at the end?  But where do we keep it?  Where would it be? It would be nice if it was an object that travelled around for people to see.  What about if we offered it to Tourist Information Centres?  But that is very static and institutionalised.  Then Sally N shouted 'I've got it.. Geocaching'.

How would that work with our stories?  We could slot into other people's Geocaches but that would be difficult by bike, especially if the cache was at the top of a remote mountain.  We like the idea of the stories continuing to travel and be swapped, shared and made public without using a specific building, or designated art space.  The museum then continues to be an evolving collection that travels across the world, not tied to a physical place- an adventure not an archive.  This takes our project to another group of people, geographically more diverse, not just people in Derbyshire, but people from all over the world.

So, how would we set up this Geocache?  Rather than cardboard boxes, we could use small tins- like sweetie tins and tobacco containers.  We need to start collecting. Do we use the original labels, or do we send copies?  Could we put the collection in a book?  Could we do this once the stories have travelled so that we can record in the book where they got to and who read them. 

How many more stories do we need for the museum?  We have 72 already.  Do we need to stop, or do we just keep on collecting?  Once a week- a trip out on the bikes and see who we meet without any planning.  And then, trips out without the trailer to leave Geocaches along the roadsides.  Without the trailer we could go by train with the bikes and get further in a day.  Without a trailer it would be easier to stay over.  But, since we have now used up all the funding from Derbyshire County Council and are now running the project from our own money, it would be good to secure further funding.

We were watching and we were watched!

When we found out that the tour of Britain was going near Ashbourne, we decided to drive to Ellastone, watch the race and then do a tour around the local villages on the edge of Derbyshire.  We struggled with the idea of using a car at first; we'd wanted to do the routes all by bike, but we realised that we are too far away from lots of Derbyshire to make it achievable to reach in a day, and have time to stop and meet people. Unfortunately we need two cars to carry us, the trailer and two bikes.  We're trying to think of different ways of doing this.

Reluctantly we set off in two cars and headed towards Ashbourne, passing lots of cyclists heading by bike to watch the race.  We both felt guilty of cheating and sad at missing opportunities to visit people in the small villages we passed through.  However, once we got on the bikes at Ellastone, we got lots of smiles from cyclists and spectators as we passed.  We found our first story tellers half way up the climb from the village, at a good vantage point for watching the race.  It was very exciting watching the race go by and having all the tour cars and media pip and wave and stare at our strange appearance.  Perhaps you spotted us on the tour highlights on TV?

After the race went through, we followed up the category 3 climb which Sally L said, after climbing it, that it wasn't as bad as Eckington. We had been invited by Jean to visit the community at Stanton and made our way over the hills to them.  What a wonderful welcome we got, tea, biscuits and lots of smiles from people of all ages.  We talked about the museum and what we are up to and then invited them to contribute their stories.  Once they had gotten over their initial reluctance, they gathered around the museum reading the stories of others from the opposite sides of Derbyshire. 

Although Stanton is just in Staffordshire, we couldn't resist an invite to visit a community that was isolated.  It was well worth the time and detour.

After Stanton, we headed to Mayfield where we had been given another invitation to visit by the Henry Prince First School.

Once we found it, we talked to 4 young people who wanted to know what we are doing.  They read the stories of others and then contributed their own stories on a variety of themes.  At last we could find somewhere to stop for a very late lunch.

It was lovely to meet people at two organised gatherings but it put pressure on us to be at certain places and particular times.  There was less time just to explore and meet people in adhoc ways which was more how we envisaged the project unfolding.  Meeting gatherings is an interesting thing to do and ensures we meet people in isolated places, but we have less opportunity to have one to one meaningful conversations that draw out people's hidden stories.  We need to be wary of too much stage managing of what we do. Rather than performing to an audience we want to encourage people to be part of an interactive art piece.  It's important that this essence of the project is portrayed in any documentation.  We both struggled with the arrival and presence of a photographer during a very interactive time with the community in Stanton.  We have realised that it is important that any documentation doesn't take priority over the engagement with the people we meet.  This goes back to our conversation with John Plowman of the Beacon Art Project when we talked about the ethics of capturing temporary moments to make them permanent for those who are not there.  Should we do this?  What is the impact on the interactions we have?  And also, the whole point of the project...  the whole point is to be temporary and of the moment and not being constricted by the rules of traditional curating in a museum building or art gallery.

What really worked?

On the first Monday, the little lanes and villages that were familiar but experiencing them in a different way. The total sensory experience and the chance to see and smell in detail. It was having the time with Margaret, she found us because she was intrigued.  Just coming across the Ironmongers in Eckington and seeing what happened when we went inside.

Tuesday, talking to people we came across in Chatsworth, Beeley and on the way through Littlemoor and Hanley.  Coming to a junction and saying 'which way should we go?'  And then meeting a man at a farm yard who had an amazing story.  There was no rush about the journey and we meandered rather than stuck to the route.

Sunday, it was special to be invited into the church, a place we wouldn't normally be invited with our bikes and trailer. At Matlock it felt good to be part of a cycling event, rather than an art event.  What was important to people was that it was fun and intriguing and cycling related.  It was good to be able to talk to children at a festival, we can't do that in the street.

Tuesday, actually it was better to talk to children as part of a family at the mobile library we just happened to find.  At the race it was good to talk to fellow cyclists who appreciated our endeavour. Just being on our bikes together in the afternoon, without meeting many people, gave us a chance to share our own stories and enjoy just cycling. Asking a fork lift truck driver for directions rather than stories.  He didn't seem concerned about our strange costumes or that we were towing a museum.

All in all, what we really like are the simplest elements of the project, the unplanned, unrecorded, close encounters and the hidden stories we bump into rather than set out to find.

Pump, Pennies & Pizza

Tuesday the 6th, Day 2

We processed a lot of thoughts over the night.  We thought about things that were OK, what needed to change and how we could develop the project long term.  We had learned a lot in one day's cycling.  We realised in order for us to make the most of opportunities to meet people, we needed to stop more and cycle shorter distances to enable us to achieve this.  The museum also needed to be instantly accessible rather than having to be set up.  So when you take the lid off it is visually intriguing straight away and people will want to look in the boxes.  It took too long to take all the bits out and construct at the roadside. Cycling for two days running was too hard, especially carrying overnight equipment, so going home seems more realistic but we have to think about how we get to far reaching corners of Derbyshire in one day.  We may have to use other transport to support this.

Sunday the 11th, Day 3

An early start, wondering whether the 40mph winds would turn up,
we met up to adapt the museum and do repairs to the lettering on the outside and adding our Blog, and to the layout of the inside.  We had a discussion about the route today and how long we would spend at Matlock and whether this was just about taking the museum to isolated places or was it also about taking it to places of relevance?  When we were cycling over Beeley Moor it was isolated but we never saw a soul.  Is that a good place to go or should we go to places where people gather?  We compromised by taking the more scenic route through small villages and up hills, rather than busy, fast, flat routes that didn't pass through places.  We have realised we can put up with hills, wind and rain but not discourteous drivers on busy roads. 

At 10:15 we set off, aiming to reach Pentrich Church by 11am to meet Heather and the congregation.  They welcomed us in, if somewhat amazed, and they gave us lots of stories.  Rather than tell you all the stories, we would like to record the process that we are going through.  The stories may be shared at a later date in some other way... all part of the long term development of the project.

In Matlock we immediately had an impact in our costumes and with our trailer.  People were intrigued.  We learned about Madame Bloomer and her inappropriate dress in bloomers when riding her penny farthing.  We learned about how important it is for us to work with others who promote cycling and to be a part of that movement, as well as being artists promoting heritage and contemporary art.

By the end of the day we realised that the day of the week and the time of the day all impact on the amount of people around.  There are exceptions though, e.g. Margaret at Rowthorne who would like us to go and talk to her WI group.

The long haul up hill

As we came into Eckington we saw an old fashioned Ironmongers ahead.  We just had to stop there and go in and talk to them, didn't we?  Inside Sally gasped 'what an emporium!'.  Things hanging from hooks on the ceiling and shelving with tin and card boxes and things in every nook and cranny. 

Sally L didn't see the man to start with, until he got up from his stool in the corner of the shop.  We asked him for stories and if he had been asked for unusual items, Sally N said 'like 4 candles' which he rolled his eyes at. He began to talk to us about Wright's Coal Tar Soap and having a wash in a tin bath by the fire on Saturday nights- hoping you didn't get visitors.  It had such a strong smell that people really remember.  Then a customer came in for some clamps for her rocking horse, but she was adamant that she didn't have any stories for us.  After she had gone he went back to his stool and we talked about Valour Blue Flame paraffin heaters, a box of White Windsor Soap that he found under the counter that he put outside and sold for 2 shillings a bar.  He explained that his Grandad and Grandma started the shop, and their name is above the door, then his uncle took over and now he runs it and his son also helps out.  He wasn't sure how much longer he would be doing it for because there are not many customers anymore, people commute from the village and don't use the local shops.  They are missing a gem!

We asked about the onward journey to Coal Aston, and he said it was a long haul up... by 'eck he was right!  Sally hit the 'wall' half way up and walked some of the way.  Sally N couldn't push the trailer so she had to keep going.

When we reached the top at Dronfield Woodhouse, the road began to descend but we could see the hill rising from under the A61 on the other side; it was Stubley Hollow hill.  We struggled on and collapsed at the top in a pub yard, the smokers shelter!  We needed hot drinks, food, the toilet and some time away from the increasingly busy rush hour traffic.  Sally N went in to get refreshments and overheard an indepth conversation about deep cleaning the gents toilets as the stench was foul.  It would cost £500 to the new landlord for the pleasure.  Sally L went to the ladies toilet which was warm and pleasant and sweet smelling, with fancy soap.  No need for deep cleaning there.  We checked our phones for messages of support and encouragement but nobody loved Sally N and Sally L got a text from Nick asking 'In search of what?  Good looking rich men?!'  Not really that much support then but it did make us chuckle!

On to Owler Bar to face wind, rain and isolation and Sally L cycled up to the top.  After Owler Bar, the wind was so strong that a gust hit Sally L head on and she ground to a halt.  At last we were at the top, expecting a free ride down Froggatt, instead we had to peddle against the wind all the way down and pray that crazy drivers wouldn't flatten us as they overtook on blind corners.  The rain and darkness was drawing in and as we got to the bridge at the bottom of Froggatt, we stopped to put lights on and prepare ourselves for the climb to Eyam that Rob had said was 'nothing much'!  We struggled to get Sally L's lights on her skinny handle bars, so had to fatten with insulating tape (good job we brought it) and then she led the way with her super bright light.

Through Stoney Middleton, Sally N said, 'We have Middleton Stoney in our museum.'
Middleton Stoney-
People who get above their station.
Aristocrat- well to do.  His name was really Michael- but this was too common so he changed it to Middleton Stoney. 

We turned off the main road to face the drag up to Eyam, Sally N carried on leaving Sally L walking up the pavement in the dimming light. The pavement soon petered out and she hid behind traffic cones when a bus came down the winding road.  At the top of this climb she found Sally N waiting in the rain.  When we found that the youth hostel was 800 yards out of the village up another steep hill, Sally N said 'Sod it, I'm walking' and they pushed their bikes together in the darkness.

Eyam Youth Hostel.  We had a fight with ladders to get the bikes into secure storage.  We pleaded for hot water and a hot meal and were rewarded at 8:30, 10 hours after we had set off, with pasta and chili bean sauce with side salad.  Plus a lovely cup of hot tea for Sally N.

After hot showers we crawled into bed at 9:30 ish feeling absolutely pooped, then Sally L's phone beeped.  It was the missed call from Margaret that cheered us both up with her support.

Now we have had time to think...

When we set off we attracted a lot of attention.  Lots of smiles and puzzled looks, even a black cat in Newton did a double take!  Looking at Sal N, then Sal L, then back to Sal N again.  As we passed through the village we saw an old lady in a window and we waved and she waved back with enthusiasm.  After Newton, we climbed up to the mast on Newtonwood lane and then down through Teversal, the old village and on towards Pleasley.  As we rolled down the hill to the mill at the bottom of the lane, we passed two men working and one in trousers and shirt (maybe the gaffer?) all staring at us with intrigue.  We waved, said 'hello' and tootled by.  It began to rain.  Should we shelter by the bank of trees or push on?  We pushed on to Rowthorne and found shelter by a wall.  It seemed very deserted.  We ate flapjack and then put the camera on the opposite wall to take some photos. This must have caught Margaret Smith's eye, because she came out to see who we were.  After a brief chat we were invited into her yard to set up the museum.  It began to rain more and so she showed us into her outhouse where the cats lived, complete with carpet, wardrobe and settee!  

While we set up the museum we talked about what we were doing and showed her some completed labels.  At first she thought she didn't have a story to give us but then she started to tell us about Lawson White and all the amazing furniture and tools he had made for her.  We exclaimed that this was a good story and we were really intrigued by what she was telling us about the life of Lawson and the village life that they shared in Rowthorne.  She took us inside to show us some examples of Lawson's work and to take a photograph for the museum.  There were several pieces in her room and we asked her to choose her favourite; she chose the chair. He made his pieces from wood he found in the nearby fields and land and copied some of his designs from other furniture that he liked.  Frustrated by his day job as a farmer, he would rather have been a craftsman at which he was very talented.  It took Margaret a long time to get to know him when they moved into the village; he would peer out from behind walls as they passed by.  They knew of him but it took a while to get to meet him.

Margaret shared this with us, and it felt really important that she had shared this piece of hidden history.  This thought set a seed in our minds about what we were really up to...


We pressed on through Glapwell, Shirebrook and the Langwiths. The sun had returned and the wind was in our sails till just after Whaley Thorns Sally L's chain came off and she took a leisurely fall into the grass verge!  Fortunately it was a soft landing and she got up laughing.  Chain and Sally back on bike and onwards to the railway crossing.  Sally N was worried we wouldn't get across as the trailer might not fit through the pedestrian gates.  We rang the bell and a man opened the big gates for us but he didn't have any stories and he said he was only there on relief.  We ploughed on and passed a man in Whaley fixing his car who gave us a big smile, and into Elmton to stop for lunch.  We were just trying to decide where to sit and eat because it was very blustery, when a big blue van pulled up, kept the engine running and asked us what we were doing.  He wasn't going to stop but we persuaded him to turn off his engine and find out more about us.  He didn't think he had a story to share but then launched into a big description of a charity open day that he had hosted at his farm, which raised £3317 through hog roasts, raffle, trailer rides, etc.  He gave us two pens and two bluebell potatoes (a new variety) and didn't want his picture taken!

We decided to go off the map and avoid Cresswell as time was ticking on.  We saw two builders who shouted hello but we didn't stop which was a missed opportunity for a good yarn- racing against time is not the way we want the project to go...  We carried on towards Whitwell, missing our turn to Clowne. We saw a turn that was a possibility.  A passing man said it was a dead end but we discovered after it wasn't.  We passed through Whitwell, onto the A619 which was horrendous, lots of inconsiderate driving, so we came off again and headed back towards Clowne.  The rain came down and we sheltered for a short time under a car wash, to the bemusement of the workmen, but they didn't come and talk to us so we carried on in the rain.  We caused more bemusement as we passed an accident in Clowne, directed by 4 police who shouted hello and looked rather puzzled by our appearance.  Onwards to the horrible A619 which took us over the M1, Sally L was glad she wasn't in amongst all those lemmings.


At Maston Moor, we finally turned off the main road, and some boys outside a corner shop shouted 'Gie us a backie!' but we said 'Its hard enough already mate'.  So then we headed up through Renishaw onto another busy road where, intimidated by lorries, we missed our turn to pass the Hall, and ended up on the main road for longer.  Still, we took the next left turn which put us back on our little roads again, phew!


To be continued...

We went, we saw, we met, we came back...

We are both too tired to Blog really but just wanted to capture a little bit of what we feel, immediately.  We arrived back at 4pm and have been reminiscing the two days adventure that we have had.  Despite being battered by wind and rain we have met some interesting people that we would really like to talk about, however, we would like to do this later when we can do their stories justice.  We made some notes on our route maps, and of course we have people's labels to remind us of the gems they shared with us, especially Margaret who phoned us to give us more information about Lawson and to see if we were all right.  It was a real joy to pick up her answerphone message and a real lift after a hard day of cycling. 

From what we have learned over the last two days, the project will evolve and we will be adjusting our plans to allow for more time talking to people and less time on bleak, empty roads or those with nose to tail traffic and bad, inconsiderate drivers!

Lots to process and think about. 

Now we really are off...

We want to say a big thank you to Derbyshire County Council for helping us with a small grant to get on the road. Yes, we are finally SETTING OFF. 

After a week of planning routes, talking to the Ripley and Heanor News, Derby Telegraph, Ashbourne Telegraph and Peak FM and last minute constructions - and now we are ready to go. PHEW. We'll be glad to start pedalling. On Monday September 5 we are heading up into NE Derbyshire and round to Eyam to spend the night at the Youth Hostel. Then back round in a big loop towards our homes on Tuesday.


See if you can spot us in our bright red costumes - well that's so long as it doesn't rain too much in which case we may have to put on waterproofs. If you spot at the roadside some shelves with 30+ recycled cardboard boxes, then you have probably found the museum. You might even see a cluster of people and wonder what they are all looking at.