If you look back at the post I made on Friday 29th August 2008, it was the last one I made until April 2009. I suppose the initial enthusiasm of cycling to Italy had started to dim after the frenzied activity of August, the leaves had started to turn brown, the days a little bit shorter and then of course, I had to go back to work. I sincerely hope that this gap will not be repeated this year – I don’t think my trip could survive a gap of seven months: I would never get everything sorted.Reading Alastair Humphreys book about cycling around the world last night in bed, I took comfort from the following paragraphs where he is talking about starting to tell everyone of his plans to cycle around the world:
The happy daydreaming could have been fine if I had kept it to myself. My travels were little more than “dreams in the dusty recesses of my mind.” But the moment I began expanding my plans over reassuringly expensive pints of Stella Artois in Oxford pubs, I was trapped. Make a tall claim to a friend and, no matter how successful the beer helps forgive and forget his nocturnal indiscretions, he will pitilessly remind you of your boasts, until eventually there is no escape. So, word got out, and gradually the idle dream became a hectic reality.
I cycled to the supermarket this morning, passing the Great Unwashed making there way to the Reading Festival on the banks of the Thames. I noticed that the leaves on the trees had started to turn brown, the days are undeniably shorter and I return to school on Tuesday. My enthusiasm, however, remains high. But having only really started to make my plans known to friends and family, I know how Alastair Humphreys felt.
Categories: Cycling
