A bit of a realisation...

It's dawned on me that I can't expect people to remain as interested in this whole undertaking as I am, unless I start sharing a little of it. This has left me, as I type, in the position of feeling that I'm about to start a blog, that thing synonymous with the world I forever ridicule, where people socialise on the internet, meet on the internet, live secondary lives on the internet and air their thoughts on the internet because, in the real world, nobody is going to give time of day to all the trivial and introspective musings you find in a blog. So here I am, writing my blog.

On practical terms, things continue to take shape... The Russian visa is now in my passport, meaning only the Chinese one remains to be acquired before I will be legally entitled to passage along my route. Sponsorship is an ongoing struggle, but not a fruitless one, with an all-but complete bicycle, camping equipment and GPS gear all having come my way, and awaiting only some final clarifications... A few things remain outstanding, and I'm considering asking a travel clinic to sponsor me a booster for Japanese encephalitis, but things seem generally under control.

I've been couriering all week in London... for a while I was working with friends in Brighton, not cycling all day for a living, and the effects were noticeable when I tried to ride my bike fast, only to feel my stamina draining more rapidly than I'd have expected or wanted. Today was the first time I noticed, on one of London's approximately two hills, that I was getting quicker again, which is probably good timing. At midnight, in about ten minutes, it'll be May, and I'll be leaving next month, which is of course utterly meaningless, but at the same time exactly the sort of thing I'm inclined to lend significance.

This evening I found a message in my blog (any one of you can do it!), asking about food for endurance events. I'm hardly a nutritionist, but have always done well with a philosophy of eating lots, having a square meal with masses of carbohydrate in the evening, and as much sugar-rich anything as I can bare to eat throughout the day... I've eaten jars of watery jam at breakfast, swallowing it as medicine, and once encountered a pot of honey with vegetable oil amongst the ingredients. Last year, in a pretty rural part of the Ukraine, I still found Snickers bars in every shop I came to... I grew quickly sick of Snickers at a rate of five-a-day, but it got me by, and eventually I returned to lands where eating became enjoyable again...

Progress

I think we're at approximately the one-and-a-half months to go mark... My passport is going in and out of embassies, coming back out with visas in, money is being parted with for the flights between legs, my entrance into the world of the internet is continuing and offers of sponsorship are picking up.... Still so much to do and a busy weekend is planned, mainly comprising the approach of more sponsors.... Compared to all this planning June 10 will be the start of the easier stuff.

Welcome to my blog

This is where I will be posting photos and more in depth news about my travels, as and when I have access to the internet. Please follow me on twitter (updated from my mobile phone) for more regular updates.