Okay, I have the bike, some maps and the longing to travel so the next stage is to start planning. I was in the Royal Navy for a few years and one of the key phrases that was often spoken before and after any evolution was the ‘Five P’s’ – “Prior Preparation Prevents Poor Performance” – which means just what it says. So my next stage of the plan is think about where to go. I know how I’m getting there – onboard the ‘Big Red’ – but its where to go and when to go which is the big question.
As it’s still winter I’ve got lots of time to daydream about the places I want to visit, plus I also need to make some space in the diary as even though I have the will to travel – I still need to work to pay for it so I need to strike a balance between travelling and working. The next steps are:
- Make some space in the work diary to let me go travelling.
- Renew my passport, get my NHS card for travelling in the EU and get my International Drivers licence.
- When the weather gets better, get out on the road and start eating up the miles as I need to learn about the good and the bad points about the bike, and what I need to do to fix or remedy them.
- Start making small camping trips away to see what works and what doesn’t work on the bike, what kit I need and don’t need – and most of all – to see if I can actually manage myself and can cope with being on my own.
The fun starts here….