One Last Thing

After last year's ride to Turkey, when I had had enough rest and celebration and finally decided to fly home with the bike, I asked the young man, Ali, at the bike shop in Calis - next to PJ's - if he could give me a box. He did better than that. He packed the bike in the box for me. I watched him and it didn't seem too difficult. So, on Wednesday evening I set about packing my bike for the flight to Geneva which I was still sort of intending to do. It took me ages, about an hour, but I managed it. There was a bit of room for packing in the form of a sleeping bag and mat and that would have saved some space in the bags. I then did some more route planning and actually booked a couple of hotels along the way.

Thursday morning, decision day, came and it was obvious to me that Plan B would be a non-starter. I just didn't feel up to it. Something wasn't right, whether it was physical or mental or a combination of both I knew I wouldn't be going out there again. So the bike came out of the box and I cancelled the hotel reservations. I was just about fit enough for the Thursday night real ale session. I hadn't had a drink for more than a week, unheard of for me, and made my way to the Anvil, happy to be back but feeling like I should be somewhere else. I was telling Nigel the tale and he remarked straight away that I didn't look like I was 100%. That made me feel a bit better - like I wasn't pretending - but I will always feel that if I had stayed a bit longer I might have recovered enough to continue. Every day I think about where I would have been if I had kept on going. I would have just reached Italy today - see what I mean.

So that is the end of my overseas adventure for this year. As far as domestic cycling is concerned, there is the Manchester to Blackpool ride in July and in September the Manchester 100 to look forward to. I haven't been on a bike since I returned home but I'm sure I will get my appetite back before long.

One last thing. Although I haven't anywhere near completed my intended challenge, any donations will be very much appreciated. These can be made into the account detailed on the "Donate" page. I will feel so much better if the little effort that I did manage can raise some funds and awareness for these very deserving causes, Joining Jack and Joseph's Goal. They shouldn't suffer because I couldn't see it through. They shouldn't suffer - full stop.