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Trudge, Trig and Tinsel

It’s been a good yet equally bad week. I have to admit that another 70+ miles of Leicestershire mud takes its mental toll. Whilst trudging the slippery paths and bridleways, dodging herds of surprisingly excitable and overly curious cattle, the mind wanders off at peculiar tangents. It is a sobering thought that I now find myself chatting to my mate Trig as I would an old friend, even though he is a waist-high concrete obelisk overlooking the Vale of Belvoir with a sad subsided disposition. I suspect that those pointy headed chaps at Ordnance Survey who once lovingly pitched Trig at a remote beauty spot weren’t interested in a long-term relationship. As Trig’s new best pal I can vouch for his lack of personality, even if I won’t hear a bad word said about him.

trig

Undoubtedly I will have to endure days when strange or negative thoughts dominate and will need to make sure that they don’t exaggerate a minor injury, find me an excuse to quit or just plain ole rot my brain.  Hmmmm……think think…….HANG ON……. It was trudging these sodden paths with the dogs that gave me this crazy coastal idea in the first place. Oooeerrr….. this walking lark is dangerous. Lesson 1:  Don’t let your partner do all the dog walking unless you want them to develop a wanderlust.

On the good side – I have two very fit dogs! Though Bracken, the girl dog, was sadly diagnosed with cataracts on Thursday, which does explain her walking into the occasional lamp-post and the odd fallen tree. Funny though it sounds, I think Kate and I are relieved to have a diagnosis that might explain Bracken’s neuroticism. I just wish she had actually bitten the guy who fancies himself as the local Dog Whisperer and who offered to “whip” her submissive aggression into shape for us.  She’s the biggest insecure softie you will ever meet really.

Also on the good side – I have my first sponsor! Profuse thanks go to Viewranger for providing me with the digital OS 1:25k maps I need. I am genuinely impressed with their product and I could bore you for weeks with a spreadsheet of the stats it produces. But as a quick example, I have now ascended over 38,000 ft in the last 8 weeks. I never even vaguely considered climbing Everest before – maybe it’s not too late ………mind wanders………..

And yet more on the good side – I made Kate smile by dispensing with the 15-year-old wire and plastic Christmas tree and spending ….”How much?”…. on a real one. I’m sure the pine needles and tinsel threads will find their way into my boots to taunt me painfully within days.

On a final begging note for today. This isn’t a pipe dream anymore….It’s going to happen. In truth it’s got to happen. If it doesn’t, Kate will undoubtedly kick me in to touch rather than live with a bloke who regrets not taking his one chance in life. It’ll only fail to get off the mark in its current guise if I don’t get enough motorhome support drivers and I need a few more confirmed drivers to get going. So if anyone, and I mean ANYONE, can spare some time for a couple of great causes and fancies a week in a motorhome with me ….please, please, please…. book yourself in before Christmas. I really cannot go to the effort and expense of acquiring a motorhome in January if I don’t have enough drivers.

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Facing my demons

The logistical headache I have created in trying to avoid attempting this walk with a 40lb rucksack on my back has got me through an entire pack of Nurofen already – not forgetting the fish oil and glucosamine. I know I am asking a great deal of friends and family to drop everything for a week with me, my sweat and my snoring in a third-hand motorhome in winter. But I am beginning to realise that if I can’t get drivers for my bus I will as likely  need hip or knee replacement surgery within two weeks of starting. Maybe I should have thought of this project 25 years ago!

Nevertheless, I have started training with a fully loaded ‘Big Bertha’ on my back just in case. I get some strange looks trudging through the village with a tent and cooking equipment but I’m past the age where image actually matters, so I just issue a polite “Good morning” and leave behind a quizzical but none the wiser glare.Big-Bertha

Fortunately, drivers are beginning to come forwards now. I have filled the crucial first weeks and have been told that I am confirming bookings like a certain bucket airline and I’m not going to mention the airline unless they sponsor me. As of today – I still desperately need to fill driver slots and get my backside out into the winter sunshine to notch up some more miles before sunset. All offers are very very welcome and if you want to contact me you can email me via my ‘about me’ page.

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Training and Logistics

Hmmmmmm – I thought I’d left the world of logistics behind. I’ve organised charity raising efforts and team logistics before and I know it’s never an easy task but clearly my memory is a little lacking. Getting support and back-up is not easy and certainly not after a long training traipse around the muddy Leicestershire countryside. Though I’ve had plenty of excellent feedback and encouragement, so far I have yet to see much materialise and with Christmas creeping up on us I really need to get things in place fast. So if you are reading this and know of anyone who might be able to help or contribute (particularly as support drivers) then please get in touch ASAP. There might be a beer or two in it for them if they do…..honest!

As for the training. Well…….at least it seems to be running to plan. I’m getting a tad fed up treading the same paths, fields and lanes of North Leicestershire but when the mud gets too monotonous my mind seems to disappear into its own little planning and logistics world which certainly kills the hours. I’m on schedule to complete 72 miles this week and a total of over 400 miles since I first started. With an increase of 10% per week I should be achieving 100 miles per week by the first week of January. The only lottery I play these days is guessing which long under-utilised joint is going to ache tomorrow. Today – “I have mostly been hurting at the left ankle”

N.B. I have also now updated my schedule page with a column showing confirmed back up drivers. I am waiting for many to confirm their offers – hence there are a huge amount of available slots to fill. 

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So far, so good

The response to my lengthy email of 12 days ago has so far been incredibly supportive and if nothing else consistent. Almost every response from family and friends has confirmed my madness but at the same time expressed real encouragement.  But undoubtedly I need more help if I am to achieve my quest as I have given myself a real headache in terms of logistics. 

Many who have completed this challenge have done it with a very big rucksack and little or no help other than occasional offers of a hot bath and bed. I do not have a military background and have been through two knee operations, so I suspect that the additional weight demands of a full pack might just put this walk out of reach for a while. I can carry 44lbs for a day or two but for me to do so over 10 months would probably mean delaying the project a year as I try to build up any long lost youthful strength. It is an option – but only if my logistical headache cannot be cured.

Hence, I have decided to copy Spud (see links) and see if I can acquire a cheapish secondhand bullet proof motorhome as a roving base camp and get friends, family, vague acquaintances and even complete strangers to come along and meet me at the end of every day.  To date I have got 15 volunteers and I am truly thankful for their enthusiasm……..but I still need more before I venture out to beg, borrow or steal a bus. Soooooo……..if you are reading this and fancy sharing in my adventure by spending a week or so in a motorhome then please please – and I really am begging – get in contact. 

 

 

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Time to Decide……

18th November 2013.

For anyone who knows me, I’m probably not the greatest at making decisions. I’m the type that makes lists, analyses and re-analyses until my brain is completely fried and ready to implode.

For the last couple of years I have dreamed about walking the coast of the British mainland. With time, the dream has grown from a whimsical private thought to a burning obsession that arises in every conversation.

I have read many books and blogs. I have researched kit and routes with the dedication of a true nerd. I have constantly chewed over the impact on my family. I have worried about my physical ability. And I regularly suffer from self-doubt with added fear of apathy and lack of mental fortitude. But for once in my life I think my heart has ruled my head and the easy excuses of lack of time and money have been snatched away thanks to “early retirement”  from my long-term employer.  So maybe it’s time to just shut up, stop rambling incoherently and get on with actually doing something a little bit different and hopefully worthwhile.

Hence at 9:15 am – then again at 7:15pm and once more at 8:15pm – I committed to everyone in my contact list that I was going to do it. After a couple of hours tapping away at the keyboard a long-winded email winged its way out to over 120 people……most of whom now think I have completely lost the plot!