So there I was...

I was really sitting quite comfortably. I had a good job that was earning me some good money. I had an awesome house in one of the most beautiful places on earth, I had a great bunch of friends who were keeping me endlessly entertained. I kept myself busy pursuing a number of hobbies. I'd even got a bronze medal playing for Australia.

I was doing what I do best - not worrying about anything. Letting the best parts of life knock on my door and ask me they can come over and play.

So, considering my situation after some amusing text messages one time, I decided that what I really should do is pack it all in, buy a bike and cycle around some interesting parts of the world. It was (and still is) a ridiculous idea. When I awoke the next morning, sober, the only question I could ask myself was:

Why Not?

I could never really find a satisfactory answer.

The idea was to leave on April 1st, do some touring and write a book - calling it "The year of the fool". Unfortunately, in what I term "unusual circumstances", the airline's didn't come and knock on my door and offer me a flight around the world, so I had to postpone the trip for a month. What better to start the year of the fool than with a month of unorganised, apathetic laziness?

The year of the fool

Plans never work out. So the best way to avoid disappointment is really not to have plan. As one of my favourite sayings goes:

You're not lost if you don't care where you are

That said, I do have a vague plan and I've drawn a map of the proposed route below. I may have gotten a bit carried away with the big loops - they may not happen.

Click here to open the map

Looking at the squiggles - it looks as though I have a plan to cycle the west coast of the US, from Vancouver Island down to San Francisco. From there I'm not sure - perhaps out to the Canadian Maritimes - through to Newfoundland. Then down to Central America, through Cuba, before hopping through Chile, Argentina, Peru, Bolivia. Then off to Stop One in Adam and I's "Race around the world" - the Falkland islands. Hopefully when I'm there I'll catch up with Adam's ex-girlfriend's ex-workmate's cousins.

And here I am now...

Well, to check out the action as it is happening, i've set up one of those blog things that I'll be updating with my progress. When I get to South America I hope to employ someone to the travel for me and get them to write the stories for me. I hear people are cheap over there.