One Month To Go

One month to go…

We have reached the official ‘one month to go’ milestone – today, June 9th marks the beginning of the final count down – we have a mere 30 days to go.

I awake each morning and it really is the first thing that pops into my mind, but I still can’t quite believe it. If you don’t know Alleykat intimately, you may not have heard the story of how the trip came to fruition; how it came to be a ‘thing’; how it came to be our reality in 30 days time.

Alex and I have known each other for going on six years now, having worked at BSC together many moons ago. We reunited after only a few fleeting foregatherings in the interum of four years, on a warm stormy evening in October 2010, and decided that actually, we really did quite like each other and proceeded to spend pretty much every night together thereafter (bar a few bike races and differing calendars here and there). Notably, during that fateful night and in many conversations afterwards, Alex talked about gearing up for making real a plan he and a close friend (with previous bike adventures together under their belts) had to tour around the world – perhaps making a documentary along the way and generally just being awesome together for a generous period of time, years probably.

I remember thinking “hang on a minute. I know that I’ve only been together with this Alex chap for a little while but I am completely sure that I don’t want to be without him…especially not for years at a time!” and so I muscled my way in, with a plan to join the pair for three to six months at a time and do some of the filming or help out where I could.

Over the next few months however, the universe had other ideas for Alex’s friend, and his life took a completely different, but equally as adventurous and life-changing, turn and it conspired that he couldn’t go. After initially being super sad, Alex was surprisingly chipper about this situation, devastated that his friend couldn’t come of course, but eager to embark on a different kind of trip altogether.

A trip with me, as it so happens. My reaction was immediate. Yes. I want to go. I’d already decided, really, upon hearing their wild, wacky, wonderful plans that I was going to be there as often as possible and now I was going to be able to be “there” full time!

After this invitation was extended (I think the asking itself was fairly straight forward but the intention set me aglow with excitement and just a little bit of pride – he wants me to ride around the world with him! I am, somewhat embarrassingly, still this head-over-heals excited at the prospect and am this kind of feet-out-of-place thrilled pretty much any time Alex wants me as a part of something he’s doing) the trip began to take shape and is now just days away.

We’re still finalising my bike, buying a few last bits and pieces and writing articles until our (read: Alex’s) eyes pop out of our heads, but essentially we are ready to go. It is now our trip – I feel like I’m a going on this Alleykat adventure, not simply joining Alex as he rides around the world. We’re in this together and I can’t wait!