He says – Time is short.

It is only a week to go before we leave. I mean leave, like never again seen some people that we have known for about 4 years. I mean leave as in no longer live in the United Kingdom. I mean leave as in become homeless. I mean leave as in getting on a motorcycle and riding off into the distance. I mean leave as in leave our known world. I mean we are about to start on the greatest adventure of both of our lives, and neither of us have led sheltered lives.

In the last month we have both left our jobs, and we have been working hard to get every thing done. The front panniers are finally sorted. It was a simple conversion of some small jerry cans that made it work. It was such a simple design and it works better then anything I have made to date. The original tent tube, died and I went tough a week of trying to repeated the jerry can success, but I failed miserably. Eventually I went back to the original PVC tube design, and the mach-two has worked better then I though it could.

We have started “testing” Larium © chemophylaxis malaria pills, the test was suggested as there are some side effects of this drug that can cause problems. Physical side effect include: stomach upset, stomach pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, fever, hair loss, ringing in the ears, dizziness, drowsiness, headaches, insomnia, strange dreams, or lightheadedness. With a few more serious ones including fast, slow, or irregular heartbeat, seizures, muscle pain, loss of coordination, numbness and tingling of hands or feet, vision changes. The box goes on to describe the psychological side effects occur: unexplained anxiety, mood changes, depression, hallucinations, restlessness, confusion, and of course death. Well In truth we both have most side effects (obviously not the very last one ..geesh..some people..you know who you are!). However we had these “symptoms” well before we took the pills and if anything the box’s list of horrors has had more effects then the drugs themselves. In many ways I was hopping for some of the more interesting effects. I have never had a hallucination, but am all too familiar with anxiety, mood changes, restlessness, and confusion. It does make me wonder if it was a good idea testing a medication during a time of such utter panic, as the last weeks before a trip like this.

We have gone though the motions of clearing our lives of stuff. However it seems that we still have a plethora of material positions that will do nothing but get dusty and cost us money for the next two years.

We have had a “Come and say bye, and clear out the house“ BBQ. Sadly, the turnout was poor but a few good friends did come and were generous with both helping us clear items and donations. For this we thank them. There are people that we are leaving behind that we will miss and others that we will be glad to leave in the past. This is true for the UK as well. There are aspects of this small island that we will miss and others that I happy consign to the to past. To the ill gotten memories pile that is only visited on occasion.

A short time ago, the 2009 HUBB was being held, unfortunately we did not have the time to join them. We did however pop in for the Friday night to see some friend and even make some new ones. As always the people in attendance we welcoming and for the first time in a year, I was able to speak to people with out the inevitable questions. Why? Are you really going by bike? I guess it is just roads then? How do you carry stuff? And of course my favourite Oh you mean like E. and C.? It was nice talking about the trip with people that understand and know. The result was that the trip has never felt more real then it did last week. We have had guide books for several months now and although we have both been reading them, somehow these books have not made it real, we have maps, and this made it feel real for a short while. But it was the HUBB that made it the most real. This is the place that about a year ago changed our lives. This is the place that has inspired me and many others to follow our dreams. Thank you!

It has not all been smooth sailing, the bike has come together well, albeit a few months behind schedule. We have done the car boot sale thing, we have someone who has put a deposit down on the car (we are waiting for collection and hand over). We have sold nigh on £300.00 of crap, junk, tosh many hundreds of pounds on stuff that is not to be described as above. We have tried to sell our furniture and it is not going, despite the ridiculous prices we are asking. I have a better understanding of why customer service people are less then happy people. Some of the questions we have been asked are asinine to say the least. “Could I fit your sofa-bed in a small car” or “Will you deliver your TV to me 30 miles away, and give me a discount?”
So let me get this strait you want it cheaper and delivered… AH you must work for central wheels don’t you? But at least we have not been inundated with the requests that we give our stuff to an Indian charity, for the grace of god.
We still have lots to sort our and pack and ship and well we are not even close to ready but we have a week and we will make it (or we wont). Either way we leave in a week. We are leaving, but more I importantly we are entering a new world where we will be learning new things every day. We are leaving “Which is a kind of integrity, somewhere else. look on every exit being an entrance somewhere else.” (1.207 Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead- by T. Stoppard)