“I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I intended to be.”
– Douglas Adams

I went round the world once. On a bicycle. I’mm an ordinary guy who had an extra-ordinary dream. It took me four years to achieve my dream of cycling round the planet, back to the front door I had closed behind me 46000 miles ago.
Many people doubted whether I would keep succeed, whether I could stick it out. But the biggest doubter of all was myself. For the first two years of the expedition, at least, I didn’t think I would make it.
But now, back home again after spending so long, mostly alone, hauling myself down the highways of 5 continents -at times exhausted, sick, lonely or afraid- I can look back with satisfaction at having persevered and I can reflect on the lessons I learned along the way. Lessons that will serve me well in my future life, in the office, at home, with my family, as well as out once again in the world’s wild places. Lessons to help me pursue a happy, fulfilled, responsible life. Was it worth it? Definitely!

When talking about my bike ride people often say, “you must be so fit”, “I could never do what you did” and “I would never have the courage to do it.” But that is rubbish. Total rubbish. I truly believe that anybody could cycle round the world. Sure, most people would not want to do it, but we all have our dreams, we all have potential, and we can all achieve more than we believe. The only hard thing is to have the guts to just get on our bikes, and begin riding.
However, we all have just one life, and the clock is ticking fast. We can’t spend too long theorising about how we are going to live our lives. Better that we get out and live them! So let’s get on and ride the roads we have always dreamed of riding, before it’s too late.

I had my dream: to undertake an outrageous journey. I wanted to see some of the world, to see some more of myself, and to ride out from my comfort zone. I wanted to attempt something that I would certainly fail unless I poured every drop of my heart and soul into it. I knew that I may well fail, but I also knew that aiming ridiculously high would mean that I was likely to end up achieving more than if I had simply set a realistic and comfortably achievable target. I did not want to look back later in life and wish that I had done more, or wonder what I could have accomplished had I set my sights higher.

I was fortunate enough to attain my goal. Today, the realisation of that dream defines who I am. It has shifted me to a different level than I was on before I began. People expect more of me now. I expect more of myself. More seems possible. The goal I had back then now seems, with the clarity of hindsight, to have been reasonable and realistic. Now it is my new ambition, looking forwards, to attempt a journey to the South Pole. What we do is shaped by what we think we can do.
I am convinced that we consistently under-estimate our capacities and our capabilities. We settle too low. We tend to strive for what we know we can achieve. What’s the point of that? Far better to be wildly ambitious, to have the self-belief to set ourselves outrageous goals, and through that accomplish far more than we may have dared believe possible.

I receive regular emails from people contemplating an expedition, or a journey, or a change of lifestyle. They are looking for advice, for the comfort blanket of knowledge that, ironically, you can only acquire afterwards yet need most before you begin. But most of all these people are looking, consciously or sub-consciously, for impetus. Trying to summon the nerve to get started.
I am often asked what was the most difficult aspect of my journey round the world. One thing stands out, above the physical challenges, the cultural and logistical difficulties, the draining mental struggle. The hardest part was beginning. No question. Leaving behind a happy, comfortable life for one rim full with uncertainties was difficult. But I forced myself to at least begin because I did not want to look back later in life and regret not having a go at it. I needed now only to overcome my inertia, to focus on the positives and all the possibilities. I needed only to get on my bike and ride. Inertia, in life as in science, means that a body remains motionless until a force comes and acts on it. The larger the object, the more difficult it is to move it. So it is with life. The longer you have been stuck in your ways -doing the same things year in, year out, without questioning what you are doing, why you are doing it, and whether you wish to continue doing it- the harder it will be to get you moving. But, as you fight to overcome apathy and doubt, lazy procrastination and fear, draw spirit my friend from knowing that, in life as in science, once something builds up a good momentum it’s hellish hard to stop it. So, as you’re struggling to get started, your devilish mind rolling out the excuses, be aware that beginning your journey is the hardest thing you’ll ever do. But if you can ignore the doubts, ignore ’em and set off anyway, then you’ll take some stopping!

Throughout my journey ran the constant thread of the self-imposed rules I set myself, the standards by which my quest had to stand up to my own harsh self-scrutiny. In some ways my whole journey was strangely contrived and artificial, yet its difficulty sometimes felt even larger by being arbitrary and self-chosen. There were no prizes, awards, trophies or records at stake. My route and journey would be as hard or as easy, as long or as short as I chose to make it. I was competing only with myself. I had to set myself problems and then solve them. It is hard to motivate yourself to build a high brick wall when you know that you have then to climb over it. It is a strange person too who bangs his head ever harder against that brick wall because he knows that the harder he bangs the sweeter the stopping will feel.

My journey was, essentially, a solo activity. I became extremely self-aware, very conscious of my moods and my subconscious feelings. I knew my physical capacity and my mental strengths and weaknesses. I knew that my body could hold out longer than my mind could. And so my expedition became one fought out more and more within my own head. If I was to physically conquer the world I would need to beat the peaks and troughs of my imaginings, and stumble on across the shimmering desert inside my head that was littered with taunting mirages of temptation. Curiously, my ride around the world was likely to determined by the journeys inside my mind.

So then, is this year important to you? Then use it! Sign up for a marathon. Only those who have run a marathon can call themselves Marathon Runners. Or perhaps you have got more sense than to want to run a marathon. No problem. But we all have our own ‘marathon’. Something we would love to accomplish, something difficult (that, at times, will seem to be too difficult). Remember, failing is acceptable. It is looking back with regrets that is not.
The time to act is now. You’ll never put your trainers on and get fit if you don’t. Join a Spanish class. Learn how to use your camera properly. Quit your job and do something you love. Do something you care about. Do something to add value to the planet. Every year is a significant percentage of all your time that remains on this spectacular adventure playground we call Earth and home. The older you become the greater that percentage is. The younger you are the more lasting your change can be. So, whatever your age, whatever your personal marathon: Act Now.