A long overdue update...

"I knew who I was this morning, but I've changed a few times since then." - Alice, Alice in Wonderland

It seems I'm pretty terrible at keeping people up to speed of my ever changing plans. So I figured it's about time for an update as I've had to rethink things a number of times now for various reasons. Put the kettle on, this is a bit of a long one!

This was as far as I made it on my trip to Scotland...

Having delayed my departure once already, I had been planning on leaving early in the New Year and had hoped to squeeze in a quick blast up to Scotland before Christmas. Unfortunately, luck was not on my side and within an hour of home I had lost all lights and the dashboard due to some mystery electrical problems. Fortunately I managed to limp the bike home before it died completely, but I wasn't going anywhere any time soon. After much confusion and lots of testing with a multi-meter I eventually narrowed the problem down to the renowned DRZ stator. A replacement was soon on order but this still meant nearly a week's delay and the weather was continuing to deteriorate as winter set in.

Spot the difference! (the slightly toasty looking one is the old stator)

Unfortunately the next day my Dad fell off a ladder while hedge cutting and broke a rib. He was soon on the mend but in no fit state to go back up a ladder. With over 60 Christmas trees due to go up on properties throughout Malmesbury, this was terrible timing. As a result I made the decision to put off the Scotland trip in the hope of better weather and a fully functioning bike. Instead I have spent the past couple of months working for my parents' business in the busy run up to Christmas, and helping Dad get the trees up on time.

Christmas Trees going up around Malmesbury

Electrical bike demons were not the only thing throwing a spanner in the works either. As many of you will know last year I had to have an operation due to a build up of fluid on the brain. The operation had been a success and all the post op scans seemed positive so I had hoped that my follow up appointment 1 year on would be a mere formality and give me the all clear to set off on my trip. Unfortunately this was not the case and I was informed that I was likely to need a biopsy. This would mean another operation and another 6 months without driving/riding, hardly ideal considering what I had planned. After numerous phone calls and trips to Oxford the decision was made not to do the biopsy and to continue to monitor things with 3 monthly MRI scans instead. I received this news with mixed emotions, I was of course relieved not to have to undergo another operation and most importantly I could still ride my bike. However MRI scans every 3 months for the foreseeable future meant that an extended round the world trip was beginning to look a little unrealistic.

After much much thought I came up with a new plan which seemed to be the best compromise. I would continue to work for my parents until Christmas, earning some much needed money since I received my last paycheck from the Army in September. In the new year I would look for a new job as a tree surgeon (my civilian career of choice) and aim to buy a house (and more importantly a garage!) as soon as I could get a mortgage approved. This would provide a base to come back to in between my bike trip which would now take place in stages. Given that I had to return to the UK regularly for hospital appointments and scans, I would instead go on a series on shorter trips, working my way around the world one stage at a time. This would also allow me to earn fuel money in between to keep the bike on the road. An additional bonus of breaking the trip into stages is that I can plan each leg for the optimum time of year, hopefully therefore avoiding both winter in the mountain passes and the Indian monsoon season among other things. These were issues which had severely complicated my previous travel plans.

Trust me I know what I'm doing, honest

The slight issue with this plan is that where I grew up in North Wiltshire is situated on the edge of the Cotswolds, lovely though this is it means that houses are astronomically expensive, leaving my options rather limited. Obviously being a millennial there was nothing for it but to blame everybody else that life was so unfair and give up on my dreams... Or you know, just move up north were you can buy a house for the equivalent of a round of drinks in London. Having been to university in Newcastle  and thoroughly enjoyed my time there the prospect of moving back to the North East seemed like the ideal solution and so that is exactly what I'll be doing.

So in summary my plans have once again been turned on their head, but I guess that's all part of the adventure. The new plan is to move up north, get a job, buy a house and then carry out a number of short trips across three continents on a bike which couldn't make it to Scotland without breaking down... I mean how hard can that be?

* Points to note:
- The bike is now working!
- Scotland is still on the cards, hopefully early next year once the weather improves
- This means many motorcycle microadventures are on the cards next year. Exciting!
- I will still make it to Oz! (one day)
- This will no doubt all change again before I actually set off...

See you on the road!