Mission

I have no real agenda. Another year in Dublin is not likely to add anything extra to my life experience so I decided to take a break from work and do a little bit of traveling for kicks. Every now and then such things bubble to the surface and so one has to decide whether to respond or not.  Being single, debt-free and having an accommodative crew at work allows me the opportunity to indulge myself. A very fortunate situation I realise.  

So with that decision made I needed to figure out what I was going to do with myself. I somehow managed to concoct the following trip that has three layers to it:

1)  Dublin is considered a great city and it is. However, I want to explore the vibe of other cities and see for myself how they compare. On paper Melbourne, Buenos Aires, Annecy, Denver and Vancouver are places that have personal appeal. I'd like to experience these places and others along the way.

2)  If I didn't spend my time working in financial markets what would I do with my day? Time out allows me the opportunity to spend more time doing the other things that interest me and make me feel connected to myself. Cycling, writing and trying my best to take a decent photograph all have the ability to stir something within me. This trip will allow me to blur the lines between being a token part-time amateur and a quasi full-time professional as I am doing this for kicks and not for a crust.

3)  An adventure. I needed something that would captivate my imagination and allow me to challenge myself. I have zero interest in sitting on a beach in Thailand. I didn't know what to do with my bike so it made sense to do the trip on two wheels. I would find it very frustrating not to share traveling with my steed and as I love mountains I wanted to ride over some of the highest.

This adventure is about taking a few months out so that I can slow time down to have some fun, broaden my mind, scare myself witless, meet a few cool people (cool chicks ideally), challenge myself on a bike, enjoy our wondrous planet, dabble in some writing, take some photos and share it with you (seeing as you won't come with me).

I suppose this trip is ultimately about me trying to paint a blank canvas. I have no picture of my future in my head, so I feel I need to paint it or at least join some dots.

Am I making any sense? I havn't got a rashers what I'm doing really ... I am hoping that it will all start to make sense once I get on the road.