Lets get started...

"the most important things you can do in life are to plant a tree, write a book, or have a child"
- The Talmud (I think)

Last week I received a book deal from a publisher who I really like... this was quite a surprise to me as I had been bracing myself for disappointment! I now have until November to write it and I know that the experience will be a great challenge, as well as a real privelege.

I thought it would be interesting to keep a record of my rambling thoughts and ponderings as I set out on this new journey - please feel free to drop into this blog at any point to see how I am doing!

I have decided to approach the book writing in the same way that I approached the bike ride - namely, to keep the following two attitudes in mind:

1. There were many moments on the ride when "home" just felt impossibly far away... when I was stuck at the bottom of yet another Tibetan valley, or when I was stuck at the back of yet another queue for visas in a far flung embassy. But by breaking the journey down into chunks, and by just focusing on getting to the next city/country, I gradually made progress, and eventually made it home. In the same way, with the book - I will try to focus on just the next step/page/chapter/section... and so in the end, I will hopefully get through the whole thing.

2. Everyday I was on the bike, I realised that I just had to put in the hours on the saddle - pedalling for 6 or 10 hours every day - even if the going was slow, even if the weather was bad, even if I felt tired, or fed up, or bored... and in the same way, I think I just need to put in a certain number of hours writing the book every day (with occasional days off). In this way, at the end of each day, even if the progress made has only been slight, or even if the progess has come after much struggle - nevertheless progress will still have been made.
As Livingstone said "I will go anywhere, so long as it is forward"!

In any case... I had better get started!

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To see my main expedition website please go to http://www.cyclinghomefromsiberia.com/