Here's the basic plan...

March 04: Give up job. Borrow money from mortgage people. Done that. Oh yeah - remember to pass bike test. And buy a bike.

Sept 12th 04: Ferry Portsmouth-Cherbourg. Potter across France and a bit of North Spain and head for Lisbon, to meet some pals for a week of sunny lager action at the end of Sept.

Early Oct 04: Widdle about in Portugal & southern Spain for a bit, aiming for Gibraltar. Buy Marmite and PG Tips.

About 15th Oct: Ferry Spain-Morocco. Muck about there for p'raps a month.

Mid Nov 04: Head south through Mauritania. Sand ahoy.

December 04: Senegal. Meet a different pal for a week, spend Xmas in Dakar or the Gambia.

Jan 05 to April/May: Mali, heading towards Ghana where lager and beaches are the watchword. Apparently. Then on to (probably) Cameroon, and if things are a bit dicey in the war department in the Congo area, attempt to air-freight self and bike to either Uganda or Kenya. So, these two countries around June-ish.

July/Aug 05: Tanzania featuring Zanzibar.

Sept-ish: Dawdling southwards, aiming for Malawi, Mozambique, Botswana, maybe Namibia, eventually South Africa for Dec 05, Xmas in Cape Town, where in theory various relatives will come and meet.

Jan 1st 2006: Scratch head and wonder what to do with rest of life.

These plans are flattered by the description "loose". Frankly if I make it to Portsmouth in time for the 11.15 Cherbourg ferry I'll be pleased as punch.

This is me (right) and Aust, my lovely pal who scarpered to New Zealand, successfully, and may thus have played an inspirational role in my current "flush-life-down-crapper-and-see-what-happens" scheme.