Yes I see your point Patrick - it was actually Mr Simon who got me thinking about this, as half way through his book he raises the question himself - is he really doing this thing right by staying in hotels - he answers it pretty well - of course he bloody is!

For my part I've found myself getting more and more caught up in the preparation for the trip - I enjoy the prep as much as going - I love devouring all the books, the magazine articles, wandering around camping shops looking at the latest gadget... I'm not made of money but I have spent a fair bit of dosh on kit I'm sure I'll end up leaving at home next time.

It's also become a bit of a competition between riderssometimes I think... 'well I have the XDGHBNSISSS GPS system that integrates GHT with ITH and OWN and then calls my wife to get the coffee on when I'm back in the country'... and that makes me laugh - but I wonder if I'm any better sometimes.

The biggest adventure I've ever been on was when I was 14, 4 of us from school threw our tents and rucksacks on our back and disappeared into the Breacon Beacons for a fortnight - we didn't buy any food, drink or anything else whilst we were up there - we stayed away from any kind of civilisation and had an amazing time - we ate off the land, cleaned ourselves in rivers and spent our time just wandering in the middle of no-where....

Sometimes I think all I've done since then is to re-create that experience.


m

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