OK its time to let the cat out of the bag-2010 plans

2010 will see a rather dramatic life style change for me -I'm stopping regular work and will move the the "Casual" list, allowing me to work when/if required to fill in for people going on annual leave but if and only if it fits in with my plans!...as a result of this I am going to have the time to follow a few dreams while I still physically can...and rather unsurprisingly all my dreams are on the energetic side ;-) .

Early this week I got to counting the amount of days I had left to work until July 14th which is when I am going to stop part time work..yes I was bored and fed up... but somehow the ~140 days I counted felt far too many. Then I had a Eureka moment...rather than working through to 14/7/10 and then use up my annual and long service leave why not get smart and use it up before that date? Having got that far I then had a carpe diem moment (probably because I'd been talking about my will)...hey you can't tell what you're going to be fit for in 2011 can you? so why not do in 2010 what you had planned for 2011, as well as the already planned 6 week jaunt.

So what's this all leading up to?

During May/June I'm going on a cycling trip that will take me from Palermo to Como over 35 loooong days. The accommodation is mostly camping with 5 nights in hotels, there are 7 rest days (Etna, Lorica, Pompeii, Rome-2 days,Florence and Venice) and the distance ridden each day depends on how much ascent is involved..ie the days in the Dolomiti are naturally short in kms but high in effort. The best known ascent is the Stelvio. I should come back looking like a fit, bronzed skeleton and these pages should be replete with all sorts of pix and tales of triumph or despair.

Part of this trip is the requirement that I do some fund raising for OCF..the Oncology Children's Foundation, a non profit organisation that seeks a cure for childhood cancers. So I will have to arrange some event or other or go begging or perhaps sell off some of my copious "surplus to requirements" cycling bits and pieces.

So that's the big news for 2010...on top of all that, there is also the following.....

• I've got a few track events happening in the early months of the year..more on that later.
• During late July/August/ September I'm back OS for a week each in the Alps, the Pyrenees, Palaia in Tuscany (which is within easy reach of Florence, Siena, Pisa and the Island of Elba), Venice, Slovenia, Austria (World Masters Road Champs), 2 days in UK then time with some friends in USA.
  
• I arrive home in time for the Aus Road champs and to be a spectator or volunteer in the World Road Champs in Geelong.
• Then I think I might need a rest!