New Year's resolutions

"A New Year's resolution is a tradition, most common in the Western Hemisphere but also found in the Eastern Hemisphere, in which a person resolves to change an undesired trait or behaviour, to accomplish a personal goal or otherwise improve their life." Wikipedia

Most years I resolutely avoid making New Year's resolutions as they seem to require a degree of commitment. I find it difficult to think of anything I really want to commit to. I always have a guilty sense that I should think of something, but find the necessary degree of passion for life-changing affirmative action of any kind wanting. This year however, it was different - for some inexplicable reason, probably something to do with the mysterious machinations of the cosmos, or at least my subsconcious thought processes, soon after new year's day I resolved that this year I would do LEJOG.  I think it meets the definition of a personal goal.  I am not sure if it will improve my life as per the Wikipedia definition, but dammit, it's as close as I'm ever likely to get to a bona fide new year's resolution!

Now I do have admit that the idea came within the context of there being a better opportunity to do it than in any previous years.  Before Christmas I'd asked to go part-time in my job, and this had been agreed. From April I would have more time to train for the ride, and I'd be able to arrange my working days to maximise my time off with minimal use of precious paid leave also needed for other holiday activities.  Knowing the distance involved, I'd long decided I wanted two weeks for the ride and looking at the calendar, a date towards the end of August finishing in the first week of September looked perfect.

And so it came to pass that by the 8th of January I'd made up my mind to go and set the dates for it. It only remained to tell the woman who fills up my heart and makes me happy every day that later in the year I would be going away on a bike ride for two weeks (I did suggest that in case she felt she couldn't bear to be without me she could come along, driving her car as the support vehicle, but strangely she declined this wonderful opportunity), and to ask a paragliding friend, Nick, who was also into cycling and had expressed an interest in doing LEJOG, if he'd like to join me.  Nick said yes, the love of my life (beside cycling) didn't object, so the planning and training could begin.