A year ago today I lost Sue, my wife, the mother of our sons, my business partner, and my best friend, after a long fight with cancer. We also lost our business, just two weeks before she died.
I felt I needed to turn my life upside down to cope with the cavernous hole. To venture in to the world with an open heart and soul, to make myself vulnerable to its idiosyncrasies, and to ask the world to offer me anything and everything it had to offer. It has certainly done that! I wanted to give the world something in return. To share the love that was within me, and still pouring out. To share some messages, and some of my passions.
I got on my bike, and left London on 1st. April 2017. Today I have reached South Island New Zealand. A long way from home, if I still have one, sitting on a bench staring at the view and wondering ….
what the ****!
I have moments like this on a regular basis, but today I would like to share it with you. I would especially like to share it with those of you who are grieving, whether for Sue, or your own loved one. It’s hard, I know. It has helped me enormously to focus on my journey, and the reasons I am doing it. Not many people get presented with a chance to live an adventure, perhaps even a dream. If life throws you even half a chance one day, I implore you to take it. Don’t think about it for too long, just go. You’ll never regret it, but you’ll certainly regret not trying.
I meet new people almost every day. I’ve met some fantastic people. Whether they want to hear or not, I tell them that I am riding around the world to share two messages.
One: Ride a motorcycle, it can be so much fun. I’m proving it. I can see their eyes start to light up when they begin to register what it is I am telling them. Then they start to grin; then their jaw drops open. I’ve made a difference to their day, possibly their life.
Two: Please stop smoking, you are all killing yourselves. This message does not make them grin. I explain that Sue smoked, Sue got cancer, Sue died. Then they tell me of their loved one who died. A close family member or just a friend; it does not matter. The fact is they all know someone who died from smoking.
If the conversation permits, or seems relevant, I tell them too about my passions for Chelsea Football Club, The Royal Geographical Society, Triumph Motorcycles and the Ted Simon Foundation.
So, back to the bench today. Now I remember what I am doing, and why I am doing it.