At best 'ill prepared', at worst 'downright foolhardy'; Mouse's September 2015 mission was a rather last-minute affair...
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I was signed off sick from work with stress in the first week of term, shortly after making the sad decision to leave teaching.
Instead of festering in my tiny Manchester city centre flat, I decided to go and visit my mum in a suburb of London. A change of scenery, some fresh air, enjoy the green spaces. Run through some fields, cycle round a wood or two on the mountain bike. Well, it turns out they don't like you taking bikes on Megabus. Google said I could cycle it in less than 20 hours. Google didn't know how slowly I cycle, or allow any time for breaks. I figured there was only one way to find out. I'd never cycled further than 100km. I'd never had to fix a puncture. I'd no idea if, or where, I'd stop and sleep. I ended up on a 55 hour journey of physical and mental discovery in which I learned, amongst other things, that the only thing less comfortable than the 'comfort zone' is three days in the saddle. I made new friends, I rediscovered old ones and was spurred on not just by the avalanche of digital support I was honoured to receive but also by the few dissenting voices who cautioned that it was "possibly not a good idea...". Now I know that the best ideas may very well not have been good ones when they started... |
As simple as that!
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This is what happened:
When I went on this crazy mission, I decided someone may as well benefit from it and chose to fund raise for Teacher Support Network and their FE/HE branch Recourse, who are shortly to be united under the new charity Education Support Partnership. Please help me to continue supporting stressed out teachers everywhere by giving to them on my donation page.
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Tweet by tweet...
“Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming "Wow! What a Ride!” |
