Party like your swinging from a tree.
Well it’s 2024 whoo hooo, and it’s also the 2nd of Jan, meaning it’s back to it, the reality of zombie trains, brain dead commuting in the rain, walking past a sex shop, chewing gum, cigarette caked paving stones, filthy streets full of empty bottles, sick, and takeaway cartons.
The ground hog effect is in full swing, the same routine and the same journey in fast forward, waking, eating, sleeping and watching tv alone. Yes I made it to the big 5-0, when most of my family have died from Cancers, and Suicides, hard to believe a terrible illness has not swept me away yet, if it wasn’t for my mum and sister I would of been found swinging from a tree by now like father & son two peas in a pod.
But we must keep our head above that parapet and push forward with trying to change our lives in any way we can. With the BOTG Adventure channel taking most of my free time up now, the half empty glass attitude has to change, yes I have given it my all, spent more money than I care to think about leaving me basically broke and more hours and years wasted trying and trying to make it, I have tried everything to be successful, but what is successful? and what does it look like?
I think that question could be asked about other parts of my life currently.
Party like it's the end.
As I sit in Waterstones supping a Cortado and typing this, I look up from the laptop and see families with kids, laughing and having fun, students busy reading books they won’t be paying for, reading away before putting them back on the shelves with bent covers and cake covered pages, and pensioners sat alone. is this my future? I feel sorry for them, it kills me to think they have nobody so I try when I can to talk to them. I guess I feel life has cheated me somewhat, but we make our own choices right?
My ex was my world, I adored her, and her daughter, who I used to take and pick up from school, I even went to parent evenings on my own, l helped her with her homework, read her bedtime stories, took her to places and enjoyed spending time with her, in all intense purposes she was my daughter I loved her to bits, and when that relationship ended due to my gf cheating with multiple people, and somebody’s finance calling me on Christmas Day crying down the phone to me saying how could she do it.. that her wedding was now cancelled, It affected me quite badly.
The fact the bitch.. I mean my ex wouldn’t let me see my step daughter anymore unless I took her back and forgave her a 2nd time, affected me quite badly. She had cheated before, I couldn’t go through it again so I had to walk away. I guess after 6 years of being alone, the thought of having to go through that pain again, has steered me away from wanting to be back in a relationship. So many emotions, was it my fault? Am I too old now to meet somebody? Can I be bothered.
But what it did bring me was freedom, a freedom to do what I want, when I want, and where I want with basically no responsibilities other than paying a mortgage.
That got a bit heavy, therapy session over.
The BOTG Adventure channel has been a rollacoaster of joy, new friends, frustration and anger. The friends I have met through the channel and EMTB riding has been amazing, friends that will be friends for life, people I can them tell anything, laugh and cry with them. With a new year brings new hopes. I did move away from mtb and start to get in to Vanlife uk and Supuk videos and of course hiking in the Yorkshire Dales and the Lake District which is something I really enjoy,
As an mtb rider we flow with speed, kicking up the grit and muck, tearing the trails up and missing the beauty of the locations we ride in, we don’t stop to think or look at the history or gaze upon it’s splendor.
Hiking and van life have brought me that joy being a Richard III supporter, it brings back the love I have for English history circa 1485 and the 15th century for me that’s when England was England and not the cesspit of filth it now is.
It’s that joy, that melts my heart when I visit York, Towton, Bosworth, and any medieval church or village.
The future of BOTG Adventure channel
There are a few things I have in my 2024 adventure resolutions.
More Hikes
More MTB rides
More SUPs
More van life
New GF
Save money
Set up a trade company
Wait a minute I hear you say… “What’s that last one!?!” Yes set up a travel company. The idea came about when a very good friend of mine invited the BOTG group to riding trip in Finale in Italy, he organised the trip, the accommodation, the guides, uplifts, euro tunnels and basically everything, amazing.
And it was indeed amazing, some of the best mtb trails in the world, Mark had a large van for 6 people and a trailer for 8 bikes, we followed in another van with 3 of us. We enjoyed it so much we eventually ended up in northern Spain as well in Ansia. It was only some 6 months later when we had a chat and general banter on the phone the idea just sort of came about.
What if we offered the trip, planning and everything that came with it as a package?, many people don't know where to start, what’s involved, how, who, when, what if.. we could make this easy for them.
Having failed x2 in my life as a sole trader, I always thought I could of made it if I was not on m own, so the thought of going ‘in’ with a friend would be amazing.
I am a creative, always have been, some have brains & math, some of us have an eye for design and a calculator, I defiantly fall into the 2nd category.
Could we really do this? is this a pipe dream, could this work? could we get enough people interested? could I do this and pay my mortgage if I left work? this would be a massive, massive, did I say MASSIVE risk. No way I could jump in currently with lack of funds. Dam bike and van costing me a fortune.
But we all need a dream, we all need to feel our lives have a new direction and something to aim for, there could be a road in front of me, but it feels like I can’t drive, I always hoped YouTube would be my future and change my life in someway, some company would sponsor me, or I could make enough pennies to just about survive, if it did I would go for it. But with less than 5k subs, and only making £40 a month on average on YouTube, that dream is dead in the water, so maybe just maybe, I need to take life's driving lessons and head down an unknown road to adventure, mtb, paddlboarding, van life and hiking trips and offer others the joy it brings to me, to others.
Life is an adventure.. but you have to go grab it, or in this case.. put your foot down, hold on and drive into the sunset.
.. to be continued in 2025 ..
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Andy
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