A stranger's a friend you've not met yet...

... is the motto above the door of a pub near Haymarket Station - or something like that anyway!

I didn't go into the pub, but did pass by it on my way to the EMMS offices on Saturday for an information afternoon about our Malawi bike ride.

It was really helpful - to meet and hear from the office staff including those going on the ride with us, to hear from the tour company who organise the route, and from (dare I call them) 'veterans' of previous rides (also coming this year), getting lots of hints and tips (those words are not sufficient to describe all the helpful information we gained!).  Most important was getting to meet some of those folk I will spend an intensive week or so in close company with (or failing that, eating their dust from a few kilometres behind them...).

For a number, it was possible to find mutual friends, or connections one way or another (Scotland = village, Scottish Christianity = large extended family?!?).  And of course it was a chance to catch up with my friend Bill, who when I first mooted the idea of going to Malawi, said 'Do you want some company?' - and for whom I hope this excursion doesn't prove to be a 'fine mess' I got him into...

Minor downsides of the day - an unfortunate attempt on my part to be ironic probably sounded arrogant instead.  My social skills were not quite firing on all cylinders.  And while it was nice to join those who went out for a meal afterwards, I perhaps should have prioritised getting back to hearth and home and family.

Ah well.  I'm glad to have been able to put faces to names (or in most cases, actually discover names for the first time). Hopefully there will be other chances to see at least some of my fellow travellers between now and 9th May, and the varied group of 'strangers' I have now met may start to become my friends... two are already facebook friends!

Malawi minus 11 weeks and one day

I woke up this morning with a funny feeling in my stomach.  It may have been physiological but I tend to think it's all the things I need to do in the next 11 weeks - many of them in the next 3 weeks!

The blog title says it all - I'm going biking in Malawi, to raise money for Mulanje Mission Hospital.  How far, you ask?  Not long. Just 250 miles (approx). In 5 days. For someone who in January 2011 was probably well over 16 stone! (230+lbs or 105+kg, give or take).

Today I'm happy to say that through improved diet (slightly - still got a bad biscuit habit!) and, in the last 5 months, greatly increased exercise (jogging and of course cycling) - I'm down to 14st 2lbs (198 lbs, or just under 90kg) - and still on the way down.  Weight loss and fitness gain are not always identical of course, but it helps not having that extra weight to lug about!

I've already got a donations page at http://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/daveslater and am posting updates on http://www.facebook.com/DaveInMalawi but a couple of people have asked if I will (or challenged me to) set up a blog - and inspired by a fellow Malawi Cyclist who I haven't met yet (http://littlecyclinglady.blogspot.co.uk) I thought I would do the same.

So here it is - my blog.  Don't expect daily updates but I will do my best to post semi-regularly, and especially when we are in Malawi - internet access permitting of course.

And that funny feeling? Well, I ate some breakfast, cycled to a nearby park for a quickish jog and 'strength and flex' session before biking home, and it's subsided a bit now.

I *really* must sort out my passport...