Our adventure ended, and the moment I got home what my friends worried about was
burnout.
Which is fair enough.
For five years I gave the Peking to Paris Motor Challenge every waking and sleeping hour.
For two weeks after coming home I could not sleep, probably from the excitement.
The goal was so large that alongside the sense of having done it there is a sense of loss.
What becomes of me now?
And then my friends organised a celebration.
“If you’ve got this to concentrate on, you won’t burn out, will you?”
These two put their hands up to run it.
They are also the two who, six months ago, the night before my cancer surgery, arrived with the Gelato Pique pyjamas
I had wanted.
The night before an operation, and they were laughing and making a racket, as they always do, bringing a smile with them.
Support like that, right to the end, is more than I deserve.
It is called “The brave return! The Peking to Paris Motor Challenge celebration”.
At this event I want to look back over the 37 days with everyone who cheered us on, and tell you about the unbreakable spirit of it and what went on behind the scenes.
I posted every day during the challenge, but that was only what I could film myself —
the surface of it.
Still, the 37-day report is here:
↓ ↓
Each day’s adventure in a ninety-second video
On the day, the driver and I will talk it through with slides — the preparation beforehand, and then 37 days of maps and photographs — and describe in real detail how we got past the difficulties and kept going for that finish.
On display: the trophy for the True Grit award we brought home, the actual maps and route book, the flags people sent, and the clothing that spent 37 days in sweat and dust.
Things you would not normally get near, so do look forward to it. And of course
there will be questions from the floor and some presents, so join in.
This celebration is also part of the story of two people who drove wanting to give somebody a push forward.
I want to share with you what I felt and what I learned out there, and my hopes for what comes next.
Two days after opening bookings we already have people coming from a long way off, and there are now under fifteen places left. (Places are still held for people who are checking their diaries.)
Energy like this does not gather often.
Do come. Let’s meet in person.
The booking form is here.
I also send emails to those attending, if not on any fixed schedule.