In the beginning of this year I gave myself a very bad case of food poisoning due to some culinary stupidity. I knew that I was on the mend properly not when I felt hungry again, but when I craved a cup of tea. Even though it's calorific content is nil, when had black without sugar as I mostly do, the thought of my next cup of tea will get me over the next pass far better than an energy bar or similar. Or so it seems. Hence the title for this journal.

The desire to cycle across Canada has been eating away inside me since 1999, and like everyone else I know, I ain't getting any younger. Having a reasonable redundancy settlement at the end of last year certainly helped too. Flying to San Francisco from London Heathrow on Friday 13th April seemed a good idea, seeing as i'm not supersticious, as all the superstitious types will hopefully give the skies a wide berth leaving more room to stretch out my often cramped 35" legs.

I know San Francisco seems an odd place to start a cross Canada trip, but it's one of the few cities i've ever had a desire to go to, and as the only place in the USA that i've been to is Lake Placid, it'll give me a chance to explore some more of their country. Also, the ride from San Francisco up to Vancouver will help to prepare my legs for The Rockies. Hopefully (as well as being a fantastically scenic stretch of coastline). Just like the ride from Sheffield to London will hopefully help prepare my legs for the Pacific Coast Leg.

All other route details are vague to say the least at the moment - which hightens the sense of adventure for me - although I fancy a photo stop at the top of the Anarchist Pass, and if he's in town, I'll call into Calgary to see an old and very good friend Woody. If anyone has any suggestions of places to go out of my way to see, or avoid, i'm all ears. Similarly, if anyone wants to put the kettle on...

As I live alone i've had to rent my house out whilst doing this trip, and as the shortest term for a rental agreement is 6 months, i've got plenty of time to complete my trip. This suits me fine as I don't want to rush through and not see much. That said, i'm happy to put some long days in, but I don't think i'll be cycling 100 miles a day, day after day.