Katie is hoping to communicate her decisions , thoughts and travels through her writing , “ I don ’ t think I ’ m alone in feeling the way I do . I see lots of people trying to make sense of the world around them and figure out how to balance the demands of life with being happy . Sometimes that means letting go of things you think you need , things you ’ ve often worked hard for but which aren ’ t serving you anymore . Those are tough decisions . People often tell us that they ’ d love to travel too but that they just can ’ t because of a long list of reasons . Sometimes all you need is to open your mind a little and the solution finds you .
“ The idea of uprooting myself seemed like insanity at first . I think I ’ d bought into accumulated advice and the societal ideal of how I ought to live my life and what I should value , rather than appraising what worked best for me and doing that . In the unthinking , habitual hustle and bustle of busy life I stopped being mindful of what made me happy . But the feeling that something wasn ’ t right kept making itself known , it was often pretty hard to deal with . In the end though these challenges , as painful as they were , were the wake-up call I needed . I learnt that life is short and I discovered what I really valued . I also realised I was strong enough to pick myself up and dust myself off from anything . We tend to be very risk averse as a society , but avoiding risk is not necessarily a good thing . I don ’ t know yet if I ’ m up to the challenges ahead of me but I ’ m not afraid to find out anymore .”
Bike File
The AJP PR4 Quick Facts
The couple will travel on AJP PR4 ’ s , Portuguese bikes that are light , low and very manoeuvrable , with simple , durable engines making them the perfect fit for both the pair and the countries they ’ ll be travelling through . ENGINE Single cylinder , 4 stroke , 2 v ., air and oil cooled , OHC POWER 14,7 Kw ( 20hp ) 8000 rpm STARTER Electric + Kick Start