The opportunity to start before they were ready changed my team's perspective on what they thought they were capable of. Those ideas that first seemed crazy, now in fact look possible.

I must have been about 5. Still small enough to push through the closely nit branches as they spiraled up the tree, my arms and legs scratched each time I wiggled through, tree sap stuck to the palms of my hands as I clung on to each new branch that lifted me higher.

2 years ago I worked as a cycling instructor over the summer and as I ran through the Rules of the Road book for a bunch of 10 yr olds at the start of their week long course, I’d always slip in a little extra nugget.

following my after work ride to Brighton the week before I decided it was time to just get on and do it. I looked at the route and figured out I could get half way, covering around 75 miles on the first day, and then finish off on Day two going via the Two Tunnels near Bath.

For me, I love to kick off my Mondays in a new location every week (check out my Happy Monday videos over on Facebook), but I rarely fill my evenings with adventure. The odd 5–9 camp out, may be once every month or two, but never have I used that time to really travel and discover a new route or destination, knowing that I have a full week ahead of me.

So one Monday I decided to change all that.

Don’t get me wrong. Inspiration is great for getting us to imagine a different future, it opens us up to consider alternative options and to believe that something which once seemed impossible, is suddenly in the realm of possibility.

Whether it’s 30 degrees and I’m paddling along the Caledonian Canal or just 12 degrees as I make my way along the Cornish coast, having supplies to keep me going during my little paddleboarding expedition this summer were vital.

It feels incredible to think what I’ve achieved, when there were so many moments at which I could have ducked out.  And no one would have blamed me. It looked impossible. It looked like it wasn’t going to work.

This has been an incredible year for me and I had no idea it would pan out this way 12 months ago. It feels like most of the fun things that have happened were a result of me reaching out to someone when I didn’t think they would say yes. Whether that’s friends to join me on adventures, asking random strangers on Instagram to meet up or approaching various different organisations to pitch new opportunities.

The moral of the 2017 story — don’t be afraid to ask.