Final preparations

So finally the day arrived when I could say that I was leaving tomorrow. That had a certain immediacy to it that "next week" or "in a few days" couldn't convey. The final day at work was busy, with a couple of client meetings and other loose ends to tidy up. Inevitably this meant the day's proceedings were a touch more frantic, but thankfully also ensured that the time rolled by quite quickly.

I sent out my final email reminders to people on my fundraising list, which prompted a fantastic late burst and resulted in total funds raised of over £10,500 by the end of the day. Big thanks to all who have contributed so far.

Having received a squaddie haircut - short back and sides - after work (lightweight, aerodynamic streaming you understand), I met Cress, Ella and Willow for a goodbye supper at Wagamama in Putney. Molly had already left for a couple of days away with a school trip. It was a lovely send-off, made even more special by the good luck cards the girls had made for my departure.

The only thing left to do was to pack everything up into bags ready for a 4.30am start in the morning. My kit didn't look too excessive spread out on the beds in the spare room, but for a moment I was worried that it wasn't all going to fit into the enormous 140 litre bag I had bought for the trip. Very unlike me not to have done a trial pack beforehand, but I hadn't got round to it this time. It was lucky I wasn't flying as I would've been sure to have exceeded my weight allowance.

Not expecting to get much sleep tonight, given the excited pre-Tour excitement and anticipation.