So I got no less than two job offers today, in addition to the job I've got. Not interviews, shoo-ins. And, just to add to the confusion, my gangly friend interviewed today with the Company I'm currently working for. Probably another shoo-in.

I've done this to him four times now. Pulled him into a Company and then I walk within a few months. A week in one case. Probably about to do it again.

Anyway, you've heard of Alexander. The great one - Macedonians and Persians and all that stuff. Nobody is quite sure how Alexander died - poisoning and malaria are two theories - but what is clear is that he didn't have an heir. His son, Alexander IV, wasn't yet born when he died, and his Generals - assembled round his deathbed - couldn't get any sense out of him.

After he died, it led to civil war in the ranks. Murder and treachery and people vying for the crown.

I was learning more tonight about the shenanigans at the Global Bank. I am told that my leaving had somewhat of an effect, a la Alexander. I'm not sure if I am flattered by this, or ashamed of it. The words that my gangly friend used were "it's no wonder everything is f**ked. The King died, and nobody knew what to do or who would lead them now. Nobody has a clue what needs to be done, how it should be done, or who should do it".

One guy at the Global Bank, let's call him Mr. Jolly, was always a bit of a handful. Took a lot of work. Supremely intelligent, could type a million words a minute, and a really big an intimidating rugby-playing guy. You needed to be really really robust to stand up to this guy and keep him on track. I somehow managed to achieve this, even though I probably weighed no more than one of his legs.

So he decided that he'd take over. And promptly did. What has ensued is the most appalling situation where people are afraid to do anything that he might disagree with. My gangly friend is in a horrible situation, but not for long - I'm about to pull him into another job.

Discussions with Martin last night about the new training days on offer at AJP. He has been approached by Enduro Africa to provide training for the people going on the ride this year, and also some talk about roadbook training, scouting and how best to achieve this. The usual piss-taking about how I will absolutely whip his ass on Sunday if he has the balls to turn up on an identical AJP PR3. I will be asking the scrutineers to check his cam lift and intake valve volume - he'll be trying to squeeze a few extra horse power I think.

I ordered a bunch of parts from Maplin - bits and pieces to make a roadbook holder. Google Sketchup - a brilliant (and free) CAD tool - has helped me in drawing out this little beastie:

Now I need to add some knobs to it. The big problem I've got is how to add enough tension to the rollers that the vibration of the bike doesn't cause the roadbook to roll back. I'm thinking ratchet, but I'm not sure how. As the Missus says, this is an engineering problem.

When I get a bunch of job offers like this, it makes me jumpy, I'm not sure why. I think it's because I'm not sure which way to go.

Perhaps there's something in this. Perhaps one of the reasons I focus so much on my navigation techniques is that, deep down, I'm not really sure of the direction I need to take. Maybe the answers aren't in the maps - maybe I need to be asking myself some basic questions here. I mean, OK, so I know that I'll be swinging by Dakar at some point - maybe Beijing - but where am I going? What's the ultimate point?

We all get given this little strip of land on which we can build pretty much anything we like. We're constrained by physical limitations, but - other than that - we can build what we like. This little strip of land is your life. You make it how you want it. But what to build? How do you know if you're building the right thing or the wrong thing? You get instant feedback - through how you feel - about whether what you're doing is in line with your basic make-up, but is it the right thing overall?

When I ride the bike, I not only get instant feedback that it's the right thing to do, I just know that it's the right thing to do. I have met some wonderful people through biking and, crucially, every one of them know about my illness yet none of them seem to care. I never experienced that in real life before.

I just hope that my little strip of land is big enough that if I give it 'andful, then I won't drop off the edge of it. That said, I'd rather go by riding off the edge than sat on my arse just waiting for it to happen.

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