It goes where you look. I've said it since the very first time I sat astride a motorcycle and learned this massive secret, this almighty formula that will keep me alive. It goes exactly where you look - no exceptions.

Your purpose is whatever you say it is. Your mission is whatever you decide it will be.

Any my mission is Transorientale. Beijing via the Russian Steppes. Why the universe decided to cancel Dakar this year of all years, and have the inaugural Transorientale this year of all years, could just be coincidence. Or it could be trying to tell me something. It could be trying to tell me that my love of Russia, and my love of motorbikes, can be met at the same time.

It could be trying to tell me that yes, I can have the opportunity to get my face slapped in Russia.

Yet how do we afford it? I don't know. But why is that a problem? Anybody who ever achieved anything didn't know - when they set out - how they were going to do it. They knew what they were going to do, but didn't have a clue about how they were going to do it.

The universe will show the way. It has infinite power, and everything is effortless. Mythology and legend are full of stories - King Midas, Aladdin and the lamp, and it all tells us one thing - be careful what you wish for because you will get it.

I am going to Transorientale. I don't know how yet. I'll be able to tell you how after I've done it.

One guy who spent a long time thinking about such stuff was Joseph Campbell. It was he who coined the phrase which so eloquently sums up my unshakeable optimism.:

"Follow your bliss and the Universe will open doors for you where there were only walls"

Which is exactly what I was saying yesterday. If it feels good, then it's the right thing to do. If it feels bad, then it's not.

I've lost my way a bit. Let me explain.

The best enduros I've ever ridden have been when I am looking ahead - hunting even. I'm watching for grip, traction, pot-holes and obstacles. I can see them coming. Without even thinking about it, I am planning ahead for them - the 90% of my brain I don't use knows they are there and starts doing the calculations for me.

The worst enduros I've ever ridden have been when I start reacting to things around me. I lurch from obstacle to obstacle and don't seem to have any control. I lose sight of where I want to be heading, and every millisecond becomes a fight for survival against the laws of physics. Physics always wins.

Life is exactly the same. When you lurch from obstacle to obstacle and simply react to the events around you then you are inviting trouble. When you keep your eyes focused on where you want to be, then the obstacles fly underneath you and you don't really notice them (apart from the odd smack in the nuts from the fuel tank and stuff like that).

I was out today on Salisbury Plain with Jago and Ed. Jago you've already met, Ed is his mate who is new to enduro.

Martin had been kind enough to give me keys to AJP so we could get the bikes. Jago has a rather quick KTM 300cc 2-stroke which lives up at AJP, and Ed was on an AJP. The merest mention of a 300cc 2-stroke - and how brilliant and torquey and powerful they are - will have my ITM reaching for his chequebook I imagine.

We covered over 60 miles of hard trail in about 4 hours. It doesn't sound like much, but I was riding quicker on the trail than I ride on enduros.

I discovered many things today. Firstly, that I can get up and down hills a lot quicker than I thought I could. Secondly that I am an awful lot better at riding ruts than I thought I was. Thirdly, that I can go much faster than I thought I could go. Fourth, that I am an awful lot better than I think. Fifth - maybe most important of all - my navigation is superb and an awful lot better than I thought it was.

What's the common thread in that little lot? What has been holding me back? It's what I think. Exactly.

I now have two hands on the next rung. OK, OK, so I'm not likely to be winning any world enduro championships in the next couple of weeks, but the difference in my riding was so great that evenI noticed it.

The last time I saw Jago was Son of Dawn to Dusk when I was recovering from injury. He was blown away by the difference in my riding.

I lost my way. I became obsessed with the "how are we going to do this?" and stopped focusing on the key part of that sentence:

"We're going to do this"

As long as I focus on the goal, the universe will take care of the how.

And we are going to Transorientale.

Download the Manic Mission Information Pack for the full story ...