Ambitious plans

Having asked myself the question, "What am I going to do after I finish my 100-mile hike on a section of the Pacific Crest Trail this May?", I have been thinking about other ambitious projects that I can work towards. I already mentioned Nordic or cross-country skiing in another post (http://blog.ergoob.org/2015/12/trying-to-like-snow-never-say-never.html). That'll be something for next winter (2016/17).

Here is the list I came up with so far:

• cross country or Nordic skiing (winter of 2016/17)
• 600 miles bicycle ride from Helena to Portland (spring/summer of 2017)
• climb Mount Hood in Oregon (spring/summer of 2018)

Mount Hood is a technical climb, I know, but it's only 11,250 feet high, and only three miles away from Timberline Lodge. I couldn't possibly climb it now, but in 30 months time, with the right equipment, and the right skills and training, could I do it? Absolutely! 

Could I cycle all the way to Portland today - no way! Could I in 18 months time? Absolutely! I would need about two weeks off work to do it, maybe more, but it's certainly possible. 

In the meantime, there are other sections of the PCT to hike, plus the whole of the Continental Divide Trail (which is closer to where I live anyway). I should also think up some sort of swimming challenge, since I enjoy swimming so much, and that would be a good thing to do in the winter months. 

Finally, and this might be a total pipe dream, I was inspired by this Sara Bareilles video, "Brave", that is on YouTube:

It made me want to contact her to see if I could be a dancer in one of her future music videos. She's starring in a Broadway musical, "Waitress", at the moment but I'm sure she'll be writing and performing more songs in the future and making music promotion videos. She has a great voice, and having the confidence and ability to dance like the performers in her Brave video would be fantastic for me.