I’m sure you have heard of the Harvard Study on Happiness. Running since 1938, its key message is that the quality of our relationships is the most important factor in determining our happiness. I feel truly blessed with the relationships I have had the opportunity to build and maintain over the years. One of my favourite examples is our cycling group in Bishkek, that Paul and I started very informally in May 2013 – over the next ten years, we barely missed a week. One of the members was kind enough to host me and it was so nice to reconnect (and to finally sign his copy of “Sovereignty” 😉 ).

Highlights: Everything working so smoothly from getting picked up by our local friend Alik (let me know if you need a driver or a “fixer” – over the past decade+ Alik has saved me many times over) to having the perfect base at Jonathan’s, to getting the documents and the bikes ready

Challenges: Despite there really not being any problems, it was a pretty mammoth task – from cleaning years of dust off the bike, to buying and installing a new battery, to draining 20l+ of old fuel, to getting all the documents, including a notarised translation, to packing an incredible number of things (thank you, Ellen!).