Kerry is taking her P45 with her
Sometimes picking yourself up from the desk at the end if the day is a hard task - that journey home can be aggrevating at times. Never mind travelling from Bristol to Rome with nothing but a bike, £1000 and a tent strapped to your back.
But this is exactly what Kerry O'Neil is in the middle of doing at the minute.
Following a redundancy, Kerry decided to put her new found 'time off' to good use. It just goes to show that women don't need bags of time - she planns to complete the challenge in just eight weeks - or an unlimited budget to have an adventure.
With nothin more than limited rations, waterproofs and a pre-loaded my Travel Cash Prepaid Mastercard, Kerry's tour will revisit The Grand Tour's key destinations of Paris and Geneva, crossing the Alps at Mont Cenis, then to Venice via Vicenza and finally Rome via Florence.
Kerry, 36 says: "When my job ended, I got serious anbout this long-standing daydream. I got my bike services, booked a maintenance class, did a quick Italian course and started researching this orginal tourist trail.
"My mum developed severe athritis at my age, so I'm determined to make the most of my fitness, whilst I can. I'll be raising money for Arthritis Research UK on my way, too."
When her contract with sustainable transport chairty, Sustrans, ended i n June, Kerry saved her final month's pay, renamed her bike P45, and planned a recession-busting adventure. Her trip through the vineyards, waterways and Alpine passes of France and Italy proves you don't need to fly, to be wealthy (or to go to danger zones) to challenge yourself.
In its early days, the Grand Tour was dominated by men, as the cycling adventure book market is today. In riding and writing a book about The Gradn Tour on a Grand, Kerry hopes to inspire women to set off on their own low-carbon, budget adventures, too.
Kerry adds: "I want anyone to think they could do something like this. That's why my Grand Tour has a budget of £1,000 and will take just six weeks. Many people have flexible employers, or might be die a few months' sabbatical leave. I'd love it if my ride, or the book that follows, inspires anyone else to take that first step towards beginning their own adventure."