I've been passing a few trees painted bright blue and I've been wondering what that is about? I found out today that it's a way of raising awareness about mental health. The Blue Tree Project is to help spark difficult conversations, encourage people to speak up when battling mental health concerns. It's about breaking down the stigma that is still largely attached to mental health, by spreading the the paint and spreading the message that "it's ok to not be ok".
I know a few people battling with mental health, and I know that my hard days on this trip are easy, compared to the challenges they face some days.
I'm also fully aware that my biggest challenge over the next 12 months is not physical or financial - it's the mental capacity to keep going.
I had three punctures yesterday, so I'm taking a sabbath day, and I'm feeling much better this afternoon. Yesterday, I was feeling rather flat but today, I've been working very hard on patching up any deflated feelings of tiredness, and I'm feeling pumped for tomorrow.
I'll stop the pun-ishment now and in all seriousness ask you to check with a mate how they are really doing.