I have been up here in Durban for last two weeks focusing in on the final stages of our TTRide South Africa ‘surf instructor’ courses.

2009 continues to be our busiest year in terms of ttride growth and development. It is also our busiest year in terms of number of trips running at the same time across different parts of the world.

Our TTRide South Africa course continues to be our most poplar course, largely due to the fact that this was the trip from which Ticket to Ride first began.

This year has been the first year where neither me or Linley have had any direct involvement in the actual day to day running of our main South Africa courses.

Luckily for us, our team of ttride trip leaders have over the past 3 years enjoyed running the trips as much as the riders they have taken on them. This has meant that we have had the same trip leaders returning year on year, meaning that this year was the year they did it by themselves.

Now when I say by themselves, we have been kept up to date on a daily basis in the ttride HQ and emails and skype calls have been flying across the globe from South Africa over to Costa Rica and back to London.

Being out here to watch everything happen without either me or Linley has been amazing. Sam, Chris and Bevan ran what I am now referring to as our most successful TTRide South Africa course yet. The fact that the Riders bought Sam a brand new surfboard to say thank you for everything he did for them, speaks for itself.

Tim and Nico are now in the final stages of leading their course through final lifeguard and surf instructor assessments and by all accounts have shown their riders the trip of a lifetime.

Being out here without the day to day of running the trip (which believe me is not all about endless waves and deep sun tans) has given me a completely new perspective on what we offer our Riders in South Africa.

Each of them leaves us with new friends, skills, memories and experiences that will last them a lifetime. Hearing all the highs and lows as I sit down with the Riders has been one of the most useful ttride developments that I have been part of to date.

Sitting back watching it all happen in front of me, with some of the most able trip leaders that we could ever wish for making it all happen, has left enabled me to reflect on the fact that what we are lucky enough to call our careers/jobs/lifestyles is about being a part of something that is actually life changing and to be able to refer to Ticket to Ride in this way brings the whole thing around full circle.

Tomorrow I am off down to Cape Town to pick up Lottie (my new wife to be) an am looking forward to showing her more of what this incredible country has to offer.

Right now I am off to Clayton surfboards to pick up my new board.

Happy days!!!

W

2009 has hit and reading yesterdays Sunday Newspapers to wind me in from 2 weeks of focused eating and drinking, I was vaguely interested to read what those 'in the know' had written down on the subject of what kind of a year 2009 will be.

Before anyone jumps out of a window, I hope hope everyone puts into perspective what they read in the papers. It is all forecasts and sadly bad new sells better than good news. If any of the journalists were actually able to predict the future, they certainly would not be letting anyone else know about it, rather they'd be cracking on with making a fortune in the mornings, devising a scheme for the cancellation of third world debt during their lunch hour, having a little flutter on the horses after lunch before solving the problems in the Middle East throughout the late afternoon.

Ridiculous?? Exactly!!

My (absolutely irrelevant) opinion goes like this. We should take time to try and understand what is going on, after all, it is fair to say that we are all going to be affected in some way. Next, try and be as Un-British as possible and focus on some of the positives brought about by present affairs because they are most definately there.

I am not about to bore you with all the positive that this 'downturn' has brought to us here at Ticket to Ride, however there is plenty to be excited about.

Anyway enough (too much energy on the first day back in).

Our first TTRide South Africa course for 2009 leaves today. Linley and Nikki are about to set off to Heathrow to send them on their way. Tim and Sam have checked in from sunny South Africa and they are all set to meet Trip 1 Riders as they step off the plane in Cape Town tomorrow morning.

I head out to Costa Rica on Wednesday in preparation for our first TTRide Costa Rica course. George is already out there with his family and informs me that the surf is a perfect 3 foot and the water is 27 oC.

TTRide Rider recruitment hit a record high for December 2009 and Nikki is still fighting her way through all the ttride brochure requests recieved over Christmas.

As always there is a buzz around the office. Not just because everyone has come back in well rested, but also because 2009 is set up and ready to be our best year yet.

Next update will be from Tim when he is back from a quick surf and then again from me perhaps as i sit in Miami airport waiting for a connecting flight down to Costa Rica or maybe after i have had a surf myself (strangely the 7 degree water in Cornwall over New Year didn't quite cut it even though the waves on saturday were epic!!!).

So finally, I hope 2009 is the year you want it to be, rather than the year we are too often told it should be,

See you on the beach!

W

With Christmas over it is all eyes on January 2009. As if those one our January TTRide adventures need reminding but just in case, TTRide South Africa Trip 1 depart in 7 days time. For those on TTRide South Africa Trip II you have just 3 weeks to wait. And finally for those of you that are coming out on the very first TTRide Costa Rica Adventure with me you fly out to the sun, sea and surf in just 2 ½ weeks.

January 2009 is set to be our busiest month of TTRide trip departures to date and we are feeling more than prepared. Since the very beginning all our plans have been geared towards operating multiple trips leaving at the same time to various ttride destinations around the world.

Every year the number of Riders joining us on a TTRide Surf Adventure course has nearly doubled and with this in mind we continue meet growing demand by opening more ttride adventures, staying true to our ttride surf travel ethic that fundamentally centres around small groups lead by two highly qualified ttride trip leaders.

As I have said all year, we are building a fantastic team here, one that truly believes in what we can offer aspiring surfing looking for a once in a lifetime surf and travel experience.

So much of what we are about centres around people. This goes a full circle starting in the ttride HQ focusing on Rider Recruitment which then passes over to ttride trip leaders across the world which rely on Riders being well suited to the adventures we can safely say return home with a story worth telling.

Everything here remains small and focused and that is the way we want to keep it. Of course we will continue to meet growing demand for what we offer. However, the plan to remain unique from both a surf and travel point of view, stands stronger than ever.

2009 has some exciting developments lined up for Ticket to Ride and so amongst what can only be described as a typically British attitude to what all agree will be an interesting year ahead, we cannot wait to get stuck into to what we love doing by way of surfing and travelling around the world, introducing more people to what can quite fairly and often referred to as one of the most envied lifestyles on earth.

So to those that have experienced a TTRide Surf Adventure Course first hand in the past, we hope that 2009 will bring you more of the same by way of surfing and travelling around the world. To those that are set to join us over the next few weeks, the waiting is nearly over and the adventure of a lifetime is all set and ready.

And finally, to those of you still wondering about what 2009 will be bring. This is the year set up to be like no other in recent history. This is the year where unfortunately human instinct will be exposed and people will feel justified in putting themselves as top priority. With this in mind, 2009 is most certainly the year to get out there and go for it!!!!

See you in the water!!!

W

With only a week to go before Christmas, things are amazingly relaxed for all of us here in the TTRide HQ. This week started with the ttride 08 Christmas party and it certainly lived up to expectation. It was off to Coldplay at the 02 Arena and if that was not doing it in style, arriving by powerboat certainly was. Thanks to an inside contact at the 02 the ttride team were treated to an evening of VIP style entertainment with front row seats to match.

2009 will more than ever see the ttride team spread literally across the world, making an evening with everyone in the same place all the more memorable.

Sam and Tim fly out to South Africa on 2 January to lead TTRide SA trips 1 and 2 respectively with the help of Chris and Nico.

George is already out in Costa Rica and I fly out on the 7 January to run our all new TTRide Costa Rica Course.

Nikki and Linley are manning the TTRide HQ for the early part of 2009 with Linley flying out to Costa Rica taking over from me and Nikki flying out to South Africa to run the first of our popular 6 week TTRide African Road Trips.

Tim is licking his lips at the prospect of running the TTRide 4x4 Mozambique Surfari, especially with returning Riders from past ttride experiences joining a ttride surf adventure for a second time.

At the risk of sounding repetitive I shall stop there, even though the trips mentioned above only accounts for the first quarter of 2009.

And so to take this blog a full circle, I shall finish where I started. TTRide Christmas parties are a fantastic way to mark our development as a surf adventure company. This year’s ttride Christmas party was by far and away the best yet, not only because Coldplay put on a fantastic show, but also because our ttride team is firmly established, set and ready for everything that we can be sure 2009 will bring.

Have a great Christmas!!!!

W

The sun’s going down but the day is just beginning. With Christmas coming up next week we’re off on our staff party, all five of us! Girlfriends have been roped in to expand the numbers and give Nikki a bit of female company and we’ll be heading over to the O2 to watch Coldplay this evening. It should be good fun and a great way to end a dark winter Monday.

Sam, one of our 2009 Trip leaders, has come up from Cornwall to catch up with goings on before heading out to South Africa with myself and Nico in just over 2 weeks; It’s hard to believe that our 2009 trips are going to be up and running in under a month. We’re all looking forward to long days, hot sun and pumping waves and the flights out to Cape Town can’t come soon enough.

The office has been busy with riders calling in to check up on last minute preparations. Jamie from Trip 1 has come by to see us and is catching up with Sam in the office as I type. It’s always a good time of year for us here, even though the nights are closing in and it’s freezing, all our thoughts are in warmer climates and there’s a real buzz of excitement as we gear up for our peak season.

This week we will be holding open days and giving you all the chance to come in and meet us. It’s always a good time of year to hold them as people seem to be in and around London doing their Xmas shopping. We’ve got a few more slots available so if you are thinking of a gap year next year and want to see what we’re all about then feel free to call the office and book a slot to come and see us. We’re always stoked when you do.

So it’s looking like a busy countdown to Christmas with a lot to look forward to. Hopefully we’ll see a few more of you in here this week and we look forward to seeing all the riders in South Africa soon.

Thanks for reading and have a good one,
Tim