Nick Kyme jetted out yesterday for a six week road trip on his quest to conquer the squash world in 2005.

The world number 70, who celebrates his 24th birthday today in the qualifiers of the the Marsh Mclennan & companies Apawamis Open, will take in Vancouver, Chicago, Dayton, Winnipeg and Montreal before St. Valentine?s Day as he aims to break into the top 50.

And by the time he returns, he is hoping to be in peak condition to take on fellow Bermudian pro James Stout in the national championships with a wildcard spot in the $120,000 Virtual Spectator Bermuda Masters 2005 at stake.

?These are a very important few weeks for me,? said Kyme from Bermuda International Airport early yesterday morning.

?Three of these are pretty big tournaments and there are a lot of ranking points and quite a bit of prize money on offer.

?It starts in New York and I am looking for a good result now to set up me for the next few weeks.?

Although hampered by a flu virus that hit him pretty much midway through his Christmas Day goose, Kyme feels his training has gone well, although admits he could be in slightly better shape.

?I lost about a week of training I think,? said Kyme, who fulfilled his 2004 New Year?s resolution of breaking into the world?s top 100.

?And there is still something with me, but hopefully I can shake it off and get down to business.?

The standing of these upcoming tournaments is such that Kyme isn?t expecting tournament victories, just main draw qualifying or first round wins are his primary goals.

?These are big events, some of them really big, bigger than last year?s Bermuda Open,? said Kyme, who is the tenth qualifier for the New York tournament but the eighth seed for the Evergreen Open in Vancouver next week.

?My aim for the big ones is to make it through qualifying and for the others, I would be looking to win my opening round matches and then seeing how far I can get.

?If things go well in the next few weeks, I could make it into the top 60 or higher.?

But it is not just about rankings for Kyme, it is about the biggest game of his career to date, the February showdown with friend but now arch-rival Stout.

The winner of that match will take the Bermudian wildcard spot for the Bermuda Masters and a guaranteed game against one of the best 31 players in the world in front of a partisan crowd.

Kyme has already tasted those lofty heights after being defeated by Peter Nicol less than an hour after receiving a standing ovation from the home crowd in last year?s Bermuda Open.

The gravity of his battle with Stout ? and what is at stake ? is not lost on the current Bermuda number one.

?It is a huge game, for both of us,? he added.

?It is a massive prize that would do both our careers the power of good and a great chance to show what we can do against the world?s best in front of home fans.

?I am trying not to think about it too much at the moment ? I still have six tournaments to go before then ? but I am always going to have one eye on that game over the next few weeks.

?Hopefully I can come back from these tournaments in the perfect condition and in the perfect form for my big game with James.?