The sea was still moving the ferry heavily and some waves created such high spray, that it even was blown over the bow. But the sky looked already more friendly and had some blue patches within white clouds. The ferry ride would not be finished before the late afternoon, we were due to arrive at 16:00. So enough time to update my blog and get into a conversation with some people. There was for example a father with his two adventurous sons, who had motorbiked through Spain. It sounded like a great trip.
Us with our two bikes and all the heavy bags we were carrying with us made me feel sometimes like a motor biker too. Well an electric motor was helping us too, but that’s nothing compared to a real motorbike. One has just to realize that at least we moved each one a bike with that weighed including luggage around 75kg, and this was still sportive enough to have pedalled 4.000km on our way through Europe. Especially for Robert it was assuring to know that there was always some support if needed.
Myself I was happy to be able to keep biking after I had ripped a part of my left meniscus due to my calf being shortened by a chainsaw cut in 2009. I had cured my meniscus just by training on the bike without having had any operation done to it. So I am very proud I managed to let my body heal by itself. Usually I try most of the time to roll faster than 25km/h because that’s when support from the engine stops and you save batteries. We never managed to empty our bikes batteries anyway, we were always exhausted ourselves before it got so far. We gained a lot in fitness and leg muscles. And somehow you get addicted to it.
So the next challenge would be now to get off the ferry and drive on the left side of the road. We already could see the famous Spinnaker Tower of Portsmouth from a far distance as we passed the Isle of Wight where we had been exactly two years earlier biking for Roberts 64th birthday, as the Beatles were singing in their song “when I get older…”. It was really sunny with a clear blue sky. Very welcoming for England.
We managed to get off the ferry ahead of all the cars. Once we left the port the first sign we discovered on our bike path was reassuring for us as Saint James pilgrims: we were back on the Pilgrims trail. The landscape was shaped by the strong tidal forces and presented the green usually flooded river beds completely empty.
We continued towards Fareham, where our friends Tracy and Iain invited us to stay for a few nights. It was great to have some time at one place to get some rest and have some time for ourselves. We handed over our Saint James shell as our “Less-is-more-Tour-gift” during dinner to thank them. It was fascinating to be sitting at a stable table while our body still memorized the rolling sea. But the worst effect was on the toilet, where they had the light switch hanging from the ceiling as a cable with a round rock as a counterweight. Once it kept swinging in front of my eyes it made me nearly fall of the toilet seat, because as it was a closed room without window and no horizon to countercheck, my visual orientation misinterpreted this movement as a wave to be balanced out. Time to get to bed!
