Sailin'!

13.10.10


The North Sea (I'm on a boat)



Bill Clinton: A fellow ledge-bomb



Today is one of those rare days when you accomplish every last thing on your to-do list. How exciting! Let's review:

1) Wake up next to Sean, still in Desert Storm
2) Check for life in the both of us
3) Check for bikes
4) Do one of those deep, full-body stretches that feels really good but also causes a muscle cramp when you hold it for too long
5) Ride for milk and eat muesli
6) Get rear pannier run over by a truck at a roundabout
7) Climb a steep embankment at an underpass to the overhead bridge to get off a deathtrap of a road
8) One last English rain

Yup, got it all in! Nothing quite matches that feeling of accomplishment, let me tell you. Nothing, that is, save successfully cleaning out a bag in which an entire package of cookies and three bell peppers exploded and mixed with some leaked fuel. The sight of those cookies was surely one of the most amazing things I've seen on this trip. Trucks must despise intact biscuits, for this collision absolutely obliterated all traces of anything cookieish. A fine powder coated the inside of everything within the bag, so you can imagine the sense of achievement in removing the grime and setting it right. And going the other direction, it's a wonder that the bag was not completely destroyed! These are top-notch panniers, which can take a truck tire and keep on staying intact and whatnot.

Ah, but this trip is about the wonderful juxtaposition of unbelievable highs and devastating lows. I saw the truck run over the bag, and my heart sank. But following the cleanup - once I realized that nothing valuable was lost -, I was overcome with a wave of giddiness and glee at having survived a potentially disastrous situation. Later, when we had to climb to escape certain doom but were utterly defenseless against the steepness of the hill, the lethal reach of the thorn bushes, or the blaring anger of the zooming



Devastating low or unbelievably high?




trucks, reaching the summit and finding not only safety but also the correct road sign nearly brought forth tears of sheer joy. Being saved from darkness elicits much more happiness than it ever has in my life, as happened last night when we were without a place to camp and so had consigned to set up in a small public park on a strangely busy side road. The last house we approached, directly across from the park, housed a lovely woman named Linda who seemed to take a liking to us and offered us her lawn as a safe alternative to the park. Later that night, Sean and I sat by and watched two motorcyclists pull up and begin chatting in front of the park, eventually setting up their own camp there. I'm certain that our night would not have been as enjoyable had Linda not allowed us to camp in her lawn. And it would have been much more boring had she not invited us in for some Earl Gray tea, donuts, and a nice long chat with her and her daughter Heidi, who has done some extensive traveling herself. I absolutely love going over the differences between American and English customs, and so do both women, so we shared a good deal of stories and general chatter (but no cheddar). If you ever travel abroad and the weather is tolerable, always camp before turning to hotels, for these encounters are the true essence of travel and life itself!

Ah, this ferry also has a captain-slash-weatherman. I reckon that maritime meteorology is a hot subject in Europe. He's informed us that we can look forward to another cloudy (rainy?) day, with temperatures around 12 C. What a beautiful day, no? But at least we have Paris!