Day Seven – 131km

Ferry good friends 

There something about being on a bike that makes your more approachable. I’m not quite sure what it is, but people are generally friendlier towards you.

It also means that when you stop for any length of time and you are near another bike traveler you are almost obliged to speak to them – perhaps in the same way that dog owners do for each other.

Of course there’s always one obvious question: “How far are you going?” It’s usually left deliberately vague like that so that the person being questioned can answer in any way, perhaps their end goal today or their overall goal. I always have my humblebrag Istanbul trump card to play if it gets passively competitive.

At the ferry over from Harwich I met David, a retired maths and IT teacher from Lowestoft. He’d lived in Kenya and South Africa and told me about his attempts since 1963 to climb every Munro in Scotland. He’s got 23 remaining. All of this in a five minute chat.

Today at another wait for a ferry I met Phil, a half German, half English self described “madman artist.” He really should have been born a Buddhist monk.

He talked, with a gentle beatific smile of philosophy, easy mindfulness, and positive energy. A really lovely guy. He told me that “the Rhine is my Ganges” and kindly gifted me a piece of his artwork, a simple chalk carving made from the white cliffs of Dover, which I’ll carry on my journey.

Tonight, after more wonderful riding down an ever changing river, I’m staying in a micro-room in a shipping container next to a truck stop beside a busy A road. It’s better than it sounds!