July 11, 2022
Au Revoir England
After saying a final goodbye to my friend Matt in London, I made my way to St Pancras station to catch a train to dover. Had a bit of a panic when I couldn't find the platform but I managed to make it in time.
On the way to the ferry port I bumped into another guy on a bike tour, Marteen from Belgium. He was just returning from a trip in Scotland and was making his way home. It was great to meet another traveler so early and hearing about his adventures made me even more eager to start. We sat together on the ferry and he gave me some route advice, suggesting I miss out Belgium and stick to France all the way south to Alsace.
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We bumped into 2 more guys on the way out called Max and Stavros, they were starting a trip cycling from Calais to Amsterdam. We were all escourted out from the port in style by a French man blasting Queen out of the van. After making it into Calais we had a quick look around before saying goodbye to Marteen at the train station. Max and Stavros then looked after my bike whilst I tried to find a sim card to last me throughout Europe, after trying in 3 different places I found one in a tabaco shop so I could now use my gps and start riding!
I made my way though beautiful small farming villages in the 30° sun, the heat was manageable as the elevation was flat and the wind cooled me down along with a dip in a river.
I eventually came across a forest which I pushed my bike though until finding a clearing. There were brambles and thorns everywhere but it was nice and secluded. Cooked up some lentils and cous cous and enjoyed in my tent to hide from those pesky mosquitoes.
When sitting in my tent after dinner, writing the introduction for this blog, I heard what sounded like a large mammal about 5m from my tent. I kept looking around but couldn't see anything. My friend told me before the trip about wild boars across Europe which made me a little bit concerned as they weigh more than me and can be aggressive. I kept quiet and it went away after about an hour. Luckily managed to sleep just fine and was well rested for my next day.
Today's ride: 30 km (19 miles)
Total: 10,540 km (6,545 miles)
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