He Says – England

We have been on the road for nigh on 2 weeks things are going well, not perfectly but well. I was wrong the trip computer was an amazingly simple fix. Minutes after I typed the above doomsday message I had an epiphany, “It seems like a locked up computer, right.. so what do you do with a locked up computer.. reset it… I pulled the fuse out, and Robert ‘s your mothers brother, we were back in business.

The tent tube pannier is still causing some issues, it is complete obscuring the 3^rd brakelight which is a safety issue I can let slip. So sometime soon I will try and figure out a different place for it. It is an issue of balancing: weight distribution, safety, convinces, and aerodynamics. Where is now is the best off all but safety, and this is the one that must take highest priority.

Trip wise we have spent the rest of out time on Hadrian’s Wall exploring it, is a beautiful part of the world. Some of the views were stunning when the weather held out. Tam never did get her summer gloves sorted out. We also decided that there were a few bits of kit that needed changing or replacing. So we decided to head back to the midlands where we knew the bike shop and camping shops.It was back to the real world for a day. We ended up in a campsite in Lichfield about 4 miles from our old house. The next morning we were off to buy more stuff. It seems odd that we are struggling to get everything in to the bike so we should buy more. But this is what we did.

And it has help … a little.

Once we were fully stuffed, and seams straining, with our new bits of kit, we headed south to see some friends (Nick and Julia) in Exeter. The ride down was a scary one. For times sake we decided to use the M5 (a 4 lane highway for the non-uk savvy). The weather started okay but rapidly became a nightmare the wind was so strong that Anubis, was being blown all over the place, the visibility was poor, people were not driving to the conditions, they did not have lights on and were hence invisible until the last second, and were passing us but not bothering to move completely into the next lane. Ironically, once we arrive in Exeter the weather cleared and we were met with a wonderful reception and a wonderful meal. Good friends and good conversation. For this we thank them. Life is good.

Our wonderful hosts allowed us to stay in their house the next morning even though they had to go to work. Ha-ha, we don’t . This, however, gave us the opportunity to go though things and clear out some junk and deal with some paperwork and final bills. When we were ready to leave, I went out to the bike to discover that we had a willing volunteer to replace Dr. Otterboro. We politely refused the offer.

From here we set off for the Dorset coast, we both felt that this is one of the prettiest areas of the UK that we have seen, the little villages with the thatched roofs, like something out of a costume drama was well ahh… enchanting.. to use the exactly correct word. We spent a couple of days walking around the Jurassic coast. Here there is a place called Lyme Regis where you can go to the beach and simply find fossils of the 100 million year old kind. So of course this is exactly what we did, we spent the afternoon looking for fossils. The stones were so soft that you could break them by hand. This quickly caused me to revert to childhood and I had a grand old time pretending that I was a superhero, was kicking boulders, to large for me to even move, just to see them crumble beneath my ALL MIGHTY POWER!! Ahh sorry…

With out time on the Dorest coast coming to an end, we hit one final sight. This is an area called Harry’s rocks. Although the name is uninspiring to say the least, disturbing to say the most, it was a gentle one mile walk to stunning formations and white chalk cliffs. This was particularly enjoyable for Tam as she had wanted to see the white cliffs of Dover but had decided that we did not have the time in the UK.

That done we took to the road again to visit some of my family before leaving the country. On route we headed up to the Cerne Abbas giant. This was to me very disappointing a 150 mile detour, and there was no really good view except by helicopter. Maybe they were made for aliens to see, cus it was definately not for walkers. We are running on such a tight budget and can not really afford to waste fuel and time like this. Non-the-less we made to my Uncle and Aunt’s house sever hours later and spent a wonderful couple of days with them relaxing and catching up.

With only 3 days left in the UK we arranged to meet up with my best mate, Dan, at Stonehenge, and spend a couple of days with him at his place in Oxford. Passing directly by the Cerne Abbas giant and a few other place we saw only two days earlier (on the exact same roads). We made it to Stonehenge.

Although we have both been before we were hoping that this time it would not be raining. We were blessed with blue skies for about 10 minutes, but during this time a kestrel was foraging around the stones. I feel that any magic that the place once held has been removed by the millions of tourists and safety barriers, and fences. However the sight of the kestrel so close to us and the stones, gave it a new type of magic.

Shortly after the kestrel moved on the skies turned black, the winds became even worse then before and the clouds opened up. Magic of the kestral??..

The resulting scurrying of tourists was amusing but resulted ending our time in that the stones. My mate arrive moments later, and we heading into town away from the tourists to find some lunch. What we found was the worst (and rather expensive for what you got) “thing” which you would be hard press to call a cheeseburger that that I have ever had! So take heed, when near Stonehenge stay a way from a place called Friar Tucks Cafe. We should have known when looking in side the front half of the “establishment” (as I can not in all good conscience call it a restaurant), was made to look like a ship and the rear was a pink(ish) caveish thing. None of us could actually understand the décor until we tried the food. Although it could be as simple as; “make the place weird enough and the customers will be too confused to complain about the food.”

From there we head back to Oxford via Avebury, another Neolithic stone circle but one that incorporates an entire town. Less visited and retaining its magic. Tam and I have seen it several times and still love it. Deciding it was time to head “home” we looked at the map, and found that the oldest white horse the “Uffington White Horse” was close. None of us has seen it so lets go!

On route there Tam and I lost one of our nine lives. Even several days later, writing this, I get a sinking feeling in my stomach. We pulled up to a t-junction that was a mad house, cars every where, every one in a rush, turning in all directions, and no-one help anyone else out. I sat there for several minutes hoping to see a safe opening. But alas it was simply getting worse by the second. Then nicely a grey volvo waved me though, thank god!.. I pull up and look both ways. I see two bikes and one waves me into the lane. I roll a few inches further to get a better view before pulling out….. A RED AUDI BLASTS BY ME WITH CENTIMETRES TO SPARE. I lost control of the bike and wobble my way across the lane with Tam yelling in my ear. I had no idea where the car came from. IT WAS NOT THERE A SECOND AGO!!!… The two bikes stopped traffic so I could get sorted. I don’t know how, but we did not go down.. All was okay. We got to safety shaken but fine. Later, talking with Dan, he did not see the Audi either. Even together we could not figure out what happened. All I know is that 8 more centimetres more on my part and the Audi would have hit my front tyre and sent us spinning. Twenty more centimetres and we would have been dead. Best we could figure that in true British Audi drive style, when the bikers slowed to wave me though, he passed them and almost killed us. We made it to the White horse 20 or so minutes of slow riding last I was still shaken and my riding confidence was gone. I know I saw the horse but it has had no effect on my memory. I can still picture the Audi, in my head I can see the potential impact and the parts of us and the bike flying everywhere, but I can only remember the horse by the bad photo I took.

The rest of the ride was uneventful. Tam had been expressing the concern that the tent tube was obscuring the brake light. I had though it as well but could not decided where to move it to. Well Dan confirmed the issue, and the decision was made I had to move it. After a bit of playing there was only one choice. Above the headlights in front of the faring. It is ugly and a bit high, but the weight is nicely forward. We also once again went though the luggage and clean out a bit more chaff, we cast off little but all is working better.

Out last day in England, we head out to say good bye to others friends Pete and Deb. We arrived to an extremely warm welcome, and the news that there will be more friends from a bike forum that we met though (xrv.org.uk). The ride there showed that although we may be getting a little more wind buffeting the tent tube in its new position is working better. The weight distribution is much better the front tyre feels much less light, and over all the bike is far more nimble. Well nimble for an overloaded hippopotamus with an eating disorder.

It was a great night. The food was excellent, but more so Peter was a fountain of information. He lived in South Africa for many years and filled our heads with tales and visions that have made me want to rush down, and not bother seeing the rest of Africa. The evening continued when two more friend arrived, we talked travel and bikes and it was a great evening that soon turn into a late night. Special thanks to his daughter who gave up her bed for us.