cycling

I was faced with the enviable question of what to do with a modest allowance of leisure time.  These days, a flight abroad costs about as much as a loaf of bread and a pack of cheese slices; there aren’t many excuses to stay on the geographic leash.  But for those who long to breathe the air rather than fly upon it, the gentle duet of ferry and bicycle might just be music to your ears. It was to mine.

There’s an odd liberation in the limitations of ferry routes and pedal power.  There are only a handful of routes one can take from the south coast of England, and then a compact scope of destinations on the continent unless you have months to spare, and an insatiable wanderlust.  So it’s relatively easy to sketch out a simple plan, then add the details as you go.

Having never done this before, I reasoned I’d have a few things to learn.  What I did not know is that I was effectively in primary school when it comes to independent travel.  Figuratively speaking, this was a level up from being thrown in at the deep end, perhaps a more apt metaphor would be being kicked out of a helicopter into the February North Sea, blindfolded and minus Speedos.