The End

Well, it's over.  My slow ride has come to an end.  

I arrived back in London on Saturday night after a 7 hour ferry trip across from Holland. England greeted my return with pouring rain.  An impromptu welcoming party cheered me on as I arrived at a bar in Highbury where I met Sam and Nadia, who were celebrating a friend's 35th birthday. High fives all round, pats on the back from strangers and loads of questions about my trip ensued.  After a quick champagne, I left the bar and jumped back on the bike into sheets of heavy rain to meet Sam and Nadia back at their flat.  I was saturated from head to foot in seconds while trying to deal with the chaotic Saturday night London traffic and stumbling drunks. Stopped at the front of a noisy bar to check my map, with The Smiths' This Charming Man blaring from the pub's stereo.  That song kept me company for the last 2 kilometeres of my ride, in the pouring rain, drenched, I was smiling and humming the tune. After so much riding in the hot sun, it was only appropriate that I finished the trip in the rain.

Not sure how many kilometres I covered by bike, foot, train, bus, scooter, car, boat and plane, but it was a lot.  I travelled through 9 countries during my 6 month trip, with 10 weeks in Italy being the longest time I spent in the one country.  The highlights? Impossible to choose, I loved it all (that day in the Sicilian mudslides was not fun though).  I suppose most of the best bits of my trip are scattered throughout this blog.  I met many great, caring, generous, beautiful people, many of which invited me into their homes without barely knowing me.  There were too many of these people to mention all here, and I would risk missing someone's name, but if you are reading this, thank you dearly and I sincerely hope we do stay in contact.  I will always have a place for you, wherever I may be living next year.  The ride was a brilliant way to see a country, slowly and at my own pace.  It was difficult at times, with the summer heat and the constant hills through parts of France and Italy, but to reach the tops of those hills, take in the views and then roll down the other side, always made it worth the pain.  

Travelling alone is not always easy either, particularly for 6 months.  Eating in bars, restaurants and cafes with my own company started to wear a bit thin during the second half of my trip.  Not being able to speak anything but english also made it difficult. I did have friends to visit in different countries though, which did help break the monotony of solo travel a great deal.  My bike held up magnificently, with only 2 punctures, both on the same day in Paris.  I thought I would never be able to ride it again after walking it through the mud and sand in Sicily for 5 kilometres, but the trusty companion kept going.  I look forward to more adventures on it in the new year.  Not sure who actually reads this blog (apart from my 23 loyal followers!), but I hope you have enjoyed following my journey for the past 6 months.  This trip is over now, I am in London where I first started the ride and will catch a plane back to Melbourne tomorrow.  I am very much looking forward to seeing my family and friends, I have missed you all heaps!

It feels like only yesterday that I was peddling my bike on the coast of northern France, breathing in the fresh sea air and contemplating the long journey ahead of me.  Life goes quick, doesn't it?