When It's Over

The odometer on my three week old cycle computer rolled past 1400km as we left the dunes and rolled onto the ferry. We'd ridden the last dozen kilometers especially slowly. Although no one said it, I think we were all keen to savor the last stretch. Where we would normally stop every 25km or so, there seemed to be plenty of reasons to stop in the dunes and to gaze at the Dutch countryside that flanks the North Sea

After four days of special cycle treatment, it was strange to be herded onto the ship like any other vehicle. Tickets and passports were all sorted at drive through booths, then it was onto the ship and up a ramp to another deck, where we hitched our bikes to a rail, and headed up to our cabin for the overnight trip across the North Sea.

The following day found us disembarking at a pace just relaxed enough to watch the hourly train depart as we were handed the tickets. Two hours and two trains later, we were back at Chris's.

Like most people returning from an "active" holiday, I packed up my gear and have spent a day or two recuperating, updating the blog (There are now more pictures in the earlier posts, but most of the spelling and grammatical errors remain), calling home and checking the galleries and museums of the city.

Simon and Chris, however, have a different value set. Chris's long term plan is to cycle the UK coast in its entirety. He's keen. Simon and he figured that they had at least two days of cycling in parts of it the south of England before the three of us part company and return to our mundane lives on different continents.

It has been a challenging, momentous and thoroughly enjoyable journey. Thanks to all who helped make it happen.