The bikes were wired up, the Sat Nav and Comms system were working, Jo had done some running repairs on the tent for us, and we were ready to go… except that Sarah suddenly came down with a nasty bug that laid her up in bed for the best part of two days 😦 After much sickness and diahorrea, fevers and sweats, Sarah was feeling much better and was keen to make it to the ferry so that we could properly do the Fled bit. After all, one friend was already jokingly threatening us with the trade descriptions act!
It cost us two re-arrangement fees as each bike and rider was a seperate booking. Only Brittany Ferries seem to have grasped that one couple may wish to travel on two bikes and let you do it all as one booking. However the up side was that the crossing was £5 cheaper so half the fees were absorbed by that.

Having thanked Tich and Jo for doing such a good job and for looking after us so well for so much longer than was originally planned, we we got onto the bikes to finally leave Swindon….and promptly got off again. The sun had disappeared behind a black cloud that had decided to christen our departure! So, a couple of minutes of looking like we were doing astronaut airobics later had our waterproofs donned, we reboarded the bikes and set off into the fine drizzle with bloody great grins on our faces.

Beneath the White Cliffs of Dover

Regardless of the drizzle, which soon eased off anyway, it felt wonderful to be on the bikes and heading for the ferry port.

We had decided that Sarah would lead as she has a far better innate sense of direction than me. I would ride behind as I have got a bit more riding experience and could catch up more easily. I could also do all of the necessary tail end charlie duties that make riding in a group so much easier, such as keeping tail-gaters away and securing the next lane for lane changes. It also meant that Sarah could set her own pace and concentrate on leading us to our destination.

The Comms were already proving very useful as Sarah could relay SatNav instructions and point out dangers such as diesel spills. It also meant that we could be alone with our own thoughts or chat if we wanted to.

We got to Dover in good time and were first to board the ferry for the 14.30 sailing from Dover to Calais. Hopefully a good omen for things to come.