Day 1 – Sunday 24 May.
Left home at 18:45, popped in to the beer/music festival at my local punb to say goodbye to the neighbours, then hit the road in earnest.
The trike was going well despite all the luggage – it seems less bouncy over bumps although there’s still a creaking from the suspension or the seat. I’d changed to the green (harder) suspension elastomer before setting off and I think that’s a good idea with the 15kg load of luggage the trike is carrying.
The hills to Wrabness weren’t a problem and I was making a good average speed.
I arrived at Harwich 30 minutes before ferry check-in opened so I waited in a queue with a lot of motorists. A rowdy group of schoolkids in two minibuses kept shouting at me (all good natured, but not very peaceful!)
After check-in I locked my bike near the lounge area and got a cup of tea. A Dutch man on a high recumbent bicycle arrived and we got chatting – he had cycled from Milton Keynes today. A motorist came and joined us to also talk about cycling in Holland. The Dutchman found the English roads a bit scary as there were few cycle paths.
The Stena chaps let us take a short cut so we didn’t have to go on a big bridge to the ferry. We got on and were shown to a special bike storage room – whose door was about 2cm narrower than my trike’s beam. The Dutch guy helped me get the trike in, we locked them up and then I went and found my room, which was pretty decent.
I had my first experience of handwashing clothes, they are now hanging in the shower to dry. I went and had a burger and chips, then went to bed to try to get a good night’s sleep.