Touring at the speed of light
I was wet, cold, tired and increasingly grouchy. I had been on the bike all day. Now I was just a stone’s throw away from my destination, but that stone needed to be thrown over a reasonable stretch of water, from Studland to Sandbanks near Poole. The man selling ferry tickets had just told me that I would have to pay in cash rather than use a card. I didn’t have any cash. My only option was to retrace my steps and make a long detour. I wanted to have some choice words with the man, but instead I said: “Pardon?” He explained the situation again, and this time I heard him correctly. I was ok to put the crossing on my card now, but if I wanted to return I would have to pay cash as the card machine on the other side was kaput. Damn earplugs turning me into the worst lip reader in history! I felt a little embarrassed that I had wanted to scream at the nice man, collected my ticket and rode off to the ferry. I was still wet, cold and tired, but in fairness I’d had a great day.
