Fair Weather Bikers

Woke up at 6am - 5am UK time. We had breakfast and then packed our gear for the last time.

We got off the ferry and started the ride home. It was wierd riding on the correct side of the road after 3 weeks of riding on the wrong side. At the first roundabout both me and Daz had a moment while we figured which way to go round!

The M62 was cold and windy, we really knew we were back in England. The journey passed with no problems and we were home for 11am.

So that's it - The Big Bike Tour is over. It was certainly an adventure. Here are some commonly asked questions I've had since:

• Did you enjoy it? Without a doubt yes, though it was terribly hard work in some places - and there were times I wished I'd just got on a plane like any normal person. But at the end of the day we rode to Greece and back - something I've always wanted to do, and we saw some amazing sights.
• Would you do it again? No. I think if you want to go touring, you should just go touring, not have a destination - as your focus becomes getting to the destination rather than seeing the places your going through. I will definately go touring in Europe again, but we've learnt a lot on this trip so will do it very differently.
• Did you find it hard riding on the wrong side of the road? Nope - not at all - I found it harder coming back and riding back on the correct side again!

The one thing that has struck me during this trip is how nice PEOPLE are. People really do just want to get along. We had so much help from just about everybody we asked, and encountered a lot of friendly folk. I know there are nasty folk in the world - but this trip has convinced me that generally, people just want to get along. I am a lot happier with the world from this trip and that has suprised me!

To anybody thinking of touring around Europe - I say stop thinking about it and just do it. You will enjoy it. We will certainly be going back.

Update: 15th October 2004

The anchor bolt is still holding.