Simon keeps the old flag flying...
What more could a man want for dinner...?? Plenty of meat and Beer...!!
It had been almost a year since I last saw Simon Baker, so we had a bit of catching up to do… We spent our evenings out on the patio in the back garden, braai-ing our suppers and reminiscing about his time spent in Rhodesia, before it became modern day Zimbabwe… Simon’s connection with Africa is evident in the artwork which hangs on the walls of his home, as well as the many curios that line the shelves of both his home and office in Luxembourg…
Simon’s partner Pam was visiting friends in Canada, and although I was disappointed that my timing had meant that I did not get another chance to meet her, we did manage to have a brief chat on the phone one evening… She was sitting on a chairlift, going up into the mountains around Whistler in British Columbia… Amazing how small the world can be made with just a small piece of modern technology…
We did however uphold some of our standards by taking the time to set everythin up "just right"... (The whisky was properly punished...!!)
My "office" in Simon's back garden...
It is not unusual to see street-legal quads buzzing around on the busy city roads...
My time in Luxembourg was short, but productive… I managed to get some washing done, wrote a few posts while sitting out in the garden, and began planning my run to Norway… Intermittent drizzle drove me indoors from time to time, but for the most part, the rainy weather held off long enough to allow me to enjoy the peace and quiet of Steinsel, a small town just north of the city of Luxembourg.
In Luxembourg and Europe, these signs seem to be directed at the dog itself...
The South African version is more to the point, and directed at the dog-owner...
At the foot of Simon’s garden is a small paddock where two horses grazed. I would get up and walk over to the fence, calling to them, and each time they would trot over to greet me and I would feed them clumps of grass I had yanked from the edges of the garden…
Being able to take a short break from my writing while inter-acting with the horses was for me a restful and enjoyable way to spend the day… After the long ride up from Gibraltar and the days spent with my friends in France, I was able to enjoy some time on my own while Simon was away at work…
Although I get immense enjoyment out of spending time with the people I meet along the way, I often feel the need to take a few long, deep breaths to remind myself what this trip means to me, what I hope to achieve from it, and generally take “stock” of where I am and how far I have come, and of course, how far I still have to go…!! This I find I can only do when I am alone… And trying to do it while riding the bike is not always possible…especially here in Europe where the distances between towns and villages is often too short to allow your mind to wander…
You gotta be kidding...!! Simon's idea of a joke...!! The Big Fella thought it was in poor taste...
When Simon returned from his office, we took a short walk into the village and had a meal at the local Italian Restaurant. The following evening it was back to what we South Africans are well known for, a braai out in the garden, and adequate volumes of liquid refreshment…
My good friend Simon Baker steadies himself after a prolonged "goodbye meeting" the night before...
I had planned to ride to Amsterdam to meet with Michel Jongens and from there on to the UK, but changed my mind at the last minute when I was able to arrange to visit my daughter Robyn in London, as well as another good friend Borge Leth, whom I was supposed to have met a week ago in Sweden, where he was holidaying with his family. The delays I experienced in Africa meant that this was now impossible, and an alternative plan had to be made…
Borge was racing a yacht off the coast of England on the Isle of Wight, and invited me to join him in Cowes for the weekend, before riding on to London… I thought about the last time we had sailed together, racing around the island in the Hoya Boat Race on board Borge’s yacht, “Panic 5”… What an experience that had been…!! I wondered what would be in store for me this time around…
Saturday would mark the end of my 5th month on the road, and the Big Fella and I had ridden almost 30 000 km already… We were nearing the quarter stage mark on our journey in terms of mileage, and were well into the challenge of riding the busier roads of Europe…
The temperature in Norway was dropping fast, and had already come down from a forecasted average of 18° Celsius, to 12° Celsius in the last week… I had some hard riding to do in the weeks ahead if I wanted to avoid the REALLY cold weather… With this a constant on my mind, I left Luxembourg, heading north into Belgium and east through France to Calais, from where I planned to take the Eurotunnel across to Folkestone, and then ride on to Southampton…
Packed and ready to hit the road again, heading north-east for the U.K. ....
©GBWT 2010
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