In France

After a much needed day off in London, the team woke up early to begin their ride to Dover, where we would catch a ferry across the English Channel and into our third country of the trip, France.  The early morning ride was nice.  There were a few small hills, but for the most part, the roads were great and the wind was at our back.  We rode as hard as we could to reach Dover by noon because we knew the ferry crossing would be quite difficult.  After arriving to the Port of Dover, we dropped off our car, and with all of our luggage and bikes walked to to the boarding area.  On our walk, we were told to "follow the red line," which was the bike route to the boarding area.  Normally, cyclists actually ride this two mile path and hop in the boarding area with the cars.  However, since we had luggage to carry, we had to walk this long stretch, carrying our bags and bikes, while cars, buses, and semi-trucks were whizzing past us!  It was definitely not the most pleasant of experiences, but we moved as fast as we could, and reached the ferry boarding zone just in time to make the desired departure time.  We left our bikes and bags in the cargo area with the buses and semi-trucks (we knew no one would be down there to see/mess with them) and moved above deck.

The ferry trip was nice!  It was a huge luxury ferry, or so it seemed to us, with a food court and shops. We spread out, relaxed, and stank the place up (we hadn't showered since our ride).  I took a brief nap, while the other guys walked around or read during the hour and a half journey.  De-boarding the ferry was just as much of a hassle as boarding it.  We had to wait for everybody else was off, before we could begin the trek to the terminal.  We even saw the rows and rows of cars waiting for us to get off, which took longer than normal because we were walking.  It was a little bit awkward to say the least.  As we started to near the exit from the ferry zone, we realized that we had no idea which way to go to get back to the terminal.  And since we were the last ones off the ferry, there was no one to ask for directions! And they probably didn't even speak English!  To make matters worse, it was about 5:15 and the car rental place closed at 6:00.  So we stopped on a grassy area, near a busy roundabout.  After consulting the iPhone maps app, Hunter hopped on his bike and headed in what we hoped was the correct direction, while Jay and I waited with the stuff.  He met up with Ethan soon after and they made their way to pick up the new rental car.  Jay and I saw them not too long after 6:00 and we headed to the youth hostel where we would be staying that evening.  It was nice- very similar to a suite style residence hall.  We grabbed dinner, finished up a few things to do to prepare for the ride the next day, and hit the hay.  

Bon Jour,
Addison