Ohh, the traffic. It’s the beginning of the bank holiday weekend. It’s sort of like Labor Day in the US. It will be the last long weekend before the kids go back to school. Today will be my last day on the bike for a while. We are riding south to stay with some friends in Somerset. Within minutes of leaving the hotel we are back in bumper-to-bumper traffic. Everybody was in a rush to get to the beach for the weekend. Filtering was more difficult this morning. We got off the main roads and settled on a ride on some of the small roads. These roads are always preferable. I have been avoiding them lately. It’s always great to have a back brake when meeting a vehicle coming at you that takes up the entire road. Or a steep hill with a vehicle coming at you. Not being able to use my right leg (the back brake leg) has been a huge annoyance.
We arrived at our friend’s house and unloaded the bike. They had gone the a nearby village of Glastonbury for a festival. It was a Viking reenactment with other things going on. We asked them if there was a square or café centrally located. Can we just watch from here while seated? The answer was ‘Yes’. We needed to have some fun so off we went. After finding our way around a couple of closed roads we went into the village. The village was bustling. Parking was at a premium. Luckily, I was able to slide the motorcycle sideways between two cans on the main street. Only one hour parking? Let’s see how this works. It’s only a small footprint and nothing else could slide in. Fingers crossed.
We found our friends and a great spot to sit and watch. And this was definitely worth watching. This was almost like a fringe festival. The Viking reenactments were happening inside the grounds of the Glastonbury Abbey. These are fabled remains of a wealthy monastery with links to King Arthur and Guinevere. The grounds are beautiful, but I was unable to walk much, so I sat with my Cappuccino. The streets seemed to all meet right here in the square. We were surrounded by old, well-kept stone buildings housing shops of all kinds. Across from us towered the Glastonbury Abbey. All around there were people in colorful costumes. Most of the themes seemed to be in black and white. And mostly with thin strips of cloth hanging from the costumes. They would dance to music while beating sticks together with music and chanting. The wooden sticks were beating together with another person. The feel was of a Pagan festival. It was a great festive attitude with all the watchers clapping and moving to the music.
After a bit, a table at a nearby pub opened up. We moved to the outdoor seating to continue enjoying the warm sunny day. There were eight in our group. Our hosts, Charlie and Linda. Their son Ashly and his wife Caroline. Friends David and Emy from Georgia, USA, and us. Later int eh day I returned to the motorcycle and expected to see a ticket attached. There wasn’t one. Seems the festive mood even went to the traffic enforcement folks.
Returning to Hambridge we settled into the cottage for a relaxing few days before the Overland Event in Oxford. On Monday we would be joined by Sam Manicom and his partner, Birgit. On the way they would pick up friend Mick O’Malley. Sam rode around the world in the 80’s over an 8 year period. Birgit rode most of the way with him. To date he has published four books about his journey. He has also published two other books. They are a compilation of 20 stories, each book, from other travelers that have completed a significant trip. If you get a chance, each is excellent reading. Our hosts prepared a feast for us. Different meats were prepared and grilled by grill master, Ashley. He did a wonderful job and the feast was excellent. The day was brilliant as we all sat around chatting and reminiscing about the past and days on the road on a motorcycle.
One of the days of relaxation was riding in the car down to the beach. We were headed down to just see and, of course, have a couple pints. It was Ashley’s birthday. The town wound down on narrow streets sided by stone shopfronts and pubs. This was definitely a tourist town. It was beautiful and bustling as people walked the streets shopping for items they don’t really need. But it was holiday for them. I know how excited they were to be here. I had to fight them all on the streets a couple days ago. We all settled in at a restaurant on the water for a bite to eat and a pint of ale. As we were leaving Ashley took us to the other end of the crescent shaped beach. There were little beach huts all painted in a rainbow of pastel colors. Beach colors. They were the size of changing rooms. But they were very coveted places to purchase. That meant you could sleep in them. Your very own, expensive beachfront couple of feet with a roof. There was another pub right on the marina on the water. It was one of Ashley’s favorite pubs. Of course we had to go in for a pint. The tide was out and the boats were on their sides, keels at a 45 degree angle, waiting for the water to come back and right them. A scene similar to Nova Scotia.
A day alone and we headed to the local pub, the Lamb and Lion. It was a beautiful warm, sunny day. Parents and families were out enjoying each others company. Kids were playing and chasing each other. Other kids were learning how to ride their small bikes. A local band, actually a couple of guys, were playing American favorites. Toes were tapping, beer was flowing and people were smiling and singing. Not many people were on their phones. This is the way it should be. What happened??
After a few days it was time to say goodbye to our motorcycle. It would be staying until next summer in the chapel until my injury was healed/fixed, and we could return. We all piled into the car and headed, the long way around (I was navigating, ask Linda), to Oxford and the Overland Event. This would be the reason for us staying so long. The best friends in the world.
Cheers,
2WANDRRs
2WANDRRs 
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