London was surprisingly quiet as I wended my way to the Tate
Few tourists about
A lone fellow with a face mask taking pics of Parliament House
Even Borough Market had lost its hustle and bustle
It was an easy saunter past Lambath Palace
Past the war museum
Past typical London Street Art
And the Houses of Parliament to the Tate
And an Aubrey Beardsley exhibition
But that was a couple of days ago
And as the WHO declares a Coronavirus pandemic
I’m on the ferry from Portsmouth to Bilboa
When I arrived back home in Australia in October 2019 the bushfires had already started.
The amazing temperate rainforests of Northern NSW and Qld were already on fire
Rainforests don’t burn we thought but things have change
Beautiful ancient forests dating back to Gondwanaland were on fire
It was heart braking
The long summer of bushfires cast a pall over the country
Dead wildlife, rare forests burning, towns and cities choking on the the thick smoke
My long Bike trip in Europe had left me sore, depleted and nursing some nasty Shoulder Tendinitis
So my mood was low and the acrid smoke that clung to the skies of Eastern Australia only darkened my feelings
Dark like the smokey sky and the burning bush
Dark and disturbing
On a ride to Omeo in Victoria just after Christmas , I was spooked by closeness of the fires the smoke so thick
The town cut off from electricity
An eerie smokey foreboding of the horror fires that were to be unleashed on New Years eve in the east Gippsland forests.
Spooked a bit by the smoke ad proximity of the fires I left
Leaving I had a fall off the bike on some leaf litter while pulling off the road
Dislocated thumb ouch, nothing todo but pull it back in and ride the 400+ km home.
So the New Year was seen in with a cast on my hand and Australia Burning
Indeed a summer of discontent
This summer say the sale of Futura
I did the last slip, scrub and paint
And as I write, she with her new owner is approaching her new home in Whyalla South Australia
As the final blow there is now Coronavirus
Emerging and spreading
Quiet leaving Melbourne Airport
Planes only half full
A friend has told me that I’m stubborn and wont change my plans for anyone or anything
Maybe right
As here I sit in London
I’ve collected the Mighty Breva
And on Wednesday I head to Portsmouth to start the journey south to Morocco on the ferry to Bilboa
The summer of discontent, though, is a weight on my enthusiasm
And as I have been reminded though I’m 35 between the ears im actually in a 62 year old body.
But in the world of the traveller a summer of discontent doesn’t lead to winter.
Its spring here
The daffodils are in bloom in Perivale Park
And life’s adventure must go on
The music on the steel drums weren’t for me.
T’was apple harvest fair in Cranbrook, Kent.
As I rode past on the last leg of my long – just over 17,000 km from London to the Danube Delta and return.
By the time I reached the Fortified Farm Retreat in Deux-Sevres the weather had started to turn cool and damp
Rain and strong winds on the French coast made Calais and the Tunnel the best option for a Chanel Crossing.
Running north past the magnificent cathedrals
Im particular the Notre Dame in Amiens
To the Eurotunnel train and rendezvous with other riders returning from their summer winter tour
Back in London it wasn’t just the weather that was changing
So was the political climate and the response to climate change
Even the lawyers rebelled for the climate
I have avoided politically related statements in my blog but as I write large tracks of beautiful rare temperate rain forests in New South Wales, Australia are being destroyed in unprecedented bush fires. This is climate change and it can no longer be ignored.
Follow the Rother River from Rye and the little harbour
Little village
Shingle beach white cliffs in the distance
And in late autumn the marsh full of colourful wild flowers
A few days here is the perfect place prepare before heading off on the big tour of Europe.
Tomorrow morning it’s the ferry to Cherbourg and a treck across the continent
And of course the ultimate.
A Moto Guzzi in the shed
