Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
It was absolutely astonishing. We had nearly been robbed by two little kids. There we
were, on a 'niceness tour' of Great Britain, and the two most innocent and vulnerable
people we had met had taken full advantage of our generosity and tried to steal our BMX
and scooter. They needed to face the consequences.
We reported them to the police and after a lengthy and expensive court case they were
ordered to serve eight years in a juvenile correctional facility.
'Now clear off, both of you,' is what I actually said, before handing the younger brother
hisshoesback.Theygaveusbothasarcasticsmirkthenturnedandwalkedofftofindtheir
next victims.
'You really showed them,' Ben said with a chuckle.
It was strange how attached to the bike and scooter we had become in less than a day.
They were possibly the most rubbish form of transport that ever existed, but to us they
were priceless. They were more than just bikes, they were our method of getting from A
to B quicker than on foot, and without them we would have been back where we started.
I mean that metaphorically, of course. We weren't playing some role-playing game that
would have meant going back to Land's End if our bikes were stolen.
Another group of older boys had been hanging around the harbour and had witnessed
our pursuit of the boys. One of them approached us and asked what we were up to.
'Iknowwherethere'sabikeyoucanhave,'hesaidexcitedly.'There'soneupbyCo-op.
It's been there for weeks and we just use it for messing around on. I'll go and get it for
you.'
Before we even had a chance to ask whose it was, or where it had come from, he had
turnedandranuponeofthenarrowstreetsintotown,stillwearinghisdrippingwetsuit.He
had restored our faith in humanity. One minute 'the youth of today' were robbing us of our
beloved bikes, and the next they were sprinting barefoot across town to help us out.
He returned about five minutes later wheeling what looked from a distance to be a de-
cent looking mountain bike. On closer inspection, it was an unbelievable pile of shit.
'It'll need a bit of work,' he said, 'but you're welcome to take it if you want it. I don't
think it belongs to anyone.'
There were no pedals, no chain, no brake cables or brake pads. The back wheel was
severely buckled, neither tyre had an inner tube and the saddle was missing. It did have a
functioning bell, though. We felt really bad turning down a bike, but the amount of work
that this one required to make it useable meant that we would have taken a huge step back-
wards.
'That's very kind of you,' I said, 'but it looks like it needs too much work. We can't
spend any money and it would take too much time and effort for someone to fix this up for
us.'
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