Europe - The Lions on the Road: Cycling London to Cape Town - page 45

After a couple of photos, we went back to the hotel where I packed the bike. They
invited me to lunch and we made plans to meet in Madrid. So in the early afternoon, they
filled my water bottles with mineral water and off I went. This was by far the latest I ever
started to cycle. The heat was at its peak. I decided not to wear my helmet but instead I
woremydesertcap.Ifeltmuchcoolerforthetopofthedesertcaphadareflectivematerial
(shiny like tin foil), an oversized brim and cloth with hung by Velcro to protect my neck. It
was a great investment to say the least and was indispensable when I entered Africa.
IhadafunnyexperienceonmywaytoMadrid.Therewasanover-loadedjeepwith
its hazard lights flashing and a motorcycle police officer with him. The driver was to the
side of the car hailing me down. I stopped to ask him what he wanted and he asked me to
wait a second. As I waited, the driver was trying to bribe the police officer with bottles of
wine in front of me on this very busy highway. The officer refused (maybe because I was
rightthere).ThenhecametomeandinsistedthatItakethewineasa'cadeaux”toafellow
cyclist. The officer let him go with a warning. I didn't want the wine. After the motorist
left, I offered it to the officer who again refused. He said for me to drink it, which I didn't
want to. Cycling and alcohol don't mix and I didn't want to carry the extra weight. I just
left the wine on the side of the road knowing quite well that when I left, the police officer
would take it.
I knew that I couldn't make it to Madrid because of my late start. So with some re-
maining day light in the sky, I began to seriously look for a place to sleep. At 9:45 I came
to a bridge. My gut feeling told me to stop and set up camp for the evening. I looked up
8-10 meters to my right and saw a flat concrete platform just before the place where the
abutment and the bridge's deck met. I couldn't bring my bike up to the platform so I left it
at the road level on the inside part of the pier (not visible by passing motorists). I took out
my Thermarest air mattress, my sleeping bag, food supply and handlebar bag and prepare
for bed. I wrote in my journal, ate a Spartan dinner and said my prayers. I chuckled to my-
self thinking that just that morning I slept in a bed with fresh linen and ate in a beautiful
hotel. How things changed so quickly!
Atfirst,Isleptpoorly.AsIdozedoff,every15minutesorso,Iwouldwakeup,and
peer down to see if my bicycle was still there (I didn't have a lock for it). Then I would
nod off again and then reawaken. In essence I was not sleeping. Then at about 12:00 or so,
I checked my bike and asked myself, “Is it there?” and then I heard a voice call out to me,
“David, don't worry. Everything will be alright.” In a child-like response, I said “O.K.”
Suddenly, I felt all that pent up fear, anxiety, and stress flood out of my body like a pulled
plug in a bathtub. Then I felt this peace and tranquility overcome me. Even though numer-