Mind The Gap

Sunday - June 12

Rain. Again. Rain. All night long. In the morning it continues to come down.
I want to stay in my tent until it stops or lets up. It will not.
We break camp and pack up in the rain. I just love packing a wet tent and equipment.

Cookie and I have agreed that we will head straight for the nearest train station and go directly to Salisbury, do not pass go, do not collect $200, do not bike farther than you have to. We will go to the YHA vs. the campground. We need to dry out. The route is flat, but it is still raining. . .and cold. It's that "cold-to-the-bone" feeling where you can't seem to get warm at all. We must wait at the station for one hour until the train comes, change at Southampton, wait another 15 minutes, then the long way 'round to Salisbury.

I should tell you that almost all of the tralns in England are fairly new. They are different than the older trains, and one of the differences is that there is a gap between the steps of the train and the existing platform. Every train has a recording (or the conductor announces) as it approaches each station that tells passengers to "Mind the gap between the train and the platform." We have heard this so often, that it has become like the flight attendants' announcements. We pay little attention to it.

I should have paid more attention.

As I exit the train at Salisbury, I back out of the car with my bike, miss the platform and my foot and leg goes straight down into the "gap". The bike jerks backward onto the platform. I am OK, but as I rise and pull the front of the bike off of the train, I realize that something is wrong. I have twisted the back wheel. It is completely out of alignment. I can walk with it, but cannot ride. Mind the gap. . .between my ears.

So here we are, pouring rain, bone chilling cold, and a bike that cannot be ridden. There is only one thing to do. . .head for a nice, dry hotel with a hot shower and soft, cozy beds. The White Hart Inn fits the bill. A bit more expensive than the YHA, but breakfast is included, we can dry out and warm up, and they take very good care of us! After dinner, I take that hot shower, then crawl into bed at 6:30. I sleep till the morning.