Follow the Pink Line

You would think that taking bikes onto a ferry would be straightforward…. wouldn’t you?  At Dover they have even painted a helpful Pink Line for cyclists to follow.  OK, so the Pink Line does have some right-angled turns and some obstacles in they way, but still….;

Having walked the line or rather ridden as much as we could we were then asked to wait for our escort vehicles, one in front and one behind, presumably because car and lorry drivers can’t be trusted not to mow down any cyclists in their way.  After a longish wait while the drivers were summoned we set off.

Here we are dutifully following our escort vehicle:

Everything about the system showed that while they were certainly trying to help, it was in the face of a system designed for cars and lorries with no thought given to cyclists at the design stage.   Even on the ferry there were a few bike racks, but none of us used them because they were the sort that hold part of one wheel and are likely to wreck the wheel if the ship sways.  We ended up parking in the alcoves between bulkheads, and my bike ended up almost inside the cage for very large dogs.

But I shouldn’t complain, as we are heading for Holland which is supposed to be cyclist’s heaven.

Now I am off to sit in the sun with a glass of Rosè.   (Note mastery of the French keyboard!)