Friday 9th May 2nd Day

Up and at it pretty early, eschewing breakfast, which I had paid for to get on the road as soon as possible.  This was a mistake on the English part of the journey as I had made arrangements that turned into deadlines that had to be kept (or broken).  Yesterday I had ridden far to far because I hoped that I could keep my arrangement to stay with friends in Didcot, and of course, because stupidly and for the first time ever I had booked a ferry crossing and the hotel in Boulogne on Friday night.  I've never booked anything before, and had I done the same as always then I would have had a more relaxing start to the trip.   (Even more stupidly I've done the same for tomorrow and arranged to meet cousin Patricia in Paris).  Another deadline to make on Saturday now, although the journey should be a bit easier.

Anyhow back to day.  I knew that I had 179 miles to do to catch the 6pm ferry. I now know that this is too far in a day on the Vespa.  Tom Tom planned the route directly through central London, which didn't really help, although at least I got to have lunch at a little Afro Caribbean cafe that I new south of the river.  Fish Patties, dumplings and fried plantain, weighed me down considerably.

The journey was not without events as within an hour and a half of setting off, and in some obscure deserted road, the Vespa gave up the ghost again and just stopped.  I have to admit to feeling pretty dejected at the prospect of giving up the trip.   Anyway, phoned the AA again, who having finally located where I thought I was, told me it would be an hour and a half to wait.   To pass the time I kept kick starting it every 5 mins and eventually, for no good reason, it burst into life again.  

With the throttle held wide open, I phoned the AA to cancel the call, then phoned Christine back to stop her booking the nurse for my return home, and cracked on again.   Brilliant trip, through Oxfordshire with only the faintest hint of drizzle to upset the day, down through, Aylesham, Hemel Hempstead and along roads, that only Tom Tom knew existed.  If you ever instruct TT to avoid motorways, then it thinks you have given it carte blanche to take you down every short cut and bridlepath that it can find...  

Finally beaten by the drizzle which was becoming a downpour, and as usual left it far to late to don the weatherproofs, I stopped on the side of the road just before crossing the M25 to get kitted up.   As per the norm, this was the cue for the rain to stop, and leave me looking like a real prune in all the gear on the hottest and sunniest day of the year.

I kept all this on until the Vespa did exactly the same thing as before in the middle of Watford.  Again, stopped, refused to start again for 20 minutes, then just after I had abandoned hope and again called the AA it roared into life.   Cancelled the call yet again, refuelled and set off.

There is a pattern here both these stops would have been just about at the point when it would have run out of main tank and gone onto reserve.  The third stop in the day, I cleverly stopped to refuel before it ran out or whatever.   Surely someone at Miniaddicts must have a theory on this.

The weather just got better and better as I piled on the miles towards Dover, and eventually, absolutely knackered, I got to the wrong ferry port with an hour to spare.  My booking made on line through an agency didn't actually tell me which ferry terminal it was, nor the name of the ferry, and I made an assumption, that it was the usual eastern terminal.   Having been waved through security and passport control, without a glance, because terrorists never come on a scooter do they, I got to the booth only to be turned back and sent out again.   This time of course, because I was now shipside, and there were no ferries arriving, I was met with some hostility at security and passport control as someone trying to gain admittance to the country without the necessary paperwork.  

The crossing was fine aboard the last remaining seacat plying the channel routes, and by 8pm I was in my hotel room in Boulogne.

Job done for today!