Alps 2008
  
 

Day 18

July 6

  
 

We are up both early this morning after a good night's sleep, knowing that this is where we part ways. After we get our stuff dragged downstairs, we make sure that Dave can get his ST out of the locked gate before I shut the hotel door. The combination the clerk provided works fine, so we are both good to go.

 
 
 
 

The sky is overcast and seems to fit our moods. It's hard to leave a good friend like Dave after so many miles, smiles and experiences together but we've both got to get back to our regular worlds. I have calculated that I have ridden more miles with him than any other human on the planet - especially after this trip. Once again thank him for all of the organization and the hundreds of details he has looked after for me on this trip and give him a big bear hug.

"I reckon this is good-bye until we can ride together again" I tell him "And I hope that's soon!"

Then we are both off - Dave back toward Scotland and his home

 
 
 
  and me off to catch bus 337 to Clapham Junction. It's kind of nice to have the shelter pretty much to myself as I reflect back over the various experiences of the last 17 days. It's indeed been a ride like no other ride that I have ever taken - and one that I will never forget.  
 
 
  Soon enough my bus arrives right on time, and I show my pass to the driver as I board. The bus is pretty well deserted and that's just fine with me. One thing I have learned is that if you get out early enough in London, you have the place to yourself for the most part. Since I'm in 'homing' mode now, the quicker I can get to the airport, the better I will like it. I've always been that way - when on a ride, I am totally focused on it, but when it's time to get home I'm like a mule that has smelled the sweet corn in the barn and is in a big hurry to get there.  
 
 
  Once I arrive at Clapham Junction, I find an automated ticket kiosk where I purchase my train ticket to Gatwick Airport. Mass transit in London is well thought out and laid out and they try to make it as easy as possible. The ticket price is pretty reasonable - around $17 USD and the train takes you right into Gatwick Airport proper. I've done this drill twice before so I'm starting to get the hang of it.  
 
 
  I make my way to the train platform, where I wait quietly with my three bags. I've arrived in plenty of time to the get the next train, so I just let my mind wander, replaying sights from the ride. The platform sign and the automated announcements keep me apprised of exactly when my train will arrive.  
 
 
 

Once on board, I decide I will just stand up the whole way since I will get plenty of 'sitting' time on the flight home. There is a conductor that boards with me, which strikes me as a little odd. I figure he maybe be doing an audit, so I keep my train pass handy just in case. We exchange pleasantries and that's about the extent of it. The signs on the train continually display the order of the stops and the audio announces the next stop before you get there, so I can just stand there and count off the stops until Gatwick.

  
 
 
 
Soon we arrive at the Gatwick train platform, and it's a pretty good walk up to the South Terminal with my bags. Since I am way early, I just take my time getting to the shuttle train that will take me to the North Terminal and international departures. After I check two of my bags, I still have a few British pounds on me and decide I'll check out a duty-free electronics shop, hoping that they will carry a battery for my new camera. But they don't have one and they don't have anything I really want. I look about for a nice place to get breakfast, but nothing strikes my fancy. So I head through security which gives me the quick once over and I'm through in a flash. Near my gate there is a Starbucks that has some chocolate bear paw pastries and orange juice in addition to their coffee, so I spend a few more of my pounds. Then I notice that they also have organic dark chocolate bars and fancy hot chocolate, so I relief myself of a few more British pounds - knowing that they will become 'American pounds' over time. I see the Boeing 757 that will be my wings back across the Atlantic to Cleveland and sure do hope my bags make it on. That's another reason I like to get to the airport early because I think that it greatly increases your chances of you and your bags arriving at the same place at the same time.
 
 
 
  Finally the boarding call comes, and I follow like an obedient lemming down the ramp to my seat. Being a little smarter this time, I don't move up to the emergency exit row but stay in the aisle seat that I am assigned so I can recline.  
 
 
 

Fortunately, the plane is not too crowded and there is a spare seat between me and the young lady seated by the window. I smile at her and nod, but about the only communication we have is when she needs to go to the bathroom. Sometimes folks like to talk and some don't - but every now and then you get to talk to some really interesting people. Since she is not interesting to talking with an old man like me, I catch a little snooze time and before I know it we are landing in Cleveland, Ohio. It's a short layover here of under 2 hours, so I call Sharyn and let her know that I am back in the States. On the short hop back to Nashville, I have the exact same seat in the front of the small plane that I had coming up. And fortunately, the stewardess offers me the same place to stash my one carryon bag. It feels really good when we land back in Nashville, Tennessee and both of my checked bags show up on the carousel. I load up like a pack mule and make my way out the door to the pickup area. Just as if we timed it, Sharyn pulls into the temporary parking as I walk across and toss the bags in the trunk. As she often does, she has a chocolate milk shake for me and a kiss to welcome me home. As I slide into the driver's seat and take off, it does seem a little odd to be driving a car instead of a bike, but I get used to the nice air conditioning in the stifling Tennessee humidity. Heading back across town to our beloved Holler, a great sense of satisfaction settles in. I've done something that I've wanted to do for a really long time and enjoyed it more that I even thought I would. And once again I reaffirm that one of the great sweetnesses of life are the memories that we make as we travel life's highways with our friends.

  
 

Grand Totals For The Trip -

Countries - 7 (UK, France, Austria, Switzerland, Germany, Italy, Belgium)

Miles - 3646

Passes - 42 Unique Ones, 47 In Total

Hairpins - 973