Game over.

It was with a sombre mood that we packed up camp for the last time on this ride.  We had time on our side before our train back to the UK so enjoyed a brew in the early morning quiet of the French campsite then mounted up and rode north.

This area of France is flat and densely populated so avoiding motorways was a fools erend and we opted for the motorway to the Tunnel.  With one stop for food and fuel we got there quickly and without incident.  Booking in was unremarkable and we were quickly loaded onto the train. 

Once on board James checked the forecast for southern England and found out that we could expect a cold homecoming so we changed into our warm kit and made final inputs to the GPS.  With the final admin done James sat down and slept by his bike while I thought about the ride we had nearly completed.

In no time we were rolling off the train and onto the motorway.  The forecast had been right and we could see black clouds everywhere, it was a good thing we changed on the train as it was cold when we hit the M25.  By the time we arrived back at Elizabeth Barracks the clouds had lifted but it was still cool.  We took the last picture of the ride and that was it. All over, after 3,702 miles we were back where we started and it had passed in a flash.  The only tell was the state of the bikes and the smelly kit we were standing in.  Without the photos and blog to prove we had done it I’m not sure I could believe we had just ridden to the Black Sea and back in only 11 days.