Today I rode my bike down from London to Dock Gate 4 in Southampton to Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logitics to deliver the bike ready for shipping to Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada!

I arrived at 4pm, but wasn’t quite ready to hand her over just yet! This would be the last time I’d get to ride her for a few weeks until I meet up with her again in Halifax, and for the last few months I’ve had a vision of me riding the bike to Calshot Spit.

I grew up in Southampton and know the area really well. Calshot Spit is over the water from the Docks, right next to Fawley Power Station, and like I said, I’ve had a vision of riding the bike down to Calshot, so as this would be the last ride for a few weeks I talked to the guys at Wallenius Wilhelmsen and they said there was no rush to book her in so I decided to blast over to Calshot and make the vision a reality!

Calshot Spit is at the opening of Southampton Water & the Solent.You can see (on a good day) the Isle of Wight, Portsmouth, Lee on Solent, The opening of The River Hamble, Hill Head. It’s a lovely view and one I’ve not seen for over 16 years.

It’s an awesome place and after years of living in London it was refreshing to get a huge blast of fresh sea air in my lungs!

Lots of people go there to enjoy the view and take in the vista of container ships coming into Southampton docks, the Isle of Wight hydrofoil, the para gliders, the beautiful south coast. It’s a cool place to hang.

After a while it was time to ride back to Dock Gate 4, bit on the way I found a sweet little gravel pit and threw the bike around there for a bit before finally getting back to the docks and booking her in for the trans Atlantic journey she’ll take without me.

 On the way out of the docks a kind trucker gave me a lift to the city centre to catch the train home to London which was awesome!

So in three weeks my bike and I will be reunited and ready to eat the blacktop, gravel, desserts and prairies of Canada & the USA! I SIMPLY CAN NOT WAIT TO GET THERE!!