Through the carriage window intermittent
sunshine flicks across my face. Outside,
a stiff breeze is blowing the trees and up in the sky driving clouds to distraction:
when they collide, rain sheets down onto the fields. I'm staring out at a washed green blur
interrupted by the staccato rhythm of dark tunnels. This is the southeastern Saturday morning
train rattling up the well worn rail lines to London.
The stations are familiar to me these
days: Chatham; Rochester, full of castle
and bridge; Bromley South, London Victoria.
I look down onto homes, schools and businesses nestling close to the
elevated tracks. It's a very English
morning, I decide. A wet summer, but
summer none the less.
Two weeks ago I landed in England. Two weeks to catch up with friends and family
- new and old. I have had a superb time
and immersed myself in fond surroundings with food, drink, friendship and
laughter. Tick.
They don't try to disguise the charms of
life off the road. I'm enticed by tales
of happy families, satisfying employment, trouble-free motoring and exciting
weekends. What's not to like? 'All this could be yours...' the refrain
seems to go, a siren song drawing me back to the shores of my birth. Leaving all this behind, again, is hard. My parents hang from my heart, tugging on its
strings with every look, delicate word or half-halted gesture. It feels cruel to leave.
The urge to quit my motorcycle trip and
settle down here in England is strong.
This country is my homeland. Yet,
it's an urge I recognise and cannot trust - at least, not yet. 'No pain, no gain' - a clichéd mantra I repeat
to spur myself on. For the last year and
more, I've driven my motorcycle and myself 50,000-odd miles and I want to finish
what I started. So, paradoxically, the
more I want to stay in England, the more I need to leave. I feel smothered and flee to rejoin my
motorcycle.
Another aim of my fleeting visit to
England? To feel refreshed and eager for
more travel. I've been on holiday from
my, er, holiday lifestyle, but as the train pulls into London I'm already
excited at the prospect of more adventure. My giant Bavarian bike has already landed in
Cape Town, South Africa and should be sitting patiently. It's time to begin the third and concluding
leg of my long journey.