Never ride angry. It leads to mistakes.
For some unknown reason people in England have this urge to travel. That's not a problem.
What is the problem is that no sooner has the final bell of the summer term/semester rung, like lemmings they are in their cars and motorhomes (RV) and heading on their summer holiday.
Why? Most kids won't be back in their classrooms until September 6th or even 7th!!
To coincide with this exodus, small 'e' as the waves don't part for them, after some terrorist activity in France (not to mention our vote to leave the European Union) the French boeufed up their ridiculously slap dash border control.
Traffic was queued back on the M20 for about 15 miles. Three lanes and then two.... The A2 into the port two lanes for about 7 miles.
Add to that both roads closed due to the inevitable accidents and a rare truck fire, and you have CHAOS.
People trapped for upto 14 hours. It later turned out that for a few hours one single lone French douanier was the only one working. At peak they had three booths out of seven working.
Now tell me that wasn't pipsqueek M. Le Président Hollande making a Brexit point!!
Where do I come in. Mr très angry.
Friday we missed a concert only 40 miles away as we couldn't get there due to the traffic and roads closed, see above, so that was £60/$80 up the swanee.
Saturday we were going with Pepe to a bike show and meet at Dover.
Roads blocked..we got as far as Folkestone (5 miles of the 14!!) And were blocked along with other bikes by a truck deliberately blocking the road. The temperature was about 80°F and little shade.
Another event missed. At least this one was just time and petrol wasted.
And as we got moving I made my mistake. I made a right turn into a one-way street. Luckily I was on the right kerb so the car coming was easily able to miss me. In fact it never got close. The passenger called me quite a few names. I shouted back to asked if he had ever fucked up? I rode off to more abuse.
My fault entirely.
So let there be a lesson in there somewhere.
The road is no longer one-way!!!
Yiks. So are the traffic issues due to high population and poor road planning (old roads) or just summer vacation travelers?
ReplyDeleteIt is a combination of French bloody mindedness and reacting to Islamic terrorists, another attack and murders of a priest and a nun today, and the mass of holidaymakers all trying to get away at the same time. The whole area was gridlocked.
ReplyDeleteOn top of that we had a hay truck burned out on one main access road to the port, and an accident on the one near us. Claire caught up as the air ambulance used the side she was on to land.