Belfast, Northern Ireland
The day I left the farmhouse, I decided that before I left I would do one last ride along the coast, and go all the way this time, since it was so beautiful. It should be of no surprise that I did not book a place to stay that night. The ride itself was not as awe inspiring, partly because I had already seen it, and partly because I was exhausted from the last few days. I was aiming for a final viewing point, I forget the name. I didn’t forget my breaks cutting out just as I was at the top of a sheep hill about to descend to the destination. Somehow, with twists and turns and good vibes from the sheep rooting for me, I managed to slow the bike down enough that when I pulled into the parking lot, I was able to swerve into the first spot and only crashed lightly into the sheep fence, which was embarrassing.
There was a car in the next spot over. I really did not want to engage in conversation with the person in that car, because I was certain he had just watched me crash into the fence. My cell phone service was, consistent with a running theme, not working. I sat there for a few minutes and thought to myself, “It is getting late, the sun is setting, people will leave soon, I have no cell phone service, I don’t know where I am, my bike doesn’t have brakes, and if I don’t act quickly I will be stranded out here.
I sheepishly (yes this is a pun) approached the passenger’s side of the car and knocked at the window. At first the man ignored me, but eventually, realizing I wasn’t going to go away, rolled down his window and asked what I wanted. He was listening to Philip Glass. I happened to be obsessed with classical music and listened to a lot of Philip Glass (this is not common), and said “Oh, this is Philip Glass”, so he became nicer. This was Reggie.
Reggie told me that his daughter and her boyfriend were out viewing the sight, but when they returned in a few minutes, he might be able to help because he was “good with motorcycles”. Ollie was previously a professional motocross racer, but I didn’t know this until he showed up and his girlfriend slipped it into conversation.
Ollie was able to use a zip tie to reattach the front break. He assured me it would hold for long enough to get to a repair shop. He also taught me how to ride a bike with only a front break. It involved taking things slower and more carefully because the front brake is a bit more aggressive. Then, one of the reasons I continue to travel, Ollie said to me they were throwing a barbecue at their place that night and invited me. By this point, both his girlfriend and his father were quite friendly with me, it was only a 20 minute ride from there, and they told me I could just follow them. I didn’t need to call my therapist this time. I said yes and we went. And then as I’m following them with only my front brake attached by a zip tie, halfway there it obviously started raining. A lot. This time I laughed tears instead of crying them and it just slowed us down about 5 minutes and got me soaked.