Time is flying when you are having fun, they say. My breakfast with Maiken and Adam went on, and I got away from Copenhagen later than planned, to catch my pre-booked ferry from Rodby to Puttgarten in Germany. To make matters worse there was massive traffic congestion just outside Copenhagen, and soon I was chasing to get to the ferry on time. About 60 km from the ferry the yellow light for reserve fuel came on, and I had to make a decision whether to chance it on my fuel supply and reach the ferry, or go to a filling station to get fuel, and definitely miss the boat! Being an eternal optimist I of-course went for the ferry, only to run out of fuel 12km short of my destination!

I checked my gps and found that there was a fuel station about 2km from where I ran out. I stripped down, took the fuel bladder under one arm, and started walking down the freeway in the scorching heat, expecting to be back in 1-2 hours.

We have all heard about the kindness of people when you need it most. I also wanted to experience that, but not on the second day of my trip! After walking for about 500 meters a red VW Golf came screeching to a halt in front of me. I ran up to the car and asked the young man : “Are you my saving angel?” “Yes, I am. I can see you  probably ran out of fuel. Let me take you to the nearest station, and bring you back again”. 15 minutes later, I could push the starter button on my bike, and head for the ferry again. I missed this one, but got one an hour later.

A 45 minute ferry ride got me to Germany. On arrival, all clothed and ready to leave the ferry, I pressed the starter - NOTHING! I had to push the bike off the ferry, down the ramp and found a shady place under a tree, where I could hide my shame and try to fix the problem. I had experienced a similar situation on the bike, some months earlier and quickly found out that a fuse had blown. Replaced it with a new one from my spare parts, and was good to go again. Now that I am in the land of BMW’s, I will have the problem solved before I hit Africa.

Well, isn’t that what “adventure trips” is all about. I think situations like the kindness of the “fuel angel” can only make you a better person. I don’t know whether I would have stopped my car to pick up a guy walking along the freeway - now, and in the future, I most certainly would.

Hector - my crocheted rhino (not knitted, says my daughter) and myself are resting in my tent somewhere in the middle of Germany. Tomorrow we go to Munich.