13. The Deer, The Slug

The riverside cycle ends and the next 50km are through open fields. I am knackered as the first 15km are all uphill, though eventually the road flattens out and I start to gain some momentum. At this point, a deer appears and starts running with me. He is about 5m to my right and we fly through the German countryside together, side by side. I enjoy having my new travelling companion, and I imagine him shouting words of encouragement across the breeze that seperates us. 'Go on Sam' he shouts, 'Cycle', 'Cycle like the deers runs in the wild, like the cheetah in the Serengheti'. 'You can make it', he tells me, but he is a German deer so he says all this in quite a strong German accent. He's a bit camp. In fact he sounds like some mystical animal from a children's film gone slightly wrong. He leaves me to continue my journey on my own after about 800m, but I don't mind, I was starting to find him a bit ridiculous to be honest.

In another town, a German family give me a coffee and then 2 bottles of water as I head off down the road. I stop to have a cigerette and stretch a bit at the end of the street. In front of me there is a slug crawling towards a leaf, I watch him for a bit. As I do this, I imagine the pavement beneath him turning into a map of Germany and It becomes very satisfying to watch him reach his destination, no matter how slowly he does it. The slug gets watched for a little longer, but it soon becomes time for me to leave for my own destination, across the real map of Germany, or the real Germany even. I prepare to go and wish the slug luck in his travels. He flicks his antennae, which I can only assume means 'and to you too'. I start walking my heavy as hell bike to the road. I get 1 metre and then realise I just ran over the slug. I look at his flattened body and can't help but laugh, despite killing one of my journey's friends. Incredibly, he somehow fixs himself and carries on towards the leaf. He's a resilient guy, nothing will stop him, and I pray for the strength of the slug.