Travelling partners or what have I done to deserve this...

John

I am getting along very well with my cycling partner John, but before I seemed to be jinxed.

My first attempt to find a hiking partner here in Australia led me to a German guy called Reiner. I found him through another hiker and we emailed back and forth for a while until we finally met on the Bibbulmun Track. I know that hiking is no beauty contest but meeting Reiner was some sort of a shock. Reiner is about 1,65 m (I am 1,84m) and has hair growing out of every face orifice. I am used to hikers having a beard, but not to dreadlocks growing out of ears. On top of all that Reiner was the most negative person I have ever met on a hike. He has been to Australia 6 times and hiked the Bibbulmun Track about 4 times, but in a 2 hour conversation he did not say a single good word about either one of them. It was very clear to me after 5 minutes that there was no way I would hike with this guy - compatriot or not!

My next attempt was an add on the crazyguyonabike website. I was looking for a travel partner for Japan and ended up with Mark cycling around Tasmania. I have already posted that Mark left me on day 2, but I have not written yet about his peculiarities. Mark was riding a folding bike. There is nothing wrong with that. The folding bike was transported in a suitcase that converted into a trailer. I am not kidding you now, but I was following a guy on a folding bike with a red Samsonite suitcase trailer. On top of all that Mark had some sort of a unfortunate figure. He was not bad looking, but he was sort of 7 months pregnant. That is nothing a nice shirt could not tactfully hide, but Mark decided to wear bike shorts that had fit him 5 years ago and a bike shirt he had traded with a Japanese cyclist (who was probably half a meter shorter than Mark). It was very difficult to keep looking into his face and not onto his exposed belly buttom... I still do hope he was having a good time in Tasmania without me.