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up at the paper boat launch zone where a bonfire , as well as a load of tipsy villagers , were already sparking into life . One of the more serious drinkers , Lepeth , was sufficiently drunk that I mentioned jokingly he might fit in well in Australia . A chorus of people immediately suggested they start a fund there and then to make sure he left for Australia as soon as possible ; I don ’ t think it was the first time he had been a bit too drunk in company .
We drank loads of beer , ate a negligible amount of barbecued pork and bread , lit candles and set them afloat under a crystal moon , and I had been invited by a particularly friendly local woman to come back to her place to try some homemade
wine .
Above us the moon twinkled and the wind whispered in the trees as huge river cruisers full of paid-up , locked-up tourists slunk by in the gloomy shadows , enviously watching our crackling fire , bottles of beer , and the paper boats we launched in celebration of the simple joys of life . Yet more paper boats were launched , more beer was drunk and the party went on into the early hours as shotgun blasts rang out from Hungary , away across the other side of the river . It was one of those nights , and I had been immersed in a group of the friendliest people ever that I had never met before in my life .
Next morning Oli made us a fantastic breakfast , Bacul gave me a BLC Racing t-shirt , and told me he had checked the Tuono ’ s oil level , chain tension and tyre pressures before I was up . He also showed me some of the custom bikes he had built , and some of the prizes he had deservedly won for them . I glowed with gratitude .
As I rode out of Patince towards Lake Balaton and Slovenia , bathed in sunshine , bike fettled , belly full , and only the promise of that special homemade wine unfulfilled , I reflected that even if a day starts poorly , it sometimes turns out pretty well ; you just have to take the right road .
I think I took the right road that day . JT
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