Fourteen British men who had celebrated a bachelor party in Amsterdam were unable to go home last Saturday because their flight from Schiphol was cancelled. Rebooking and arranging alternative transport proved fruitless. But the men were not easy to catch.
After some calling around, there appeared to be an option to get home: first take the train to Calais in France and then make the crossing to Dover by ferry. But once on the train, there was one problem: pedestrians are not allowed on the ferry for safety reasons. And so the men decided to go to Dover as cyclists.
Brussels and Lille
Those bikes had to come from somewhere. This is how part of the group bought second-hand bicycles in Brussels, where the train makes a stop. The rest of the group managed to get a bike during the next stop in Lille. “I spent two hours on Facebook Marketplace to make deals with people who sold a bicycle. The prices ranged from 40 to 220 euros,” says bride-to-be Alex Sisan (29). “Then we ran through town for another two hours to pick up the bikes.”
Only one partygoer failed to get a bicycle. Once in Calais, he was allowed to sit in the car with a couple to make the crossing on the ferry. The other men, on their bicycles, were all allowed on board. Just before midnight the group finally arrived in Dover. The men all came home that night by taxi and by hitchhiking.
