One of the side effects of travelling solo is that it’s easier to earwig on snatches of conversation going on around you -I’ve no idea if the parrot in question , or indeed the victim ,was known to the Hyacinth Bouquet lookalike who snarkily announced it to her ferry companions ,but no one batted an eyelid in any case.

The ferry was fine actually. I wasn’t expecting much but it was a relaxing experience. Brittany Ferries don’t seem too geared up for bikes though-the P &O /Stena style where they let the assembled peloton board (and exit) first like Ferry Kings is definitely not the Brittany way-surprising for a French company.

Maybe it was because there were only four other cyclists that they seemed to overlook us -I later learned that the boat was carrying 610 passengers ,of which 605 were boarded and tucking into paella before we’d even moved off the quayside.

During the two hours us cyclists spent together ,queuing ,on foot, in the open ,we discussed many things ,where we were heading,family circumstances,previous trips ,bikes of course ,but being British we did not exchange names -that being a STEP TOO FAR of course .

So in true cyclist fashion,identifying someone by their bike , I can report that Canyon Clive and Merida Mike were heading for Alicante over two weeks -bristling with technology plus trendy bike packing luggage,tiny tents and a healthy credit card ,they were on a mission for sure . Giant Gillian was a different story-towing a trailer behind her electric bike she was heading for Portugal to ride the Camino de Santiago with her chum. She is 71 (she told me of course ) and was doing the whole trip from a paper Michelin map and the kindness of strangers to charge her bike on the way . “If ever I get lost “ she told me “ I just stand there looking doddery and someone always takes pity”

Dawes Derek was a chatty Halifax man,cycling down to his apartment near Malaga. His wife was flying down and he “was getting some peace and quiet” doing it his way . I suspect Mrs Derek was happy with that too!

Some ferry logistics -it was the Brittany Ferries Salamanca ship,a brand new ferry running on LPG so no diesel fumes belching out of the funnel. It left Portsmouth 2130 on Sunday and docked in Bilbao at 0800 Tuesday . I hadn’t booked a cabin but managed to blag a cancellation once on board for £100 for two nights which was well worth doing . Food was good and cheap (one breakfast and dinner was included in ticket price ) and apart from a medical emergency in the Bay of Biscay -monsieur the ‘elicopter will be landing on the top deck ‘elipad” the crossing was drama free .

As we docked in Bilbao the sky was black and gloomy-my fellow two wheeled travellers met at our bikes and talked about the weather ahead of us -Canyon Clive had a gadget to tell him the barometric pressure or something . I wonder how they’re doing………