Next stop: Brighton Beach. I hopped on my new bike and headed south for the coast. I made sure to take two days to ride the 50+ miles so I could make use of my new tent and camp out in a wide open field. At least that was the plan. I set off entirely too late so I was riding in the pitch black the whole time. I did have a bike headlight, but I lost the screw to attach it to my handlebars so I had to hold it in my left hand while I was holding on to the handlebars with my right. Imagine riding 20 miles of British roads (on the “wrong side”), up and down hills and through a forest at 1am with a bike-light in one hand and 15 kilos of stuff strapped to the back of your bike. I should have really planned better. The darkness was spooky. I kept hearing weird animals all around me and imagining some farmer with a shotgun jumping out from behind the tree and telling me to get off his land. I started to get really tired and so I looked for a place to make camp. Not being able to see more than 10 feet in front of me made this a little more difficult than I had expected. I didn’t want to wander into some field and pitch my tent next to some bulls (I’d heard stories). After exploring two fields of mud and one of thorns, I found the perfect spot – a clever hiding spot behind a row of trees so no passers by would bother me while I slept. I finished the ride the next day and met my friend Juls at her house in Brighton. One of the best things in Britain is their appreciation for huge bathtubs. I cleaned myself up and we set off for a weekend with her friends. Brighton was definitely my favorite place in England and I think it was because of Juls’ friends. They’re all actors and just really crazy, cool people. We watched a cricket game, ate fish and chips, went to a huge Gay Pride festival, saw a couple concerts in the park, and (keeping with the British lifestyle) drank entirely too much which lead to many impromptu sing-alongs and dance numbers. My last and most memorable adventure in Brighton was on my last day when Juls’ flat mate invited us to join her and her yacht racing team on a big race. Now, neither of us had ever raced before, but we were excited just to tag along. The crew was really friendly and gave us important little jobs to do during the race like holding the mast back so it didn’t kill anyone, but we spent most of the time just trying to stay out of everyone’s way and trying not to fall overboard when the boat turned. We got absolutely soaked (neither of us was dressed properly) and we loved every minute of it. The kicker was that we actually came in first place! I wanted to stay in Brighton longer but I had a schedule to keep. On to Scotland!