July 12, 2012
Departure Day is Here....or take a left at Iceland
Being overstretched with packing, family commitments, retiring, etc. we finally came to the sensible conclusion that something had to give - and we decided to ask the guys at Fairfield Bicycle to pack our bike in 2 boxes. When we did our trip to Quebec two years ago, we took the bike apart and rebuilt it about six times. We have an amazing bag that was designed for the Rans Seavo by Kelvin Clark at Angletech in Colorado. Since we have a one way ticket and won't be returning to England, it seemed best not to take our bag. The bike would be packed into two cardboard bike boxes and we would put the bike together at our guesthouse we when we arrived at Gatwick.
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Mary Ellen's sister and her nephew Joshua offered to take us to Vancouver for our flight (which greatly helped with the logistics of packing 2 boxes and all of our gear as foot passengers on the ferry) and as well, Joshua drove us around for all of our last minute jobs - including picking up the bike.
As avid cyclists, we value great bike shops and the relationship you develop with the people in these shops who share your passion. In Victoria, we especially value Performance Bikes run by Pam and Wayne. Their wonderfully stocked store, knowledge and friendship have enriched our adventures greatly. We bought our tandem at Fairfield Bicycle and their innovative problem solving have helped us to improve our bike and their interest in out of the ordinary bikes have always stoked our imagination Victoria has many bike stores, and we are so lucky to have these two to support our love of cycling.
One last and important thing before leaving was to say goodbye to our moms who live at the same retirement home in Victoria. It was an emotional day saying goodbye.
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It was a beautiful day for a sailing to Vancouver on BC Ferries. Living on a small island, ferries are a way of life for us. However, the trip from Victoria to Vancouver on the ferry was more special, as it was the beginning of a new adventure for both of us.
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Check-in at the airport was uncomplicated. Air Transat charges $30.00 per bicycle on international flights. The fellow who checked us through,when seeing the two boxes was going to charge us $60.00. We explained that there was actually only one bike in the two boxes, as it was a tandem. He really didn;t understand this but was happy to only charge us only $30.00. Some airlines charge much more than $30.00. We have heard of airlines charging as much as $300.00 per bike.
We had decided to pay the extra "250.00 to fly Club Class. The service in Club Class is excellent with superb food and wide leather seats and plenty of leg room. However, the real reason we spent the extra money on Club Class was that the baggage allowance is double than what it is in economy. In economy, we would be paying extra for our overweight and oversize baggage.
In celebrating their recent anniversary, Air Transat had upgraded their cabin design. Each passenger had their own touch screen on the seat back in front of them. We had an unlimited choice of free movies, tv shows, music and other entertainment within easy touch.
Everything was going along splendidly, until we heard an announcement asking whether there was a doctor on board. After several of these announcements, it wss apparent that there wasn't a doctor on board. A woman had become seriously ill and as a result the next announcement we heard was that the plane was being rerouted to Iceland. We landed in the southern most airport in Iceland where a medical team came on board. After about an hour, the woman and her family were taken off the plane and rushed to a hospital. The plane needed refueling as result of our landing in Iceland.Three hours late we arrived at Gatwick. As we were approaching Gatwick we noticed the beautiful farm land was flooded in many areas. Just our luck, Great Britain has had the coldest, rainiest June and July for years.
Gatwick Airport is an unforgiving place - lots of walking and little assistance. Eventually we were able to find our way and were picked up by a guesthouse van.
Gable End Guest House was highly rated on Trip Advisor and it lives up to its recommendation - excellent choice. It is superbly run by Mary and Joseph, originally from Ireland. They gave us a warm welcome and sent us off to the neighbourhood pub for a fine dinner and British ale.
Off to bed - we'll deal with the bike tomorrow. Hope it doesn't rain.
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