November 19, 2024
Woah, we're half way back
We're not anywhere near half way back. However, we're almost twelve hours into our return "adventure", due to a late morning checkout and an early evening flight to Taipei.
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As promised, our wrap and box lady was on duty again today. We were happy to see her. She's a real character. A little sassy, if such a label could be given to a Japanese person. She quickly got to work crafting boxes for our bikes, while we removed pedals, handlebars, and front wheels. My pedals were a real pain to loosen. Note to self: next time, add some lubricant to the threads before leaving home.
This corner of the departures terminal was a madhouse yesterday. Today, it's very peaceful. What a relief! I almost can't believe how easy and straightforward (other than those stuck pedals) it is to do this kind of work when there's no chaos or fear of being asked to move your greasy contraptions elsewhere.
The boxes were a study in contrasts. For the smaller bike, we ended up with a short and stout box, with an uneven top that followed the contours of the steerer tube and saddle. We didn't bother to remove or reposition the saddle. That'll make reassembly so much easier! For my bike, we got something more traditional looking. Our boxy lady didn't account for my front racks, so I had to remove them to make the bike fit. I think it's safer anyway, since the racks are made of aluminum.
Both bikes got a nice bubble wrap treatment, then were placed in the boxes. After the top of the box was fashioned, the whole thing was wrapped in plastic. My bike fits pretty snugly in the box, so I don't think it'll move around much. My wife's bike, I'm not so sure about. We're being asked to put an awful lot of faith in that bubble wrap, and the professionalism of the baggage handlers. Uh oh.
We wrapped up the wrapping before noon, so lunch was in order. After that, we resigned ourselves to three and a half hours of waiting around. Have I mentioned that doing nothing is not my strong suit?
We were almost first in line to check in, and I have to say, we got two of the kindest airline employees we've ever had the pleasure of working with. They helped us get our boxes through the maze of queues. They cheerfully took our bikes and bags. My bike box weighed in at 20kg, while my wife's was a ridiculously light 13kg.
So while we ended up with an unorthodox solution to our bike packing needs, everyone seemed pleased with the results. As long as our bikes arrive undamaged, we'll be happy too. Reassembly in Seattle should be a cakewalk.
More waiting at the gate, but no delays. Now we're waiting again in Tapei for the long leg across the ocean. This time, we have the jet stream in our favor, as well as the international date line. We'll arrive earlier than we left!
P.S. the ride to the airport brought us to exactly 3000 kilometers for the tour! How 'bout that?
Today's ride: 2 km (1 miles)
Total: 3,002 km (1,864 miles)
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