Barcelona - The Seven Year Itch - CycleBlaze

February 23, 2024

Barcelona

Well, if I had any energy at all this would be a more substantial post.  At least I can put down the essentials: we made it across to Barcelona with no mishaps other than I started getting sick the day before the flight and still feel like hell.  The bikes both arrived fine, and we got our money’s worth in paying the LBS to box them for us.  They were both well wrapped and buffered, certainly much better than if I’d done it myself.

Lugging the boxes around is certainly a pain though, and something we haven’t done in probably 20 years.  The suitcases really are a much better solution, for us anyway.

Whatever I’ve got is pretty enervating.  The eleven hour flight from LA to Barcelona was pretty miserable, and made worse by the fact that we were crammed into center seats.  It’s probably the most difficult flight since we came home from Italy when my leg was wrapped up after I tore my quadriceps tendon.  It’s astonishing how slowly time passes in a situation like this.  

We were glad that we had booked with an airport hotel here in Barcelona with a shuttle service, and that the bikes fit into the van.  I suppose I could have biked the five miles to the hotel if it had come to that, but it wouldn’t have been pretty.  I collapsed on the bed as soon as we arrived in our room, and got up five minutes later to vomit, probably the first time that’s happened to me in a decade.

I feel somewhat better this morning, and we have all day to bike the ten miles to the ferry to Mallorca.  Hopefully I’ll continue to improve, and hopefully I haven’t passed it on to Rachael.

There’s a longer story here, but the short version is that Bruce drove the bikes out to the airport for us because we couldn’t find. Cab large enough to carry the bike boxes. Thanks, Bruce!
Heart 5 Comment 3 Link
Suzanne GibsonSorry to hear that you were feeling so miserable for the trip. You, and Rachael, are looking good in the picture, though.
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9 months ago
Bruce LellmanWhen you needed the bikes in boxes transported, both my mildewed 1987 Toyota wagon and I perked up because we could be of assistance. I'm glad I kept the car one more year. And I'm glad it started right up after sitting for more than three months.

I'm so sorry you got sick right before your trip. That sort of timing is the worst.
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9 months ago
Ron SuchanekBruce is a good boy.
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7 months ago
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Bruce LellmanI'm not necessarily patriotic but I think this is a pretty cool photo with the I-205 bridge in the background over the Columbia River.
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9 months ago
Scott AndersonTo Bruce LellmanI was pleased with it too. I especially liked that the curvatures of the bridge and wing paralleled so well.
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9 months ago
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Larry MitchellGood to see you’ve arrived … 11 hour flights are never good from my experience and your comment about how time goes slowly if well remembered from our trips to Europe and Africa.

Time for a short rest and a short ride to get the body back to normal.
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9 months ago
marilyn swettGlad you guys made it to Barcelona and hope you feel better soon, Scott! Having done that long flight ourselves last fall, it would be the pits when you're sick. At least we booked aisle seats, so had a bit more room to move around.
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9 months ago
Kelly IniguezNot that we endorse suffering, but that torn quadriceps tendon needs more details. It sounds miserable! Is there a journal link?

Is chicken soup the cure when you are vomiting? Do they have chicken soup in Spain?

Your good constitution should bring a speedy recovery! We are all pulling for you.
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9 months ago
Suzanne GibsonYou made it! Hope you got the ferry connection and are feeling a little better by now.
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9 months ago
Rachael AndersonTo marilyn swettWe would have booked aisle seats but didn’t have the option. We couldn’t even get our seat assignments until the gate opened.
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9 months ago
Rich FrasierOh man, traveling while ill is the suckiest thing in the world. Welcome back anyway, and good sailing to Mallorca. Let's hope the beautiful island cures everything that's wrong with you!
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9 months ago
Jacquie GaudetRather glad I wasn't sitting next to you on the flight. Being trapped in a seat next to a sick person is even worse than being trapped next to a very large person.
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9 months ago
Bruce LellmanTo Rachael AndersonWe found, with China Air, that we couldn't choose our seats ahead of time unless we paid something extra! What!!? Is that what it's coming to? So, I had a middle seat both ways. It was super cramped.
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9 months ago
Patrick O'HaraGlad you made it. Sounded unpleasant. But, it's funny how the memory a crappy flight seems to fade away amid the excitement and adventure of travel. It's what keeps you two doing the things you do, perhaps?
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9 months ago
Scott AndersonTo Kelly IniguezThanks, Kelly. Hopefully health will return soon, for both of us.

I’ve probably referenced my quad tendon injury in some journal, but there’s no journal for when it happened, on a cross country skiing trip in the Dolomites. After skiing in pretty remote country for the previous two weeks, I collapsed when running down the stairs in a train station on our way home. As awful as it was, we were really lucky that it happened here and not out by ourselves in the snow. There’s no way I could have skied my way to help.
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9 months ago