Let's start at the beginning, well, not really the very beginning of this trip, but at least from 1 August, T-9hrs.
10:30 Man on wire, Rosebank Mall
Wow, what a movie. If you feel you are lacking drive and motivation in life, go see this movie and feel embarrassed about how mundane your life is - a real feel good movie! Ok, a contrary there, but the question is posed, and it is beautiful "To me, it's really so simple, that life should be lived on the edge. You have to exercise rebellion. To refuse to tape yourself to the rules, to refuse your own success, to refuse to repeat yourself, to see every day, every year, every idea as a true challenge. Then you will live your life on the tightrope. - Philippe Petit". Oh, and another one: "It's impossible, that's sure. So let's start working. " BRILLIANT! Ok, so that got my into the spirit and mind set need for the trip.
12:30 Pack
Now I heard yesterday that I was going to be whacked 400USD for taking my bike, darn fine print! So I decided to take everything I could live without out of my bag and scale down big time. I think I did well: a 6 week trip and my total check-in weight (excluding bike) is 10kgs which includes they weight of a heavy backpack. I was confident that the airline company won't charge me as I am now totaling 24kgs with a 20kg allowed check-in limit (and that they wouldn't weigh my 12kg hand luggage).
15:00 Presents
Wow, am I fortunate or what? A new wallet, a pair of linebreak (http://www.linebreak.com.au/) pants and a top-end Polar watch. Thanks guys!
Goodbey
Little did I know that the 400USD was not to with weight but to do with the size of the luggage, so I got whacked it in anycase. Fortunately they reduced it to "small sporting equipment" and only charged me 70EUR. Time for the last kiss (for which my raisin burnt lip recovered just in time) and off I went.
As I am sitting and contemplating life, as I do (!!), the Swiss Airbus thrusts its engines and the plane accelerates forwards. I am leaving. That was the moment that I realised, bey bey South Africa, see you in 6 weeks.
A boring flight:The movies were old and I was squashed by an overly sized Italian woman next to me. Food was good though for aero plane food. Breakfast at 4am was a suprize!
I had a short transit at Zurich International airport, so I had to make a move to get to, no wait, long queues – charming! Some more queuing for general congestion, escalators, passport control bus taxing to terminal, boarding aeroplane, sigh. The security checkpoint did not really approve of my energy gels in my bag but fortunately they passed it through after making sure each one was still sealed. Thank you for checking security, I would have been as pissed if it was open!
Now I’m sitting on my Zurich – Brussels flight waiting for some passengers who couldn’t make the long howl to Terminal A quickly enough. Funny how we rush to queues and then end up waiting for the last guy in any case...
Now I am sure you have all experienced the sinking feeling you get when you waiting for your bike or item of luggage and the belt stops, i.e. there are no more bags coming and there you stand waiting for your bag, great! So off to the baggage counter and after waiting 40mins I get served. The bike stayed behind in Jhb. I guess that is better than telling me they don't know where the bike is! This was possible a blessing in disguise as I had 1 item less to carry in trying to find my address. The trip included a train trip to Leuven (station in photo below) followed by a bus home.
Now I seem to be the only 1 that gets confused with my address: I stay in Tielte which is in the Tielt Winge area or something like that, not quite sure. But if you ask for Tielt, you get sent 200km in the opposite direction. Well, I arrived safely at home some 4 hours later.
It was a bit depressing on the first day - knowing no-one, not having a bike, raining miserable weather, no food because all the shops are closed, tired, the 1 couple in the house packing because they leaving the next day, flip, what have I done. I scoff some of my peanuts and raisins as feel good food and go watch Ace Ventura on the TV - that provided
some upliftment. The next day I felt much better until I call the luggage handlers and they tell me they don't knwo where bike is, they will notify me when the find it. Arg. Nevertheless, after another few phone calls they discover it in standing lonely in the back of the storeroom. Having nothing else to do I missioned to the airport to go fetch my bike
I managed a 2hr ride on Monday afternoon after building my bike and felt a whole lot better about life thereafter, ha ha, cyclists are strange people. Except for Belgiums - they really are different!
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