Final Preparations

May 11 rapidly approaching and Helen has been systematically laying out all of our gear in the boy’s bedroom, so we could get an idea of how much stuff we would need, the relatively small pile now growing and now shrinking as we debated the necessity of various items.

Dismantling the bikes for travel the day before we left was relatively easy – just undo all of the bolts. Packing the bikes into the boxes was somewhat more of a challenge and took much longer than it should. There are some good videos around to explain how that is supposed to work, and then there’s the reality of trying to get a rather strange shaped combination of bits of steel into a box that doesn’t seem quite big enough. The prodigious amounts of diced and sliced foam noodles, electrical tape, and bubble wrap also contributed to the situation. It … took … ages.

Note to self (and others) … do NOT leave this to the last minute.

Strangely enough, my larger bike fitted into the (only slightly larger) box relatively easily. Flushed with the success of that exercise we started on Helen’s machine, the frame of which seemed considerably smaller, even if it was destined for the smaller of the two boxes. 

How hard could it be?

‘Particularly hard’, as it turned out. Obviously the padded-out frame fitted into the box very easily by itself.  But the wheels! We eventually resorted to removing the tyres and tubes to reduce the wheel diameter and thickness, and eventually managed to slide most of it into the box.

Each box was weighed to make sure it would fit under the 23kg luggage weight limit, and other small items were added to bring them up to about 22.5kg each, to optimise the packing space.

The day has finally arrived and it is raining and cold in Romsey, really cold. 6C.

It’s like Australia is giving us a cold send off to make us appreciate the warmth of the Canadian Spring that awaits us on the other side of the Pacific. At least, that’s what we hope is awaiting us. I must admit that the first section through the Rockies has been some concern, partly because we are not familiar with the steepness of roads, what the weather will be like, or any idea of how far we will be able to ride each day.

Going for conservative, we had mapped out the first two and a half weeks from Vancouver to Calgary via Jasper and Banff and had gone for relatively short days of 65km to maximum 90km days. We have no idea if that will be achievable. This is one of the real challenges of planning the trip.

The ‘we’ is a bit misleading because it is pretty obvious now that Helen will not be riding for the first 3 weeks, if at all. Her left wrist is not healing well, with little improvement in movement or strength. There also appears to be some overlooked damage to her left shoulder that is making things more difficult too.

She has been pretty stoic about it much of the time, but is obviously extremely disappointed not to be starting out the trip on the bike. We’ll just have to get her to Calgary and then decide what we are doing when I get there in early June. Her only consolation is that she will have lots of time with her cousins and nephews and others, and will actually get to see Calgary for more than just a fleeting visit.

Final packing on the morning of May 11^th included wrapping the bikes in Cling Wrap (from a 300m roll, the largest Helen could find in the local supermarket) to provide at least a little protection for the boxes from the rain. How fun would that be, watching our carefully packed bike boxes slowly disintegrate as we try to load them into or out of the car?

Triumph! All of our gear, including camping stuff, panniers, and clothes, fitted into our two suitcases plus carry-on luggage with kilograms to spare.

So all we need to do is get to the airport.

Vince and Lisa Boyle have been so encouraging of all this madness. Bike tourers themselves, they came back from a cycle tour of the UK and Ireland last year with tales of soggy insanity and of the wonderful people they met, including those whose homes they stayed at through www.warmshowers.org – a wonderful global initiative for bicycle tourers. Lisa enthusiastically volunteered to take us – and all the gear – to the airport.

Airport, check-in, over-size baggage, security, and then we were finally in the International terminal. This is really happening! It’s strange how a trip like this starts off as a vague idea, and then gradually begins to take shape. All of the planning, purchasing, packing, and yet it seems a bit surreal until you are sitting in the terminal, with your hand luggage (and a cup of coffee), gazing through the window at very large aeroplanes on a cold and damp Melbourne afternoon.

The first leg to Hong Kong was 10 hours, then a 2 hour layover until the flight to Vancouver, another 13 hours. Looking forward to getting to Vancouver on Friday night (that international date line thing), having a good rest, and then doing our final setup on Saturday before heading out for Chilliwack on Sunday, our first day ‘on the road’.

Vancouver

Made it!

Still a bit surreal, but how magnificent to be flying in toward the coast of BC, over the mountains and down into Vancouver airport. Still have a lot to prep … and we managed to lose a phone somewhere on the trip, so that will have to be fixed, but we’re here!