South Shields to Ottawa

My brother-in-law, Malcolm, had offered to drive me to Gatwick an offer I could not turn down. On Saturday, August 1, he came over to my mother-in-law's and we tried to squeeze my bike into the boot (trunk) of his Jag. There was no way it was going to fit even after having removed both front and rear wheels. I took the rear mudguard (fender) off. Still it wouldn't fit. I took the front mudguard off. No go!!! Finally I removed the rear carrier and with a bit of a shove we managed to get the boot lid shut.

Of course I could not leave without having one last dinner (lunch) prepared by Nana. Malcolm came over at 12:00 and joined us. By 1:00 we were finished eating and chatting, well, except for Nana. Nana, of course, was sad to see me leave. She had really enjoyed my helping her out with various odd jobs around the house and was sorry to see me leave with still many more projects that she needed a handy man to do for her.

It was a lovely sunny day and the drive down to the Hurtwood Inn Hotel in Peaslake was uneventful. We made good time and arrived at our lodgings for the night at 6:30 with the help of my GPS which took down some rather narrow but scenic roads. After checking in and carrying our bags up to our rooms we met at the bar for a pint of beer. After taking a few photos there wasn't much else to do so we had another pint and ordered dinner. I had just recently finished reading one of Agatha Christie's mystery novels and as we were sitting in the hotel pub I could just imagine Hercule Poirot or Miss Marple walking in and asking that all staff be assembled in the main dinning room so he/she could announce the results of their investigation into the most recent murder. Fortunately, no murder had been commited and we were able to enjoy and quiet, peaceful evening.

The following morning, after breakfast , Malcolm drove me to Gatwick Airport. I had considered putting my bike together and cycling from Peaslake to Gatwick but a second check of my GPS indicated that the distance was 26 miles. In the end it was a good decision to have Malcolm drop me off at the airport. On arrival at Gatwick Airport we found a quiet spot in a nearby McDonald's parking lot so I could put my bike back together. I said goodbye to Malcolm and thanked him for taking the time out of his busy schedule to drive me to the airport.

I arrived at the Thomas Cook check-in counter at 10:30 only to find out that I couldn't check in for my flight to Ottawa until 11:40. I joined the queue waiting to check-in. At 11:40 TC staff appeared and check-in began. There were several people ahead of me so it was after 12:00 before I finally managed to get to the counter. I had counted on TC having a plastic bag in which to wrap my bike (same as Air Transat provided me with in Montreal prior to my departure for Bordeaux) but this was not the case. I was told I might be able to get one from Oversize Baggage but first I had to go to TradeEx and pay 30 Pounds for shipping. I had trouble finding TradeEx and had to return to TC for further directions. On my second attempt I was more successful and after paying the 30 pounds went off to find a plastic bag. I tried several Oversize Baggage counters but they did not have any materials for packaging oversize objects let alone a bicycle. One guy suggested I try Left Luggage which was near the Arrivals exit. I made my way over there and asked the guy at the counter if he could help me wrap my bike for shipping to Ottawa. He promptly informed me that they didn't wrap bicycles. I told him I had tried everyone else and that I was desperate. He said I should wait 10 minutes for his colleague to return and he might be able to help. Eventually the 2nd guy arrived and he asked me to wait 10 minutes while he went off to look for a bag. He came back with an AirTransat bag and informed me it would cost 20 pounds!!! This was the same plastic bag that I paid $5 for in Montreal. What could I do. I had no other choice than to pay. After removing my pedals, loosening the handlebars and deflating the tires they proceeded to wrap up my bike. I must say they did a good job. Now all I had to do was walk it back to the TC counter to get my baggage label so I could then walk it over to the Excess Baggage counter and get it sent off to the baggage handlers. What a carry on. Needless to say by the time I got my bag over to EB I had worked up quite a sweat. I was quite releaved to see my bike disappear on the conveyor belt into the bowels of the baggage handling area.

My checking in ordeal was not quite over yet. I still had to clear the carry-on baggage security check before proceeding to the departure lounge. Now I have been in a lot of airports during my career with the Department of Foreign Affairs but I have never seen a queue as long as the one I had to join in order to get on the plane for Ottawa. Getting through the security took another hour. Thank goodness I had driven to the airport and not cycled I would never have had time to check-in, find a plastic bag, clear security, etc. otherwise. I had brought a spanner (wrench) with me in order to remove my pedals and had put it in my carry-on bag along with my pedals. When the security officer saw this wrench he immediately said that any sort of tools were not allowed on board airplanes in case I should get bored during the long flight back to Canada and start dismantling a wing or something. So my wrench was confiscated for the safety of all and I was allowed to proceed to the departure lounge.

The rest of the journey was non-eventful. We left on time, arrived 10 minutes early and my daughter eventually showed up at the airport to drive me home. When I collected my bike at oversize baggage I noticed that a couple of holes had been torn into the plastic wrapping. I also noticed that the valve caps and valve nuts had been completely removed and were now in the bottom of the plastic bag. Why the baggage handlers had to remove the valve caps and nuts is a mystery. Unless it was an internal security check and they removed my tires/tubes to check them for drugs/explosives???

All in all it was a fantastic trip and an experience that I will remember for the rest of my life. The only thing I would do differently is try to travel a lot lighter next time. Pushing 50 lbs of extra weight up the mountains in France and the hills in England was not my idea of having a good time.

TTFN Roly