Back to London

Pre-departure… I'm now back in London before leaving on Sunday. It's
actually been a good thing, forcing me to concentrate and pack
everything, well almost everything, a few days before I actually
leave. I'm one of the worst for gadgets and gear but this has taken
it to a new level. Two huge bags of kit, plus Kathryn's bike, plus my
altitude simulator. Not to mention the one bag that I have already
taken to London. These are 120 litre kit bags, big enough for a body.
It's a good thing that a lot of the stuff is just voluminous and not
too heavy. Down jackets, trousers, sleeping bags etc. All just take
up space.

Funny thing about air travel, you never really know what is going to
happen. I had the ultimate Swiss robot check me in flying back to
London, constantly quoting me regulations about baggage weight and
what was allowed. The altitude simulator comes in a big black travel
case and happens to be just over the baggage weight limit. Trying to
reason with a machine is pointless:
Me: I know it's over 35 kg but you took it on the way here.
Robot: The regulations state that any one piece cannot be over 35 kg
and your case is 39 kg.
Me: Yes it is 39 kg. You see the baggage tag on it? It came on the
flight with me about a month ago.
Robot: Yes, but it's over 35 kg.
Me: Right, so why won't you let me take it back if it wasn't too
heavy on the way here?
Robot: Because it's over 35 kg. You will have to leave it here or
ship by cargo.
Me: Your programming is very efficient THX 1136…

Always something, that was the end of my altitude training thanks to
Swiss and a nice 400 CHF bill to get the machine home. You'd think
they would just fleece you and put it on the plane, no, it will arrive
4-5 days later. You have to just laugh.
So back in London I only have a few things left to do. Pack the last
of my kit, hang out with my wife, and drink a bunch of pints with some
friends. As I cruise through Snow & Rock, I try and stay focused, not
hard as I already have at least one of everything in the store. In
the end, I escape with a travel towel and about 5 m of some thin cord.
A nice little send off Friday night at the Sporting Page, our local
pub. Seems like they weren't ready for Tommy the K though, we drank
them out of Guinness and white wine. There were a bunch of the girls
on the white, but just myself, Tommy and one or two others on the
Guinness. Tommy managed to get the last one for free seeing as it was
3 mm below the lip and clearly not a full pint. The evening was full
of well wishes and offers to take care of my wife while I was gone.
Even a card from Charlie advising me not to break a leg, sage advice
from ten year old.

Always something you forget until the last moment. Zip lock bags,
power gels, cheese, hand cleaner, all the little annoying things that
I seem to think off at the last minute. Books, loading the ipod with
movies, the time flies. Finally, at about 5 pm on Saturday it all
comes together. Kathryn has a nice little going away package for me
with cards, books, and a few other essentials. They all get crammed
into the last remaining space. The evening was low key but very nice,
dinner, bottle of vino and then we both fell asleep on the sofa...