First off on a race trip, you have to get there, and the physical journey is all part of the bigger journey! Travelling with a bike can be quite an experience depending on the airline and the airport. I swear airport designers do not have people with luggage in mind when they do their airport designing jobs. Steps and tight corners to negotiate, narrow elevators, silly post things stuck in the ground which are just a few inches too close together to accommodate a passing bike box on a trolley, fellow passengers making quips as to what's in the bag, and ferocious check in staff who seize the opportunity with glee to charge you excess baggage while allowing the person beside you on with a set of golf clubs and a whole lot of scuba diving equipment with hardly a comment. Anyway Emirates now have a bigger luggage allowance, yippee, so no problems there this time. Had a joyous air steward person attending my row who couldn't believe no one was drinking 'what's wrong with you lot, it's free booze!' i pointed out it was only 8am but he didn't seem to see my point! Landed in Vienna, picked up the hire car, headed off to the car park armed with the knowledge i had to drive 100ks away from vienna but had no idea in which direction or what the name of the town was i was headed for. Then my phone bleeps - the flipping car company had blocked 900 euros off my card! I only have a low level credit card anyway for car hiring/emergency purposes only so that was all my funds gone. fab! Decided not worry about the minor detail of suddenly having no access to money and instead focus on finding my way to the guesthouse. Luckily Austrian roads are very well sign posted so even blonde pigtailed girls can find their way. Mr Felt was happy to be out of his box and the travel bandages off and resurrected into a bike shape (see pic above).
