A European Odyssey

Wednesday November 2nd
In Which our Odyssey really Ends

There is simply no getting over the fact that Australia really is a long way from Europe. The trip is never going to be easy (unless of course you have the luxury of riding up the front of the plane). Although we had shared an incredible adventure and had collected so many memories, neither of us were looking forward to spending so long in transit.

We packed our bags, hoping that somehow we could utilise the "Tardis Effect" to cram so much more in than we had on the way over. It is inevitable that souvenirs and gifts just seem to accumulate along the way and it is always easy to justify each purchase by claiming "it's not really that big" or "it doesn't weigh much". As we sat on the bed in our tiny room and looked at the huge pile in front of us, we both knew that the hour of reckoning had finally arrived.

I started by emptying my case, looking for anything that could be discarded to save space and weight. I found about three sheets of A4 and proudly tossed them into the bin. "That's gotta help", I explained to Maggie. A few more tourist brochures followed the journey into the bin, along with a small booklet about cycling in Germany (it was in German anyway).

I then started the reverse process of stuffing everything back. If you fold something up really tightly, surely that will make it weigh less ? Over the next few minutes the pile on the bed slowly reduced, the bag got fuller and I got more apprehensive. Finally the last item was jammed inside and I fought with the zipper, hoping that it was stronger than it looked. What a disaster it would be to suffer a zipper aneurism at this late stage.

Somehow I got the zipper closed. That was the first challenge completed. I then attached the small electronic luggage scale and heaved the bag into the air. I struggled to read the small dial, but was relieved and elated when I saw that it read 22.9 kg. Since my luggage allowance was 23 kg, it looked like I had pulled off the impossible. Of course the real reason for this miracle was that I had relocated all the heaviest items to my carry on bag, and they never (hardly ever) weigh those on check in.

Maggie's luggage had also grown exponentially over the past 10 weeks, but somehow still came in at under 20 kg. We felt like we had summited Everest.

Since our flight was not due to leave till 8 pm we still had a few hours to experience London. Neither of us had any desire to go into the central city and were both happy to spend more time in the gardens we had grown to love so much. We negotiated for a late checkout and wandered back to the Kensington Gardens. It was a wonderful feeling to walk slowly, just soaking up the marvelous atmosphere of this place. The squirrels were as busy as ever and we watched one little fellow carefully burying his nutty treasure in the soil. After several minutes his job was finished and he left in search of more nuts. As soon as his back was turned, another squirrel immediately ran over and retrieved the nut and ran off with it. Such is life I guess.

After a relaxed morning tea in the Lido tea house we slowly made our way back to the hotel, stored our bags and went out on our final foray. I had read about the famous "Speakers' Corner" and thought it might prove interesting. On every Sunday it is the place for anyone who wants an audience to stand on a soapbox and start speaking. This famous tradition is actually backed by a act of parliament that sets it aside as a bastion of free speech.

Speakers Corner is located on Park Lane, right in the North East corner of Hyde Park. As we approached we could see fifty or more people gathered round the first speaker. He had a Bible in his hand and was carrying on a spirited debate with some of the audience who were obviously not convinced about what he was saying. We listened for a few minutes before moving on to a colourfully dressed guy who was talking about nothing in particular. His audience seemed attentive, but somewhat confused.

After another meandering slow walk we arrived back at the hotel mid afternoon and waited for our taxi to the airport. The driver must have been eager as he arrived 30 minutes early and we were soon on our way to Heathrow. Although we were happy to be heading home after so long away, it was also sad to think that our long Odyssey was almost over.

A few days earlier we had received an update from Etihad, informing us that the time of our connecting flight from Abu Dhabi to Melbourne had been altered.
We would now have only about two hours in transit. That was good. As we sat in the plane waiting to depart Heathrow, the intercom informed us that our departure was going to be delayed by at least an hour. That was bad. That was really going to make it tight.

We finally took off about 70 minutes late and somehow we both managed to get some short sleeps along the way. When we landed at Abu Dhabi we knew that the second plane would be on the point of departure. Running through the extensive terminal building, I was trying not to think of the consequences of missing the flight. Neither of us wanted to spend any time in Abu Dhabi.

After a hectic jog through the airport we arrived at the departure gate as the plane was boarding, joined the back of the queue and hoped that our luggage could move as fast as we had. Outside the rising early morning sun was painting the desert sands bright red. It was going to be yet another scorching day.

The next thirteen hours progressed slowly. The airline food was very forgettable, the seats were too small and I could not find a decent movie to watch. But at least we were on the final stretch.

We touched down at Tullamarine just as the sun was rising on Melbourne Cup Morning. We were both amazed that our luggage had also made the tight connection and was also safely in Melbourne with us. Because of the change of flight times we arrived much earlier than we had originally scheduled and the shuttle bus that I had ordered would not be picking us up till 10 am. Another long wait ! We found a seat and settled down to watch the clock.

The shuttle arrived at 9.30 but could not leave until 10.10 because another flight had been delayed. By this time we just wanted to be home and, about an hour later, we were. I unlocked the front door, turned off the alarm and looked around. Everything seemed unfamiliar. It was an eternity since we had locked that same front door and wheeled our bags to the shuttle to begin our adventure.

After 37 different hotels and B&Bs, 5 plane flights, 12 train trips, 1 major ferry crossing and numerous minor ones, numerous taxi rides, 4 different bicycles, 1 rental car, 1 Vespa scooter, and hundreds of kilometres on foot, our trip was complete. It had been over two years since the original concept had been put together and it was such a relief that somehow everything had gone according to the plan. Although it had been the most complex cycling trip I had ever organised and with the largest group of riders, we had actually achieved what we set out to do. It might not have been climbing Mt Everest or crossing Antarctica on dog sled, but for a group of 60 and 70 year olds, it was still something we could all be justifiably proud of. It was certainly something that not many get the opportunity to do and I knew that we would never forget it.

Thanks to Maggie for your tremendous support and patience throughout, and to all the others who helped make this dream a reality. I love you all.Lue lisää