Saturday, 24 October 2009
New Life
This year has been a time of big changes. First of all I changed my job after 9 years. It's amazing how a change like that can give you a totally different perspective on life. Secondly, and most important of all I became a father for the first time. My wife had two beautiful baby daughters we have called Annelise and Emilia on September 25th. I have no real way to describe how it feels. Everything is so new but oh so amazing. Life is peachy!!!
Sunday, 5 July 2009
What a difference a few months make..
Earlier on this year I was all set to take part this year's charity cycle from Prague to Berlin. I've never been to Prague nor Berlin although I have been to Germany (or West Germany as it was known in those days). Last year's cycle was one of the best things I have ever done. It was a personal challenge and also a chance to visit some places I had never been to before. However, over the past few months things have changed.
Last year, during the trip, I knew that there was a chance I might not make this year's trip. My wife and I were talking about starting a family and earlier on this year it was confirmed that she was pregnant. Unfortunately, she had to take some time off from work as she wasn't feeling well but luckily now she is fine again. Anyway, it was because of this type of thing I decided that I couldn't go on this year's cycle. It's a real shame but some things are just more important.
The guys are still forging ahead and have been doing a lot of training in preparation. I know that because of the credit crunch not everyone has a lot of spare money lying around. However, if you do have a little bit of spare cash then please pledge some money to a very worthy cause. All expenses including flights, food, accommodation, etc. are met by the guys themselves. All of the money raised goes directly to CHAS.
http://www.justgiving.com/praguetoberlin/
Last year, during the trip, I knew that there was a chance I might not make this year's trip. My wife and I were talking about starting a family and earlier on this year it was confirmed that she was pregnant. Unfortunately, she had to take some time off from work as she wasn't feeling well but luckily now she is fine again. Anyway, it was because of this type of thing I decided that I couldn't go on this year's cycle. It's a real shame but some things are just more important.
The guys are still forging ahead and have been doing a lot of training in preparation. I know that because of the credit crunch not everyone has a lot of spare money lying around. However, if you do have a little bit of spare cash then please pledge some money to a very worthy cause. All expenses including flights, food, accommodation, etc. are met by the guys themselves. All of the money raised goes directly to CHAS.
http://www.justgiving.com/praguetoberlin/
Saturday, 14 February 2009
A Cycling Dilemma
Now that we have decided, at least for now at any rate, where we are going to be cycling this year, the business of training rears it's ugly head again. Last time I sat on my bike was back in Oslo in August. Why so long? Well, couple of reasons I guess. Firstly, it's so easy to slip back into old ways. I think most of us didn't want to see our bikes again for a while after completing the last trip but a day becomes a week; a week becomes a month; a month becomes a few months, etc. This is why us deciding where we are going is important. We have a goal to achieve again and around 6 months to train for it.
Secondly, when I unpacked my bike in Gothenburg I noticed that my forks were leaking oil from the seals. By the time I reached Oslo any time I hit a bump they were bottoming out and you could feel metal hitting metal. Not good! Anyway, I took my forks, Manitou SX, in to Alpine Bikes to see about having them serviced. They took a look at them, hummed and hawed, and then said that they thought that they were too old and getting parts would be a problem. In any case, servicing them was gonna cost around about £100... yikes!!! They phoned me back up earlier on in the week to confirm that the forks were too old and that they couldn't get new seals. New forks it is then.
Just before Christmas I had been looking at buying some new forks. When I bought my bike, the forks I had were apparently considered to be fairly high-end for the time. I got my bike in 2000 and the forks, according to the year stamp, were manufactured in 1999. Funny how now I can go out and buy a pair forks for £150 and they offer so much more than my ones ever did. For starters, my forks have no real adjustable features. There is one adjustable thing on one of the stanchions but never really figured out what it did. Perhaps stiffened them up a bit. Anyway, now on a fairly low end set of forks you can now change the amount of travel, be able to lock the forks out and adjust the rebound.
Anyway, one day while looking around a shop my wife surprised me and said, "Why don't you just get your current forks serviced. At least then you could use your bike and then later on you could buy a new bike." I thought my ears deceived me. Did she really say about buying a new bike?
So, therein lies my dilemma. I love my bike but for long cycles the geometry is such that I end up with a lot of pains in my wrists, elbows and shoulders. So, do I spend a small fortune buying some decent forks and then have to convert from v-brakes to disks? Or, do I just buy a cheap but decent pair and then save up for a new bike?
In the end I think value for money is what it all boils down to. Higher end forks these days tend not to come with the bosses for v-brakes which means that you have to upgrade to disks. For me that would cost probably around £500 which to be honest just isn't worth it. I could get a new bike for that so in the end I think that's probably what I will end up doing.
Secondly, when I unpacked my bike in Gothenburg I noticed that my forks were leaking oil from the seals. By the time I reached Oslo any time I hit a bump they were bottoming out and you could feel metal hitting metal. Not good! Anyway, I took my forks, Manitou SX, in to Alpine Bikes to see about having them serviced. They took a look at them, hummed and hawed, and then said that they thought that they were too old and getting parts would be a problem. In any case, servicing them was gonna cost around about £100... yikes!!! They phoned me back up earlier on in the week to confirm that the forks were too old and that they couldn't get new seals. New forks it is then.
Just before Christmas I had been looking at buying some new forks. When I bought my bike, the forks I had were apparently considered to be fairly high-end for the time. I got my bike in 2000 and the forks, according to the year stamp, were manufactured in 1999. Funny how now I can go out and buy a pair forks for £150 and they offer so much more than my ones ever did. For starters, my forks have no real adjustable features. There is one adjustable thing on one of the stanchions but never really figured out what it did. Perhaps stiffened them up a bit. Anyway, now on a fairly low end set of forks you can now change the amount of travel, be able to lock the forks out and adjust the rebound.
Anyway, one day while looking around a shop my wife surprised me and said, "Why don't you just get your current forks serviced. At least then you could use your bike and then later on you could buy a new bike." I thought my ears deceived me. Did she really say about buying a new bike?
So, therein lies my dilemma. I love my bike but for long cycles the geometry is such that I end up with a lot of pains in my wrists, elbows and shoulders. So, do I spend a small fortune buying some decent forks and then have to convert from v-brakes to disks? Or, do I just buy a cheap but decent pair and then save up for a new bike?
In the end I think value for money is what it all boils down to. Higher end forks these days tend not to come with the bosses for v-brakes which means that you have to upgrade to disks. For me that would cost probably around £500 which to be honest just isn't worth it. I could get a new bike for that so in the end I think that's probably what I will end up doing.
Friday, 13 February 2009
Hot Off The Press - This Year's Cycle
Currently we are sitting in Mauro's flat planning this year's cycle. We've gorged ourselves on pizza and had a wee sherbert or two. Anyway, this year it looks like it is going to be from Prague to Berlin. The draw of having our picture taken in front of the Brandenburg Gate was too strong. Never been to either city nor have I ever been to the Czech Republic so it will be a new experience.
No details yet on the route. Direct it is about 200 odd miles but with some detours I think it will end up being about 250 miles in total.
Watch this space...
No details yet on the route. Direct it is about 200 odd miles but with some detours I think it will end up being about 250 miles in total.
Watch this space...
Thursday, 16 October 2008
We're Famous!!!
Good grief... how long's it been since my last post? Too long. Anyway, believe it or not my bike is still in the box it was packed it when we were in Oslo. Need to unpack my bike, clean it and get my forks serviced. Getting too lazy these days...
Anyway, one thing I meant to mention a while back but haven't mentioned until now is that we made the papers in Sweden. Just before we started our third day of cycling, travelling from Fjällbacka in Sweden to Sarpsborg in Norway, we were interviewed by a journalist from the Strömstads Tidning Norra Bohuslän. Below is a copy of the article in the original Swedish and also a translation kindly done by Fred Eriksson, one of the team members. Hopefully the newspaper won't mind me reprinting the article...
Cyklar för sjuka barn
En grupp arbetskamrater startade i lördags en över fyrtio mil lång cykeltur.
Målet är att dra in pengar till en välgörenhetsfond för sjuka barn i Skottland. Turen går från Göteborg till Oslo och i tisdags cyklade de förbi Fjällbacka.
Gruppen som just nu cyklar mot den norska gränsen jobbar alla på Stena Bulk i Glasgow, ett dotterföretag till Stena. Målet med cykelturen är att samla in så mycket pengar som möjligt till CHAS, en välgörenhetsfond som driver två barnsjukhus i Skottland.
– Det hela började med att en kollega till oss fick ett son med Krabbes sjukdom, han hette Jack och gick bort i början av året, berättar Fredrik Eriksson, från Göteborg, som jobbar på företaget i Skottland.
När Jack föddes med den vanliga och obotliga hjärnsjukdomen, vårdades han på ett barnsjukhus som finansieras av välgörenhetsfonden, Children’s Hospice Association Scotland, CHAS. Det var till den fonden Fredrik Eriksson och hans kollegor började skicka in pengar.
– Det är jättevanligt i USA och Storbritanien att man samlar in pengar för att hjälpa en kollega som drabbats, man vill liksom dra sitt strå till stacken, säger Fredrik Eriksson.
Han konstaterar samtidigt att det inte är så vanligt i svenska företag och att många är skeptiska och undrar om folk verkligen betalar bara för att man gör någonting annorlunda.
– Men det funkar. Därborta kan man hitta på vad som helst, som till exempel ”hur mycket ger du om jag rakar av mig håret” till större grejer som sådana här cykelturer.
Cykelturen började gruppen planera förra året, när det sedan blev bestämt vart det skulle åka har de träffats varje söndag de senaste sex månaderna för att planera och cykla tillsammans.
– Först tänkte vi åka till Gotland, men eftersom jag är härifrån bestämde vi oss för Göteborg-Oslo och det är ju bra för då cyklar vi i två länder.
Turen kunde ha börjat bättre men efter att ha kommit iväg lite sent från Göteborg, åkt vilse de första timmarna och cyklat på motorvägen, kom de på lördagkvällen ändå fram till den första etappen på Orust. Från Orust cyklade de sedan upp till Valön, där hade en fri dag i måndags för att samla krafter till nästa etapp, Fjällbacka-Sarspborg.
– Idag blir det nog en av de jobbigaste dagarna, vi kommer att cykla cirka 20 mil och hela sträckan är på över 40 mil, det blir ju längre på alla småvägar. Och vi är inga professionella cyklister så vi har ont överallt, säger Fredrik Eriksson och tar sig om vaderna.
Redan innan avresan började gruppen blogga om projektet och söka olika sponsorer och killarna har fått mycket respons, ett företag sponsrar till exempel minibussen som kör runt med packningen och ett annat sponsrade tröjorna.
– Några företag i koncernen har bidragit med pengar och tillsammans med alla privata bidrag har vi framtills nu samlat in närmare 85 000 kronor och allt går oavkortat till välgörenhetsfonden i Skottland, säger Fredrik Eriksson, stolt.
Gruppen har även satt upp en hemsida så att privatpersoner enkelt kan skänka pengar till insamlingen. Och allteftersom killarna trampar vidare rullar pengarna in, bara genom hemsidan har gruppen fått in närmare 50 000 kronor.
Många bidrag har kommit in från vänner, släkt och kollegor men även andra personer som hört talas om dem har skickat in en slant. Förutom pengar får gruppen uppmuntringar på hemsidan, ”Good luck guys. Fantastic what you are doing. Dont break any legs”, är ett av meddelandena som skickats in.
Gänget har redan börjat planera för nästa projekt men ännu är inget spikat.
– Vi funderar på att göra en auktion för att samla in pengar till någon svensk välgörenhetsfond som jobbar med sjuka barn, säger Fredrik Eriksson.
Cycling for sick children
On Saturday, a team of workmates started biking an over 400km long route. The target is to raise money to a charity trust for sick children in Scotland. The route stretches from Gothenburg to Oslo and last Tuesday they passed Fjällbacka.
The group which currently are cycling towards the Norwegian border all work at Stena Bulk in Glasgow, a subsidiary to Stena. The goal with the cycle is to raise as much money as possible to CHAS, a charity trust managing two children’s hospices in Scotland.
-It all started with a colleague’s son was born with Krabbes disease, his name was Jack and passed away in the beginning of the year, says Fredrik Eriksson from Gothenburg who’s working at the company in Scotland.
When Jack was born with the incurable and unusual brain illness he was treated at a children’s hospice financed by the charity trust, CHAS. It was to this trust Fredrik Eriksson and his colleague started sending in money.
-It is very common in both the States and the UK that you raise money for to help a colleague who’s been badly affected by illness, you want to pull your weight says Fredrik Eriksson.
At the same time he states that this is not so common amongst Swedish companies and that many are sceptical wondering if people really pay just because you do something slightly different.
-But it works. Over there you can do whatever, from for example “how much money will you donate if I shave my head” to larger events like this cycle ride.
The group started planning the cycle ride last year. Once it had been decided where they should go they have met every Sunday over the past six months to plan and cycle together.
-At first we thought of going to Gotland but because I come from here we set the route from Gothenburg – Oslo and that is good because we are then cycling in two countries.
The route could have started better but after a slight delayed start from Gothenburg, got lost in the first hours and cycled on the freeway they did reach all the way to Oslo on Saturday evening. From Orust they cycled up to Valön where they had a day off on Monday to relax for the next leg from Fjällbacka-Sarpsborg.
-Today will probably be one of the toughest days, we will cycle some 200 km and the entire route is 400 km, cycling on the small roads takes longer time. We are no professional cyclists so it hurts everywhere, says Fredrik Eriksson touching his thighs.
Already before the start the group started blogging about the project and searching for sponsors and the guys have received a lot of response, one company for example sponsor us with the van driving around with our luggage and another sponsored us with the shirts.
-Some companies in the conglomerate has donated money and together with all individual donations we have until now raised almost 85 000 SEK and everything goes straight to the charity trust in Scotland, says Fredrik Eriksson.
The group has even started a website so that individuals easily can donate money to the charity. Since the guys continue to pedal the money’s rolling in. the website alone has raised close to 50 000 SEK. Many donations come from friends, relatives and colleagues, other people who have heard about them have also sent in money. With the donation the group get comments on the website like: “Good luck guys. Fantastic what you are doing. Don’t break any legs”, are a sample of the messages to the group.
The team has already started planning for the next project but as of today nothing is set in stone.
-We are thinking of having an auction to raise money for some Swedish charity working with sick children, says Fredrik Eriksson
Anyway, one thing I meant to mention a while back but haven't mentioned until now is that we made the papers in Sweden. Just before we started our third day of cycling, travelling from Fjällbacka in Sweden to Sarpsborg in Norway, we were interviewed by a journalist from the Strömstads Tidning Norra Bohuslän. Below is a copy of the article in the original Swedish and also a translation kindly done by Fred Eriksson, one of the team members. Hopefully the newspaper won't mind me reprinting the article...
Cyklar för sjuka barn
En grupp arbetskamrater startade i lördags en över fyrtio mil lång cykeltur.
Målet är att dra in pengar till en välgörenhetsfond för sjuka barn i Skottland. Turen går från Göteborg till Oslo och i tisdags cyklade de förbi Fjällbacka.
Gruppen som just nu cyklar mot den norska gränsen jobbar alla på Stena Bulk i Glasgow, ett dotterföretag till Stena. Målet med cykelturen är att samla in så mycket pengar som möjligt till CHAS, en välgörenhetsfond som driver två barnsjukhus i Skottland.
– Det hela började med att en kollega till oss fick ett son med Krabbes sjukdom, han hette Jack och gick bort i början av året, berättar Fredrik Eriksson, från Göteborg, som jobbar på företaget i Skottland.
När Jack föddes med den vanliga och obotliga hjärnsjukdomen, vårdades han på ett barnsjukhus som finansieras av välgörenhetsfonden, Children’s Hospice Association Scotland, CHAS. Det var till den fonden Fredrik Eriksson och hans kollegor började skicka in pengar.
– Det är jättevanligt i USA och Storbritanien att man samlar in pengar för att hjälpa en kollega som drabbats, man vill liksom dra sitt strå till stacken, säger Fredrik Eriksson.
Han konstaterar samtidigt att det inte är så vanligt i svenska företag och att många är skeptiska och undrar om folk verkligen betalar bara för att man gör någonting annorlunda.
– Men det funkar. Därborta kan man hitta på vad som helst, som till exempel ”hur mycket ger du om jag rakar av mig håret” till större grejer som sådana här cykelturer.
Cykelturen började gruppen planera förra året, när det sedan blev bestämt vart det skulle åka har de träffats varje söndag de senaste sex månaderna för att planera och cykla tillsammans.
– Först tänkte vi åka till Gotland, men eftersom jag är härifrån bestämde vi oss för Göteborg-Oslo och det är ju bra för då cyklar vi i två länder.
Turen kunde ha börjat bättre men efter att ha kommit iväg lite sent från Göteborg, åkt vilse de första timmarna och cyklat på motorvägen, kom de på lördagkvällen ändå fram till den första etappen på Orust. Från Orust cyklade de sedan upp till Valön, där hade en fri dag i måndags för att samla krafter till nästa etapp, Fjällbacka-Sarspborg.
– Idag blir det nog en av de jobbigaste dagarna, vi kommer att cykla cirka 20 mil och hela sträckan är på över 40 mil, det blir ju längre på alla småvägar. Och vi är inga professionella cyklister så vi har ont överallt, säger Fredrik Eriksson och tar sig om vaderna.
Redan innan avresan började gruppen blogga om projektet och söka olika sponsorer och killarna har fått mycket respons, ett företag sponsrar till exempel minibussen som kör runt med packningen och ett annat sponsrade tröjorna.
– Några företag i koncernen har bidragit med pengar och tillsammans med alla privata bidrag har vi framtills nu samlat in närmare 85 000 kronor och allt går oavkortat till välgörenhetsfonden i Skottland, säger Fredrik Eriksson, stolt.
Gruppen har även satt upp en hemsida så att privatpersoner enkelt kan skänka pengar till insamlingen. Och allteftersom killarna trampar vidare rullar pengarna in, bara genom hemsidan har gruppen fått in närmare 50 000 kronor.
Många bidrag har kommit in från vänner, släkt och kollegor men även andra personer som hört talas om dem har skickat in en slant. Förutom pengar får gruppen uppmuntringar på hemsidan, ”Good luck guys. Fantastic what you are doing. Dont break any legs”, är ett av meddelandena som skickats in.
Gänget har redan börjat planera för nästa projekt men ännu är inget spikat.
– Vi funderar på att göra en auktion för att samla in pengar till någon svensk välgörenhetsfond som jobbar med sjuka barn, säger Fredrik Eriksson.
Elsa Maréchal
Cycling for sick children
On Saturday, a team of workmates started biking an over 400km long route. The target is to raise money to a charity trust for sick children in Scotland. The route stretches from Gothenburg to Oslo and last Tuesday they passed Fjällbacka.
The group which currently are cycling towards the Norwegian border all work at Stena Bulk in Glasgow, a subsidiary to Stena. The goal with the cycle is to raise as much money as possible to CHAS, a charity trust managing two children’s hospices in Scotland.
-It all started with a colleague’s son was born with Krabbes disease, his name was Jack and passed away in the beginning of the year, says Fredrik Eriksson from Gothenburg who’s working at the company in Scotland.
When Jack was born with the incurable and unusual brain illness he was treated at a children’s hospice financed by the charity trust, CHAS. It was to this trust Fredrik Eriksson and his colleague started sending in money.
-It is very common in both the States and the UK that you raise money for to help a colleague who’s been badly affected by illness, you want to pull your weight says Fredrik Eriksson.
At the same time he states that this is not so common amongst Swedish companies and that many are sceptical wondering if people really pay just because you do something slightly different.
-But it works. Over there you can do whatever, from for example “how much money will you donate if I shave my head” to larger events like this cycle ride.
The group started planning the cycle ride last year. Once it had been decided where they should go they have met every Sunday over the past six months to plan and cycle together.
-At first we thought of going to Gotland but because I come from here we set the route from Gothenburg – Oslo and that is good because we are then cycling in two countries.
The route could have started better but after a slight delayed start from Gothenburg, got lost in the first hours and cycled on the freeway they did reach all the way to Oslo on Saturday evening. From Orust they cycled up to Valön where they had a day off on Monday to relax for the next leg from Fjällbacka-Sarpsborg.
-Today will probably be one of the toughest days, we will cycle some 200 km and the entire route is 400 km, cycling on the small roads takes longer time. We are no professional cyclists so it hurts everywhere, says Fredrik Eriksson touching his thighs.
Already before the start the group started blogging about the project and searching for sponsors and the guys have received a lot of response, one company for example sponsor us with the van driving around with our luggage and another sponsored us with the shirts.
-Some companies in the conglomerate has donated money and together with all individual donations we have until now raised almost 85 000 SEK and everything goes straight to the charity trust in Scotland, says Fredrik Eriksson.
The group has even started a website so that individuals easily can donate money to the charity. Since the guys continue to pedal the money’s rolling in. the website alone has raised close to 50 000 SEK. Many donations come from friends, relatives and colleagues, other people who have heard about them have also sent in money. With the donation the group get comments on the website like: “Good luck guys. Fantastic what you are doing. Don’t break any legs”, are a sample of the messages to the group.
The team has already started planning for the next project but as of today nothing is set in stone.
-We are thinking of having an auction to raise money for some Swedish charity working with sick children, says Fredrik Eriksson
Elsa Maréchal
Saturday, 30 August 2008
We're back!!!
Well, we are back again after our invasion of Norway. We got in to Glasgow Prestwick late this afternoon after our flight from Oslo Torp airport. I've missed my wife a lot and so it was good to be home again and have life return to some assemblance of normality.
So much has happened over the past week and I will get round to publishing a sort of daily diary of events as and when I can. I spent most of the flight writing up notes in my notebook. I've spent a good few hours over the past week keeping it up to date. A couple of the guys think I should write a book about the experience. Who knows? Maybe that might come to fruition one day.
Anyway, as you can probably tell from the time this entry was published it is very early on Saturday morning. Before I go I wanted to thank some people:
To all the guys who shared the experience with me I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart. It was one of the best experiences of my life and am sure it was for you too. We went through a lot of pain at times pushing ourselves to our limits and perhaps beyond, some more than others, but we all came through in the end. It is something I am immensely proud of completing.
Mr & Mrs Bertil Fredriksson for allowing us to stay at their beautiful holiday home.
I would also like to thank our sponsors, without whom the journey would have been more difficult:
Stena Bulk / North Marine Management / Concordia Maritime - thanks for supplying the kit we wore all throughout the trip. You have no idea how much more comfortable we were because of it. Thanks also for the donations you made as well.
Herbalife - for supplying us with supplements which helped us during cycling.
Brantas - for buying us loads of spares.
Finally, I would like to thank everyone who sponsored us through the Just Giving web site and offline as well. Your generosity is very much appreciated by one and all. To date we have raised over £7,000 which is a fantastic amount. Hopefully this will rise and we can give CHAS an excellent early Christmas present.
So, what next? Well, we've had one or two discussions about what we might do next year. No decisions yet of course but you will be first to know as and when anything is decided. Watch this space...
So much has happened over the past week and I will get round to publishing a sort of daily diary of events as and when I can. I spent most of the flight writing up notes in my notebook. I've spent a good few hours over the past week keeping it up to date. A couple of the guys think I should write a book about the experience. Who knows? Maybe that might come to fruition one day.
Anyway, as you can probably tell from the time this entry was published it is very early on Saturday morning. Before I go I wanted to thank some people:
To all the guys who shared the experience with me I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart. It was one of the best experiences of my life and am sure it was for you too. We went through a lot of pain at times pushing ourselves to our limits and perhaps beyond, some more than others, but we all came through in the end. It is something I am immensely proud of completing.
Mr & Mrs Bertil Fredriksson for allowing us to stay at their beautiful holiday home.
I would also like to thank our sponsors, without whom the journey would have been more difficult:
Stena Bulk / North Marine Management / Concordia Maritime - thanks for supplying the kit we wore all throughout the trip. You have no idea how much more comfortable we were because of it. Thanks also for the donations you made as well.
Herbalife - for supplying us with supplements which helped us during cycling.
Brantas - for buying us loads of spares.
Finally, I would like to thank everyone who sponsored us through the Just Giving web site and offline as well. Your generosity is very much appreciated by one and all. To date we have raised over £7,000 which is a fantastic amount. Hopefully this will rise and we can give CHAS an excellent early Christmas present.
So, what next? Well, we've had one or two discussions about what we might do next year. No decisions yet of course but you will be first to know as and when anything is decided. Watch this space...
Friday, 29 August 2008
Got. To Oslo Day 8 - The journey home
Today was a sad but a happy day. Sad that our journey was over but happy that we were going home. I missed my wife and my home comforts. Again, Mauro and I woke up early and headed for breakfast. No fishy pancakes this time. Thankfully they were replaced by meatballs, Scandinavia's other staple food... well it is if you go to Ikea. Sadly they weren't as tasty as theirs so I could only stomach a few.
We had a lot of packing to do before we left for the airport, not just our clothes and stuff but also the bikes. After a gash appeared in the box when we got to Gothenburg I was going to make sure it didn't happen again. I had to match up all the bits of foam tubing that I brought with me to the various parts of my bike. I managed to piece it all together again. Off came the pedals and handlebars. The wheels came off and the skewers protected. Actually, I think I packed it better this time in a car park better than I did at home before we left home. The wheels certainly fitted back in the box better than they did before. After the bike was packed I used so much tape around the box reinforcing it everyone started to laugh. You can never be too careful though. Nothing worse than it splitting and all the contents coming out.
Bob was coming back from Gothenburg this morning but we were meeting him at Oslo's main airport. We packed his bike and then loaded up the van. Amazing that we got all the bikes and all our luggage back in there. I swear there was more stuff than before even though Shaun had gone home yesterday. Then again we did have Fred's bike with us but it wasn't in a box as he was driving back to Gothenburg after dropping us off at Oslo Torp airport.
We set off ahead of schedule. First stop was Oslo's main airport to pick up Bob. Amazingly enough, when we got there and went into the car park there he was and we were able to get on the road again straight away. We had to go back the way we came and back through to Oslo before heading North to Oslo Torp. Luckily the journey was all by motorway and so although we had around about 60 miles (100 km) to go the time passed fairly quickly. We passed through a number of tunnels through hills which you don't really see at home.
Arriving at the airport we unloaded the van and bade our farewells to Fred. It was sad to see him go, as it was with Shaun the day before, but he had to get home again himself. Again, we had fun putting bikes on trollies and trying to navigate them through airport doors. Because we were early the flight hadn't even opened up for booking in. Luckily there was someone there from the UK behind one of the service desks and he got it opened for us. I weighed my big bag and found I was almost a kilogram over my weight allowance. Had to remove stuff from it and pack it into my rucksack. Sorted!!! We then booked ourselves in and put the bikes onto the large luggage conveyor.
With a couple of hours to spare we just sat in the café area. Had to take out some more money out of the hole in the wall. Ended up spending most of it on a hotdog, a small container of Chinese food and a small packet of sweets. It's the one thing I won't miss about Norway... the prices. Don't think I will ever moan about them over here in the UK again.
The flight home was a chance for me to update my notes of the past week. It was amazing to see how Norway looked from the air as we rose into the air. You could see vast expanses of trees and lakes. I guess the stereotypical view of Norway. Soon, land changed to water as we crossed the North Sea. After that it didn't seem long till we were ready to land at Prestwick.
We disembarked the plane and went to pick up our luggage. Before that we had to go through passport control. Tom went through and then came back again. The little boy, Jack, whose name we were doing all this in, had a teddy bear and we had taken him with us on our journey. We got passport control to stamp his little teddy bear passport so that we could then give it back to his mother. It probably doesn't seem like much but we knew that Jack's mum would appreciate it.
Luggage all collected we headed through to arrivals. Mauro's sister was there with her kids and his dad. They had a banner welcoming us home which was fantastic. I must admit I had a bit of a tear in my eye when I saw my wife. My mum and dad were there too with my niece Lucy. It's always nice to go away to interesting places and meet wonderful people but when all is said and done there is no place like home.
We had a lot of packing to do before we left for the airport, not just our clothes and stuff but also the bikes. After a gash appeared in the box when we got to Gothenburg I was going to make sure it didn't happen again. I had to match up all the bits of foam tubing that I brought with me to the various parts of my bike. I managed to piece it all together again. Off came the pedals and handlebars. The wheels came off and the skewers protected. Actually, I think I packed it better this time in a car park better than I did at home before we left home. The wheels certainly fitted back in the box better than they did before. After the bike was packed I used so much tape around the box reinforcing it everyone started to laugh. You can never be too careful though. Nothing worse than it splitting and all the contents coming out.
Bob was coming back from Gothenburg this morning but we were meeting him at Oslo's main airport. We packed his bike and then loaded up the van. Amazing that we got all the bikes and all our luggage back in there. I swear there was more stuff than before even though Shaun had gone home yesterday. Then again we did have Fred's bike with us but it wasn't in a box as he was driving back to Gothenburg after dropping us off at Oslo Torp airport.
We set off ahead of schedule. First stop was Oslo's main airport to pick up Bob. Amazingly enough, when we got there and went into the car park there he was and we were able to get on the road again straight away. We had to go back the way we came and back through to Oslo before heading North to Oslo Torp. Luckily the journey was all by motorway and so although we had around about 60 miles (100 km) to go the time passed fairly quickly. We passed through a number of tunnels through hills which you don't really see at home.
Arriving at the airport we unloaded the van and bade our farewells to Fred. It was sad to see him go, as it was with Shaun the day before, but he had to get home again himself. Again, we had fun putting bikes on trollies and trying to navigate them through airport doors. Because we were early the flight hadn't even opened up for booking in. Luckily there was someone there from the UK behind one of the service desks and he got it opened for us. I weighed my big bag and found I was almost a kilogram over my weight allowance. Had to remove stuff from it and pack it into my rucksack. Sorted!!! We then booked ourselves in and put the bikes onto the large luggage conveyor.
With a couple of hours to spare we just sat in the café area. Had to take out some more money out of the hole in the wall. Ended up spending most of it on a hotdog, a small container of Chinese food and a small packet of sweets. It's the one thing I won't miss about Norway... the prices. Don't think I will ever moan about them over here in the UK again.
The flight home was a chance for me to update my notes of the past week. It was amazing to see how Norway looked from the air as we rose into the air. You could see vast expanses of trees and lakes. I guess the stereotypical view of Norway. Soon, land changed to water as we crossed the North Sea. After that it didn't seem long till we were ready to land at Prestwick.
We disembarked the plane and went to pick up our luggage. Before that we had to go through passport control. Tom went through and then came back again. The little boy, Jack, whose name we were doing all this in, had a teddy bear and we had taken him with us on our journey. We got passport control to stamp his little teddy bear passport so that we could then give it back to his mother. It probably doesn't seem like much but we knew that Jack's mum would appreciate it.
Luggage all collected we headed through to arrivals. Mauro's sister was there with her kids and his dad. They had a banner welcoming us home which was fantastic. I must admit I had a bit of a tear in my eye when I saw my wife. My mum and dad were there too with my niece Lucy. It's always nice to go away to interesting places and meet wonderful people but when all is said and done there is no place like home.
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