airport slag heap....
massive excitement at the security check
- first they thought the bottles had liquid in 'em (yes, that stupid paranoia
still persists at UK airports) and then, having emptied my bag, couldn't decide
whether the powder was a prohibited substance as well...
gawd I hate airports... it all started to look ugly
when I arrived at check in, bike in tow, as a large gaggle of Welsh fat, sorry -
full-figured tarts resplendent in fake tans, lip gloss and matching t-shirts...
unfortunately all on the same flight as me.
Check in at Easyjet with a bike is normally
pretty painless, you pay your bike fee at booking time and then it's usually no
problem... Except this time the jobs-worth little twerp behind the desk decided
I was 6kg overweight..... my argument that my bodyweight was probably 20kg less
than the tart behind me cut no ice at all... In the end he let me get away with
paying for 4kg extra and then proceeded to tell me all about riding to work on
his bike..... Thing is, if it wasn't for the eczema I'd have been OK, I'm
carrying half a bloody pharmacy though the mountains of energy food for the
cycling might have had something to do with
it.....
Talking of energy food, I have 2
large bottles of drink mix powder stashed in my hand luggage. That caused
massive excitement at the security check - first they thought the bottles had
liquid in 'em (yes, that stupid paranoia still persists at UK airports) and
then, having emptied my bag, couldn't decide whether the powder was a prohibited
substance as well... Of course, like everyone else so far today who finds out
i'm a cyclist, the chappie then proceeded to tell me that he cycled, he
sometimes goes on the Bristol-Bath bike path. Yawn. I haven't been asked yet if
I "do that French race", unlike a couple of weeks ago at the
cafe.....
I'm writing this at the
departures cafe, no cash left for coffee after the baggage charge, and hoping
nothing else goes wrong... There's plenty of scope for misadventure, in Toulouse
I have a bus then a train to catch... All with that bloody bike in tow. You
know, airports are such a rip off... I paid a quid to use the internet terminal
downstairs to drop (ooh, pause nice looking girl opposite just got up and
left....) my sister a quick email only to find the 'custom' web browser wasn't
compatible with Apple's webmail access.
Bollocks..
Sorry for that little
distraction back there, there's precious little eye-candy around today, just
welsh tarts as far as the eye can see, so I couldn't help but be distracted.....
:o)
I spotted a book I want in the shop
downstairs, they only had one copy but it was in really ropey condition so I
said to the girl at the cash "excuse the cheeky question but this is a bit
dog-eared, can you cut a deal.." she gave me a look that said "piss off you
twat", said simply "no" and took it from me. MIserable cow, my consolation..
Well, you wouldn't have given her a second glance at the zoo... In the hippo
enclosure. (apols for the political incorrectness going on here but these are my
thoughts and I'm wound up!).
Later.. So
here I am at last, arrived at the station in Montrejeau roughly on time at
1800, a feat that would be beyond an english train i think, especially if one
tried to travel with a bike. It wasn't all plain sailing though, after 2hrs at
the bar in Toulouse Railway station chatting to another cyclist (met on the
plane) the platform was announced as 9, train departing at 1640.. So at 1637 I
was on the platform with all the other prospective passengers expecting to board
the train in front of us, and totally unprepared for the SNCF Comedy last minute
platform change... To one half a mile away and up and down a number of flights
of stairs. Doh! Negotiating the ensuing scrum would have been bad enough with
just a duffel bag.. But with a bike in tow as well..... true comedy, black
comedy. Made it though, my bike is fine and now I'm just hanging for
dinner!
It's nice to be back in Bertren, it's
been almost 4 years since that trans-pyrenean trip, yikes!
Posted: Sat
- April 28, 2007 at 04:49 PM