The start at YYC
Its been a busy week of family, checklists, packing and lift off for our mid-life gap year.
We usually don’t check bags when we travel opting for the freedom and quickness of carry-on bags only. However, for this trip we dropped off a BIG bag last Thursday. Our check luggage was a Ural Sidecar Motorcycle. We were able to pack up the bike with most of our gear and kept our electronics as well as a few days clothes with us.
After significant research and some recommendations from very experienced motorcycle travellers, I was able to get a transport deal with Motorcycle Express and Mike Mandell. In Calgary, we dealt with Roy at Menzie’s Aviation Cargo Services YYC. His some 40 years of experience made the inspection and strapping up to the laser thin aluminium pallet an easy experience.
After a tearful farewell at YYC with our family we walked in to find a completely empty security screening area. A rare sight indeed. Bonus, I saw Sassy all wrapped up on the tarmac just prior to boarding: a welcome sign of good things to come! The Westjet direct flight through to LGW was overall very smooth but we had a slight departure delay and landing delay which pushed us an hour or so late. It was a bit of a rough landing as we dropped through the clouds at Gatwick but all in all a good overnight voyage.
Thankfully, we had nowhere fast to be.
Arrival in Great Britain
From there it was smooth sailing past the UK Border Force and a short but expensive cab to Worldwide Cargo for the pick up of our machine. Although Sassy was waiting for us, there was a bit of an unexpected snag in that there was no Customs Agent set up to take care of our Temporary Import documentation. Jim with Worldwide arranged for Gem Customs Expeditors to take our burden. The owner of Gem, Keith, took care of us and after a mere 165 GBP charge (following some negotiation) and an hours bureaucratic process we were cleared for delivery of our ride. Of interest, Jim said we may be able to do the Customs clearance docs ourselves for little to no expense but that would have taken anywhere from a day to two weeks. Two weeks of living in the UK would have been far more of an expense.
Off to our room at the Premier Inn LGW. I stayed at this location back in 2011 on my first trip to the UK and found it adequate and reasonably priced, with secure parking. It would appear to still be just that. All settled for a few nights as we reset our internal clocks and take care of a couple of logistical items.
Surprise it was raining on Tuesday as we rode to Crawley County mall to set up some mobile service. By the way our UK maps on the GPS worked fabulously as we navigated the labyrinth of roundabouts. I’m still a bit dizzy. Petrol is more than $2.19 CAD per litre here and for the first time ever I spent over $57 to fill up our tank and spare canister with ~26 litres of fuel. I hope France is a bit more economical! Sam was able to find us a pay as you go plan for about $35 CAD per month (for both our phones) and a better plan than we have at home for $165 per month!
Ready to roll!
Wednesday was a beautiful but chill day. I did some routine maintenance checks on the bike in the sunshine and readied her for the trek to France. We are set to pass through the Eurotunnel, affectionately known as the ‘Chunnel’, tomorrow afternoon.
Stay tuned, keep in touch and share our experiences with your friends.
Take care and keep on travelling,
Dan&Sam
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