Getting ready to leave Toronto

As Blaine mentioned last night (in his first blog post... and not one swear word - amazing) all of our spares finally arrived. Probably still suffering from jet lag and having been on more modes of transportation than most people in their lives, they're about to get onto a plane again.

Last night we went through the process of 'boxing' our bikes. It actually wasn't nearly as painful as it could have been. Then of course, I had to pack a week's worth of fuel (in the form of Hammer gels, Accelerade and eLoad powders and Clif bars) along with my personal items into a bag. When all was said and done, the total weight was hovering just around 70 lbs. Perfect.

A quick check of the Air Canada web site revealed that the heaviest any one package can be is 70 lbs.... so I'm hoping that the 'just around' is 'just under', and I only get nicked with a $50. overweight fee (I'm already looking at $50 each way for my bike). Do you remember when air travel didn't turn you into a hardened criminal whenever you wanted to travel?

Maybe I can somehow negotiate the fact that since *I* am 20 lbs lighter than this time last year, I should be able to get a baggage credit...

Here's a quiz for all of you: in the picture to the left, you will see the 70lb bag in question (the black one) and one of the two bike boxes. What do you think I'll pay in 'excess baggage fees', according to the Air Canada web site (www.aircanada.com)? To help you out further, I booked the tickets in February, 2008 (since that does dictate what level you fall under). I'll let you know the REAL answer in a future blog post (my version of "Find out next week....").

And, on the topic of weight: when I stepped on the scale this morning, I was 174 lbs. Let's see how much that changes over the course of the week... or at least, by the time I get home.

I'm off to get some breakfast (and finish off anything left in my fridge that may not be in it's current state upon my return), and then my Dad is driving me, the two bikes, and the Bag (that's right - capitalized) to the airport.