Day 1

18/08/2011 – Day 1

Basel to Lӧrrach

I woke up at 02:40 this morning; the alarm was set for 03:00 so I decided to get up anyway. Everything was ready to be loaded into the car; all I had to do was shower and have breakfast. An hour later I was on the road heading for Gatwick.

Flying with a bicycle is not that difficult once you have delved into the fine print of the terms and conditions of the airline you chose. In most cases you need to dismantle the bike by removing the wheels, turning the handle bars so they are in line with the frame and removing the pedals. Then is has to be packed into a ‘box’. In reality this box is a padded bag which has compartments for the wheels and keeps everything tidy as the bike travels and is accepted by most airlines. When you arrive at your destination you just have to rebuild the bike and off you go.

Arriving at Gatwick Airport is simplicity itself these days. I had Google Mapped it the day before to give me some idea of where I had to go so I was simply following the signs to the rental car drop off point.

I was flying with the airline that uses orange as their company logo, so it should be EASY to work out whom they are. The check in area was the usual chaos, too many passengers and not enough check in staff. I had arrived well before my check in time so there was nothing to worry about; there was plenty of time for me. But, other passengers were stuck in this long snake of a queue and last check in was getting close. One of the airline staff was rushing round calling out flight numbers and destinations trying to find the trapped passengers and rushing them to the front so they do not miss the flight.

Two things go through my mind here. Firstly, for most of these people this is their one holiday a year and they have spent a large amount of money on it, only to be delayed by the check in procedure which causes them an unnecessary amount of stress. You just have to listen to the people around you panicking about the delay.

Secondly, some orange clad person running around shouting at people does not change the fact that the system is inefficient and incompetent, but that is the price you pay for flying cheap I suppose.

After checking in my one piece of hold luggage I had to take the bike to ‘oversize and overweight’ luggage check in. This is for anything that does not fit on the normal conveyor belt. That done it was just a short wait to boarding and take off.

Normally these cheap flights are packed, but today I found a window seat and there was room to relax and sleep. Sleeping is the best way to fly I find, once you are above the clouds there is very little else to do.

As we approached Basel/Mulhouse/Freiburg airport I woke up and looked at the scenery as we landed. I have to say it was probably the best landing ever! The wheels just kissed the runway and we were down. You have all experienced those pilots who seem to think that the only good landing is a hard one where they slam into the ground with as much force as gravity can muster.

Once inside the terminal and through passport control (the UK is not part of the Schengen Agreement on the free flow of people) it is just a short wait to pick up my bag and bike.

Just as I walked out the terminal M walked in, perfect timing.

Now it is just the simple task of rebuilding the bike. Setting up on a bench in the sun I start to unpack the parts. Everything was going well until I tried to put the back wheel on. The metal carrier that holds the panniers on the back of the bike has been bent in half and the seat broken! What! How did they manage to do that?

OK, I am supposed to be cycling to Lӧrrach with M as soon as we can. This is just not going to happen now. I need to report this and get it repaired as quickly as possible.

Basel/Mulhouse/Freiburg airport serves three different countries, Switzerland, France and Germany. As Switzerland is not part of the EU the airport is effectively cut in half with the Swiss one side and the French/Germans the other side. This means you have a choice of two exits. My airline is based in the Swiss half. When I spoke to the rep she told me to go back to where I come through customs and there is a door just next to the arrivals exit. So off I go down to the French side where I came through and ……. no door. I went back to the desk and spoke to the other rep who told me there was a phone with the number next to it. Back down stairs and find a phone but with no numbers. Back upstairs to the reps and this time they ask the important question, which side did I come through? The company reps really did not want to know, their whole attitude was ‘go away and don’t bother me’.

So, back down on the Swiss side this time and found the door. Once inside I join a long queue of people from my flight, apparently they had managed to leave trolley load of luggage at Gatwick. The lost luggage department is operated by airport staff here and not connected to any airline, which must make it very difficult for them when dealing with irate passengers. When it is my turn I explain what has happened and they will not come to see my bike, I have to bring it down to them! This will be the fourth trip down to try and get something down and is starting to look like the run around.

Back again with my bike and this time all attempts to put me off are quickly quashed, they can see the damage and understand that the bike is unusable. While one of them fills in the forms another one is checking for bike shops in the area. My initial idea is for them to supply a taxi to take me to a shop in Lӧrrach for repairs so at least we are heading in the right direction. And this is exactly what they offered, so 10 out of 10 for customer service here. Once repaired I have to send the receipts and the claim form to the airline and they will refund me, yea right, do they really think I am that stupid? Everyone knows this airline fights not to pay a single penny.

The only question that keeps coming back is, the amount of force needed to bend the carrier like that must have been great and they must have crushed the bike against something immovable, so what other damage has been done to the front end that I can’t see yet?

Once outside with the forms in my pocket I look for a taxi to take us to the bike shop. There is only one big enough and he helps us load the two bikes and the luggage. My French is not that good but he seemed to understand.

Last time M and I travelled by bike I had to rescue him from the side of the road due to a puncture. Once again the start of our trip is in a taxi with a broken bike, this time it is mine.

We arrived at the bike shop at lunch time when it was closed. We had an hour to wait and had just moved everything to the front of the shop when the door opened. The owner had seen us and had come to offer his help! Unfortunately the workshop was closed for the next week, but if I could do it myself he will open the workshop now and I can use anything I need. As we were speaking English when he first opened the door he spoke English to us straight away.

After an hour or so the bike was repaired and all the new parts paid for, the workshop tidied up and tools replaced. I just had to pack my luggage and we were off. This shop owner had gone out of his way to help, giving me the free use of his workshop and tools, found the right parts and generally helped as much as he could! If you are ever stuck in the area of Lӧrrach and need help with your bike go to:-

Radsport Kracht

Rӧmerstrasse 13

79541 Lӧrrach Brombach

He is a 100% nice guy!

By now it is getting close to 3pm and we decide to stay in Lӧrrach for the night and start again next morning. Brombach is about 3km outside Lӧrrach and the roads here in Germany are designed with bikes in mind, there are cycle paths everywhere.  Cycling into the town we find a hotel just on the edge of the centre and they are happy to put our bikes in the garage for safe keeping. As in all new places we have visited we spend the evening walking round the town centre and having dinner at an outside table.

Day -1

17/08/2011 - Day -1

For a last minute decision to join M on a mammoth cycling trip across Europe everything had been going well, flight booked, car to be delivered to the house, bags packed. Then the phone rang!

There is a problem with my driving licence; the ‘system’ will not authenticate it. For all those of you who have heard this line before you know what this means; some bureaucrat living in the rarefied air of government has written a directive that affect millions of people and they have no idea of the problems they cause.

In this case it is the address on my driving licence. I have been living and working abroad for about 10 years now. While living in France I lost my UK licence. Like a good citizen I reported it to the police (plus, if you are driving in France you need to have your licence on you). I thought it was a bit complicated, all that paperwork, but you know the French! I also informed DVLA so they could cancel it, just in case it was used to gain entry to the UK by some illegal immigrant.

DVLA sent me back a nice letter saying it was not able to issue a replacement licence to a foreign address, but, if I took the enclosed form to the French authorities, they would give me a nice, new, shiny French licence. So, this is exactly what I did, and I drove on my French licence for the next 5 years.

In 2008 we returned to the UK and I thought, ‘aha I can get my UK licence back’. Which I did; a new credit card size one with that stupid piece of A4 paper. Problem solved.

Two years later we moved to France again and sold the house in Kent. As a result, somewhere in the deepest bowels of Whitehall my licence was deactivated as I now lived abroad again.

This is where it all starts to fall apart. I have come back to stay with my father for a few weeks before the trip, using his home as a contact address. Nothing difficult so far or so you might think. I have given this address to everyone and there have been no problems.

When I booked the car I gave all the usual details, name, address, credit card, etc. Everything was fine until they did this new Authentication Check. In effect they check the detail you have given about your licence against their computer, and…….. I failed.

Because I left to live outside the country my licence is invalid!

So now panic sets in. How can I resolve this, who do I call? At 4pm there is little chance of sorting this until tomorrow, but I am supposed to be on the road at 4am in the morning! Then I have a bright idea; can I use my French licence? Oh yes, that will be no problem comes the reply.

So 20 minutes later, there I am using the same details, renting the same car but on my French licence (which also has an old address on it). Problem solved.

But…..

If I am stopped by the police for any reason, and I show them my UK licence I am liable to a fine of up to £1000. If I show them my French licence instead, nothing happens. Where is the logic in that?