We're now sitting in London's Gatwick Airport, having made it here relatively unscathed from San Francisco. Steve and I met Matt at SFO where we did some last minute organizing of the bike cases.
Matt arranged for a quasi-"sponsorship" of our trip from our friends at Clif Bar and showed up at the airport with a case literally stuffed with various gels, blocs, bars and drink mixes. To avoid an overweight baggage charge (more on that later....), Matt spread the load among the three bike boxes.
Matt's bike is in there somewhere
At check-in, I was fully expecting to pay a $125 fee to check my bike box in. I was pleased to be charged only the $50 "overweight" fee, rather than the $125 "huge ass box" fee. Feeling smug, I asked Matt how much he was charged. "Zero". Shit!
"Hey Steve, what about you?"
"Zero."
OK, so the trip hasn't even started, and already I'm $50 down. And I have a middle seat in coach to boot. A look of panic creeps across Matt's face when he realizes he has no seat assignment, just the dreaded "Departure Management Card" they assign to stragglers on oversold flights. Could our fearless leader actually get bumped from the flight? As Matt goes on ahead to charm his way onto the plane, Steve and I enjoy our last burritos before heading to the land of wine and cheese. When we spot Matt heading back from the podium with what appears to be a boarding pass, he is all smiles.
"Business Class Upgrade."
On an oversold flight. At the height of summer travel season. On a freakin' Orbitz ticket! Unheard of. After the free bike box check-in and the business class upgrade, Matt is immediately dubbed "the Chosen One". I vow to let him take point in all future customer service agent interactions.
The flight to Heathrow went pretty quickly, and then a painless transfer to Gatwick, where we now sit waiting for our connection to Toulouse. Tomorrow we head to Limoux and our first short ride...
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