My first flight was calm. We even got in almost on time. Then, Air France sat on the tarmac fixing a mechanical for an hour in Paris, then didnt make up any of the time over the Atlantic (an 8hr flight) so I missed my connection in Newark and got to spend the night there. Someone also kindly cut a big hole in the side of the bike box I was bringing back (dad gave me his xc full squish specialized... nice). Customs lent me some tape to close it back up. If there is anything missing or if the frame is damaged, I don't know. I would have had to open the whole thing on the spot to make a claim. The next morning, Delta kindly refused to check my box back into the system until I ponied up $100 for oversize baggage. Never mind that if my plane hadnt been late, seeing that it was already checked through to Eugene from Geneva, they would have been perfectly happy to handle it for me. So they promptly took my money and landed me in Salt Lake 30 min late for a connection I had had 35min to make. Luckily, that plane was delayed too due to snow and I ran from one straight on to the other. We proceeded to sit on the ground waiting for de-icing for 2hrs, ran low on fuel in the process, so they sent us back to the gate and cancelled the flight. Pandemonium in the airport. When I finally got to customer service, I asked to just get sent to Portland since I didnt want to wait in the airport until the next day's flight to Eugene. Erin drove up to PDX, picked me up, and I was home a mere 24hrs after I was supposed to first arrive. My luggage, of course, is still in Salt Lake (I think). Or perhaps in Portland, no-one knows. Delta doesnt have a flight from PDX to EUG, and so, even tho they supposedly routed my luggage to follow me, and lost it, and told me they would deliver it to my door down here, I don't have any faith that I will ever see any of it again. Call me a cynic. It's just been one of those trips. I'm just glad I finally made it back to Oregon. And that they would get me within driving distance of my actual destination. The way things were going, even a flight to Pendleton would have been fine by me. It would sure beat a night in an airport.
I'll never fly Delta or Air France again if I can help it. The service was simply the worst I've ever experienced.
The worst part is, not only was yesterday a wash for riding, but my good bike shoes are still in Salt Lake. I was looking forward to a nice ride to loosen up and get back into the swing of things. Probably a fixed gear spin somewhere relatively mellow.
Now, courtesy of Doug-Doug-Doug:
Disturbing Picuture of the Day #1
titled, Bettini's Wood
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