T-Minus 1.5 Weeks: Flights, Moving, Bike Prep

Overview

It's now approximately ~1.5 weeks before I will be leaving on my journey. I have been making practical arrangements, many of which have required a healthy amount of life upheaval.

Flight Stuff

As I mentioned in my last update.. my airplane tickets for this trip are now booked.

The trip itself requires a bit of explanation.. I have been invited for my work to speak at the AusCERT conference in Gold Coast Australia, so I have purchased an around-the-world-ticket -- mostly paid for by the conference! (Thank you AusCERT!) This means that I will be flying from Amsterdam to Gold Coast (for the conference) to Portland (for the cycle trip) and ~3 months later from Washington Dulles (near Yorktown VA) back to Amsterdam!

On the off-chance that anyone cares (hi mom!) here are the flight details:

• AMS (09 May 2009, 19:10) ->LHR (09 May 2009, 19:25) - BA0441
• LHR (09 May 2009, 22:05) -> Changi Singapore (10 May 2009, 17:55) - Quantas 10

A few days in Singapore. Why? Because I can. It'll break up the obscenely long flight to Australia... and I've never been to Singapore before. Yes.. life is tough.. :-)

• Changi Singapore (15 May 2009, 19:45) -> Melbourne AUS (16 May 2009, 04:45) - Quantas ?
• Melbourne AUS (16 May 2009, 14:45) -> Gold Coast AUS (16 May 2009, 16:50) - Quantas 5444

AusCERT Conference + some time to visit friends and enjoy Australia! (Life is tough, Part II.)

• Gold Coast AUS (27 May 2009, 10:26) -> Sydney AUS (27 May 2009, 11:50) - Quantas 5407
• Sydney AUS (27 May 2009, 13:55) -> San Francisco (27 May 2009, 10:15) - Quantas 73
• San Francisco (27 May 2009, 12:30) -> Portland OR (27 May 2009, 14:15) - Quantas 3707

Land Segment: TransAm Cycle Trip (a.k.a. what this whole fuss is about!)

• Washington Dulles (15 Sept 2009, 19:05) -> LHR (16 Sept 2009, 07:00) - BA 216
• LHR -> AMS (to be booked)

NOTE: the around-the-world ticket I booked allows me to modify my departure dates without any extra cost. That means -- even though I have a return ticket to Europe on 15 Sept -- please take that date with a grain of salt! I can (and will) change the departure date earlier or later depending upon the actual amount of time that it takes for me to complete the cycle trip. (I'm currently not able to estimate that in any decent way.) That is also why I have not yet booked the flight for the final segment (LHR->AMS). I don't want to book it until I have a genuine idea of when I'll actually be returning.

Moving

I didn't feel like paying ~3.5 months of rent during my absence to maintain my VU grad student housing.. so I packed up my life into moving boxes, and I am now the proud resident of a 11.5 m^2 container at the Huur Een Box in Duivendrecht. Mad props to my friends Jan-Mark Wams and Philip Homburg who both took last Wednesday off of work to help me move boxes and assorted furniture across town. Despite my frantic last-minute preparations, they also helped me pack the last 25% of my stuff.. which explains why several of my boxes are now labeled 'Alt.Misc.Bork.Bork.Bork', and other such things.

As a further testiment to my well-honed planning skills, I had cancelled my VU housing for 30 April (back when I thought my departure date was 1 May). The housing corporation refused to push it back to 15 May when I asked them later.. thus rendering me "homeless" in Amsterdam for 9 days. I've alleviated the situation by subletting a nice 3-room apartment in de Rivierenbuurt from a VU coworker. (We are discussing if I can legally sublet the place after I return from my trip.) But it already feels a bit like I'm camping.. I'm basically living out of my bike bags right now. (And I am grabbing things from my container as I need them.). It's not really comfortable.. but it is definately good preparation for this bike trip!

Bicycle Stuff

Over the past few days, I've arranged some more last-minute things with my bicycle. On the "spending money" front: I purchased 2 Ortlieb Front Roller Classic panniers, a PacSafe 55 metal anti-theft bag cover, an elastic clothes drying line, small travel containers, and an extension piece that turns one of my panniers into a backpack.

I've also brought my touring bicycle to a bike repair shop for a major overhaul (i.e. fittings, spokes, cables, tires...), and they will also disassemble and pack the bike into a box -- which was free from 'De Vakantiefietser' (in exchange for some Oranje Tompoucen.) That will enable me to check the bike at Schiphol airport with minimal fuss on 9 May.

Reflections on Leaving

For the rest.. it's been weird saying goodbye to my friends. It also feels bittersweet to take leave of my work, and my beloved city (Amsterdam) for such a long period of time. But life is enriched by doing things that are challenging, disruptive, and different -- so while I know that I will miss my life here, I'm sure that I will be immersed with new experiences and people in the USA. The ~3.5 months will undoubtedly fly by!

I am ready for this adventure of a lifetime. I am ready to go back to the country of my birth. With its natural beauty.. its culture.. and its people. I am ready to reconnect with my roots.

And I have no doubt that America will Amaze Me.