July 6: Epilogue
Heading home today. The first challenge to find a cardboard bike box, so my bike can be accepted by the airline. Then I need to pack up the bike using only my multitool, then arrange all the gear so that no liquids or sharp things go into carry-on, and no electronics go into the checked bag... And there's some deadlines; the shop only opens at 9, the bus to the airport leaves at 930, and my flight leaves at 1130.
I get to the shop ("Sportshjørnet") when they open at 9. They set me up with an excellent bike box, which is very kind of them; I also ask them to take the pedals off - I don't have the tool for that. I take the bike and the box back to the hotel, where the bus will pick me up. There isn't enough time to pack the bike up now, but I can do a few things - deflate the tyres, loosen the headset and seat, take off the drink bottle holder. I also raid the hotel brochures, I expect I'll need a few for the packing.
The bus driver isn't entirely happy with taking a bike, but does anyway. (Thanks!) At the airport I take off the front wheel, and one brochure goes into the disc brake as a spacer: if the brake closes completely it can be a nightmare getting it open. A second one goes around the greasy front axle. I get the bike into the box - it's a close fit. Too close - the handlebar mount doesn't fit in. It needs to be turned around; easy fix. The lid won't shut because the rack is too high: that's a bit more involved. I take out the two main screws, which means it bends down to the tyre; so the last brochure wraps the sharp metal edge so the tyre doesn't get damaged. It fits well enough, so I squeeze the wheel and seat in there and tape it all up. Success!
Unfortunately I forget to put the multitool into the checked bag before it goes away, it's still in my pocket when I go through security. The multitool is like a Swiss army knife for bike repair: it's got various Alan keys, a spoke tightener, tubeless tyre puncture tool, and a couple of other things. Screwdrivers aren't allowed on planes, and this is bristling with similarly spikey things so I'm expecting it to be taken off me by security. It goes through the machine ... and none of my stuff is taken for further inspection! I'm not going to ask about the distinction, in case they change their minds.
From left to right: packing up the bike at Kirkenes airport. I was trying to keep my hands clean, but this was the best I could do. Getting on the plane home - five weeks on the bike, four hours flying.
Kirkenes airport is small and simple; there's three flights per day. But it offers free coffee! Things like this are the reason the Norwegian per-capita coffee consumption is second highest in the world.
The second flight to Amsterdam has a delay, so I'm parked in Oslo airpot for a few hours. The only unpleasant part is the prices. This is a major hub, with a plethora of chain stores and branded restaurants and routes in every direction... but unlike Kirkenes there's no free coffee.
At Amsterdam airport it takes about half an hour for the bags to arrive. The bike box has ripped from the handhold; but the hole is at the top and nothing has fallen out. I balance everything onto a trolley, head for the arrivals hall on the second floor, out the door to the pickup area. Finally back home with the family! There's dinner, and wine, and a lot of catching up - nightly video calls are nice, but there's lots of things that aren't worth talking about, so there's lots of changes around the house and low-key news that I've missed.
Then a few quiet days with the family, to recharge a bit before getting back to work next week.
The ride was a distant memory within days of getting back home. I can still remember what was in each of the panniers I packed up in the mornings, and the routine to get everything ready before getting started, and the steps to unpack at the end of the day. But I've only just realized that I haven't had some habit or reflex from the trip make an appearance - I've never wondered if the bike is properly locked, or why I don't have my passport bag with me, or what the weather forecast is. On reflection, that does sound a bit neurotic so I'm quite happy that things are the way they are!
The amount of exercise I do also went back to the usual amount straight away. The most cycling I'm doing now is to the supermarket, which is five minutes away, and completely flat. No objections here; I'm not feeling much excitement about grinding for kilometers up a long mountainside.
The bike went into the shop for a full service; quite a lot of things needed to be replaced. I picked it up today, and rode home the long way. It's only a kilometer of cyclepath, but it's still part of the same network that I took across Europe. Turn right instead of left here, and in two hours you can be in Utrecht. Stick to the waterfront: eight hours to Urk.
In fact, with the experience I have now, I've got the option to take it to anywhere in Europe, Asia, or Africa. It just needs some time, and preparation...
... and maybe a few breakfast buffets along the way.
The left half was taken at the start on a nice sunny optimistic day by the Mediterranean at Cabo St Vincent, Portugal. The right half was taken on a cold miserable day at the finish, right next to the Russian border in the far north-east of Norway, at Grense Jakobselv.
What I’m listening to: Take 5 cover / New York Ska Jazz Ensemble: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKkZ5ndxuDk
A Ska cover of Take 5 - and it’s good! But rules are rules, it’s a remix and that means it’s all over.
