15 OCT 2009
Atlanta to Los Angeles to Dubai
Fly out of Atlanta at 10.15 am via Air Trans. Try to check our bike boxes curbside (outside), and we are told with the bike boxes we must go to the counter checkin. Air Tran ends up charging us $95 per bike. Air Tran has a $15 bag charge and then additionally our bike is charged $79 per bike. Total charge to get the bikes from the Atlanta Airport to the Los Angeles Airport via Air Tran is $188. From the Air Tran counter we are told to carry our bikes to the Oversize Baggage Office in the Atlanta Airport. When we asked the Oversize Baggage Employee where to place the bike boxes, the employee stares at us for a second, and bellows: "Leave Already!"

Make it through security. Our seats sit right over the cargo door. So we get to see the Atlanta airport baggage fail to read any of the "THIS END UP", "FRAGILE" writings we had spent so much time taping on to our boxes last night. We land in LAX between 12-1 pm. We pick up the bikes from LAX's oversize baggage carriage and have to carry our bikes to the Tom Bradley International Building (3 terminals away). We use the elevator in the Tom Bradley building to go to the 3rd floor to check-in with Air Emirates. Air Emirates informs us we are being charged for "oversize" baggage. I start stating that the bike boxes are underweight, we are not checking other baggage....but nothing I say convinces the Air Emirates Employee to not charge us $350 to get our bikes to Perth, Australia. (The story flying from Sydney, AUS to LAX would change coming home...and we would get the bikes' flight for FREE).

Our flight from LAX to Dubai was 16-17 hours and was a full flight. The plane was laid out in a 3-4-3 seat arrangement for economy class. I was able to select our tickets with dual seats (no passenger beside us) so we were in the back of the plane. The plane's flight takes you via the Arctic Circle and near Baghdad. And there is something to be said about the Air Emirates stewardesses...there's just something about those headdresses and skirts. (Here's a link to what airline stewardesses use to look like...even with bad service, who would complain?) We landed in Dubai 8 pm local time. Our flight to Perth, Australia was at 2.35 am. Waiting for the flight in the Dubai Airport, we shopped for future Christmas gifts to collect on the way home, had a meal at McDonald's and Häagen-Dazs® paying with American Dollars, and cleaned up a bit in the Airport restrooms. Really nice airport here in Dubai.

It’s 6:30am and I know if I don’t get out of bed I will give up my last chance for a hot shower before Bike Across Australia begins. Billy’s father has agreed to take Billy and I to the airport. NOTE: If you ever want to take you bike across the world, no matter how much you research you can never be prepared enough to go through the airport.

Within the first ten minutes of arrival it was obvious the bikes were going to be a hassle. Few employees could give us proper direction and the ones that did, weren’t sure of the directions they were giving us.

Once Billy and I make it to the front of the check-in line the clerk charges each of us for a non-existent bag ($25) and a bike fee ($80). And this is just to get the bikes to Los Angeles.

The excitement of my first big adventure takes away any harsh feelings I may have for the airlines. Billy and I board the plane on schedule. Seated on the right side of the plane enabled us to watch the flight crew load our bikes on the plane. NOTE: It doesn’t matter how much you label each box with large red text, with the words “FRAGILE” all over it, the airlines will not read it. The boxes were being thrown around like volleyballs. I hope they make it to Los Angeles. I guess the upside is that our bikes made it on the plane.

Once we get to Los Angeles we wait for hours until time to board the flight to Dubai. Billy and I went straight to Baggage Claim to pick up our bikes. The bikes were in good condition but the boxes were starting to wear a bit. Next we went to check our bikes so we didn’t have to carry them around the airport. The cost to put our bikes on the plane was $175 each. We are now thinking of shipping our bikes home UPS instead of flying them back. Another tidbit of useful information is that you do need a printed copy of your VISA when flying to Australia. Billy and I had applied for a VISA electronically on the internet, yet Emirates had to print out copies before they let us board the plane. The flight to Dubai was with Emirates Airline. Everything from the service, seating, food, snacks, drinks, and entertainment were an improvement compared to Air Tran. I watched movies most the way (17 hours).

The Dubai Airport is filled with shops containing cologne, electronics, camels, and prayer mats. Billy and I had hours of time to waste in the Dubai airport. We shopped for Christmas gifts. We had our first meal at McDonalds and then we waited and waited.

The 17 hour flight to Perth consisted of sleep…sleep..and more sleep. Looking around the plane the flight reminds me a bit of Team America. All announcements, food choices, brochures, and music are in Arabic.

17 OCT / Saturday
Dubai to Perth, Western Australia
Landed at Perth International Airport around 5.30 pm. We made it through customs easily, though we were asked to see our bicycles' tires. This ended up being a blessing, because our means of opening the bike boxes, our small knife, was taped away and stored in the bike boxes. The customs employee used her knife to open our boxes; and asked if we were here for some professional race...she stated 10 or more bikes had arrived earlier today. Getting outside of Perth International with our bike boxes, we soon found out that we only had 30-45 minutes before night would fall, and we would be in the dark. So we scrambled to get the bikes together in front of the Airport with onlookers staring wondering what we were intending to do with biked boxes at the airport. We took very blurry photos of ourselves standing in front of Perth International and got the GPS out to find the nearest hotel. Our first bike ride in Australia would have to be in the dark; and we would be learning how to ride in the dark on the opposite side of the road for the first time.

A couple of roundabouts on Airport road, then a large 2-way highway that had a nice "bike-lane" (shoulder) until the exit we got off for the hotel. We are using our Petzl Zipka headlamps for our lights, and at this point I am doubting my decision for their exclusive use. The hotel we found closest with the GPS is a Formula One. From the hotel to the airport ended up being 3-4 miles. In my haste at the Airport, I failed to exchange money. So the hotel room tonight is on the credit card (where I will be getting a 3% charge tacked on to every transaction here in Australia from Bank of America). After checking in, we walked to a gas station to withdrawal the maximum of $200 AUS from the ATM, and went to to the only place we saw open for dinner, Macca's (McDonalds).

Billy and I made it to Perth. The pilot announces the temperature is 90 degrees in Perth. The passengers on the plane seem surprised. Apparently this isn’t normal for this time of year. By the time Billy and I got our bikes and walked them outside the sun was setting. We quickly ripped through several layers of newspaper and reassembled the bikes as quickly as possible. I wasn’t much help, and Billy seems a bit frustrated.

After a quick photo op we got on our bikes and started to ride. It’s dark now and I have zero experience riding at night. We also have to adapt to riding on the opposite side of the road. The ride was scary and I was worried cars couldn’t see us.

Formule One Hotel was the first accommodation we cycled past. The price was $89 a night for a double. The funny part was Billy and I left the airport so quickly we forgot to get money exchanged. The hotel wouldn’t accept US currency. They did accept major credit cards but Billy knew before we got on the plane that he did not want to use a credit card. Each time the card is used there is a 3% charge added. The room was very small and the bathroom even smaller. This wasn’t a surprise to Billy (world traveler), but I had never seen a hotel room so small. The shower wasn’t really a shower, there is a shower curtain that blocks the water from toilet, but the water runs all over the floor. And the sink is so small you can’t get your hands under the faucet. (Little did we know this is one of the nicest and cheapest rooms of the entire trip.)