Bye Bye Olga

Mick took Olga to Sydney on Thursday for her big trip.

She just fits on the trailer, once Mick made a frame to lift her up a bit.  She has to be spotlessly clean and with very little fuel in the tank.  Fortunately, despite the forecasts, the weather was dry, as it would have been a real nuisance if it was wet while loading.

There are 35 bikes being shipped from Sydney and Mick had to be there for the second container to be filled, so didn’t need a terribly early start.  The big blue container being lifted by the crane in this photo is full of bikes loaded earlier in the day. See how the bikes are tied down into a cradle before being loaded into the container.

When I met Chookyblue just after Christmas I learnt that her neighbours were also shipping their bike over to the UK for the Isle of Man races.  Mick spent quite a bit of time with them on Thursday and said they are just lovely.  I get to meet Julie at Nundle next week.  What a small world.

We were lucky enough that we were able to attach our luggage to the bike rather than have to have it packed on the floor of the container.  This was all have been different if the container was full. We have just sent our helmets and riding gear in the blue bag and the panniers on the bike are empty.

We were also very lucky that there was enough room in the container that we didn’t have to remove the sidecar from the bike, as was initially expected.  It was to be hung from the roof above the bike, so this was much easier.  She just nosed in nicely.

It was a big job getting everything loaded, as some bikes had been sent to Sydney by carriers, rather than being delivered in person by the owners.  Then all the luggage had to be packed around the bikes.

Lastly, after a final check, the door was closed and sealed.  The seal cannot be broken now until the container arrives in the UK.

It is such a relief to have that taken care of.  We can do no more to the bike now.  On Wednesday we received new leads for the intercom and an adaptor to improve the GPS volume.  Nothing like leaving things till the last minute.  We feel quietly confident that we have done all we can to make the bike reliable and just wish we were heading off now too.

That is probably enough about bikes for a little while.  I hope I’m not boring you too much. There will be some sewing related posts soon, as this time next week we will all be at Nundle.  I can’t wait.