Be-eautiful Manchester

Well now, that was a good flight and I might just use this combo again.... I was on Emirates flight EK407, Melbourne to Dubai departing at 22:25. It's  a 14 hour flight  which passes much quicker than most 14 hour flights 'cos you immediately sleep away many hours of it due to your body clock insisting sleep is a priority.  The flight originates in New Zealand so that there are less crowds waiting to go through the system..ticketing, customs, security ...everything.   Although being picked out to be checked for explosives for the nth time leaves me bewildered...do I REALLY fit the profile?

The experience started off brilliantly with me being waved through to the 1st class check in counter cos my bike box wouldn't fit through the maze/corridor they'd set up for us cattle class drones.   Then after explaining that I'd inadvertently been given a window instead of my usual aisle seat the Emirates lady said they'd put a note on my data and if there were any aisle seats available she'd call me... there were and she did.  100% gold.

A 2 hour change over time in Dubai was unstressed and not too long.  I needed a carry bag of some sort for all the books and newspapers I was buying and was stunned to find a really nice coarse woven  Dubai touristy one that cost me all of $2!! once again 100% gold, must have been a mistake  since everything in that airport and indeed all airports is mega expensive.

The second leg from Dubai to Manchester was 7 hours long with action near by in the shape of a sick toddler making the trip seem much shorter.   Thankfully that distraction took my attention from the truly disgusting coughing that was going on 2 rows back.

Manchester airport came out neutral...on the positive side...my bike box emerged before all other stuff which has to be a record but, and a very big BUT, just like Geneva airport they make you pay for your trolley at the baggage carousels, which is totally ridiculous for an international flight.  Luckily I had  UK pound coins from previous trips, but very obviously not everyone did.  I can't imagine how I'd have got my bike box into the arrivals concourse without a trolley.


The Stables is just as I remember it as are the main characters here, even the taxi driver remembered us from 4 years ago!

However I was annoyed to find that the competition program had altered to such a degree as to inconvenience me slightly and others a huge amount.  My race program was Tuesday - pursuit, Thursday - Scratch and Saturday TT  with a Sunday flight to Italy.  Now my program is (officially changed  only yesterday) Tuesday - Pursuit(W50+), Scratch(W45+) - Thursday..... OK so far, but the TT(W55+) is now on Friday.  I'll not change my flights as it's not worth the hassle, but another of our group has a worse tale...her pursuit was to have been on Saturday with family coming from Ireland, Scotland and even also from Aus to barrack for her...now, 'cos she's a W50 it's been moved to Tuesday.

The lack of older women attending this event is critical and clearly something needs to be done, since I can envisage others looking at the entries and deciding they wouldn't waste their time, effort and money. Hey..would you fancy riding the Scratch in a bunch of ladies who are up to 22 years younger than you?   I'll be lucky not to be  dropped on the neutral lap and lapped before 1km.  With my ambivalence around the Pursuit following a bad 6 lap test last week, I can see this event for me might shrink to the TT only plus alot of lobbying for older women.

Apparently the main focus of UCI measuring so far has been to do with saddles and once again 1 of my group is in strife because of this...we hear that those saddles with a droopy nose are not allowed, so it looks like the Selle SMP glider and chrono will not be allowed....more on this later.

Luckily this became evident before I left Aus and so I took the Specialized Jett saddle off my road TT bike and brought it with me..situation hopefully saved.

So...with jet lag in full flight...it's 4am and I've been wide awake for 3 hours, I'd better get back horizontal and try to read myself into a somnambulic (?sp) state.  I've already finished Robbie McEwan's autobiography "One Way Road"   and now move onto either Markus Zusak's "The Book Thief" or Lee Child's "The Affair".  I was disappointed that the many of the pix in Robbie McEwan's book were nearly all pretty well the same photo..him winning with an identical winning pose.  It was good to read some of the back story to his time and issues with various teams, but it did get a bit tedious.  That said, it's not the worst cycling biography I've read!