Overall, a positive day. Sadly I shall lose my early start tomorrow since on my brief (but rapid) cycle to the hotel a jockey wheel fell off the rear derailleur. I shall have to wait til 9am tomorrow to get to a bike shop, and then hope they can help. Fingers crossed I just need a new jockey wheel. Worry about what BA did to my bike to achieve this but hey, it could just have fallen off from shuggeling in the hold.
Excellent parts of the day included my welcome by Mary, a friend's wife whom I had never met before. She was lovely, fed me home-made spinach pie and a lovely Turkish sweet that I'd never had before (started with Ekmek, which I thought meant 'bread' in Turkish). Seemed like pistachio-topped cheesecake on a base of baklava. Mary insisted on showing me the way to my hotel by car, which was a real help. The vast bike bag British Airways require is spending the month in her basement.
Getting the bike in the bag was a nightmare, it took two of us 4 hours. I was pleased to have rebuilt the bike on my own and replaced brake blocks in just an hour. Then of course the jockey wheel fell off.
On the whole, I have met several helpful and charming people today (at Heathrow especially) and have made it to Athens with an almost entire bike. So feels pretty good! Mary suggested a different route for tomorrow.
Excellent parts of the day included my welcome by Mary, a friend's wife whom I had never met before. She was lovely, fed me home-made spinach pie and a lovely Turkish sweet that I'd never had before (started with Ekmek, which I thought meant 'bread' in Turkish). Seemed like pistachio-topped cheesecake on a base of baklava. Mary insisted on showing me the way to my hotel by car, which was a real help. The vast bike bag British Airways require is spending the month in her basement.
Getting the bike in the bag was a nightmare, it took two of us 4 hours. I was pleased to have rebuilt the bike on my own and replaced brake blocks in just an hour. Then of course the jockey wheel fell off.
On the whole, I have met several helpful and charming people today (at Heathrow especially) and have made it to Athens with an almost entire bike. So feels pretty good! Mary suggested a different route for tomorrow.
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