Preparing for the Ride

Aug 3, 2018

There are six riders on this trip. Gene and Jane from Florida, Michelle from New York, Jed from New Jersey, James, our host, from Dronfield, and me. Jed’s son, Jesse, is driving the SAG vehicle, which is James’ 5 series BMW. No one should expect to SAG since our gear and suitcases pretty much fill the car. I shipped my bike from the US directly to James’ house in Dronfield. The other American riders brought their bikes with them as luggage on the plane. Michelle’s bike did not arrive, but the airline has now located it and it will be delivered today. My bike was packed by the Local Bike Shop in Ann Arbor and shipped through Bike Flights, a popular bike shipping service that is based on FedEx shipping service. Unfortunately, customs in London thought my bike was a new bicycle being imported by James and they held my bike at customs waiting for clarification. The bike finally cleared customs and arrived yesterday, along with a $170 import fee that I am contesting. When the bike was delivered my heart sank. The box was torn and damaged in several places and one corner was torn off completely. As a result, the left shifter lever and brake handle were broken and what remained was bent.

James and I took the bike to the nearby bike shop and after much pleading and negotiating, they agreed to overnight order the part and fit the repair into their overbooked service schedule. I won’t get to do the warm up ride around Derbyshire with the group Friday but if the part arrives and the bike shop comes through, I should be ready to set out with everyone Saturday. Keeping my fingers crossed that it all comes together.

 We loaded our Garmins this afternoon with a map and route description for each day. I also am downloading each day’s map to my phone so that if my Garmin fails or my battery dies, I have the route stored in my phone. In addition, James gave each of us printed versions of the route for each day. I may be slow in arriving at the destination for each day, but I have no excuse for getting lost! Dronfield, where we are starting, is a town of about 22,000 located in the district of Derbyshire, southeast of Manchester. It is very hilly here, more than in Little Sutton where John and Liz live. The streets are narrow and either hedge lined or bordered by rock walls, and public footpaths that wind through the village behind and between the brick and stone homes. Flowers are everywhere, many of the same varieties we plant at home in summer. We visited a church that was founded in the 11th century and talked for some time with the care taker. After leaving the church we took a walk through Dronfield to dinner and then stopped at a pub for a pint on our way back to the B & B where we are staying. The history here has led me to reflect on how insignificant we as individuals are in the grand scheme of things. I am so hoping my bike gets fixed tomorrow. Mentally, I am ready to ride.