After two weeks of more or less forced relaxation I have just arrived back in the UK. I say more or less forced because the mobile stopped working and I was also unable to get on to the internet and work... and getting home to a working internet and phone was also rather impossible due to the ash cloud. Apologies to employers - I guess this is what they refer to as 'force majeure'. But, please send your complaints here and I will forward them on to my friend Jonas in the Icelandic Foreign Ministry. Eyjafjallajökull made lots of things rather tricky and it clearly demonstrated how powerless we as humans are against the might of Mother Earth. Trying to get back to the UK was a nightmare. No planes, no trains. And ferries that were so full people were forced to try the craziest things to get on board. I heard some people were told they could not board as 'foot passengers' because those tickets were sold out. The only way to get on board was as a 'cyclist', prompting many people to buy a bike so they could get on, only to be told on the other side of the water they had to leave the bikes behind if they wanted to be taken to the train station on the bus... Many people were left rather out of pocket due to this rather bureaucratic craziness and I hope they didn't splash cash on expensive cycles. Then again, they could have actually ridden their new two-wheeled friends to the station. Or even home.
After some days of tension as to whether the ash cloud would dissipate and flights could be resumed the air finally cleared. Dirk's partner was able to fly home, and the car journey back to London was back in the diary. By the time of our return journey on Sunday 25th April most of the transport problems caused by the volcano had eased and we were happy to be able to resume our lives.
I was however carrying some extra pounds by now - those damned yummy Dutch specialties... With full resolve to shed this I booked some more training days before the start of the 2010 1000Mile Challenge on the 22nd of May. The date was now not creeping but thundering closer and with so many things to still organise I simply dived into the maelstrom and have started giving it some serious stick. On Tuesday I will be meeting up with Tom at ActionCameras to discuss the use of their excellent X170 bullet cameras and then there are still the jerseys to design and print, speak to potential sponsors for foodstuffs, sponsors for bike spares, and the list goes on...
After some days of tension as to whether the ash cloud would dissipate and flights could be resumed the air finally cleared. Dirk's partner was able to fly home, and the car journey back to London was back in the diary. By the time of our return journey on Sunday 25th April most of the transport problems caused by the volcano had eased and we were happy to be able to resume our lives.
I was however carrying some extra pounds by now - those damned yummy Dutch specialties... With full resolve to shed this I booked some more training days before the start of the 2010 1000Mile Challenge on the 22nd of May. The date was now not creeping but thundering closer and with so many things to still organise I simply dived into the maelstrom and have started giving it some serious stick. On Tuesday I will be meeting up with Tom at ActionCameras to discuss the use of their excellent X170 bullet cameras and then there are still the jerseys to design and print, speak to potential sponsors for foodstuffs, sponsors for bike spares, and the list goes on...
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