An early start

Dad has just popped down to see me. He's off in the morning and as an early start. Mind you with his black eye and crew cut not sure they'll let him on the flight as he doesn't look much like his passport! As for the black eye he has no idea how he got it, the crew cut well that was the clippers on number 2 !

He's just hoping they let him take the bike on the flight. It's below 20 kg weight limit and he's been reading up and Singapore Airlines want over $500 to take a bike as excess luggage. He's decided if they won't let him take it as luggage then the bike is coming home, he'll take the saddle and he'll hire a bike over there!  The rest of his luggage is in his panniers which he is carrying on as hand luggage and in the pockets of his various coats !

Hopefully get a photo of him at the airport tomorrow. Until then ...

He's packing light !

Well with just four days to go til he's off to Thailand Dad has started packing. Well I say packing ... the bike is boxed up and with an allowance of only 20 kg to go in the hold and the bike weighing in at 19.5 kg I don't think he'll be taking much stuff with him! He has an allowance of 7 kg for one piece of carry on luggage so he'll be packing everything else into one of his panniers and carrying it on the plane. 7kg for a month away - that will not leave much allowance for any "just-in-cases".  Dad says biking gear takes priority, toiletries and casual "going-out" clothes he'll pick up when he's there. I suppose he's reducing his carbon foot-print slightly as lots of clothes are made in Thailand, so he is saving on having them shipped over to the UK and then taking them back !

We are moving into the high-tech world of communication and I'm hoping to get updated regularly on Skype and even get a few photos while he's out there! That'll make a change from having to wait for them to developed from his disposable camera! If that fails we will be back to texting and me trying to decipher my Dad's very own text speak!

Will keep you all posted.

Map of Thailand

Just nipped into The Works to see if they had any books on Thailand. No books but I picked up a map. Bargain at 99p. When I got to the til they told me it was a BOGOF so I went and picked up another map of Thailand. That's one for me and one for Dad for the grand sum of 99p. If that's not a bargain I don't know what is!

I doubt it will be any good for navigating but will be useful to see where Dad is and where he is heading on his trip.

He's off again .... and this time it's Thailand

Well he's been talking about it for awhile but he's now booked his flights and Dad and his bike are off to Thailand in February and this trip he'll have some company as his pal Dave King is also going.

Dad is heading out a few days earlier than Dave and his first stop will be the island of Phuket - now be careful how you say that because in this instance the "Ph" is NOT pronounced as "F" !  No real plans yet other than bike, coast and pedal, so if anyone has "must see" tips on places to visit then let us know. Also any useful advice on things to take, places to stay, or any contact information for friends out that way would also be most welcome.

He's heading off on the 18th February, so watch this space for updates on his trip.

Happy New Year

Well here we are in 2012.  Dad saw the New Year in up in the Lake District. He's probably been up some mountain today .... starting the year off as he means to go on !  He's only off for a few days so it's not a long adventure ! 

Hope 2012 brings you much joy and happiness.

Season's Greetings

Well doesn't a year go quickly .... here we are with just a few days of 2011 left. Dad has no plans to go away at Christmas but will be off up the Lake District to bring in the New Year. He is already in the planning stage of his next trip in 2012.

We would just like to take this opportunity of wishing you all well and to say ...

A letter from Cuba

While in Cuba earlier in the year my Dad met up with a guy and they shared a common interest - bikes ! My Dad gave him some spares parts for his Raleigh bike as Dad was nearing the end of his trip and no longer needed the spares. I wrote in Dad's blog about the meeting - Day 20 .

My Dad received this lovely letter last week (took nearly six months to get here !) and I thought I'd share it with you. If you click on the letter it will open it in a new window.

I'll write back and hopefully it will not take six months to get there.