And ever

The bikes have been taken apart, cleaned and put into their cardboard boxes ready for the flights via KL to Sydney. They’ve not been so clean since the day we bought them. They have new tyres and wheels, are washed and polished and are ready do go.

I must thank Action Bikes in East Sheen for both saving and giving us two empty bike boxes to pack with and for easing some over tightened pedals with their large 15mm wrench so that we could pack the bikes correctly to fly. Also I must thank Condor Cycles on Gray’s Inn Road, who’ve always been fantastic, and this time managed to squeeze in the rebuilding of my wheels with new rims at the last minute. After all the recent punctures, because of worn out tyres going to Cornwall, the thought of a cracked rim somewhere in the Australian outback was playing to frequently on my mind and they managed to get them changed. Thank you Condor!

It has been a relief to finally dismantle and put away the bikes in their boxes for the first part of the journey. We depart London for Kuala Lumpur where we will stay for a week seeing Yasmin’s friends and family and catching the end of the Hari Raya celebrations. Our visits are always familiar as we stay in the same suburban hotel where the staff know us, get our clothes laundered at the same dhobi wallah, and eat at the Taj Restoran, a typical  Malay cafe where again people recognise us. It will be good to see everyone and not be rushing about before heading to Sydney.