Anxious legs...

I can’t think of a better way to prepare for a marathon in five days time than to sit in an aluminum tube pressurized to 10,000 feet for 15 hours. Then again, what about this entire experience has been anything but traditional?

My flight left Oakland today (Monday) shortly after noon. I got to "sleep in" (somewhat) and take both of my kids to school before my wife dropped me off at the airport about two hours before my flight.

Helpful hint
If you’re ever going to bring very heavy things with you on an airplane, put them in a bike box instead of a regular box. Shipping 80 pounds of “stuff” costs $125, but shipping an 80 pound “bike” only costs $95 (on Continental).. Not sure why, but I remember the same thing being the case on Hawaiian Airlines last year. A woman was checking in at the same time as me and had a drafting table to ship. It was “oversized” and was going to cost her $75. Meanwhile, I had my 80’s throwback bike case with my bike and 40 pounds of gear that would be shipped for an even $50. Go figure.

Maybe I should preface this next rant with the caveat that I’m a bit of a travel snob. Ask anyone! Picking the right seat is crucial to a good flight. When I booked my flights nearly a month ago, I was thrilled to see seat 6D free (it’s a bulkhead seat – more legroom, no seats reclining in to your knees, as close to the front door as possible.. etc..). When the agent handed me my boarding pass with “7D” on it, I was a little confused. In addition to picking my own seats, I have a habit of going back online to troll around the seat map for any “better” seats that might have become available since booking my ticket. As of last (Sunday) night, 6D was ALL MINE. His explanation for the shift was that from time to time someone with a handicap or an elderly person will request the bulkhead and they will move people to accommodate them. While not exactly thrilled to give up my beloved bulkhead seat, I was marginally satisfied with the explanation and headed off to the gate. When I got to my seat, not only was the person in 6D not elderly OR handicapped, but he was about 8 inches shorter than me and in seemingly good shape.. The first thing he did when we took off was recline his(MY!) seat right in to my lap. Other than that “minor” issue, it was a rather painless 3 ½ hour flight to Houston.

Once in Houston, I had a 1 hour layover before my flight to Amsterdam where I am writing this all from. Once again I am seated behind a Yo-Yo who keeps leaning back with the vim and vigor of a 6 year old. Every minute or so the seat in front of me rocks wildly as if he’s trying to force it back just “one more inch”… I’ve never seen such determination!

Not much else to report other than that. We’re about 2 hours outside of Amsterdam and then I have a three hour layover before my flight to Oslo. I’ve managed to stay quite hydrated and have gotten up to pee no less than 7 times. Probably more information than you needed, but that’s what a blog is all about right? Talk to you from Amsterdam if I have time, otherwise I’ll write more when I get on the plane to Oslo..