Finally the day has come to head off to Burgas, Bulgaria. The race Facebook group has been awash with riders arriving and getting bikes sorted.
I am routing on Qatar Airways via Doha, on to Sofia, then a short internal hope via Air Bulgaria. The biggest stress is the safety of my Niner in her box – please oh please may she arrive and in one piece.
The JHB leg did not start well with the box torn – so opted for the height of touristiness and got her shrink wrapped. Suspect this may be the best R90 spent on kit so far !
In order to get here a couple of special mentions of thanks:
Grant @ The Bike Guru (Hillcrest)
He took my numerous weird and wonderful requests Re bike in his stride and steered me towards reliability over flashy ness – thanks for your personal touch and genuine interest in the trip – rare and much appreciated bud !!
Tami @ Ice ID bands
Thanks to the team at ICE ID for rushing my bracelet to make my departure date. Having all this emergency info on my wrist gives me a great sense of comfort
My “full mate” mates of Ales & Trails
This bunch of clowns have accompanied many a training ride. The banter is always fierce and keeping ones head in check is key when I am involved – apparently I am keen to regale a story of my exploits at most opportunities, much to their mocking. Love you okes!
My extended family
Obviously a huge thanks to Tash and the kids as covered in the ‘family sacrifices’ post. But also a huge thanks to my folks and my outlaws for the support and interest in this mad cap adventure. My old lady (Jill) is the most avid of Dotwatchers and it’s reassuring to know that she we no doubt he hitting refresh as fast as that mouse from 1985 can handle 😉
