The tent, helmet and shoes are hidden in the bike box but this is my wardrobe, bed, kitchen and bike repair shop for 3 weeks.

The little bag will travel with me but the rest goes in the boot (or whatever it is called on a plane).  The checked baggage weighs 28kg which is fine for Emirates, where my allowance is 30kg, but a bit of a problem for Eagle Air who allow a stingy 23kg.  There will be some hasty re-packing in Auckland to convert 5kg of checked weight into carry-on weight.  If the worst come to the worst I can wear all my clothes as nobody seems to care how much the passenger weighs.  When I run the world (surely it can only be a matter of time) passengers will be given an all-in weight allowance for luggage and lard – the down side of this policy will be some very large people on holiday with very few clothes, NOT a good combination!

The observant among you may have spotted that it is Sunday and I don’t leave until Tuesday.  If Knobby is reading this he will be interested to know that this is an innovative travel technique known as ‘being ready early’.

Now that the snow has gone I managed to get out for a fairly hilly 50 mile ride yesterday and my conclusion is that I am a good deal less fit than I would like.  Frank may be drinking beer in Invercargill on his own :-(.