A Jourey of 1,000 Miles

[Apoc]

He said it was 8:30 and the plane wasn't even there yet. It's written as if it was happening "at the moment" so when reading it after the fact it's misleading.

[Ginger]

OK - well, I wasn't going to make anything of the airport... it was just a disaster and a worry fest b/c of the importance my luggage played in the trip.

All my gear was in the bag. It wasn't as if I could hop off the plane, say "oh darn, no bag, I can wait for a claim check 60-90 days from now" or "sure, let me know when you locate it." And I couldn't exactly drop a couple grand at the local dealership in Kansas City to replace all of it and get a move on.

Through the whole situation I dealt with 3 people directly and they all treated me like shit.

All the check in kiosks where self-service. There were no "regular" human style ones available. There were reps walking behind the counter assisting with checked luggage, though, taking it from customers and putting on on a conveyor behind the counter. For some reason nobody would come assist me - and it didn't end up on the conveyor. It ended up off to the side based on the decree of a menopausal bitch who was enjoying yelling at people. I guess her creedo was "faster is more important than doing anything right." When your bag, which your entire trip hinges around, is doing something differently than all the other bags, that's worrysome.

And yeah, I know the delay is nothing. But it would have been nice if it we were told it was delayed. Instead they called flights to board at our gate that were scheduled to depart after us and never even mentioned the existance of our flight. The monitor didn't say delayed. The departure time came and went... and it was as if we didn't exist. If it's delayed... just say so.

My big problem, though, was that nobody would help me. The self check in didn't even issue me a boarding pass with a seat number - it gave me a receipt and that's all. Before I had a chance to even read what it printed out for me I was shooed away by some attendant eager to let somebody else use the terminal. And when I realized I didn't have boarding documents, again, nobody would help me.

It's not as if I've never flown before. When compared with flying experiences I've had in the past this was, by far, the absolute worst.

But really, this story isn't about the flight. We don't need to analyze it to bits. What you should take from the above is that I was getting on a plane to ride halfway across the country and I was a little worried my gear wouldn't meet me there.

I'll post the next segment soon.

[G.Irish]

Yeah I will say that for some reason United just cannot get their check-in well organized. Some airports are better than others but I know I've been frustrated quite a few times with their inefficient setup.

The boarding pass thing happens to me occasionally, usually when I didn't buy a ticket way ahead of time. Usually no cause for concern, they just issue your boarding pass at the gate.

[Apoc]

But really, this story isn't about the flight. We don't need to analyze it to bits. What you should take from the above is that I was getting on a plane to ride halfway across the country and I was a little worried my gear wouldn't meet me there.

I probably would have shipped it to the guy with guaranteed delivery. I've seen the way "throwers" handle bags and I'd be more worried something was damaged or missing by checking it than shipping it. Then you could just check-in online and have a carry-on with your clothes.

Something to consider for others flying out to pick something up.

[HAULN-SS]

So...was the Jourey hung, or did they come to a decision?

[.paul]

how to fly 101

[mrbaggio]

out with the rest of the story and bike pics NOW!!!!

[Ginger]

When the flight actually uhm flew, everything went on without incident. My bag and I arrived at the Kansas City International airport, which is actually MCI (Missouri City International?), without incident. Ian picked me up and I considered myself lucky to have made it so far without disaster.

After I met up with Ian, things were easy. He took me to check out the bike, an orange 2004 Suzuki DL650 with lots of little goodies, we took care of paperwork, went to the bank, and then I got a nice tour of Kansas City. Little did I know that this tour would be the only part off-the-highway America I would see all trip. It was a neat tour, though, and Kansas City sure is unique government spending has caused it to develop in a very strange poor | middle class | poor | middle class | poor etc. striping of the city. The tour concluded with some really, really good bar-b-que. Ill never look at Tony Romas the same way again.

Maybe.

I could go for some Romas....

And then I was off.

I had planned on making it to Columbus, Ohio before I stopped on Saturday night. I made it as far as Terre Haute, Indiana. Only a couple hundred miles short. Oops. I had only slept a couple hours on Friday night, and it was asking too much of my body to ride any longer than that on Saturday. I had punched out somewhere between four and five hundred miles of an eleven hundred mile trip. ÔÇ£Not bad,ÔÇØ I figured ÔÇ£and IÔÇÖll be able to finish the rest easily after a good nightÔÇÖs sleep.ÔÇØ

The riding I did get done on Saturday was nice, though. It was warm most of the day, in the mid fifties, and sunny. It was a good way to get acclimated to the new bike. Stable, no wind blast, not too much turbulence, nice luggage with lots of space, lots of power plugs and doo-hickey gadgets cool! Towards the end of the day I started to chill off and I turned on the heated grips. Shortly after, I stopped and put on my heated jacket liner. Warm again with the turn of a dial!

On electric gear ÔÇô IÔÇÖm sold.

The bike was working flawlessly, thumbs up all the way down the superslab, good mileage, no funnies. Well, some funnies... I noticed the Gay-Straight Alliance at my second gas stop. Oh well, good to be a supporter, though. My room in Terre Haute was absolutely pimp. Too bad I was too tired to enjoy it. I made my "I'm packed in for the night" phone calls, plugged in my recharagables, and passed the hell out. Only 675 miles to home...

[Ginger]

Packed and ready



At least I got a window seat!



Unhappy Passenger



And there she rolls! Say 'hi' to Ian!



There's that sticker I mentioned...



Gas Stop 2 - Somewhere in Missouri



Un-Dumping in my Suite



Yeah, it was big:



Digital in the Room!



All alone outside the hotel... 675 miles to home.

[CaptainHenreh]

Such a sweet bike.

[Ginger]

Psst - Rex, hush! Nobody knows how the story ends yet

[CaptainHenreh]

Psst - Rex, hush! Nobody knows how the story ends yet

:roll:

Fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiine.

It is a sweet bike.

[Jeff]

I DO!

[Mike]

zzz

[CaptainHenreh]

Seriously, finish the goddamn story.

[Ginger]

Fine.

I rode it to Reston. A mile from my house a lady ran a stop and totaled it.

Happy now?

[Apoc]

Look at it this way... you rode more on it than Feersty has in his life.

Did you tell the seller?

[Ginger]

Yeah, the seller knows. I had to get his permissin for my insurance agent to talk to him; given that the bike was insured for 3 days, she wanted to confirm the vehicle purchase circumstances. We're both pretty bummed.

I've elected to let my insurnace company deal with Allstate (the lady who hit me has Allstate). Although I lose my deductible, I will, very likely, receive more money in the end because my company, Progressive, will just bill off accessories and gear to Allstate. I I felt like I would be worse off dealing adversarially with Allstate than working with a company I'd been siphoning money to for the past 4 years. I pay them for something after all, right?

Unfortunately it looked like the lady who hit me was going to run. I had a wittness and he was positioned in front of her on the road. We both noticed that she did not slow down before or after she hit me, so he stopped his vehicle and barred her path. Since she never made it down the road, thanks to my wittness, we obviously can't charge her with leaving the scene... but it was shitty of her. She also tried to blame me for the accidnet (before the Police arrived). Once the police arrived and appeared to side with me she didn't speak enough english to fill out the "hand over your insurance information b/c you're at fault" paperwork. Ass.

Hit a motorcyclist with a 4,000 pound SUV and act like it caused more trouble for you than him. Go figure. I'm lucky to have my right leg, let alone have escaped without injury.

[Ginger]

Just after the accident:







I can track my claim online with Progressive. According to the online system it's a write off. I will know for sure when I speak with her next. I have to title the bike at the DMV on Monday and then it shouldn't be long before I get a check. I've been told all accessories and gear will be included in the check. I've been given the impression, also, since my company isn't the one ultimately footing the bill, that that should be a rather painless process. Here's to keeping my fingers crossed.

[Ginger]

(The reason it's a write off is because you don't see all the front end damage. Something, and it's really hard to tell exactly what [or, more likely, the combination of bent things] is badly bent. She hit me, on the gas and still accelerating, square on the front wheel. Most of what's up there isn't straight anymore.)