Six pairs of shoes. Is that too many? Probably - maybe I should cut it down to five. I will leave out my sandals. Will I need them in Alaska? Perhaps not, but in mid-summer in Seattle at the end of our trip I 'll have severe sandal withdrawal. Still, six is too many. The sandals have to go.
I'm very tempted to leave my ankle boots behind too, bringing my total down to four - a very respectable number. The problem is that David likes my ankle boots. He has threatened to put them in his bag if I don't pack them. It's impossible to win an argument with D so I'll compromise and wear them on the plane. D is even worse at packing light than I am.
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| Too many? |
I don't know whether to envy people who have mastered the art of packing light or resent them. I have never been able to crack it. We leave tomorrow and my bag weighs 22.8 kilos. The allowance is 23. Taking two pairs of identical black pants might be a bit extravagant and I'm not really sure I'm going to need eight polo shirts, a white blouse and half a dozen long sleeve Tees. Also, I couldn't decide which shorts to take so I pretty much put them all in. Then there are the hiking boots and joggers to say nothing of my little blue ballet flats which never seem to get worn outside a hotel room, but I just can't live without them.
Packed with these essentials my bag didn't seem that heavy. Then I put the bike rack in. Did you know it is possible to buy a rack which fits on the back of a car, carries two mountain bikes and still folds up small enough to squeeze inside a suitcase - of course it has to be a large suitcase and it does tend to blow one's weight allowance out of the water - but there it is. What's the point in agonising over a few pairs of shoes when I am carrying five kilos of reinforced steel, and associated cycling paraphernalia - bicycle pump, comfort seats, spare tyres and helmet. Actually I'm fibbing about the helmet - I decided to leave it out. Most of the places we're going they aren't compulsory. For everywhere else I intend to live dangerously and flout the rules for once.
At least we didn't pack the bikes this time. Flying with bikes is awful. If you want to dip your toes into a story or two about just how awful it is click -
here. Last time we flew to the U.S, David's brand new bike was badly damaged en-route so this time we are reverting to our original plan and buying cheap bikes in WalMart - hence the bike rack. Are you reading this Qantas? You have lifted your game a lot in recent years but you definitely need to improve in the flying bicycle department. Haven't you heard that cycling is the new golf?
For all my posts on our Alaska Marine Highway and Alaska Highway road trip click - here
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