August 16, 2005 GMT
Collecting the bikes
After all the months of planning, frantically trying to sell houses, tidying up affairs and what appeared to have been constant visits to our Doctors for jabs, we arrived in Anchorage. After a couple of calls we discovered we couldn't pick up our bikes until Monday 19th from Fed Ex, so there was no option but to relax and enjoy the town!
Bright and early on the Monday morning we arrived by Taxi at the FedEx depot, with a big screw driver in hand to start unpacking the bikes from the crates, only to discover our section didn't open for another hour. When they opened, the woman who normally deals with the paperwork wasn't there and no-one seemed to know where it was. With typical British patience we 'understood everything' and resigned ourselves to walk to the International terminal, a mile away, to sort out the customs papers whilst FedEx continued their search.
Expecting huge beauracratic hurdles & legislative questions on emissions and communicable cattle diseases, we were plesently surprised that the two female officers working in customs were really helpful & good fun. They actually raced each other to complete our individual bikes paperworks ! After that, one of them gave us a lift back up to the FedEx terminal in her personnal car !..and stamped all the necessary paperwork that FedEx had now found and we were free to be re-patriated with our bikes again.
Now issued with security passes we were allowed into FedEx's warehouse where we saw our bikes in their crates, somewhat the worse for wear(.. we were to discover later that the bikes themselves were fine). These were then taken out on a fork-lift truck to a remote part of their grounds, next to a huge skip, for us to start the re-assembly process.
<IMG SRC="http://pic4.picturetrail.com/VOL784/4062504/8448420/114002761.jpg">
<IMG SRC="http://pic4.picturetrail.com/VOL784/4062504/8448420/114002794.jpg">
The bikes on the trip to the skip area.
<IMG SRC="http://pic4.picturetrail.com/VOL784/4062504/8448420/114002847.jpg">
The reassembly process begins !
About 3 hours later, a visit to a service station via another Taxi for gas(petrol for our English audience !) and a number of security visits from passing FedEx officers and the bikes we re-built and ready for the road.
<IMG SRC="http://pic4.picturetrail.com/VOL784/4062504/8448420/114003832.jpg">
The process near completion.
We departed onto the Alaskan roads, intrepid explorers heading back to Anchorage, the largest civilised law abiding town in Alaska.
Collecting the bikes
After all the months of planning, frantically trying to sell houses, tidying up affairs and what appeared to have been constant visits to our Doctors for jabs, we arrived in Anchorage. After a couple of calls we discovered we couldn't pick up our bikes until Monday 19th from Fed Ex, so there was no option but to relax and enjoy the town!
Bright and early on the Monday morning we arrived by Taxi at the FedEx depot, with a big screw driver in hand to start unpacking the bikes from the crates, only to discover our section didn't open for another hour. When they opened, the woman who normally deals with the paperwork wasn't there and no-one seemed to know where it was. With typical British patience we 'understood everything' and resigned ourselves to walk to the International terminal, a mile away, to sort out the customs papers whilst FedEx continued their search.
Expecting huge beauracratic hurdles & legislative questions on emissions and communicable cattle diseases, we were plesently surprised that the two female officers working in customs were really helpful & good fun. They actually raced each other to complete our individual bikes paperworks ! After that, one of them gave us a lift back up to the FedEx terminal in her personnal car !..and stamped all the necessary paperwork that FedEx had now found and we were free to be re-patriated with our bikes again.
Now issued with security passes we were allowed into FedEx's warehouse where we saw our bikes in their crates, somewhat the worse for wear(.. we were to discover later that the bikes themselves were fine). These were then taken out on a fork-lift truck to a remote part of their grounds, next to a huge skip, for us to start the re-assembly process.
<IMG SRC="http://pic4.picturetrail.com/VOL784/4062504/8448420/114002761.jpg">
<IMG SRC="http://pic4.picturetrail.com/VOL784/4062504/8448420/114002794.jpg">
The bikes on the trip to the skip area.
<IMG SRC="http://pic4.picturetrail.com/VOL784/4062504/8448420/114002847.jpg">
The reassembly process begins !
About 3 hours later, a visit to a service station via another Taxi for gas(petrol for our English audience !) and a number of security visits from passing FedEx officers and the bikes we re-built and ready for the road.
<IMG SRC="http://pic4.picturetrail.com/VOL784/4062504/8448420/114003832.jpg">
The process near completion.
We departed onto the Alaskan roads, intrepid explorers heading back to Anchorage, the largest civilised law abiding town in Alaska.
Last edited:
