We knew Dave Kerr, CHAS’ Communication Lead, would be posting a press release at some point, but we didn’t consider asking exactly when that would be. It, therefore, came at somewhat of a surprise when we woke on Sunday to an inbox of requests for radio and TV interviews.
The original plan was to have a lazy morning followed by an afternoon training run on the bike. Still, with the morning taking calls, scheduling interviews, and trying to remember my Zoom password, it didn’t happen, unless not changing out of my pyjamas until noon counts. With interviews for Heart, Capital and Smooth Radio, and Radio Forth News, spread out nicely across the afternoon, the afternoon cycle was resigned to a nice idea that would have to wait.
While cycling the bike that we would be used to take us around the planet is optional, washing and clearing out the junk accumulated in the back of Deborah’s car was on in the mandatory category of the to-do list before putting it into storage. Deborah was conspicuous in her absence, but I am sure she was doing something equally important that didn’t require getting wet, although I have no idea what.
Monday was a planned very early start. We had booked an 8:30 am appointment at the Travel Clinic in the Edinburgh Western General to collect our antimalarials and antibiotics. A live interview with BBC Radio Scotland was scheduled at 8:53 am. The plan for the day was to drive both of our vehicles to the hospital appointment, followed by a live interview with BBC Radio Scotland from the hospital. We would then go down to our storage unit, store Deborah’s car, and be back in time for dinner with Honi and Benas. The first sign that the day might not be going our way was the thick frost that had formed on the cars overnight, so while I made sure the computer was ready for the interview, Deborah dealt with defrosting the vehicles.
The second challenge of the day manifested itself in the form of a loud ticking noise when Deborah pressed the ignition start button. With no time to spare, we had no choice but to jump in my vehicle and deal with Deborah’s car later. The drive from Alloa to Edinburgh is relatively straightforward, but what we hadn’t factored in was Edinburgh morning rush-hour traffic. Trying to remain calm but knowing how much of a stickler the hospital is for keeping appointments, the day was going downhill fast. While the GPS estimated arrival time continued to add a minute on for almost every minute we sat in the car, it suggested an arrival time that would enable us to make the appointment, even if it would require a sprint finish on foot.
Out of breath and the 100m sprint won by me, we checked in at the Travel Clinic reception. We were met by a young nurse who explained to us that the medication available at the clinic was very short-dated and therefore not suitable for our travels. Explaining our fast approaching interview schedule, the nurse suggested we do the interview then come back afterwards, and they might have a solution for us, although they didn’t have a room that we could interview in.
With steam rising all around us from the slowly thawing ground, we sat on a crooked picnic bench outside the Tropical Disease Unit of Edinburgh Western General, with herring gulls squawking their morning greetings from above. It wasn’t as we had envisioned our first-ever live radio interview, but it seemed to go well. Being introduced as ‘The Scottish couple’ only for us to come on without North East English accents must have had a few people choking on their cereal.
Back in the hospital, we were informed that a new batch of medication had come in just that morning, available at the hospital pharmacy. Another £36 poorer, we headed down to the pharmacy, guided by the nurse. As we walked, I enquired about the antimalarials, only to be told we had only paid for antibiotics. The request for antimalarials had been missed by reception when we booked the appointment. Thirty minutes and a Glasgow Go Radio interview confirmed later, we were back at the Travel Clinic to pick up the antimalarial tablets. The nurse explained the areas we would need to take them, from leaving Hanoi in Vietnam to arriving in Bangkok, together with the two tablet options. The first option, with a name that escaped me within a second of hearing it, did seem less intrusive, with a price tag of £200 per person in contrast with the second option, £104 for both of us won the day.
The next stop was our storage units. Even though we didn’t have Deborah’s car to put in it, the main objective for the day, we still had some sorting out to do. By late afternoon and a fully-loaded trip to the recycling centre later, there was enough space in one of the units to fit a Nissan X-Trail with a pile of garden tools in the back of my car for Honi & Benas back in Alloa.
By the time we had pulled up on the driveway adjacent to Deborah’s car, it was already early evening, but the deal was done when it started at the first press of the button. We unloaded the garden tools in the garden shed, then headed back to the storage units on another 100-mile round trip to finally achieve the main object of the day, to store away Deborah’s car for the next two years.
By 11 pm, we rolled into bed. Another job ticked off the to-do list, but another day closer to the start line that we hadn’t even looked at the tandem, let alone been out on any of the planned training rides.
