June 23: My Baby is Back!
When the shipper in Melbourne called me this morning at 10:48am to tell me my bike had passed inspections and would soon be ready for pickup, my heart fluttered, my breath caught in my throat, and tears came to my eyes. After months of shipping problems including a delayed departure from London, a missed connection in Singapore, and more delays after that, none of us had really known how long the final step would take.
It turns out that the shipper and the warehouse personnel had monitored the situation throughout the night to help reunite me and Adventure Baby as soon as possible. The container with my bike in it had been offloaded at the port at 2am and was deemed available for pick up by 4am. By 7am it was being transported by truck to the warehouse and then quickly unpacked to await customs.
I had readied all my gear the night before and set my boots by the door to be ready on a moment’s notice, just in case things went our way. So, when the customs guy ended up showing up early and giving us the green light, I burst into action – calling an Uber to take me to the warehouse and lugging my gear out to the street all while crying tears of joy.
After signing the final paperwork and making sure Adventure Baby was ready to ride, he and I hit the road, heading south to Torquay and from there along the Great Ocean Road to the beachside town of Lorne.
With each mile under my belt, I felt the stress and strain of the last few weeks melting away. I breathed in the fresh air, felt the sun on my back, and reveled in the feel of the rumble of the bike, making sure to stay on the left-hand side of the road, take round-a-bouts in a clockwise direction, and look over my right shoulder when merging into traffic.
As the bright blue waters of the Southern Ocean appeared on my left, I wound my way along the shores of the vast body of water, taking in all the beautiful views of sandy white beaches, gently rolling, frothy white waves, and brown rocky cliffs rising up out of the sea. Under the visor of my helmet, I was grinning from ear to ear. What a magnificent day on the bike!
