Don't forget your Passport!

Yesterday two friends of mine (we’ll call them Mr B and Mr C) were supposed to set out on their adventure to cycle around Australia. This is a wheelie huge task with more than 12,600 miles to pedal starting from Darwin in the Northern Territory and travelling round Australia through some harsh terrain (not to mention the difficulties of avoiding stopping for too long down the famed East Coast.)

Flying out via Bali with their bikes and several panniers crammed full of essentials, the first few days were going to be a relaxed affair to prepare for the months of toil and tent-sharing ahead. However, as you may have noticed from the ‘hypothetical’ tone employed in this post everything has not gone to plan.

While the attempt to circumnavigate Australia on two wheels certainly qualifies these two for the Odd Balls Blog it is an error of epic proportions which has inspired me to write about them. After months of gentle teasing about their unpreparedness the day finally dawned for them to set off to Australia. On arrival at Mr B’s house, Mr C was asked if he had everything, passport, money, bike etc. Tyred of being mocked about being ready he pulled out his wallet and phone and responded flippantly “I expect these will help me get through most things.”

So together they travelled to the airport. While standing in the check-in queue Mr C turns to Mr B, and with panic rising within him stated: “I’ve left my passport in my scanner at home.” Now home for Mr C was an hour and a half away. It is an impressive feat to have been able to refrain from obsessively checking his passport on leaving his house/arrival at Mr B’s house/throughout the journey to the airport/any number of other moments when even the least neurotic person would have checked this small but essential item!

Mr C, who henceforth shall be known as The Muppet, headed home in an attempt to recover said passport and returned 25 minutes after the check- in had closed. He was not allowed to board the flight and will now be joining his compatriot (who had to board the flight alone and will be spending his time in Bali without The Muppet) at the weekend.

It would be fair to say that things have not got off to a flying start but I will keep you updated on whether Mr B has in fact killed The Muppet and indeed on their progress around Australia.