This post was written by Omer Kem on August 27, 2009
I meant to update again a few days after my last post. That didn’t happen, so here I am….
In the previous chapter of my crazy life I thinking I was talking about Cascade. I don’t want to talk about that anymore. There are plenty of race reports to read and tell you all about Rock Racing and Operation Puerto kicking me and my team in the head….
Something much entertaining is the story about me trying to get to Grand Rapids for a sponsor race. So, it all begins at 3:30am on Thursday morning. My flight leaves at 6am and it’s a hour drive to the airport. The airport is a flurry of activity at 4:45am as I am standing in line to check in. I have a bike as well as my duffel because after this weekend in swampy GR, I go straight to a Utah training camp. I think the Albanian national Basketball team was there in front of me, aka massive skinny white guys, taking up lots of time. My airline of no choice is United. The person at the counter takes a look at me and my bags and sees nothing but dollar signs. As Rick James said to Charlie Murphy, “what did the five fingers say to the face?? SLAP!!!!”….. $195 later, I am off to stand in another line….
I make it to the gate. Finally I can sit down. Seating area 3 is called eventually. I have a middle seat, glorious…. We proceed to sit for a while. Then we roll out to the runway. Now we sit for a while longer. Then the more time we spend sitting, the more my spider sense thinks something is “going pear shaped” as my director would say…. Ok, the cabin gets the ding dong. The captain says the radar doesn’t work. He also makes sure to tell us that this is important. So, after over a hour of sitting. We are going back to the gate….
Back at the gate a team of highly trained individuals are ready to fix the problem. 5min later, another ding dong tells us that the radar is broken. But it can be replaced!!! But there isn’t a unit in Portland to replace it with, damn!!!! But, there is a unit in Los Angeles, hooray!!! But, it will be 5hrs before it is here, damn!!!!
So now everyone is grumbling about getting where ever they are supposed to go. Me especially because of GR being a sponsor race and all. Then as we start to file off the plane we are given a number which is the order that we shall be called to discuss the next step. I am number 154….
I am of course a very savvy traveler, so instead of waiting in line, I walk out of the gate and find another united kiosk. The very nice women says that I can go stand by on the next flight which leaves in a hour. Yes!!!! One hour later, I am bumped. Don’t worry they say. There is another flight soon. What happens again?? Bumped!!!! Damn it. What the hell!??? I was bumped from 4 flights in a row. Then, I hear the call. My original flight is fixed and now boarding. I make my way over to the gate. I have to get a new ticket or something. I walk up to the counter. Remember, I have been awake since 3:30am…. “sorry sir. You chose to go stand by. There is a premier member who has taken your seat on this flight”. What…..?? Now, envision me LOSING IT…. “sir!!!! If you don’t calm down, I will call security”…. I didn’t calm down. Security was called. They told me some things very quietly. I then calmed down. I also decided at that point I wasn’t going to Grand Rapids….
I learned something from all this…. United oversells every flight to probably still not break even financially. Don’t lose it at the airport. Waking up at 3:30am sucks. If you do lose it at the airport, you will probably not get anything from the airline in terms of compensation for how much time they wasted. Flying sucks…..
Oh, I should mention that after leaving the airport that evening. I went back the next morning. I got bumped off 3 more flights and then decided I wasn’t going to GR. United got me a flight to Salt Lake for the next Monday. I had to go to San Fran on route. Makes sense….??
So there is a day in the life of a pro cyclist. While sitting at home, not GR the next day. My manager sent me my flight to Nationals in Greenville. Guess who gets to go another round with that 6am flight to Chicago??? Gotta love it….
Omer Kem
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