My trip started on Saturday, May 24 at noon. My mom drove me to the Eugene Airport and sent me off on my adventure with hugs and kisses and a few tears. I checked my luggage (my bike box and a suitcase with my wheels and clothes in it ) all the way thru to Taiyuan, CHINA according to the lady at the counter, and then proceeded to my gate. My plane left on time for Portland, so my trip had begun without a hitch. That didn't last long though.....
I was supposed to have a 30 minute layover in Portland and then fly to LAX. However, my plane was delayed and then ultimately canceled, but since my layover in LAX was so long, I was just put on the next flight out, so my layover in Portland ended up being about 3 hours. I napped on a bench and had dinner while I waited in Portland. Right before we boarded the plane to LAX I was called to the ticket counter and they upgraded me to First Class! That was my first time flying first class.....it was fun!!
I landed in LAX a few hours before my flight to Beijing left.....it's a good thing too cause getting from the domestic terminal to the international terminal took some time. I made it however, and then had to do more sitting and waiting. Other BMXers started trickling in so I visited with a couple people I sort of knew from the ABA national circuit.
At 1:45 am I boaded the plane for Beijing. As luck would have it I got a bulkhead seat with no one in the seat next to me. So I slept most of the flight over....although I woke up every couple hours cause I'd get stiff or my arm would fall asleep or something.
When we landed in Beijing we were put on busses and taken to the terminal. While we were on the busses I overheard some people talking about the Worlds, so when we got off the bus I introduced myself to them and asked if I could tag along since I was travelling alone. They agreed and I hung out with them a lot of the time I was in China. I went to the baggage area since that's where everyone else was headed and lucky I did too cause the lady in Eugene was wrong. My bags had a transfer tag on them but they didn't get transfered since I changed airlines. So, I picked up my bags in Beijing and headed with the group to check in for my next flight where I learned that I was on a different flight than everyone else and had to go to terminal 2. So, after a lot of asking I figured out that I needed to catch a shuttle from terminal 3 to terminal 2. Then after more asking I figured out where I needed to catch the shuttle. I got on a bus with my bags in tow and we started driving......and driving......and driving.....I was beginning to wonder if I got on he wrong bus but since the driver spoke no English I couldn't ask any questions. However, I eventually ended up at terminal 2 which happened to be the old airport. I got in line and checked in and then proceeded thru security, where they took my waterless hand sanitizer away cause it had alcohol in it. The rules are different over there. I then ran to my gate and was the last person to board the plane....I made it with about 3 minutes to spare.
When we got to Taiyuan and I went to baggage claim, all the BMXers from the other flight were there waiting for their bags, so I was reunited with the group. After we got our bags there were college student volunteers with a big sign that said team USA. We followed them to our busses over a very bumpy cobblestone sidewalk....the luggage carts did not fair well. They tipped and got stuck but we finally made it.
My first bus ride was a bit intimidating. They drive very differently over there. We however made it to our hotel unharmed and with a whole day ahead of us to try to stay awake to avoid jet lag........
