Day 0.5: Orlando, FL

Not quite a textbook start. Seems like immigration fancy letting everybody get in some practice for the upcoming theme park queues, so I miss Chris (my Warm Showers host) who has kindly ridden to the airport to meet me. I can see the bike propped up by the baggage claim looking intact though.

I call Chris from a payphone: "Can't speak. On a stretcher." Oh dear. So I head off in search of his address from the airport and roads are terrible - wide, fast, dangerous. This is confirmed by the flashing lights illuminating me to the position of Chris' bike contorted and thrown aside the road. Officer Sympathetic he shouldn'a been in the middle informs he's alright but has gone to hospital to be checked over. I wait there for Pam, Chris' partner, to pick up the wreckage and maybe take me in too.

We get to the airport and my bizarre first Warm Showers introduction takes place as Chris lays prone on the hospital bed. Thankfully he's fine and in good spirits but missing quite a bit of skin. Turns out a driver clipped him changing lanes on the highway. We all trip back to their house and share a few stories but it's late so they sort me out with a shower and the spare room bed.

Day 0: To roads elsewhere

Flying from Gatwick to Orlando this afternoon. I packed the bike up at the baggage drop in situ in a CTC plastic bag fixed with a bit of gaffa tape, much to the bemusement of the airport staff. You know you can buy protective boxes, right? The comedy jumbo Sports-Direct bag holding the panniers (lowest prices guaranteed) tops off the shambolic packer look just nicely. I could've done a finer job it but regardless it's dropped into the baggage black hole now; I just hope it comes through unscathed.

Amongst the Disneyland dreamers for now, but I'll seek my thrills elsewhere.

See you on the other side.