Thread: Testing the Waters

I haven’t flown in well over two years, so when my friend DB invited us over to watch him race, I thought why not? Tucson isn’t that far, there’re lots of flights and if all else fails we can drive, besides I’m pretty tired of watching DB’s videos that show a yellow dot roaming around a virtual landscape of Tucson. Now DB maintains that the yellow dot is tracking him, but all I can really attest to is that there’s a yellow dot moving on a 3D landscape, interspersed with photos of DB sitting on his bike looking like he’s ready to ride in the Tour de France.

It wasn’t until I actually pulled up a schedule that it really hit home, I was looking at a flight schedule without a lot of options. At any rate I did come up with a plan A, B, C + an all-encompassing plan D that involved a secondary airport, possible hours in PHX and a “Shawshank option”
Now I suppose I should mention that PHX is my angst airport - you know that one airport that just defies both math and strategy - the airport where your best laid plans frequently go off the runway. It never fails that when I have a short connection time, I run into trouble with the moving walkways at PHX - either the walkways aren’t moving, or people are just standing in the middle of the walkways surrounded by bags which I then have to maneuver through in six minutes or less. Then there’s the time there was a power outage at T4 and the time I was bumped off a PHX/LAX flight twice - talk about déjà vu in the jetway – uneasy rests the nonrev while the door is open.
At any rate my plan A, B, C, D as well as my Shawshank option failed (no cars available at PHX airport, or anywhere near the airport, during my time frame) - which left us with one last course of action - a 1,000-mile round trip drive from LA (gas running around $5.25 a gallon) to see “DB” go riding off into the desert on a 20-mile bike ride…hmm talk about not needing a cost vs benefit analysis.
We opted for plan H- relaxing in the backyard under a magnolia tree. DB sent us a video of “his race” which unlike his other videos showed a lot of gaps in yellow dot’s route (technical problems with the GPS I was told). I have to tell you I don’t find watching a virtual bike ride all that exciting, but on the other hand I do see a future for virtual non-revving - will he, won’t he make it on the non-stop, talk about suspense - I see people on the edge of their seats.

Curious about how I was bumped from the same flight twice-
http://nonrev.net/general-discussion...html#post77740