Finding the Best Airfare

Let's jump right into what's going on:

Kristen and I are going to take a 4 month bike trip from South-East Spain to Rome. Our intention is to leave in September, after she finishes all of her college requirements, and return in January 2010, after watching the New Years Eve fireworks at the Coliseum in Rome.

Our current obsticle is finding affordable airfare that will take us out of Detroit, MI and into Madrid, then return from Rome.

I put 2 calls out to local agents this week and was suprised by the results. One agent quoted the price at ~$1250 each, and didn't know if the airlines would charge for shipping the bicycles onboard. The other, who I have used before, got back to me with a SICK price on the high-side of $800. She mentioned that she thought she could do better.

2 hours later, she left me a message saying that we could fly from Chicago to Madrid, Rome to Chicago for $698, plus the bikes were FREE to travel. We were expecting ~$100 each way for bike shipping.

Way below what we had budgeted. We are still trying to decide where to fly out of. To tack on a Detroit leg would cost an extra $85 each way. Is it worth it? Maybe. Kristen wants to see some family in Chicago before we leave, so it might be convenient to get a ride to Chi-Town and leave from there, returning to DTW. I have family in the Detroit area that I can crash with, and would like to see before I go, too. But – that shouldn't be a problem.

Further, today I bid on a Hennessy Hammock for Kristen on eBay. I called the company and was "sold" on the ideas to get SnakeSkins. They seem pretty cool, but I haven't used my hammock enough to justify them just yet. Because of her height (5' 11"), she needs the Ultralight Backpacker. Retails for $189, but eBay has deals below $150 regularly, with free or nominal shipping fees. We'll see where that goes.

For gear, we still need to look into handlebar bags, but I don't want to purchase one until I spend 2 full nights camping alone without one. Let me first see what to expect and what I'm missing, then I'll purchase it and then finally the carriers. My laptop needs to come too, so that's another issue.

My mom called today about phones. I carry one of those sporty iPhones, but am afraid to take it. The battery life sucks, and I hear it's $20/meg for the data package. Plus 50cents/text and 99cents/call, it can't be worth it! I'm better looking into a TrackPhone equivalent.

For the raw foodies out there, I'm writing this while snacking on a big fat salad. Organic mixed greens with some balsamic (not raw, but still good in moderation!) and ground pepper. Pretty simple. My workout today was a trip to town and some Tabata training once on the old trails. That's 20-seconds high intensity, 10 seconds low intensity, repeated for 4 minutes (8 times), then a cool-down. It really makes your heart pound, but I feel AWESOME right now… 6 hours later.

Today's HIIT Training

Alright. I'm out to go canoeing with a buddy. Enjoy the weekend!