Ceesie76
Well-known member
On Saturday my wife and I were set to depart, for the first time from our new home in Fallbrook, CA (closer to San Diego), for our Summer visit to our second home in rural France. Before moving to Fallbrook last December, we were living on a boat in Marina del Rey, which is really in the greater Los Angeles area, close to Venice and Santa Monica. A taxi or uber from the boat to LA International Airport takes 15 minutes, but Fallbrook is over 2 hours away. I had checked on Uber what the ride Fallbrook-LAX would take, time and cost-wise, and it would be fine.
Until I actually went to order an Uber, or a Lyft, Saturday morning at 11 AM. Our flight left at 6:30 PM and since we take our cat with us, we have to be at the airport at least 3 hours before departure. For an hour long, both Lyft and Uber kept promising 'just a few seconds more' before they would assign an actual driver to take the three of us to LAX, but they never did, with time starting to run out, also considering possible traffic/accident issues on the 115 mile stretch. Just two days prior, a bad accident on that same highway had left many people stuck in their cars for 3-6 hours, so we got nervous. Uber nor Lyft was going to be able to find anyone willing to take us that far for the $200 they (and we) were quoted, although they would also never actually tell us that - their apps would just keep us waiting and waiting until it would be too late, it seemed.
So onto Plan B. We took the C650. Me driving, my wife on the back and the cat in her softcase between us. We did hit heavy traffic on the way, which lane splitting rendered irrelevant, the bike is parked in the giant structure right in front of the terminal for free, and we've arrived safely at our place in Guyonvelle, France. Not the most comfortable way to get to the airport, and I felt like the scenes I've seen travelling extensively in Africa and Asia for years, but it worked for us. Helmets and gloves are in the storage compartment, an extra disc lock on the front wheel and here's to hoping the bike will still be there mid-October when we return, and start up. I'm confident.
Until I actually went to order an Uber, or a Lyft, Saturday morning at 11 AM. Our flight left at 6:30 PM and since we take our cat with us, we have to be at the airport at least 3 hours before departure. For an hour long, both Lyft and Uber kept promising 'just a few seconds more' before they would assign an actual driver to take the three of us to LAX, but they never did, with time starting to run out, also considering possible traffic/accident issues on the 115 mile stretch. Just two days prior, a bad accident on that same highway had left many people stuck in their cars for 3-6 hours, so we got nervous. Uber nor Lyft was going to be able to find anyone willing to take us that far for the $200 they (and we) were quoted, although they would also never actually tell us that - their apps would just keep us waiting and waiting until it would be too late, it seemed.
So onto Plan B. We took the C650. Me driving, my wife on the back and the cat in her softcase between us. We did hit heavy traffic on the way, which lane splitting rendered irrelevant, the bike is parked in the giant structure right in front of the terminal for free, and we've arrived safely at our place in Guyonvelle, France. Not the most comfortable way to get to the airport, and I felt like the scenes I've seen travelling extensively in Africa and Asia for years, but it worked for us. Helmets and gloves are in the storage compartment, an extra disc lock on the front wheel and here's to hoping the bike will still be there mid-October when we return, and start up. I'm confident.
. The C650 is well parked, and will always be there when you return."
