I felt strangely calm and serene travelling to the airport, even with the added stress of travelling with a bike. I was also only reminded as we were halfway down the M1 that I might never return to Eastfield Lane - the house I’d grown up in for most of my childhood that my parents were shortly moving out of. Although I had been aware of this in the lead-up to leaving, it had actually slipped my mind in the morning as I packed up the final bits. I definitely haven’t fully processed that and all the memories and life moments associated with that house. 

 

I needn’t have worried about the travel as everything - on both sides - was incredibly smooth. Even all the scare stories about US immigration proved unfounded, the TSA agent was fairly nonplussed as I said I would be here for two months. I tried to stay up for as long as possible to counter the jet lag, so I went to a local bar for a couple of beers and some tacos. They were showing rodeo on the TV - welcome to the US.