It seems that my black bike, the Leading Ladies, is finally on the way back home.
My regular readers will know that the bike has been held up in US Customs because of a slight problem with the administrative side of how the customs department work. Basically, when the bike was imported in New York, the system US Customs use in NY is electronic and the bike was “released” using their computer system. When it came to exporting the bike from LA, the customs people there said they wanted to see the import paperwork containing the official stamp to demonstrate the bike was imported properly. Well, the customs people in NY said they cannot provide that piece of paper because they deal with everything electronically. It seemed the bike would sit there until this was resolved.
The result was that the bike had to be re-imported (on paper) so that somebody could then produce a piece of paper with the stamp on it. This has now been done and I was sent a copy of the paperwork and the long awaited stamp.
The great news is the bike was then quickly cleared for export by customs. I have heard that the Leading Ladies will be leaving Los Angeles on a ship today and will arrive in about 4 -6 weeks time. Yeah!!!
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27 comments:
WHEW!!! You know Gary I believe everything happens for a reason, even if we never figure it out. I'm excited about the reunion to come. I know how I'd feel! It will be wonderful to know she is nicely settled next to the red custom...of which I do not know it's name. :-)
Yay!
Thankfully the Tour went smoother than getting the Ladies home. 4-6 weeks more weeks will seem like an eternity.
Gary,
That is great news! I guess customs just did not want her to go home, just like we wished you could have stayed longer. We miss both of you. Looking forward to your posts from the UK and your trip to Spain. Take care!
Good stuff Gary....bureaucrats...they're the bane of civilization.
YEAH! :)
At last, I did wonder if you were ever going to get the Leading Ladies back other than having her sent back to NY!!!!
Steve & Kathy
Gary:
that is great news ! Some things just don't make sense but at least all will be well soon. at least you are not bikeless
bob
Wet Coast Scootin
Best news I've heard lately...very happy you will have her home with you soon!
Yes, yes, YES!!!
Yay! Good news!
YAY!! Congratulations. Such great news. 4-6 weeks would be agonizing for me. But it is nice she is on her way home.
Great news Gary! Interesting how the "red tape" works here. Sorry about that!
Yay! Back in time for spring. :)
Wow! That's some story on the silly US Customs front! Egad!!! Happy the saga is beginning to end well, though. Also happy to see you're continuing your blog habit. Nice to peruse your last few posts ... and I must agree that the header collection is a brilliant idea!
Good news!
Yay! Great new Gary. It should be back just in time for spring!
-Chris @ everydayriding.org - year round riding in Minnnesota
Gary, I believe this would be a appropriate response: Hands held in fists with thumbs extended. Hands moves in vertical circles in front of chest.
ie. Congratulations!
P.S. Thanks for riding through RI, CT, MA, NH, & ME , I will consider that we've rode together on the same roads.
Eve – I too am excited about seeing the Leading Ladies again and take it out for a ride. My red bike is called “Tradewinds”.
Keith – Yay indeed!
AHD – The tour went very smoothly indeed, so I really don’t mind that getting the bike back took longer than it should. It was a small price to pay for having such a great time!
Beck – Maybe you are right and customs just wanted to keep the bike for themselves! Now that I am settled back in the UK, I hope to keep on posting from here as often as I can. I am lucky to have a few trips planned this year, so you will get to see some other European countries as well.
Dom – We have a fine collection of them here too! Some of the things they come up with just drive you crazy!
mq01 – Indeed!
Steve – That did cross my mind....
Bob – I agree, it makes no sense, but it will all come good in the end.
Chessie – Thanks, it won’t be too long now, just a few more weeks!
Donna – I agree!
B.B. – Now that I know the problems are over, I feel much happier because now it is just a matter of time.
Lori – 4 to 6 weeks is a long time, but because I know it will take as long as it takes, I am now quite relaxed about it. I try not to worry about things I cannot do anything about.
Mike – Oh believe me, we are experts in red tape here in the UK as well. If there was a red tape world championship, we would be up there with the best (or is that the worst?)
bluekat – Exactly! That’s what I am looking forward to!
Chuck – The customs saga was frustrating at first, but I have got over it now the bike is headed home. I was very happy to “borrow” the headers idea from Eve, so she deserves all the credit for it.
Canajun – Yes, it was something to cheers up this miserable grey winter we are having. I am looking forward to seeing some sun!
Chris – Yep, it should be here just in time for when I want to start using it again.
Fatboy – LOL. I did something just like that when I heard the news! I am right in the middle of writing the chapters in my book about riding through the New England States, so I am reliving it all again!
Sonja – I had a comment from you about this post, but for some odd reason, it wouldn’t publish and I got an error message. I have no idea why!
Yes! I would have been pissed off enough to do something stupid by this time.
Glad to see you are getting the girls back home. Now you know why our country is jacked up right now.
I'm happy to know you are finally going to be reunited with the ladies ;-) I'm waiting for this blog to continue :-)
There is something sensible I could do to help you, Sir, but the RULES say.........
Glad it worked out.
Dave – I considered getting on a plane back to LA to sort it out personally, but then that would have been pretty dumb as I reckon it might have saved a day or two at best. Believe me, the UK can screw things up pretty well for itself – some of the things we do are crazy too.
George – Yep, just a few more weeks and they will be home. I hope they don’t get sea-sick.
irondad – We call those people “Jobsworths”. This is because they are incapable of sensibly bending the rules because they say it’s more than their jobs worth. They are pretty well disliked in the UK well somebody has that attitude because it invariably means they can’t be bothered to help. But, as you say, it worked out in the end.
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