Back Home

The Versatile was being airfrieghted from NL. In order to get it insured, about200Euro, I had to have it crated 500Euro. Altogether I spent about $2700.00 to get my velomobile home. Erik helped out alot with getting everything finalized and making the cash payment which the shipping company required, while I was out touring the country. Without all his greatly appreciated help, none of this would have been possible.

I got an Email from the shipping Agent, telling me to go pick up my VM at the Buffalo Airport. I was instructed to go to the Lufthansa cargo area and was given a tracking number. When I got to the airport, I learned that Lufthansa has absolutely NO connection with the Buffalo airport. I went to every airline at the cargo terminal, but no one was able to use the tracking number. I called airlines, I tracked it on the computer through two different alleged routes with flight numbers no one could find. A second day at the airport yielded the same results.

On the third day, a man at Fedex actually tried to help me, and when he couldn't, he took me down to a different office wherein worked a guy who had been there for 30 years. He put me in touch with the right people at Lufthansa, who explained that my VM was at King's Express, a trucking company. The man who had called Lufthansa for me knew right where it was, and I was there in 15 minutes.

One of the fork truck drivers helped me load the Versatile into the Aztec, tail first. I used a piece of the packing foam to protect the hood, and ratcheting tie down straps to secure it. The paperwork people told me I had to take the crate with me, or pay to leave it, but another worker was happy to take the 3/4inch sanded both sides plywood off my hands. And so Versatile #24 made it's way home to Eden.

I had originally planned on riding it home from the airport, but with the big search, and customs and all it just proved not to be feasible. When I got home, I enlisted the aid of a neighbor two doors down to unload, and filled the tires up with air. Then I went to bed, so I would be able to get up early to ride in to work.

Here is the beautiful crate it arrived in. Of course first I had to wait half an hour for paperwork to take to customs near the airport, where I paid three hundred some dollars duty and waited a couple hours for the customs agent to locate and complete the necessary forms. Paper work from customs in hand, I headed back to King's Express, and started decrating my VM.