The downside to traveling across the world is that you have to travel across the world to return home. We knew that the airport was going to be incredibly chaotic as 6000 athletes tried to travel home with their bikes, and we made sure we allowed ample time to navigate that. Finnair did the best they could to accommodate us. They set up six check-in counters specifically for Ironman athletes so that other passengers wouldn't be so inconvenienced.
Even with the extra service, we were in the check-in line for a long time. As far as I could see in the airport there were athletes and their bikes. It was completely unreal. We were some of the lucky ones whose bikes made it on our flight and made it home. I would say about 75% of the athletes weren't that lucky. Some were delayed by a few days and some were delayed by weeks.
All of my kids are amazing airlines travelers, I have gotten really lucky with them. Since this was an international flight the boys had their own movie screens, and since I wanted them to get back on Mountain Standard Time as quickly as possible, I let them stay up all night playing games and watching movies. They thought it was the best thing ever! At least until we landed in Denver and they were tired beyond all reason. They all went to school the next day (since they woke up at 3:00am) but barely survived the day. Hopefully the next couple of days will come easier to them and they can make up the week's worth of school work they missed.
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