Simon,
Welcome back.
I am riding with my bartender who will ride my spare ped. Of course, I expect him to dispense beer on the way!
I am assuming that if I get there by noon or 1 pm, I won't miss much. I expect it to be a 4-5 hour ride one way.
All of this assumes I get both peds running well enough, see my post re: Motobecane problem.
Ron