Many bicycle excursions begin with a flight to a international state or nation. In these cases, flying along with your bicycle is a standard method (as is renting a bicycle on the beginning location of your tour).
For those who select to fly along with your bicycle, nonetheless, you is perhaps questioning to your self, “What precisely do I do with my cardboard bike field or the skilled bicycle case I used to move my bicycle on the airplane as soon as I arrive at my beginning location?”
You see, while you fly with a bicycle on an airplane, there comes some extent when that you must unpack your bicycle from the field/case and put together the bike for really using. That is the second when your bicycle’s case all of a sudden turns into an anchor. Nobody needs to hold a giant bike field or suitcase round with them on the again of their bicycle whereas they’re touring. So what precisely are you imagined to do with the case when you arrive at first of your tour?
The reply to this query is admittedly reasonably easy. Nevertheless, there are 4 frequent situations, with 4 totally different solutions.
1: Touring with a cardboard bike field – flying out and in of the identical airport
If you’re flying along with your bicycle packed inside a cardboard bike field and you propose to fly out and in of the identical airport (as proven above with this hypothetical bike tour round France), you’ve gotten two totally different choices.
If the airport you’re flying into has bicycle outlets close to it, then the simplest factor to do is to easily throw your cardboard bike field within the trash when you arrive on the beginning location of your tour. Then, when your bike tour involves an finish, you simply have to go to one of many many native bike outlets within the space and ask for a brand new cardboard bike field to make use of to fly your bicycle house. Most bike outlets offers you a field at no cost in the event you simply ask for it.
The opposite method you could possibly take is detailed in state of affairs 4 under.
2: Touring with a cardboard bike field – flying out and in of various airports
For those who begin your bicycle tour in a single location (Paris, France – for instance) and end your bicycle tour in a very totally different metropolis (akin to Zurich, Switzerland), your method ought to be the identical as in state of affairs #1. Fly your bicycle to Paris, throw the cardboard bike field within the trash when you land, after which decide up a brand new cardboard bike field from one of many native bike outlets in Zurich when you arrive there. Then pack up your bicycle and fly house! The important thing right here is to perform a little research upfront and be sure to are going to have the ability to discover a cardboard bike field when you attain your tour’s closing vacation spot.
3: Touring with a bicycle case – flying out and in of the identical airport
If you’re utilizing knowledgeable bicycle case (just like the one proven right here) to move your bicycle on the airplane, you aren’t going to need to simply throw the case away when you attain your vacation spot. Most of those bike instances prices lots of of {dollars}, so discovering a spot to retailer your case throughout your bicycle tour is crucial. Fortunately, that is very simple to do!
If you’re flying into the identical vacation spot you’re departing from, as you would possibly do in the event you have been flying into Reykjavik, Iceland, you simply have to discover a enterprise or particular person positioned close to the airport who could be keen to carry your bicycle case when you are biking across the nation. This requires some superior planning, however is simple to do because of the Web, e mail and low-cost worldwide telephone charges.
If you’re staying at lodge close to the airport, they need to be the primary individuals you ask about storing your bicycle case for you. Most resorts can be completely happy to retailer your case for you in the event you do enterprise with them. Some resorts will cost you a payment for this further service. Many is not going to!
For those who can’t discover a lodge to look at your bicycle case for you, contact different native companies within the space surrounding the airport. Bike outlets are place to begin, as are vacationer organizations and storage corporations.
If the native companies gained’t enable you to, attempt contacting people that dwell within the space. Use the Heat Showers contact checklist to seek out different cyclists / hosts within the space and ask them to retailer your bike case for you. The Couchsurfing and World Freeloaders web sites are two different good sources you should use to seek out contacts within the space you want to journey.
When you’ve discovered somebody keen to look at your bicycle case for you, merely inform them what day/time you’ll be arriving of their space and make preparations to drop of your case. As soon as your case has been handed over, you are actually free to journey by bike. Simply return to the enterprise/particular person who’s holding your case on the finish of your tour, thank them (and provides them a tip if want be), after which pack up your bicycle and fly house.
4: Touring with a bicycle case – flying out and in of various airports
Lastly, in the event you select to journey with knowledgeable bicycle case, however you’ve gotten plans to fly out and in of various airports (like I plan to do on my upcoming bicycle touring across the Baltic Sea – I’m flying into Poznan, Poland and flying out of Copenhagen, Denmark), then you must determine a manner of getting your bicycle case out of your beginning location to your closing vacation spot in order that your case is ready for you when you arrive there.
There are a selection of various methods you are able to do this, however in addition to having a good friend or beloved one drive the case to your closing vacation spot for you, mailing the case might be the simplest method.
The tough half about mailing your bicycle case to your tour’s closing vacation spot is that that you must discover a dependable enterprise or particular person to mail the case to. As was the case in state of affairs quantity 3, you have to to do some superior planning to be able to make this occur.
Begin by contacting the lodge you propose to stick with on the finish of your tour and ask them in the event you can mail the case to them and have them maintain onto it for you till you arrive in your scheduled date. If that doesn’t work, attempt contacting native bike outlets, vacationer workplaces, and associated companies within the space. If that doesn’t work, attain out to pals, household, or strangers through the web sites at WarmShowers.org, Courchsurfing.org and GlobalFreeloaders.com. You must be capable of discover somebody keen and in a position to maintain your case for you till you arrive of their metropolis.
Then, when you arrive at your closing vacation spot, you merely meet with the enterprise/particular person who has been gracious sufficient to carry your case for you, and take the case again from them. Then all that’s left to do is pack up your bicycle and fly house!
Further Notes About Flying With Your Bicycle & Storing Your Bike Field / Case
I like to recommend asking individuals on the airport the place the most effective place to arrange or strip down your bicycle is perhaps. You don’t need to be ripping your bicycle out of its field of placing it again collectively once more in a heavy-traffic space.
Most giant airports will be unable to retailer your cardboard bike field or bicycle case for you. Nevertheless, some airports do have storage lockers for bicycles you can hire.
Smaller airports will, in some cases, retailer your bike field / case for you, in the event you ask. However don’t count on this at most airports.
You should purchase cardboard bike packing containers at some airports / prepare stations. You’ll need to analysis upfront whether or not or not the airport you’re flying in or out of has bike packing containers obtainable for buy.
If you’re flying out of a location the place bike outlets are few and much between, you’ll doubtless want to determine another manner of safely transporting your bicycle on the airplane. Many airways will fly your bicycle so long as it’s wrapped in plastic or a zippered material bag of some variety. Some airways don’t require your bicycle to be packed in any form of packaging in any respect.
If you may get your bicycle to fold all the way down to airline pleasant measurements (as is the case with my Co-Movement Pangea touring bicycle), you may keep away from the expensive charges so regularly related to flying with a bicycle. Costs and guidelines for flying with a bicycle will fluctuate relying on which airline you’re flying with and and which route you take.
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