The more I think about it, the more of an aversion I'm developing to the idea that many types of trips are possible with a bike. Maybe a folding bike, but not the Ram. Doug, you've pointed out the unpleasant reality that lugging a bike around can be a pain. I think in my case, for my mental well-being, I can only consider simple there-and-back trips that are planned for the purpose of riding. I can envision a trip to SF in my mind, because it will be a cycling destination, and I have somewhere to stay where I can store the bike and the box. I can certainly see a more complicated trip, such as touring across Europe with multiple legs of the journey, turning into a logisitical nightmare. I'm happy stinge-ing it, I think. Renting/borrowing a box for the first time out, and taking the bike I have in its current state, and just eating the fees as part of the trip, makes sense to me. KJ
On Thursday, January 2, 2014 4:12:52 PM UTC-5, dougP wrote: > You've thought of a couple of the unintended consequences of traveling > with a bike. Remember you need the box for the return trip. > > While it seems quite practical, putting together a bike at the airport > after a long distance flight is nothing I would ever attempt. I'm too > dingy at that point to have much chance of doing it right, plus all the > other assorted hassles of the airport. > > If you are doing a loop ride and flying back out of the same airport, use > a cab or shuttle to get you & your bike to lodging. They usually have > large enough vehicles to carry the bike. If you arrange it in advance, you > can find a place to store the box while you are on your trip. > > If you are doing a point-to-point, it gets a bit tricky. Here you'll want > a disposable box (scrounged from your LBS) for the outbound leg and arrange > with a bike shop at the end of your trip for a box for the return. > Hopefully since your flying some distance it will be a big airport in a > major city with bike shops. > > If you are flying in someplace, then renting a car to get out to the start > of the bike portion, the parts of the bike (frame, wheels, etc) are easier > to get in a rental car than the boxed bike. Cars with conventional trunks > don't hold much & are awkwardly shaped for large objects like bikes. Vans > are the answer but also expensive and in high demand during vacation season. > > "What if the bike is only part of the trip?" Now you're in a pickle. As > agile as a bike may be when ridden, it's a huge anchor to drag around if > you're not using it. Solutions are renting a bike for the portion you need > it (say, 1 week out of a 2-3 week vacation) or arranging to store your own > bike some place convenient (and safe!). > > It's stuff like this that made S&S couplers business. I don't have one > but have packed an S&S equipped bike. It's amazing but that 62" suitcase > fills up fast. > > dougP > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
