Starting point logistics - advice please!

[NbyNW]

Would love to hear any tips/tricks/ and What Not To Do, if you are going on a tour that starts far from home.

A friend of ours is organizing a ride that leaves from Seattle, goes to Vancouver Island, ride 2.5 days then back to Seattle. Since we are already in Canada I was thinking it would be easier to meet the group at the ferry terminal.

BUT not sure of the best way to do this. It's a solid 1.5-2 day drive to Vancouver. Time off work and away from dog is a factor for DH. He has some crazy idea that we could bring the dog along, but to me that sound like a logistical nightmare. Maybe DH and I need to have a long, hard talk about the dog, who is perfectly fine for a few days at his kennel-free "overnight camp."

Flying is much quicker but I have no experience flying with bikes. Don't they have to be partly disassembled? And then to reassemble on the other end - I don't know how to do it, so would have to find an LBS to do it and that doesn't necessarily save time, does it?

Any advice would be much appreciated!

[shootingstar]

Air Canada does charge for non-folding bikes that are boxed up cardboard bike box. I believe the provide bike box. Ask if they have a used one, just in case. One takes off pedals and turns the handlebars sideways to slide in whole bike. Bring your own tools.

With folding bike, it would be in your bike carry bag or plastic bag that they can provide. Best to check online for their latest policy, re charges/non-charges. Their policy has changed over the last few years.

Please realize that if you plan to bike from Vancouver airport to the B.C. ferry terminal at Tswassen, that bikes are forbidden in the George Massey Road Tunnel. There is a bike shuttle in Richmond that will take you out of the tunnel. Then one would have to get off and bike out. There is a map at the B.C. Ministry of Transportation website which is the party that provides this free service.
http://www.th.gov.bc.ca/popular-topics/driver_info/route-info/massey/massey.htm

Of course a high top taxi will short circuit all that.

[Grog]

Air Canada does charge for non-folding bikes that are boxed up cardboard bike box. I believe the provide bike box. Ask if they have a used one, just in case. One takes off pedals and turns the handlebars sideways to slide in whole bike. Bring your own tools.

Flying with a full-size bike is a PITA I will now do everything I can to avoid.

Shootingstar is right about the pedals and handlebars (I also like to undo the derailer but it's not required) but not about the box. You can get a box from your bike shop, though. If you do use a box you'll need to take off the wheels, in which case I recommend wheel spacers (that will protect your fork and rear triangle against squishing). I've always been wanting to try the "clear plastic bag" version. An AC baggage handler (who's a cyclist) told me he thinks it's the safest way to carry a bike within Canada, because baggage handlers just can't pile it up with other stuff.

The quality of the welcome for bikes on Air Canada entirely depends on who you're talking to. They definitely do not offer boxes but you might score a big, clear plastic bag. Don't count on it though. I have a friend who got a big bag marked "AIR CANADA BIKE BAG" from one AC staff and then the next AC staff she saw emphatically denied that bikes were allowed on AC planes. (My friend won, eventually, but not without a fight.) In any case there's no more evading the $50 fee in my experience. However I believe WestJet still doesn't charge for bikes.

And just be aware you can't take bike tools in your carry-on. The warehouse where they sell the items that are seized at the security control is full of them!!

Seriously, if I was only 15 hours away as you are, I'd consider driving. Your environmental footprint will also be smaller that way, if it matters to you. Now I can't give advice about the dog aspect.

Good luck! It looks like the trip is worth it.

[shootingstar]

Apologies for bike box..that is what certain rail companies provide..only at certain city points and for certain scheduled train times.

My partner has flown several times with his bike via Air Canada over the past 10 yrs. In terms of AC staff, they were quite good and well informed about the bike policy.

I was with him on several occasions when he and I were flying together, but I didn't take my bike along because I had a bike to borrow from someone at destination or due to my work schedule at time, not enough time to bike to justify shipping my bike.

[Grog]

My partner has flown several times with his bike via Air Canada over the past 10 yrs. In terms of AC staff, they were quite good and well informed about the bike policy.

I'm happy it's worked well for him. My experience has been rather mixed myself, but never better than "passable." We never had mechanical damage from carrying a bike on AC but my husband had an expensive wheel ruined on a trip to Australia transiting through the USA.

Recently, in both France and Hawai'i we've had conversations with bike shops that say the bike rental business is booming. Their fleets are booming as well, so I think on my next trip I'll rent-a-bike.

Let us know how it turns out!!

[NbyNW]

Thanks for sharing your experiences -- very helpful, I'll let you know what we decide.

[Veronica]

We've flown with our bikes to Maine (3 times), Hawaii (twice) and Thom took his to Australia when he was there for a month on business. All with various airlines. We bought a Velo safe case and have been happy with it. Yes, it costs extra, yes you have to really disassemble your bike...

For me, it's about how much time do I plan to ride. We've also rented bikes in Hawaii when we only had one day to ride.

Veronica

[NadiaMac]

For such a short tour, you may want to try and rent bikes. It's a pretty big hassle to travel by plane with a bike, plus lots of added charges at various points for oversized luggage. But, it is always nice to have your own equipment..

I did a point to point loaded tour a few years ago in the Canadian Rockies, and here's how I handled the logistics:
1) flew air canada, with my bike packed into a cardboard bike box that I got from my bike shop (free). No problems with Air Canada either way, as an aside, and the bike was fine. $50 fee each way.

2) I packed the bike, and put soft luggage (sleeping bag, clothes) into the bike box (making certain to stay below luggage weight limit, 50 pounds I think but might have been 40). I carried my rear panniers & helmet onto the flight (see note above about not putting tools/lubes, etc in your carry-on) and packed surplus gear in a cardboard box, which I checked as checked luggage. Heavy gear (tools) and anything that could damage the bike went into my cardboard box "suitcase".

3) I took a cab to hotel at the other end (as we had further travel by bus to our start in Jasper). You could consider cabbing or taking a shuttle (if there is one) to a hotel or to the ferry building, then building bikes there rather than building bikes in the airport. Warning, there can be a surcharge for oversized luggage in cabs/shuttles. I paid about 15 bucks for the bike for this type of transit.

4) do you have somewhere to store the bike boxes? (in a friend's car?) If so, store the boxes. If not, recycle the boxes (you then need to figure out where to get new boxes)

5) On the return, procure boxes if necessary (I had prearranged with a bike shop at my terminating town to get a bike box, and I grabbed a cardboard box for my "suitcase" at a supermarket). You will also need packing tape, of course. You could also arrange to have the shop pack your bike.

6) re packing and rebuilding the bikes: I had never done this before, but it was very easy to learn. My BF supervised my packing of the bike and I rebuilt it myself at the starting city. the handlebars and pedals are very easy. The derailleuer was a bit trickier to reinstall for me (i removed it for shipping, which I think is a good idea). Note that when you box up the bike, your rack(s), if any, generally need to be removed, so you have to be set up with the appropriate tools to reinstall them.

have fun!

[NadiaMac]

As an aside, on the "giant plastic bag" packing approach (where you just wrap your bike in a huge plastic bag and it is placed on a plane): I went on a riding trip in Thailand and Laos and it blew my mind to see that riders on the trip had shipped their bikes from the UK to Thailand *and* on intermediate flights on tiny Thai airlines, like this. No box at all, though they did have their derailleurs off and securely taped to the frame. Apparently, they had travelled internationally many many times like this. I wasn't even aware it was an option (and don't think I've ever seen someone manage this in the US).

[OakLeaf]

I have a Thule hard case. I've never flown with my bike - simply too much hassle schlepping it around airports. FedEx costs about the same as flying with it, and is so much more convenient (within the US, anyway). You can have them pick it up at your house or drop it off at a FedEx store; you can ship it right to your destination (if it's a hotel, just let the desk know that it will be coming), or have it held for pickup at a FedEx depot.

Very little disassembly is needed for my case, which is pretty standard. Wheels, pedals, seatpost with saddle still attached, handlebars (with or without the stem), rear derailleur. If I leave the stem on the steerer tube, I have to disconnect the front brake cable; someone with a longer head tube or a different case might not have that issue. All the other cables stay attached. Don't forget to let some air out of your tires and remove any CO2 canisters from your luggage - they're not allowed to fly even as cargo. Buy some new ones at your destination, or you might even find a simpatico LBS that'll let you borrow some and return them if you don't need them.

If you can fix a flat, adjust cables and tweak your fit, you've already done everything you need to reassemble a bike after shipping, with the exception of removing the RD - which is basically nothing. You don't touch the adjustment screws that position it, so you just unscrew the bolt to remove it and screw it in to put it back on.

Disassembly and packing takes a little while (especially the first time, when you'll want to mark the seatpost, stem/steerer tube and handlebars with inconspicuous dots so you'll know where to position them; and when everything takes longer just because of unfamiliarity), but reassembly can be done in 15-20 minutes, with a handful of tools that you can ship in the box with your bike. Literally. I've done it in the FedEx parking lot.

[Crankin]

Yea, Fed Ex totally damaged my son's bike when we shipped it to Tucson. It was packed properly, by DH, checked by LBS.
Fed Ex came out to inspect the damage, but would not own up to it. I think they were trying to jack around an 18 year old, even though DH spoke to them by phone. Finally, we gave up and paid to get the bike fixed (I can't remember what exactly happened).
Shipping a bike is a PITA, no matter which method you use.

[NbyNW]

Well I finally got some old pictures off my camera and thought you all might like this one.

We decided to drive in the end. The cost of flying + logistics was a turnoff. We also decided it was time to invest in a roof rack, as our old rear mount rack is starting to crumble. If you look carefully, you will see Gordy waiting patiently for us to finish loading the car ... he clearly does not want to be left behind!

[shootingstar]

Have returned to Vancouver after a month in Europe and in a few days in Toronto.

So my Dahon folding bike was "folded up" and shipped in a soft large Dahon bike bag.

It survived:

1. Air Canada flight- Vancouver to Calgary, 2. with switchover onto Luftsana Air from Calgary to Frankfurt.

3. 2 European train rides-- just so we could get around the problem of 2 out of 5 different European train trips where the train bike car was each time, full already. Allowed to ship bikes as baggage, not as a bike.

then return flights: 4. Copenhagen to Toronto
5. Toronto to Vancouver which happened several days later after segment #4.

The minor problems that the bike has now has nothing to do with baggage/storage handling. More probably related to the mud/dirt that the bike has which is making some parts not easy to screw /align some nuts and bolts. I have quick release pedals which I think the threads are abit dirty...

I am pleasantly surprised about the level of risk that the bike took in the whole transportation handling/baggage segment. Yes, it did cost some shipment fees. But renting a bike would have been a headache for me, since I'm short/small.

I noticed in Copenhagen....alot of BIG bikes. Maybe the average Dane is just taller/bigger. :) I would have had problems renting bike.