Starting point logistics - advice please!

[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).