| The step
by step flow of getting your bike to your destination
starts with getting to the airport. You need a vehicle
large enough to haul your flight case and also arrangements
for transport of your case during transfers, at your
destination and on the way home from the airport.
Most taxi services around the world have vans that
will easily accommodate a flight case.
An advantage of a triathlon specific travel agency
such as Deepak Patel’s Premium Plus Sports (www.premiumplus-sports.com)
and Ken Glah’s Endurance Sports Travel (www.endurancesportstravel.com)
is that they make these arrangements, and usually
for a lot less than you would pay individually. With
these companies you usually check your bike at the
baggage counter and don’t worry about it until
you get to your hotel.
Planning is the key to traveling easily. Keep your
bags to a maneuverable minimum for one person. You
should be able to do any triathlon or bike tour with
a bike flight case, a large duffel bag and a carry-on
backpack. If you are not using a travel company look
carefully at your travel itinerary: Are you transferring
to small commuter aircraft? Do you need to move from
one end of the airport to another for a flight connection?
All this information is available either on line,
on the phone or in guide books before you go. Be sure
to do your research and make a plan. I was once caught
off guard in Bangkok International Airport, Thailand
when I discovered some of the elevators are too small
and crowded to get into with my flight case. On my
return trip from Bangkok I learned an airport shuttle
would have taken me from the international to domestic
terminal.
Once you arrive at the airport I find that checking
your bags at the counter is the quickest and best
way to be certain they are tagged correctly and checked
through to your final destination. I recommend skipping
the automated check-in and the curb side check-in
when travelling with a flight case. Transportation
Security Administration personnel may ask you to open
your flight case for inspection. Be certain you are
in compliance with airline safety and weight regulations.
These rules vary from airline to airline and from
country to country. What may be allowable weight in
the United States on an international flight may go
down by 15 pounds from Hong Kong to Seoul, Korea.
Your best bet is to not load your flight case too
heavily. There is a temptation to put everything including
the kitchen sink in there, but you are best served
keeping the weight under 50 pounds, 45 pounds is better.
If your case is overweight you may be charged an excess
baggage fee based on weight. An empty flight case
weighs about 30 pounds. This gives you room for your
bike, some lightweight tools and your helmet. Always
carry your shoes and pedals on the aircraft or at
least in your separate checked baggage. Again, don’t
overload your flight case. It makes the baggage loaders’
job more difficult, increases the chances of you having
to pay for your bike to fly and even makes damage
more likely.
Another reason to keep your bike case
light is that loose items inside your flight case
can get lost during an inspection. If your shoes or
pedals are inside your case and T.S.A. personnel must
conduct a search they may have to remove them from
the case- they may not always remember to get them
back in the case. It is always best to put your shoes
and pedals in your checked baggage duffel bag or even
in your carry on.
Don’t pack dangerous or potentially restricted
items in your flight case. The most common ones are
pressurized CO2 inflation cartridges and flammable
aerosol lubricants. Rags or shop towels with lubricant
residue can cause sensitive security equipment that
searches for explosives to flag your flight case,
causing another inspection and possible delay. Avoid
this by obtaining these items at your destination
or by carrying a small pump and liquid squeeze bottle,
wax based lubricant if you must. Remember that simple
assembly tools can be restricted for carry-on by the
T.S.A. and Homeland Security. These tools go into
your flight case or checked duffel bag. T.S.A. regulations
require that your flight case is not locked at check
in, so it can be opened for inspection by T.S.A. personnel
if need be. Should the T.S.A. select your flight case
for an inspection they will place a tag inside it
noting the time and place of the inspection. T.S.A.
inspectors are excellent at safely searching bags
for restricted items and doing a good job of re-closing
flight cases.
The other issue at baggage check is the airline regulations
surrounding fees for flying bikes. I’ve adopted
a “Don’t ask, don’t tell”
policy toward the airline’s fees for bike travel,
and haven’t paid to fly a bike since 1999. If
a ticket agent asks about the contents of your flight
case, you are obliged by federal law to tell them
the contents and present it for inspection. Once they
learn the contents are a bicycle they may charge you
a fee from $65 to $88. International flights usually
do not charge for a flight case. The fee depends on
the airline, the agent, the proximity of a manger
to the counter, the length of the line behind you,
the time remaining to your flight and the degree to
which that particular counter agent complies with
or is familiar with written airline policies. Based
on my experience, the majority of airline ticket agents
are either disinterested in the contents of your flight
case or do not know the policy on flying bikes. Phoning
the airline in advance usually provides a different
answer about the flight case policy than you would
hear at the ticket counter. As a result, mine has
usually gotten on the aircraft and to my destination
with no charge for excess baggage. If you are courteous,
present your frequent flyer numbers quickly; inquire
about exit row seating, your departure gate, your
departure time, and any available upgrades after telling
the agent you are checking two bags (your duffel and
your flight case) then you will likely be whisked
through the check in process without being asked or
charged. Take a tip from one of our great Presidents:
Don’t ask, don’t tell (unless asked).
Once you get through the check in process you and
your bike case take a different route to the same
destination: Your aircraft. The primary benefit of
flying with your bike is that the bike actually does
accompany you the entire way directly to your destination,
except in the airport itself. This is the way professional
athletes travel with their bikes.
Your bike case will likely not go on the automated
baggage conveyor due to its size. Some modern conveyor
systems will handle a hardshell flight case with dimensions
of about 47" x 31" x 11". Most of the
time a baggage handler will be called to the ticket
counter to hand load your flight case onto a baggage
cart for transport to final security screening and
then on to your departure gate for loading onto the
aircraft. On medium sized aircraft such as the Boeing
757 and Airbus A319 your flight case will travel up
a conveyor or lift directly into a pressurized cargo
compartment. This compartment is pressurized to about
8000 feet, so your tires inflated to 90 psi are fine,
but maximum pressure above 100 psi may contribute
to a tire blow-out at altitude. On larger aircraft
such as the Boeing 747-400 and the new Airbus A380
and long range A340’s serving much of Asia your
flight case goes into a palletized, conformal cargo
container. This loaded container is then hoisted into
the cargo hold of the aircraft.
At the other end of your flight the case is off-loaded
to the baggage tugs and then transported to the baggage
claim. Again, the flight cases generally do not come
out on the carousel. In some airports your flight
case will come out on the baggage carousel, others
it is brought out through an excess baggage door or
through the baggage service office. These areas are
clearly marked at baggage claim. Find your flight
on the monitor and note the baggage carousel it is
arriving at. If you don’t see the excess baggage
claim area ask an airline attendant where it is.
Once you arrive at your destination and claim your
flight case it is time to get to your hotel. With
a triathlon travel company this is included. If you
are on your own it is simply a matter of getting to
the ground transportation area and hailing the appropriate
vehicle. I once hailed a station wagon cab in Nice,
France only to have the driver tell me it would be
15 Euros extra for my flight case to drive me to my
hotel. Once in the vehicle we began chatting and he
discovered I was a triathlete. He happily waived the
fee and carried my flight case into the hotel lobby
for me. I gave him the fee as a tip instead. It was
a tip well spent as the same driver got me on the
helicopter from Nice to Monaco two days later- for
another nice tip of course. It pays to make friends.
To see a step-by-step demonstration of fight case
packing and reassembly of your bike click here. Remember
that once you get to your destination and reassemble
your bike you should carefully check it, then test
ride it. At larger races the technical support/bike
check crew can inspect your bike for safe reassembly.
It is smart to have your assembly job double checked
where possible.
If your travel is limited to events in North America
so are your experiences. You’ll never toast
the Riviera with Paris Hilton after the Monaco 70.3
race or dance the Samba at Ironman Brazil or ride
an elephant after you finish the Laguna Phuket Triathlon,
but you can still travel conveniently and easily to
races across the United States with Mark Luzon’s
company, Tri Bike Transport (www.tribiketransport.com).
Mark has built an interesting and professional little
courier service that treats your bike with loving
care, transporting it fully assembled (you just remove
your pedals) from a partner shop like ours to any
of a number of growing destination races including
all of the Ironman North America and some of the 70.3
Series races. Mark has the process down to a science,
and has refined it with every trip. Bikes are stored
fully upright with separation between them in his
cargo vans. The large rental trucks used by Tri Bike
Transport have a rack system built into them to keep
the bikes stable and upright. The bikes are protected
from theft and the weather during the entire trip.
The Tri Bike Transport system works when you visit
their website. You make a reservation and pay the
fee for round-trip transport of your bike, about $210
for a bike and $25 for an additional 25 pound bag
such as a race wheel bag or your gear duffel. You
then drop off your equipment at the partner shop,
where you can also schedule a pre-race tune-up and
inspection (the partner shop offers this service at
an additional charge). Tri Bike Transport will visit
the partner shop during the week prior to the event
and load the bikes carefully on their truck. The bikes
are then driven to the race site where competitors
collect them at registration or the event expo in
the days before the race. It is a seamless and efficient
system with no worries and no hassles. This is exactly
the way professional cycling teams like Discovery
Channel transport their team’s bikes in Europe
from event to event on the continent.
We’ve worked with Mark and Tri Bike Transport
on a number of occasions. Each time our customers
have been satisfied with the service and found it
very convenient, completely eliminating the need to
use a flight case and disassemble, reassemble your
bike. A minor inconvenience is that your bike usually
must be at the partner bike shop over a week prior
to your event. I’ll argue this may be good,
since it forces you to take time to perform necessary
preventive maintenance and even taper before your
race- at least on the bike.
If you’ve avoided traveling to races in exotic
destinations because you are concerned about packing
your bike you are missing out on one of the greatest
aspects of our sport: The opportunity to travel and
race around the world. A little practice, know-how
and resourcefulness can get you packed on your way
to races in Europe, Australia, Asia and more. Don’t
let concern over bike packing keep you from having
the race experience of a life time- make some travel
plans, follow the steps and get ready for adventure!
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