Shipping/pack

I have a Tour Easy

Would I have to box it with the box they are suppose to give me. Or can I bubble wrap it and just
drop it off at the ticket counter.

Going to UK and France in July for a three week ride

Denny Paw Paw Mi

______________________________________________________________________
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Bubble-wrapping MIGHT be better than cardboard boxing. (Email me if you want to see some very
depressing pictures of how United Airlines mangled a double-boxed bike.) I have much more confidence
in CrateWorks boxes but not sure they have anything for a LWB.

Some suggestions:
1) Plan to arrive at least a day early. Twice my bike did not arrive on the same flight I was on.
One couple I toured with used UPS. UPS "found" their bike on day 7 of a 7-day tour.

2) Insurance. Airlines in general do NOT cover any damage to bikes. Fairly inexpensive travel
insurance does.

3) You might want to have a back-up plan for acquiring an emergency recumbent so you don't spend a
wonderful 3-weeks being reminded why most bike shorts have a padded chamois.

That said ... 7 of 10 flights with bike have gone extremely well, and on 2 of the 3 bad ones were
just a 1 day delay in bike arrival.

All of my travel with bike has been domestic so YMMV. (I still haven't pulled the trigger on a
European tour for this summer.)

I hope your trip goes smoothly and you have a WONDERFUL 3 weeks.

DeVon 2002 Vision 54 USS/Pantour

"Denny" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

I have a Tour Easy

Would I have to box it with the box they are suppose to give me. Or can I bubble wrap it and just
drop it off at the ticket counter.

Going to UK and France in July for a three week ride

Denny Paw Paw Mi

______________________________________________________________________
Posted Via Uncensored-News.Com - Still Only $9.95 - uncensored-news.comuncensored-news.comOpen ↗ <><><><><><><>
The Worlds Uncensored News Source <><><><><><><><

Bubble-wrapping MIGHT be better than cardboard boxing. (Email me if you want to see some very
depressing pictures of how United Airlines mangled a double-boxed bike.) I have much more confidence
in CrateWorks boxes but not sure they have anything for a LWB.

Some suggestions:
1) Plan to arrive at least a day early. Twice my bike did not arrive on the same flight I was on.
One couple I toured with used UPS. UPS "found" their bike on day 7 of a 7-day tour.

2) Insurance. Airlines in general do NOT cover any damage to bikes. Fairly inexpensive travel
insurance does.

3) You might want to have a back-up plan for acquiring an emergency recumbent so you don't spend a
wonderful 3-weeks being reminded why most bike shorts have a padded chamois.

That said ... 7 of 10 flights with bike have gone extremely well, and on 2 of the 3 bad ones were
just a 1 day delay in bike arrival.

All of my travel with bike has been domestic so YMMV. (I still haven't pulled the trigger on a
European tour for this summer.)

I hope your trip goes smoothly and you have a WONDERFUL 3 weeks.

DeVon 2002 Vision 54 USS/Pantour

"Denny" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

I have a Tour Easy

Would I have to box it with the box they are suppose to give me. Or can I bubble wrap it and just
drop it off at the ticket counter.

Going to UK and France in July for a three week ride

Denny Paw Paw Mi

______________________________________________________________________
Posted Via Uncensored-News.Com - Still Only $9.95 - uncensored-news.comuncensored-news.comOpen ↗ <><><><><><><>
The Worlds Uncensored News Source <><><><><><><><

In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

I have a Tour Easy

Would I have to box it with the box they are suppose to give me. Or can I bubble wrap it and just
drop it off at the ticket counter.

Going to UK and France in July for a three week ride

First, check with your airline. Next get what they say in writing so that you can produce it when
the airport reps say otherwise. I would not recommend any US carrier. British Airways has an
excellent reputation.

Your LWB will not fit in a standard airline bike box. Shipping it loose will likely produce
undesirable results at the arrival end. I'm not sure this is how you want to start off your three
week bike trip.

I have flown with a LWB RANS Stratus using a BikePro Tandem travel case. You can see some pics of my
unpacking in Vienna two and a half years ago on my web site.
clee.orgGetting ready.JPGOpen ↗ The crateworks box in the foreground held a Lightning
P-38. My BikePro Tandem case with the Stratus frame still inside in in the background.

Subscribe to the touring mailing list and ask these questions to many more like me that have real
world travel experience.
_______________________________________________
Touring mailing list [email hidden] Browse and search the archives: search.bikelist.orgsearch.bikelist.orgOpen ↗
Subscribe or list settings: phred.orgtouringOpen ↗

--

Cletus D. Lee Bacchetta Giro Lightning Voyager clee.orgclee.orgOpen ↗
- Bellaire, TX USA -

In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

I have a Tour Easy

Would I have to box it with the box they are suppose to give me. Or can I bubble wrap it and just
drop it off at the ticket counter.

Going to UK and France in July for a three week ride

First, check with your airline. Next get what they say in writing so that you can produce it when
the airport reps say otherwise. I would not recommend any US carrier. British Airways has an
excellent reputation.

Your LWB will not fit in a standard airline bike box. Shipping it loose will likely produce
undesirable results at the arrival end. I'm not sure this is how you want to start off your three
week bike trip.

I have flown with a LWB RANS Stratus using a BikePro Tandem travel case. You can see some pics of my
unpacking in Vienna two and a half years ago on my web site.
clee.orgGetting ready.JPGOpen ↗ The crateworks box in the foreground held a Lightning
P-38. My BikePro Tandem case with the Stratus frame still inside in in the background.

Subscribe to the touring mailing list and ask these questions to many more like me that have real
world travel experience.
_______________________________________________
Touring mailing list [email hidden] Browse and search the archives: search.bikelist.orgsearch.bikelist.orgOpen ↗
Subscribe or list settings: phred.orgtouringOpen ↗

--

Cletus D. Lee Bacchetta Giro Lightning Voyager clee.orgclee.orgOpen ↗
- Bellaire, TX USA -

Most airlines require the bike be boxed. Occasionally they might allow a plastic bag, but I wouldn't
count on it, even if someone at the airline told you so beforehand. On my last European trip, I saw
a guy scrambling around at the check-in counter trying to find a box as they wouldn't let him use
the plastic bag he was told was ok. I usually use two boxes from bike shops and telescope them
together with lots of strong tape and usually some rigid foam blocks inside the box to keep the
sides from getting crushed. Only had one minor problem in a dozen international flights with two to
eight bikes per trip in our small group. I would recommend you try to find flights with as few as
possible (preferably none) plane changes. The more times your bike is handled, the more likely it is
to get damaged. Heathrow has a left luggage storage facility so you can store your bike box, so you
might consider a hard case. It's usually difficult to find a place to store a box at the other end,
but at Heathrow, you don't have to scramble for boxes on your return.As I recall, it's about $5 a
day to store, so you might want to scrounge some bike boxes before your return if you have the time
and don't want to fool with on-site storage. Hope you are able to make room reservations in advance
as things get crowded that time of year. Have a great trip! Dan Kluckhuhn

"Denny" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I have a Tour Easy

Would I have to box it with the box they are suppose to give me. Or can I bubble wrap it and just
drop it off at the ticket counter.

Going to UK and France in July for a three week ride

Denny Paw Paw Mi

______________________________________________________________________
Posted Via Uncensored-News.Com - Still Only $9.95 -

uncensored-news.comuncensored-news.comOpen ↗

Quoted message said:

<><><><><><><> The Worlds Uncensored News Source

<><><><><><><><

Most airlines require the bike be boxed. Occasionally they might allow a plastic bag, but I wouldn't
count on it, even if someone at the airline told you so beforehand. On my last European trip, I saw
a guy scrambling around at the check-in counter trying to find a box as they wouldn't let him use
the plastic bag he was told was ok. I usually use two boxes from bike shops and telescope them
together with lots of strong tape and usually some rigid foam blocks inside the box to keep the
sides from getting crushed. Only had one minor problem in a dozen international flights with two to
eight bikes per trip in our small group. I would recommend you try to find flights with as few as
possible (preferably none) plane changes. The more times your bike is handled, the more likely it is
to get damaged. Heathrow has a left luggage storage facility so you can store your bike box, so you
might consider a hard case. It's usually difficult to find a place to store a box at the other end,
but at Heathrow, you don't have to scramble for boxes on your return.As I recall, it's about $5 a
day to store, so you might want to scrounge some bike boxes before your return if you have the time
and don't want to fool with on-site storage. Hope you are able to make room reservations in advance
as things get crowded that time of year. Have a great trip! Dan Kluckhuhn

"Denny" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I have a Tour Easy

Would I have to box it with the box they are suppose to give me. Or can I bubble wrap it and just
drop it off at the ticket counter.

Going to UK and France in July for a three week ride

Denny Paw Paw Mi

______________________________________________________________________
Posted Via Uncensored-News.Com - Still Only $9.95 -

uncensored-news.comuncensored-news.comOpen ↗

Quoted message said:

<><><><><><><> The Worlds Uncensored News Source

<><><><><><><><

Good point, I've done that too. Also, sometimes you can find a train station near an airport that
will store stuff when the airport wont. Did that in Vienna. Dan Kluckhuhn

"Cletus D. Lee" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

In article <03dW9.116973$hK4.9519109@bgtnsc05- news.ops.worldnet.att.net>,
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

Heathrow has a left luggage storage facility so you can store your bike

box,

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

so you might consider a hard case...it's about $5 a day to store

Another option that has worked well for me is to book my first and last night in the same
hotel/pension near the airport. With prior arrangement, they will usually hold your luggage during
the biking part of your trip.

Cletus Lee