Bike Travel Tips
1. Those free shower caps they give away @ hotels fit nicely over your helmet and make great rain guards.
2. If you're taking your own bike with you on a trip, don't buy a special box to put it in. (for flying) Many bike shops and outdoor stores such as REI give away free bike boxes if they have any in the back room.
2. If you're taking your own bike with you on a trip, don't buy a special box to put it in. (for flying) Many bike shops and outdoor stores such as REI give away free bike boxes if they have any in the back room.
Bike Health Tips
bike renting vs. bike shipping
So you're going on a bike trip across the country and you face one of the dilemmas:
On my upcoming trip to ride the Great Allegheny Passage and C&O Canal Towpath trails, I decided to ship my bike rather than rent one. Since my ride will be over 300 miles one way, renting just wouldn't work. Here are the factors that went into my decision:
I know, that's a lot of information, but I hope it will help you make an informed decision for your next bike trip. The bottom line is, sometimes it's better to rent and sometimes it's better to ship. If you've got an expensive bike and a hard case for it, the airplane/train method may be best for you. I was able to save over $100 by checking around, so carefully weigh the options, then have a great bike trip.
Bike trips are fun but take some planning. |
Do you rent a bike or ship your bike there?
Of course that depends on numerous factors:
- Are you inexorably attached to your bike?
- Is your bike custom fitted?
- Are you a bike snob?
- Do you like trying out new bikes?
- What are the financial advantages/disadvantages?
- How do you get your bike from point A to point B?
renting | shipping | taking on plane/train | pros | cons | pros | cons | pros | cons | |||
sometimes cheaper | sometimes expensive | sometimes cheaper | sometimes expensive | sometimes cheaper | sometimes ex-pensive | ||||||
| meet locals | shop not available | use your own custom fit bike | can be a hassle | use your own custom fit bike | can be a hassle | ||||||
| service | your bike style not available | possible bike damage | possible bike damage | ||||||||
| try new bikes & styles | bike not custom fit | ability to get bike from point A to B if it’s a one way trip | |||||||||
| convenience | ability to get bike from point A to B if it’s a one way trip | Getting bike and/or box to airport | |||||||||
| Some airlines/trains won’t take bikes | |||||||||||
- If I rented a bike in Pennsylvania, it would have cost me more than the rental charge to get the bike back to Pennsylvania from Washington D.C.
- Taking the bike on the plane was a hassle because I would have had to get the box to the airport both here in Colorado and at Reagan National Airport in Washington D.C. That would have been really hard in D.C.
- I'm taking an Amtrak train from D.C. to Connellsville, PA, and Amtrak wouldn't allow me to take a bike off the train at Connellsville.
- Once my trail trip is over, I'll spend another five days in D.C. I'd like to have a bike available to try out some of the D.C. paths, but it would cost a lot to rent a bike for ten days.
- The (little bit of) money I could save on shipping rather than renting would allow me to buy bike luggage for the trip.
I know, that's a lot of information, but I hope it will help you make an informed decision for your next bike trip. The bottom line is, sometimes it's better to rent and sometimes it's better to ship. If you've got an expensive bike and a hard case for it, the airplane/train method may be best for you. I was able to save over $100 by checking around, so carefully weigh the options, then have a great bike trip.
Bike storage tips
Whether you like to store your bike for the winter or you just have too many bikes to keep in a limited storage space, here are some storage tips. For more tips visit the trailsnet blog and watch a video to see these tips in action:
- Utilize wall rack systems that include shelves for bicycle accessories.
- Install a pulley system in your garage or storage shed so you can pull your bike up out of the way.
- Sometimes it helps to remove your front bike tire when storing.
- If you end up w/ too many bikes, consider selling one on Craigslist.
- See three different types of wall/ceiling storage devices on trailsnet blog.
- Utilize wall rack systems that include shelves for bicycle accessories.
- Install a pulley system in your garage or storage shed so you can pull your bike up out of the way.
- Sometimes it helps to remove your front bike tire when storing.
- If you end up w/ too many bikes, consider selling one on Craigslist.
- See three different types of wall/ceiling storage devices on trailsnet blog.