Ok, i know not many people travel by plane to rides (except me :-) but i'm pissed and bored so i'm going to do a little guide on how to do it.
Right, first of all, work out which airline is cheapest for you to travel with. Then go call them up and ask if you can count your bike as part of your baggage allowance, that way you won't have to pay any extra to take the bike.
Right, next, you need a bike bag. You can pay between £40 and £170 for these. Planet-X do a fairly good one apparently (i have an unbranded one i borrow off a mate).
That Planet-X Bike Bag
Theres another way, you can go to your local bike shop and get a bike box, the boxes bikes arrive to the shop in. Luis (trexrydr) did this the day we went for the london ride (feb 2nd '03). Its pretty effective but harder to carry.
Next up, when you get to the airport, make sure all your tools are in your bike-bag, not your carry-on luggage (even then, don't take anything sharp!) otherwise the B*****d security men at the airport will nab all your stuff.
When you check-in, get the baggage handlers to put a fragile sticker on the bike (when you handle the bike before they take it, handle it VERY carefully, as if there were a sheet of glass inside, then they'll treat it a bit better).
Thats pretty much it. Oh, one more thing, when you go to baggage reclaim, your bike might come out somewhere different because its a bigger piece of luggage compared to most.
Travelling With Your Bike
in Trials Chat
Posted
Ok, i know not many people travel by plane to rides (except me :-) but i'm pissed and bored so i'm going to do a little guide on how to do it.
Right, first of all, work out which airline is cheapest for you to travel with. Then go call them up and ask if you can count your bike as part of your baggage allowance, that way you won't have to pay any extra to take the bike.
Right, next, you need a bike bag. You can pay between £40 and £170 for these. Planet-X do a fairly good one apparently (i have an unbranded one i borrow off a mate).
That Planet-X Bike Bag
Theres another way, you can go to your local bike shop and get a bike box, the boxes bikes arrive to the shop in. Luis (trexrydr) did this the day we went for the london ride (feb 2nd '03). Its pretty effective but harder to carry.
Next up, when you get to the airport, make sure all your tools are in your bike-bag, not your carry-on luggage (even then, don't take anything sharp!) otherwise the B*****d security men at the airport will nab all your stuff.
When you check-in, get the baggage handlers to put a fragile sticker on the bike (when you handle the bike before they take it, handle it VERY carefully, as if there were a sheet of glass inside, then they'll treat it a bit better).
Thats pretty much it. Oh, one more thing, when you go to baggage reclaim, your bike might come out somewhere different because its a bigger piece of luggage compared to most.
Oh well, thats me done,
Jon.