Larry I should add that our Japan trip involved a lot of train travel which was why we had the Bike Fridays. We only cycled within the cities. No countryside riding. With 3 week rail passes, we were able to see many different locations almost the full length of Japan.
The BF quick-fold technique into soft bags, plus duffels, for the panniers did mostly work well. Even the bullet trains have just enough space behind the last seat in the carriage to stow the bundles.
The only hassle, as I mentioned, was the hardwork of lugging the bagged stuff within the inner precincts of rail stations.
If I was to do such a bicycle-train combo trip again, I’d take our smaller wheeled BF Tikits. And I’d research how to freight luggage rather than lug it.
The European rail stations are probably less restricted than Japan’s. I know Taiwan’s are. It was much easier there.
Andrea has described how we deal with transport of our Bike Fridays on airlines really well. I just want to elaborate why we use cardboard boxes when we travel to and from SE Asia.
We have flown into Hanoi, Vientiane, Yangon and Mandalay and always flown back home from Bangkok. If we had the Bike Friday suitcases I would not trust that they would make it in the mail to a hotel in Bangkok from any of those cities. And even if they did, they would have to be mailed to a much more expensive hotel than we have ever stayed in. Even then, I am almost certain the hotel would charge per day for the storage of two large suitcases. With the three month (average) trips we have had, those charges would add up considerably. It might actually be cheaper to buy a large suitcase in Bangkok if you don't want to make cardboard boxes.
We have found that even though it is a bit of a hassle to make cardboard boxes for our bikes in our room right before we go home it actually isn't that big a deal. It means we don't have to think about it for our entire trip. We know we will be either making boxes or finding them a couple of days before we go home. One time we found the right size boxes so that was easy. Our bikes have never been damaged in transport in the cardboard boxes. Also, bike shops have given us really nice packing material for free.
I just wanted people to understand that shipping suitcases to hotels in Europe seems to work well but would probably be a huge headache in SE Asia.
Thank you Bruce,
Every voice heard is money in the bank. I have used caedboard boxes on many trips with full size bikes with nary a problem.
Larry
We have not cycled in Japan but we have skied there and have had our skis sent from the hotel at the ski area to Tokyo airport. This was very easy. efficient and reasonably priced. We picked up our skis steps away from our check in desk! The company was Black Cat and we saw their vans all over Japan as we travelled from one place to another. I am confident that they would be able to handle bike Fridays and your gear.
You've probably seen it, but Carolyn van Hoeve just created a new Forum thread about a resource near CDG airport (Paris) that's willing to do airport pickup and delivery and bike storage. I imagine they would store boxes or suitcases, too.
The nice thing about that airport (and the accommodation Carolyn recommended) is that it's out in the country and you can pretty easily start a tour from there without having to deal with the city. Might be worth a look!
Thank you Rich,
I have not seen Carolyn's post yet. I'll check it out.
We have just completed our 8th tour in Europe. We travel with full sized touring bikes and fly in and out of the same airport for our tours. We do not camp. We make arrangements with the hotel to keep our bike boxes for the 6-8 week period (so far at no charge). So when we fly home we simply roll up to the now familiar hotel /staff, stay a night and box up our bikes there. There was a bit of a glitch this trip as our hotel did not have space to store our bikes but the hotel next door did (for a fee - 40 euros). Our backup plan is to make prior arrangements with a bike shop to pack our bikes at the end of our trip rather than hassle with trying to find bike boxes last minute. I find that to be a hassle even here at home. If we decide to fly in and out of different airports in the future that will be our plan. There has never been a problem with damage to our bikes packed in cardboard boxes. I have used the same bike box for 3 years now. We pack one pannier, half of our clothing, bike gear, etc in the bike box and use the other pannier as a carry on. I like to take the path of least resistance and this works well for us.
We have just completed our 8th tour in Europe. We travel with full sized touring bikes and fly in and out of the same airport for our tours. We do not camp. We make arrangements with the hotel to keep our bike boxes for the 6-8 week period (so far at no charge). So when we fly home we simply roll up to the now familiar hotel /staff, stay a night and box up our bikes there. There was a bit of a glitch this trip as our hotel did not have space to store our bikes but the hotel next door did (for a fee - 40 euros). Our backup plan is to make prior arrangements with a bike shop to pack our bikes at the end of our trip rather than hassle with trying to find bike boxes last minute. I find that to be a hassle even here at home. If we decide to fly in and out of different airports in the future that will be our plan. There has never been a problem with damage to our bikes packed in cardboard boxes. I have used the same bike box for 3 years now. We pack one pannier, half of our clothing, bike gear, etc in the bike box and use the other pannier as a carry on. I like to take the path of least resistance and this works well for us.
Thank you Graham,
I, and my wife Jo who did all the pre-trip planning on a spread sheet..a first for any of our tours in the States, feel better hearing your-all stories and comments. I suppose we all learn from our mistakes, which from an Adventure Cycling Leadership course become.." Adversity becomes adventure after two beers and a shower".
Larry
1 year ago