Hi All, 

I want to make our local airport as bike-friendly as possible. The Ithaca airport, in centrally isolated New York, has 5 or so flights a day from NYC, DC, and Newark (sometimes they include Detroit in the rotation but not right now). 

One could ride right out of the airport and be on low-use roads, circling the Finger Lakes, and checking out the wineries/breweries/waterfalls/hikes. Yet right now most of us use the airport to go other places. I want to reverse this and bring riders to Ithaca and the region. 

What would make an airport useful to you as a touring rider? Is it more than a spot to assemble your bike? Would it help to have storage? An easy transfer to hotels? I’m hoping that Cycleblazers out there have suggestions that will help make this a spot others want to ride — it really is pretty fantastic. 

This is a small airport and we can make things happen. Tell me what you want or dream of. Really looking forward to what this very experienced community suggests.

Z

I usually get a hotel room for the night I arrive or the night before I leave. The ideal is a hotel within easy walking distance of the airport. The Spokane airport has a Ramada Inn that's about 500 feet from the terminal, which makes it feasible to check into the hotel, borrow one of their luggage carts, and go back to the airport to get your boxed bike. It also has a more expensive Springhill Suites that is right across the street from the terminal. Your airport doesn't have that, and I don't think you're going to build one just to make life a little bit easier for bike tourists, so you'll never be as good as Spokane. 

Almost as good is a hotel with a shuttle. So on the "Flying to Ithaca with your bike" section of your airport's (and local tourism board's) websites, you should have a list of all the hotels and motels in Ithaca that have free airport shuttles. Your list of bike-friendly lodging could also say whether they allow bikes in the room, and whether they'll let you ship your bike to the hotel before you get there.

If I'm assembling the bike at the airport and riding away, I'd like to either store my bike box (if I'm returning to Ithaca) or ship it to my endpoint. The couple of times I've used airport baggage storage recently, it was pretty expensive, seemingly geared towards people who wanted to store bags for a few hours or overnight. Multi-day storage of bike boxes, for a few dollars a day, would be great (free would be even better). For shipping, you've got a post office and a Fedex place close to the airport, so put their hours and location and distance from the terminal on your "Flying to Ithaca with your bike" website. Put the closest UPS on there too.

A bike assembly station, with bike stand, tools, and pump, would be nice. I know the Portland, Oregon airport has one. Unlike providing useful information on websites, opening a bike assembly station at the airport would make for a nice press release and ribbon-cutting ceremony.

If you're updating your tourism board's website with "Bringing your bike to Ithaca" information, include information on bringing a bike there by bus. Ask each bus company that serves Ithaca (Trailways, Flixbus, Megabus, right?) what their policy is on bikes, and if they carry them, link to their schedules.

Zelda,

Thank you for asking! I love the out of the box forward thinking from your airport. We like small airports for the easy check in and security. I personally don't care if a hotel is on site, but nearby hotels with free shuttles that will take bicycle boxes are a definite need. 

Many pack it yourself type of cyclists are looking for bicycle  boxes when they arrive at their departure airport. 

We have reached the stage/age where we prefer to pay a local bike shop to do the boxing (or unboxing), for us. The perfect trifecta from my personal point of view, is a shop who will box my bike, that is close to a hotel with a free airport shuttle (which takes bike boxes). I recognize that is not everyone's priority. 

Kelly

These are great suggestions. I have got the airport management thinking about the bike assembly spot and it might be the easiest thing to make happen. It’s also a win for those of us who ride near the airport (honestly, very quiet roads and the airport has great restrooms and water stations) who need a quick adjustment. 

The need for better box storage is also something that they might be able to do without much overhead. Right now we don’t have any storage (luggage, box or other) but plenty of unused space. 

I’m of the mind that if we build it, they might come. If you find yourself unable to travel outside the US and want some new rides — come to Ithaca.

Hi Kelly, 

I like your idea of emphasizing the ease of small airport travel. It is true that I have never waited in line more than 30 seconds. We used to drive to NYC for cheaper flights and found that the extra security time (plus the 4-5 hour drive) was no longer worth it. 

We do have the perfect trifecta you describe! The hotel and LBS are 2 miles from the airport.  I’ll see about synching up that combo. 

Henry mentioned bike shipping through USPS, FedEx etc. Does that appeal at all? What would it take to make that work for your style of travel?

Zelda

Zelda 

we typically fly American which allows an appropriate weight/size of bike box to travel as a piece of luggage. Free! I have on occasion purchased a bike sight unseen, and paid shipping. Typically through Bike Flights, which uses FedEx as a carrier. That’s $125. Or so. Which means I take my bike with me on the airplane. Other cyclists might find it worth the shipping cost to not deal with personally transporting their bike. We all have our comfort levels. I like to see that box getting on my plane! Which is another advantage of the small airport. 

Kelly 

I have flown with a bicycle in and out of a couple dozen airports over the years. The biggest problem for me is that I travel solo. That makes it nearly impossible to manage the boxed bike and my luggage without committing a serious crime of leaving my luggage unattended while using the bathroom to pee or change clothes. The only practical solution is to have a partner.

Thanks for being proactive to make Ithaca airport more friendly to traveling cyclists.

Zelda thanks for consulting with cycle tourers about airport facilities. 

My list is probably similar to some others already mentioned. My general thinking is that cycling as a transport mode should be made as least as convenient as using a car.

A few ideas: 

1.  Safe, signed bikeways to/from the airport which link to other transport mode hubs such as train and bus stations. 

2. Space suitable for packing / unpacking bikes reasonably close to check-in and arrivals.

3. Affordable, secure bike storage 

4. Bike hire facilities 

5. With the huge growth in e-bike use, consider ways to cater for the needs of e-bike users. eg charging outlets. Battery storage / exchange service. 

6. A business plan target to have at least (say) 20% of passengers arriving / departing the airport by bicycle, with a subsequent reduction in the amount of space required to cater for cars. 

7. Consult with airport staff to find out what would encourage more of them to cycle commute to / from work.

8. Staffed bicycle retail / service outlet within the airport precinct. Part of their service would be bike boxes and packing. 

What a wonderful question you pose. I live in Portland and yes, the airport has a bike tool/pump station. I've never used it but love the idea, and it is only steps away from the light rail so you can unbox  your bike, put it together, hop on the train or use one of the nearby bike routes into the city. There are nearby hotels on the rail line too so you can unbox your bike there if you prefer. 

We have only assembled our bikes at one airport, and that was the Mandalay airport which is 25 miles/40 km out of the city. They were lovely about it, gave us plenty of space, let us leave our boxes and packing materials behind with no fuss, it was great. But man, was it hot, they simply weren't using the a/c in that section of the airport. [We just saw footage from that airport taken shortly after today's dreadful earthquake, all the passengers and staff rushed out of the building and onto the tarmac.]

Carrying our own tools and pump is what we do anyway, so really, an out-of-the way space that is comfortable, out of the rain/heat/wind/darkness and where nobody will give you any s**t is the best. It's actually a very simple thing that an airport can offer, boxing accommodation/storage is icing on the cake. 

Portland also has rental e-bike stations all over town, maybe that would be a successful place to set something like that up, replete with racks and baskets.

Consider letting local bike shops in on the plan, let them donate leftover bike boxes and packing material to your Wheels Down Bike Ithaca section of the airport. Please update us on how this plays out!

The need for a second pair of hands is one I appreciate. It is the risk calculation that isn’t fun. At least in a small airport you can ask a desk employee to watch your things for a moment. 

Feels good to work on a positive project.