Many cyclists start their bicycle tours at the airport, train or bus station: They assemble their bicycle right there at the airport and start riding, leaving the bicycle box behind.

On several occasions, I've come full circle: I rode with a bicycle box to the airport, train or bus station. Then I disassembled my bicycle and packed it in the box. (A bicycle box is notoriously unwieldy and the slightest bit of wind threatens to throw a rider off balance)

During my last week, I obtained a used bicycle box from a shop near my hotel. The bike mechanic removed my pedals to see if my bicycle would fit in the box. When he screwed my pedals back on, he used a heavy duty spanner and used a lot of force. I don't think he knows that steel parts have maximum specifications like torque. Nor does he know how it's calculated.

The next day, I bought a folding bicycle. (In China, they are 30% cheaper for the exact same model) So, on the day of the flight, I started by riding it to the airport and parking it there. Then I used the subway to return to my hotel.

Then I gathered the rest of my stuff and rode to the airport. 

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There I got a trolley and gathered everything in a corner of the parking lot. One of the first jobs was to remove the pedals, but they were stuck. I tried a various positions to put as much force on the pedal spanner. Eventually I stepped or jumped on it. And the spanner broke !

I had only one option: Cycle back to the bicycle shop and let them remove the pedals. The only thing I could leave at the airport was the trolley and the folding bicycle. Anything else would most likely be removed by security or by cleaners.

Fortunately, the bike shop was only 7 km away. It took them only a minute to unscrew the pedals. With very little torque, I installed the pedals from the folding bicycle. Then I cycled back to the airport. This time the packing job went smoothly.

Qatar Airways took both bicycles without question as part of my economy class allowance.