Why am I living out of a trailer?

May 15, 2015

I live out of a trailer because everything that I carry with me on the bike tour in IN a trailer. For this trip, I'm taking my Bike Friday and travel trailer setup. For those who are unfamiliar with this mode of transportation, the bike folds into the suitcase for travel. Once at your origin point, the bike is assembled, an undercarriage attaches to the suitcase, and it becomes a trailer to haul your gear. Don't believe me? Take a look at these pics.

Here's the entire system in travel mode. The bike carries only the handlebar bag, repair kit, (and me) and tows everything in the trailer

The bike comes partially apart, and partially folded to fit into the suitcase. Getting it all to fit into the suitcase properly sort of requires level 26 skill at Tetris

During the bike tour, this is what the suitcase (now trailer) looks like all loaded out. At least mine does, anyway

The theory behind using the foldable is you pack the bike into the suitcase, check it on the plane (and not incur those silly bicycle fees), and then pick it up at the baggage carousel, assemble it, and ride out of the airport. For this trip, I checked the suitcase (which contained the bike) and a duffel bag (which contained all my gear). My first checked bag was free, so to send both along on the flight was only $25 (the fee for the second bag).

How did it all work out? Click the advance button to read about day 1.

Notes on this journal

I originally wrote this during my 2015 tour, and I'm reposting on Cycleblaze to get this information to a larger audience who may be contemplating riding the trail. I'm also "reliving it" so I will most likely write in the past tense and include some thoughts on the trip 2.5 years ago. I'm going to post one day at a time and reflect on the trip.

Cheers!

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