Now if you've read from the start of this journal and did your research on my 2019 trip you'll know I had some problems with bike transport on the airplane, namely, the bike did not initially get transported on the airplane.  Now part of that was my fault for not realizing how early I needed to be at the airport.  The rest is because of how massive bike boxes get handled by US airports (hint: very poorly.)  

In the past I've looked into acquiring a folding bike that would fit into a suitcase.  Because I ride recumbent and my back would not handle a standard bike all that well, not to mention my backside, hands, wrists, elbows, and shoulders, I had problems finding a suitable bike.  Last spring I decided to do some further research into folding bikes to see if anything new had popped up.  Indeed a couple options had:  The HPV Grasshopper, and the Azub Origami.  Neither were exactly cheap, but both looked like options that would just barely fit an airline legal suitcase.  I ended up finding an Azub Origami that had been a demo bike at a recumbent bike shop.  I also acquired a Tern Airporter Slim suitcase.  Also not exactly cheap, but the bike fits without having to do all that much disassembly and it's close enough to airline legal dimensions that unless the agent gets out a tape measure, it will work.

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If you're curious what goes into packing it up, there's a video I made last summer of that process.  I've since acquired a mesh on frame seat that will allow me to take the mesh seat surface off and then slide the seat frame around stuff in the suitcase so everything fits, with actually room to spare.

Now I should be able to much more easily navigate through airports and public transit on both ends of the trip.  The folding mechanism should also make it a lot easier to transport on trains and busses.  Having a more breathable seat back is real nice when the weather gets hot.  I also find the bike is the most stable of any of the recumbents I've had and handles especially well at very slow speed (ie riding up hills.)  The only downside is the handlebars.  Because they are pretty narrow there isn't much room for the shifters, brakes, bell, gps mount, light, and GoPro mount.  I'll need to do some tinkering to get everything mounted on there.