If
you’re planning a trip with destinations where you want to include cycling as
part of the adventure, there are two ways to go: Ship your bike on the airplane
with you, or take the easily transportable most important parts of your bike in
your luggage.
Taking
your bike with you is expensive. Domestic carriers charge from $50 to $175 –
one way – and that’s after you’ve plunked down the $100 you need for a shipping
box, which all airlines require. International fees vary greatly. Qantas
Airways, the Australian connection, doesn’t charge extra for hauling a
containerized bike. But Lufthansa, the German carrier, charges $200. So if
you’re not really ready or willing to pay all that to have your own bike with
you on a trip, do what my buddy Marc does.
He
packs his pedals, cleats, helmet and riding kits, then rents road bikes by the
day wherever he goes, which can range from $50 to $100 a day, depending on how
fancy a bike you want to rent. He even says you can pack your seat/seat post to
put on a rental if your seat is that important to you. So the key is to know
about how many days you plan on riding on your trip, then doing the math on
which one works best for you.
But
not having the hassle of dealing with the bike carton and keeping your bike
secure while on vacation, is probably worth a few bucks in convenience alone. I
haven’t done this yet, but I plan on the pedals, helmet and seat route. I’d
rather spend any money I save on food and beverages! And, if you take the
economical option, you can rent a hot bike or two that you’ve wondered about.
I
ran into a woman rider in Northern California riding a Wilier, which I
complimented her on. She said she’d rented a Wilier in Italy while vacationing
there, and fell in love with it. She gushed about it to her husband, and to his
credit, he actually managed to make a mental note on this. He bought her one
for her birthday after they got back. Talk about bonus points! Now that’s a
bike rental experience with about as happy an ending imaginable. For the woman,
too!
Forecast not so accurate
Got
caught in the rain on the back half of a 50-mile ride the other day. Not fun!
Yes, it was cloudy when I left, but the Weather Channel forecast said there was
only a 30 percent chance of rain. So, like an idiot, I figured that meant it
wouldn’t rain, based on my theory that any prediction of 30 percent chance or
less, means no rain. But it turned out that the chance of rain was 100 percent!
That’s a 70 percent miscalculation! That sucks on the prediction credibility
scale, right? Anyway, what are you going to do? You’re riding along and start
feeling a few sprinkles. Then they turn into more than sprinkles, and the
pavement is wet. At least it wasn’t super cold. And it wasn’t a downpour. Just
enough rain to be annoying! And to soak me as I continued riding.
Like
most riders, I figure it’s not so bad to be caught in the rain than it is to
start a ride in the rain. A couple years ago, I rode on a rainy day in an early
summer ride in the Sierra Nevada foothills with a buddy. And I can report that that ride definitely
sucked all the way through! It was cool enough, but luckily not cold if you
just kept pedaling. Another time a buddy and me got caught in a blast of
freakin’ hail while doing a technical descent down a mountain road. The temp
was warm and misty where we’d just started the descent. Then all of a sudden the
air temp dropped like a rock. It felt like a walk-in freezer. Before we knew
it, it was hailing, the little ice pellets bouncing off my helmet as my hands
and toes lost feeling. Meanwhile because we were decending through sharp turns,
we had to brake, which became really dicey! First thing I thought was, man,
don’t want to do a pavement slap from braking too hard. But I could barely
squeeze the brakes because my hands were so cold.
My
buddy did the sensible thing and stopped under the canopy of a big tree. I rode
by and decided to keep on going because I thought, I don’t want to be in this
any longer than I have to. I’m not stopping! The hail stopped, then it was
rain, and eventually there was sunshine, so I’m glad I just kept going. That’s
become my policy in the rain, just keep riding for home, keep the non-fun as
short as possible.
A
few days after the long rain ride I did, I was moving my bike and heard a
sloshing sound from the bike. I took it outside and pulled the seat stem off,
and turned the bike upside down. Water poured out! A lot of water! No idea how
that much got inside the frame tubes. Must have streamed in from the wheel into
a vent hole or something. Anyway, great to get it out! Who wants unnecessary
water weight when riding the bike?
And now, for something
completely different…
Here’s
a video that captures some of the banter that goes on during rides with
buddies. Check it out:
My
buddies and I mostly yak it up during rest stops, when everybody’s a comedian!
Hey,
until next time, remember to always put on a helmet before every ride. And
don’t forget, it’s then up to you to keep the rubber side down!
-- Mark Eric Larson
Mark Eric Larson has written two books of essays, "The NERVE...of Some People's Kids," and "Don't Force it, Get a Bigger Hammer. To read, visit:
http://www.scribd.com/Mark%20Eric%20Larson/shelfHis blog of personal essays is at: http://marksmuzings.blogspot.com/
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