qclabrat

Does anyone have experience on commuting to an airport?

I'm thinking of parking about 10 miles away in a free public lot then riding a bike and parking it there for a week, while I'm away.

The airport is small in a smallish town, so traffic won't be too bad. But it is still NJ...

acidfast7

In the UK, the airports I have seen have bike racks outdoors. London Standsted always has a full bike rack or two.

However, most airports in the EU have a direct train/bus to the terminal ... so it's not essential to use a car/bike.

They'll have bike parking at the train/bus station, such as here:



I don't know what anyone would build an airport with bike parking and not have bike parking at all transit forms to the airport. They're usually major employers in the area.

fietsbob

AMS Shiphol, undoubtedly, Has Employee Bike parking, some where, as the Locals ride their bikes to their Jobs there.




One of the regulars at the LBS in the 80's lived in Oakland and worked at SFO handling Baggage there.. he rode his Road Bike..

CalTrans ran a Van & Trailer during peak Commute hours , when BART disallowed Bikes ..

cobrabyte

I'd take a cab. I wouldn't want to leave my bike locked up at an airport for that long. Never know when after a few days, one of the airport employees mistakenly decides it's 'abandoned', and removes it from the property.

acidfast7

over here the bike parking is on CCTV so the employees can see when they've been parked and can't remove them unidentified.

spivonious

I wouldn't leave my bike parked anywhere for a week that wasn't inside of a locked buiding.

FBinNY 

I used to ride to the local commercial airport and lock the bike there. But after 9/11 they tightened security and decided that bikes were a possible bomb hazard. No matter how I tried to explain that there was no way a bike could hold nearly as much explosive as any of the cars parked nearby, they wouldn't buy it. In fact, they installed a blast curtain between the parking area and the terminals.

In the end, I made a deal with the head of security whereby I could arrange to leave my bike in his office while I was gone, and that worked until he transferred to another location. Now, it's still a no bikes policy, though I could probably lock it someplace 100 yards away and not be bothered.

So, I suggest you ask, before riding up for a flight and having to decide between missing it and losing the bike.

Matt144

Reagan National is right off of the Mount Vernon Trail. It has an entrance off the trail, and I believe a bike rack right there. I haven't tried it, but I would definitely consider riding to the airport for a weekend out of town. Obviously a longer trip would add other luggage difficulties that I haven't figure out on the bike yet.

acidfast7

Backpack ... I do it all the time.

fietsbob

a Wally disposable bike is appropriate, then, getting a replacement will be less than Parking in the Pay Lot

but why not just tow your wheelie trolley suitcase and Walk?

BTW, the car may not be untouched while you are away, anyhow. Stealing Air bags is Lucrative ..

I-Like-To-Bike

Towing a wheelie trolley suitcase 10 miles each way more than likely will require a replacement for the suitcase if it can even go 20 miles on its flimsy wheels. Walking 20 miles to and from an airport complex, towing a suitcase may not be a very pleasant way to begin and complete a trip. I think many people might consider taking a taxi a far more practical solution.

acidfast7

I find that one week of clothes (7 days) is quite easy to fit with camera/laptop into a 20L backpack.

I-Like-To-Bike

Would you think of walking 10 miles each way to start every airplane trip with or without your backpack in order to save on taxi fare?

acidfast7

No ... but I would walk 30 mins in each direction (about 2.5 miles).

Also, I'd cycle with the backpack on ... that's the point.

fietsbob

My Condolences about where you Live/.

I hated arriving at The Newark Airport from AMS .. they built the 2 buildings separate.. Domestic connections in the other one via A Bus.

so the Sky Cap was on the other side of the Door intentionally too narrow to pass a Luggage trolley thru,

and the Redcap guy was Greedy .. $5 tip for 30 seconds of effort was unsatisfactory .
took me 2 + hrs to make that back then..

acidfast7

I despise tipping culture. It's super awkward.

FBinNY 

I don't know when the last time you were at Newark/Liberty airport, but the terminals are connected by an above ground rail (tram) service, that also serves the parking, bus, car rental and rail services. The tram is easily accessed from each terminal with elevators and wide escalators, and runs frequently.

Separate terminals for international and domestic flights is SOP at large, major city airports. It makes it easier to keep things like baggage/customs clearance and port services separate from domestic flights. Actually Newark is among the better airports for foreign entry, and Miami possibly the worst.

fietsbob

AF7 P&R type reply thru PM.

It was '88, * SFO and AMS are 1 building , LHR I cannot Cout how many Buildings are there Now.

* figured there was a Corruption of the airport Planning by the usual NJ forces . Self Intrest.

qclabrat

Being an American traveling abroad it is odd to not tip, I could imagine it's worse the other way around when tipping is not customary
But I like it better that way, my opinion is that it should be compensated in a different manner or clearly spelled out like on cruise ships

qclabrat

I guess you could go to pay by hour parking, check in the luggage, drive to the parking area (its in Atlantic City NJ, so using the free casino parking), then ride back in my bike (a beat up 90's mtb no one would want)

Best to call the airposrt

treadtread

Why not take a light, single speed folder? Figure out a way to mount a bag that can fit the folded bicycle and your clothes.

I-Like-To-Bike

Flying in and out of Newark was far preferable than fiddling around with JFK and NYC traffic. Used to use EWR all the time when I lived in the Poconos in NE PA. Never had a problem, easy in and easy out. Of course I didn't try walking or biking 20 miles with luggage to avoid the parking fee.

AngeloDolce

To the OP:

I've bicycled to and from the Philadelphia airport from the south, so I have experience. I'm not quite sure if your concerns are

(i) Leaving the bike locked at the airport for a week (my trip was 4 days)
(ii) Traffic
(iii) TSA rules

(i) and (ii) are purely local - your local airport and traffic at the times you travel will be differet from ours. (iii) says you may likely need to check baggage.

I found riding to PHL gave me more flexibility taking the train to Boston and flying back without paying for cabs or parking, or dealing with inconvenient train or bus schedule. Bicycle parking was fine but PHL was so uncoordinated it took a month to figure it out before my trip. Their official policy says bicycles may be removed after 72 hours (ruling out virtually all passengers who might bicycle); when I tried calling for more information to verify the location of the poorly marked racks or enforcement of the 72 hours, I was (incorrectly) told there were no public racks.

Eventually the airport parking/security did email me and tell me that 4 days was not a problem; they were concerned about the possibility of abandoned bicycles (on racks that had never been used!), and did tell me afterwards that he had seen my bike parked during my trip. Staff at the airport were uniformly friendly, and gave me directions to terminals, exits etc. Information staff couldn't really tell me where the racks were (very hard to find, even with a map), and had never had questions (or answers) about bike parking before.

There was virtually no traffic to the airport at 4:00-5:00 am; returning on a weekday afternoon it was normal Delaware County (PA) traffic.

(iii) TSA/Carry on vs. Checked
On the flight out of PHL I checked all the bicycle tools; this was fine, including a Leatherman tool with knife blades.
On the way back I forgot and put a 6" wrench in a carry on bag. The TSA limit for wrenches is 7", so I was OK but an 8" wrench needs to be checked, as does any blade, even the 1" pocket knife.

I expect few airports in the US have much bicycle traffic, but most will be willing to accommodate you. I would strongly suggest you call beforehand to avoid surprises or confused airport staff.

If any of your bicycle tools are medium to large pieces of metal, you may have to put them in checked luggage.

Traffic is local - we don't know your route or schedule.

What airport are you using in NJ?


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AngeloDolce

If CPH is Copenhagen, I think you'll find the US is a different environment. When I bicycled to the Philadelphia airport, bicycle parking at the airport was difficult, but parking at train stations was far worse.

(i) Airport information staff did not know about the bike racks installed 2 years earlier and told me there was parking for employees but not for passengers (not true) Signs were also confusing - bicyclists had to follow signs for "Commercial Vehicles only" past barriers.


(ii) Amtrak was renovating the Philadelphia (train) station and removed all bicycle parking for 3-4 months. I could not easily leave my bike and take a train to the airport had I wanted to. In the past, Amtrak has posted signs with 24 hours notice threatening to confiscate bicycles due to work on the station. It was too much work to actually remove any bikes that quickly, but I've never seen such short notice for auto parking.

The Richmond VA Staple Mills Amtrak (train) told me they did not have any bicycle parking because nobody ever bicycled to the train station. They did not seem to consider that anyone might bicycle there if parking were allowed.


I agree that riding 10 - 15 miles to the airport can be easy. The bicycling worked OK for me, but should have been much easier to find the bike racks at the airport.

1nterceptor

Last year I took the A subway then Airtrain to JFK in NYC. Had a messenger bag for my clothes
and my folding bike and some tools in a cardboard box. Checked in my box and flew to LAX in CA.
Landed in Los Angeles; threw the box and rode my bike from the airport 50 miles to Anaheim:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNuu...6zPoymgKaIoDLA