edwardmccaughan

yet another random question for the hive mind-

I may have fallen off my bike on tour a little bit and may have slightly fractured my wrist and kindof got in a bit of a cast, so its time to limp home for a while.

except getting a bike inna box and getting said box onna plane, offa plane, onna bus, offa bus, onna train, offa train and then half a mile uphill is enough of a pain with both hands, let alone one handed, so I could do with some cunning plans if anyone can think of one.

currently the options are
-get it on the plane with sweat and blood and bribery.
it would be a major pain to do, but with enough asking random strangers for help, paying a bike shop or something, it could possibly be done.

-post it home
expensive and still needs to be put in a box. also has a small risk that it will arrive in pieces.

-find someone here to take care of it until I come back.
the current favourite. I'm in milan and live in britain, so getting back here is dead easy and theres a bicycle collective that lends bicycles to tourists that seem trustworthy enough and it means someone will get to use it while I'm not

can anyone think of better ideas?

nancy sv

Ahhhh - sorry about the mishap! I would go with the "leave it there" method - especially if you are planning to return anyway. When my moom died and I had to fly out right away I contacted all the people ont he Warnmshowers list in the area asking if I could stash my bike in their garage for a while. It worked out perfectly.

If that group you referred to doesn't work out, check out warmshowers or couchsurfing and ask if you can leave your bike. I think most people wouuld understand and be willing to help. Also - a lot of hostels will have some kind of storage facilities.

good luck! How long will you need to wear the cast?

(Not really related, but talk of the cast reminded me of the time I broke my hand two days before we were taking off to tour the Sinai peninsula and Israel. John ended up doing the first three weeks solo and I joined him in Jeruselem once the cast came off. Talk about bummed!! I was soooooo looking forward to cyclingt he Sinai!!)

Cave

Train all the way?

Don't know if it is feasible, or what Italian trains are like, but trains in Germany and France are good for bikes.