First of all, when you travel to another country for an extended visit (i.e. over a month), be sure to bring:

1) Your paperwork proving you've got a flight booked out of the country
2) Bank statements proving you've got enough money to support yourself
3) Proof of permanent residence in your home country (i.e. rent or mortgage information)
4) Your passport and visa (if necessary)

Many countries are tightening up their borders and are watching for people who want to get in and then get work. If you are planning to tour a country for 3 months, for example, and you can't show that you "belong" back in your own country (by proving a residence there or proving a job to return to there), and/or can't show that you have booked a flight out of the country, and/or can't show that you can support yourself for the time you are in the country .......chances are the border officials will be suspicious.


As for the bicycle ...

Travelling by bus from the US back into Canada in 2005, we were all hauled off the bus and lined up along a wall at 2 am. All our luggage was taken out of the bus and lined up along the sidewalk. I was first in line, and seeing as I was holding my helmet, the border official put 2+2 together and assumed that the bicycle box was mine. It was. Then he wanted me to give him proof that I had not purchased the bicycle in the US, that I had purchased it in Canada. I nothing with me, and the only thing I could think of saying was, "Marinoni is a Canadian brand". That worked and I was allowed back on the bus.

But I have been told by the BC Randonneurs that they need to carry proof that they have purchased their bicycles in Canada when they do rides that dip down into the US and come back to Canada. So, with that in mind, I carry the receipt for my bicycle with me.


As far as flying goes, one of the first things that happens to your bicycle, right after you check your luggage or as a part of the luggage checking process, is that it will go through the X-ray machine. Different airports handle that process in different ways. Calgary and Edmonton will check your luggage, give you your ticket, and then tell you to go over to that machine over there to have your bicycle box X-rayed. If you arrive early enough, you'll be the only one there and they'll let you see the image on the screen. It's kind of interesting ... and actually quite amazing what all they can see. LA does something similar, but the line-up at LA is very long and you may get questioned about where you're going and where you've been as you go through the scanning process. At the Sydney, Australia airport your bicycle will be taken from you during the check-in process and only when it has returned will the complete the process. The person who has taken it away will tell the check-in agent that it is indeed a bicycle. If you are thinking of calling the item in that box "hardware" or "art" or something other than a bicycle, you might want to rethink that idea. In some places you might be able to still get away with that, but not all places, and if you're caught mis-representing what's in the box, your fees could be quite a bit higher.

Then you'll be told where to take the bicycle next. Your smaller luggage will go wherever smaller luggage goes, but the bicycle is oversized and has to go to a special place. Again, this varies depending on the airport. In some cases, I've been escorted by airport security to an empty hallway way out of the way of everything else and told to leave my bicycle sitting there and walk away. Other times, I've been told to leave it in a very busy part of the airport separated from the general public by those posts and cords they use to direct people through the walkways. Other times there has been a clearly marked area for oversize luggage. Once I was escorted by security to another part of the airport - a very quiet, out of the way part where my bicycle went through an X-ray machine a second time, the outside of the box was swabbed for banned substances, and I was scanned with one of those hand-held wand things they've got.

Some time later you arrive at either your destination or where you pick up your connecting flight. If that airport is in a different country from where you started, you'll have to collect your luggage and go through customs.

Regarding collecting your luggage ... your bicycle box may come out on the carousel, or it may come out at an oversized luggage conveyor, or it may just show up in some corner somewhere in the general baggage area. It may appear before all the rest of the luggage, or it may appear shortly after you pick up your other luggage, or you may end up sitting and waiting for it for some time. It's never the same one airport to the next, always a matter of 'where will my bicycle be this time'.

Some airports have trolleys in these customs area, some don't. Some trolleys are free, some are quite expensive (for a trolley) and only take the currency of the country you're in. So you might want to have 5-10 dollars (or whatever) of change in the currency of all the countries you're stopping in.

And speaking of the trolley fees, in some airports you'll need to catch a shuttle bus to get to the next terminal to catch your connecting flight. Some airports, like LAX, they will recommend you take a shuttle bus, and the busses are free, but after you've been there a time or two, you'll realise that you could walk to the next terminal faster and more conveniently than waiting for a shuttle bus and trying to load your bicycle onto it. At the Sydney airport, however, you may need to take the shuttle bus because the other terminals are quite some distance away. In Sydney, the shuttles are not free - last time I was there, it cost me about $10. So again, it is good to have some of the local currency in hand when you arrive.

As for the customs process ... some places have waved me through with no problems at all. Toronto airport insisted on opening my box, taking everything out, and spritzing it with some kind of disinfectant. They initally told me they wanted me to take apart absolutely everything on the bicycle, but I told them that I didn't have the tools to do that, and that only a bicycle shop could do that. Some guy came over with a very large screwdriver to see if he could have a go at it. But when they opened the box and saw how "broken down" my bicycle was (pedals off, handlebars off, wheels off, etc.), and realised that the very large screwdriver wasn't going to be able to accomplish anything, they decided that was OK, gave it a few light spritzes of this disinfectant and let me go. But I missed my next flight because of it ... and in fact, the next time I went through Toronto, I missed my next flight then as well ... so give yourself lots of time between flights!!

Both times I've landed in Sydney and when I landed in Melbourne, they've taken me aside, opened my bicycle box, had a quick look, commented that the bicycle looked amazingly clean, and let me go. Australia is quite strict about not bringing in dirt etc. from other countries, so it is a very good idea to travel with a clean bicycle.


Note that most airlines do charge for bicycles. There are a few that don't, but most do. The amount they charge varies widely between airlines. Air Canada, for example, charges $50 each way. But Delta charges quite a bit more than that ($175 each way, I think, the last time I checked). So do your research before you pick your airline on how much they charge for the bicycle. Note that if you give the check-in person trouble over how much they charge, the check-in person can charge you the oversized charge in addition to the bicycle charge, and if the bicycle is even close to overweight, they will try to charge you that as well. Complain, and all of a sudden you could be looking at $200 or $300 for your bicycle.

I find that being happy, friendly, nice and kind to the check-in agents is the best policy ... and often the least expensive policy.

When you do your research, be absolutely sure to check the size and weight restrictions for the bicycle and for your luggage in general. Check when you book your flight and check again in the week before your flight. Airlines are changing these restrictions all the time and if you book 3 months ahead, you could get caught out on the day of your flight. All the information you need is on their websites. Do your research, check and recheck and know where you stand before you get to the airport.

This site can also give you some help with the research process:
http://www.ibike.org/encouragement/travel/bagregs.htm


I'll also add that airports themselves can add an additional element of surprise to the travel experience ... although Air Canada charges $50 for bicycles, I've been charged $75 coming out of Heathrow. And Heathrow also changed their carry-on policy which threw a few people off - you could fly into Heathrow with two pieces of carry-on, but could fly out of Heathrow with only one piece of carry-on ...not too much of a difficulty if Heathrow was your final destination, but if you were transferring to another flight it could present a bit of a problem. So don't forget to look up the websites for the airports you'll be visiting too.