Well,

Yesterday, I packed my swift into my samsonite flite suitcase. It was a remarkable experience (and indeed, a couple of scotch whiskies made the whole process easier to cope with). I had instructions from swoot and a photo. I followed the instructions and after several mishaps (take the bar ends of the handlebars, etc.) It sorta worked worked out. Indeed the bike can only fit one way in the suitcase and just barely, I'm convinced it won't fit in an samsonite oyster (as some people have said is possible, well maybe with removing the forks). You have to follow the instructions from swoot to the letter and then improvise as necessary. I packed instructions and photos for TSA but when I tried to close it, it was really really difficult to close. Today I figured I would let out the air in the tires to make it easier to close the suitcase but it seems to close better today as things have stretched out a little. I'm still worried because the Flite suitcase is oversized as far as the airlines are concerned. The suitcase weighs 46 pounds with bike and accessories.

I bought the Swift so I could go out at Christmas and ride in Southern California for a week. With my luck, it will snow next week down south. We'll see what happens - I hope the airlines (Continental) won't charge me too much.

I'll report on the results, Happy Holidays to all,

Hokey