N_C

On Nov. 21, 2006 my wife, her parents & myself are going to Hawaii for a vacation. I am shipping my bike over so I can do some riding on Oahu.

What is being shipped is my bike & the tray style carrier I use to haul my bike on my vehicle. We will have a rental with a receiver hitch. The UPS store advises I ship everything no later then Nov. 1 or 2 so it arrives in time for the bike to be reassembled & is ready for me when I arrive on Nov. 21.

The bike & carrier will ship in 3 pieces. The bike & wheels will be professionaly packed by a bike shop in one box. I ride a recumbent so the seat will have to go in a larger box with my seat bag, helmet, Camel Bak bladder, floor pump & putters for mini golf will go in another box. The carrier will be shrink wrapped & will be shipped with a shipping label just stuck to the wrap.

I know this sounds elaborate & some may think it is ridiculous, but that's ok. I think it will be worth it. No one on Oahu rents recumbents & my bike is dialed in for me perfectly.

We will go from the airport with the rental vehicle to the bike shop where it will be shipped to, attach the carrier to the vehicle. If I have enough time & am not too tired from the trip I will ride from the shop to the hotel, otherwise I'll load the bike & we'll haul it to the hotel.

I am planning on riding at least 3 days, maybe 4. The first of which will be on Thanksgiving day, Nov. 23. Can't wait.

N_C

Forgot to ask, has anyone done anything this elaborate to ride bike before? If you have how was the experience? Was it worth it?

DieselDan

Many car rental companies rent bike racks for the cars they rent. That and most normal people ride normal bicycles, not something that is the same acronym as an STD.

Cyclist0094

I usually take my bike or the tandem on a vacation , Instead of a bike rack we always rent a minivan it costs an extra $20 a day but the bike is secure and there is no rack to ship or mess with. Another way to ship a bike and save some money is to open an online fedex account ( you save 10% or more off regular fedex) and have the bike shipped to a Kinko's in the city you are going to. I shipped our tandem across the country last year for $48. Kinko's does not charge extra for receiving or shipping Fedex.

N_C

I ride a recumbent as I said. The main frame is a tube. That & the lenght of the bike does not lend itself well to using a standard carrier. I REFUSE to ride a wedgie. I have ridden my 'bent for over 5 years now, It is dialed in for me, I know how it handles, responds, etc.

I already checked, none of the car rental companies rents bike racks. The bike shops do, but not one for carrying recumbents.

Unless you own & ride one & if you have to make comments like this or ask then you really don't get it or understand.

N_C

I am having my bike shipped to a shop called The Bike Shop. One of the things they specialize in is tourists shipping their bikes to them & reassembling them to be ready to ride when the visitor arrives. Then they proffesionaly pack it for the return trip home. The lbs in my area will pack it for the trip to Hawaii.

The way I am going to do this is have it packed here, ship from a UPS store to The Bike Shop, same cost as going to the terminal, but with hours that fit my schedule better. The Bike Shop will reassemble it for me, I arrive pick it up, ride on the days I have selected for myself to do so. Have The Bike Shop dissasemble it & either have them or a UPS store there ship it to the lbs here at home to be reassembled for when I return. It is a good possibility I will get back home before my bike does.