Military PCS with a Bike
 

Hello,

I am trying to find anybody that has experience with military pcsing overseas. More specifically, I am wondering if anybody knows whether you can travel with a bike on the contracted flights. I am going to Guam in July and would like to have my bike with me when I get there, so I can perhaps avoid renting a car while I wait for mine to arrive. There are also a couple rides I would like to do before leaving the states, which I could knock out after TMO picks up my stuff.

I know, most commercial carriers will waive baggage fees for military personnel traveling on orders, but I'm not sure how similar the contracted flights going to the pacific are to commercial flights. If I understand, these aren't Space-A flights, but let me know if I'm wrong.

Thanks for any information anybody can share.
Shane

You are going to have to wait until you get your tickets, and then ask the carrier.

If you have MPF on the Guam end, you could ship it. If it is like Japan, anything under Priority Mail could take 2 months to get there via boat. Even via Priority, because of size restrictions you will have to use two boxes, which would add to the cost.

You could figure out how much rental would be and justify the cost of shipping that way, or you could just buy a beater bike to get you going.

Heh.

If it's a nice bike, your best bet is probably to document the heck out of what is it, allow the contracted movers to move it, then when they deliver its wreckage (if you're lucky...), file a claim and use the money to buy a new bike.

Moving by the lowest bidder. Almost as bad as flying on the lowest bidder.

(Had a friend who moved with a newish TV that he still had the original box for. When he opened his box after the PCS, there was a big rock inside the box in place of the TV...)

I've done a good deal of travel with my folding bike TDY/TAD (depending on your service). I usually get charged an oversized baggage fee (26" wheels). They do let me take it though. I've never tried OCONUS travel with a bike, but I know lots of folks tour abroad. I can't imagine that it's insanely expensive. Without being an expert on PCSing, I would guess you can take it, but expect to pay out of pocket. I doubt our good uncle will feel the same as you and I do about your bike. I wish you the best of luck (& second achoo's post). If you do pull it off let me know how it turns out- I might be in your shoes one day.

Although my experience is over a decade old, here it is.
I shipped my bike to Guam from Florida via the household express shipment along with pots, pans and "gotta have them there clothes". The regular shipment was actually picked up days prior to the express shiment and arrived weeks later. The express shipment took a mere 10 days --- I'd kept the total weight below 300 pounds so it was shipped via "MAC air" believe it or not (I know MAC (Military Airlift Command) has been renamed, but I don't know what the new name is...sorry).

Based on 20+ years of PCS travel, your best info source for current accurate answers is actually NOT the household goods shipping office - it's the local "military air travel ticket-issuing personnel". They can annotate nearly anything on your ticket to authorize or not authorize specific baggage and/or tell you what the "carryon/allowed baggage" restrictions are currently in effect for any destination --- and those restrictions vary from time to time and carrier to carrier. (2 cases - once I was authorized 500 pounds of personal electronic gear as take along baggage; another time, I was restricted to a single duffel bag of clothes --- same destination, same carrier, 5 years apart.)

You may want to look into 20" wheel folding bike, like one Bike Friday makes. It fits into regular suitcase, and travels as luggage. I knew I saw a photo of a soldier with one of them, it wasn't hard to find: http://www.flickr.com/photos/airborneshodan/3862393824/

There are several kinds of folding bikes that Bike Friday makes, here's the website: http://www.bikefriday.com/
Of course there are more types of folding bikes out there, I'm just partial to these, as I have one.

If you decide to go the folding route, make sure to pop over to Folding Bikes forum, people there are very knowledgeable and will help you figure out what will work best in your situation. http://www.bikeforums.net/forumdispl...-Folding-Bikes

Unless things have changed drastically in the time since I ETSed I'm pretty sure that if you check a hardside case as luggage, they'll ship it. All you need is the bike and your A-bag, right?

Thanks to all for the responses. I kind of like my bike, so I don't think I'll be getting a replacement. I guess I'll know more about my options once I talk to the ticketing folks, but it looks like I will be shopping for a hard case soon.

Thanks again.

Good luck. Back in the day, when I went to Korea, I shipped my bike in my household goods, they did a good job.

+1

As you wait for your household goods, you may be able to rent a bike. I only passed through Guam a couple of times, so I can't remember if the Exchange rents benjo bombers.

For the First Gulf War, I has this freaking thing:
http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q...PoliceBike.jpg
The fairing is Kevlar, and it's in camoflage paint.
I actually had a MAC C-130 ready to transport this bike from Florida to New York (MAC is Military Airlift Command).
This bike was regarded as a "Secret Weapon", so I had some cooperation. But as soon as the aircraft was ready, it was boarded by a team of black berets ( commandos) , and the flight was diverted to another continent.(which I will not name).
It's a true story, even the bolts and other brightwork are blacked out with shoe polish on the bike in the photo.