djb- ^^^^

If you can rely on finding a box at the ticket counter you can ...

-ride your bike to the airport, no need for a car!
-use the bike for a luggage cart, no need for a trolly!
-pack your own bike, no need for bikeflights or bike shop!

I would usually ceremoniously ride through the electric doors of the airport at the trip's conclusion. :^)

Hi again,
I’ve started using the cycling machine to get back into shape for this trip (next May so plenty of time).
I have had a right knee problem sporadically
over the years (first time from the 2006 cycle trip).
It’s been pretty fine for the past few years but now I’ve starter up again I can feel it SLIGHTLY, like 1 out of 10.
I’m starting slowly and plan to build up over the months.
Right now I’m doing 10 miles a day about 70 rpm- takes about 40 mins.
Do you guys think this would strengthen the knee muscles and help prevent it getting worse or should I be doing something else etc?
It’s just the muscle on the left side of my right knee is so slightly pinged after I do a session.
I’m taking it as gently as possible too with this training- no hard fast movement.

I was basing this on flying United from SF to London and back in June.

Thanks, however, for the snotty condescending lecture, ahole.

Hi guys- it’s all good.
Honestly I’m taking ALL the information, advice and suggestions onboard.
If anything, having differing opinions gives me a broader scope to draw from.

I'd check with airlines about availability of a bike box. I've not heard of that being offered for a while. You might need to find a bike shop at your destination, for a box.

Sounds like a great trip.

You're right, I apologise. I should have thought more before writing.

Sorry I over-reacted.

(I've been schlepping bikes to/from UK since 1983, as well as domestically, including to Seattle where we started our Pacific Coast tour).

Every airline has its own rules, and they change them frequently. My main point was that you only have to do a partial disassembly. The UK carriers are generally more bike-friendly (and treat their customers better in general).

This could easily be a bike fitting problem, a cycling machine fitting problem (my guess), or a major and potentially debilitating medical issue. If it has been bothering you (recently) before you started training on a bike or cycling machine, you might want to have a doc or physical therapist (physiotherapist) take a look and perhaps recommend strengthening exercises.

For boxing your bike, look into getting an electric bike box. They are roomier and sturdier but still under airline limits (at least the one I got was). I was able to pack my bike with minimal disassembly - didn't even have to remover racks or fenders. Admittedly, I have not tried this for an international flight. An electric bike rental store thanked me for taking the box off their hands. Trek store that repackaged and shipped my bike home used an electric bike box as well.



Removed front wheel, turned handle bars, removed pedals. I also removed rear derailleur from hanger. That's about it. Blacked out all references to "electric" on the box. From the tape, you can see the box was opened and inspected.

ACA maps are good but don't provide wide perspective. AAA (American Automobile Association) maps would be another option for a broad view and have reasonable detail.

Since June 1, 2009, a regular drivers license won't get Canadians and Americans into their neighbo(u)ring country.

https://www.cbp.gov/travel/us-citize...20Driver's

Two things. First, keeping your cadence up and force down helps keep from tweaking your knees. That's one big reason many (most?) tourists look for low gearing -- like 20 gear inches or lower.

Second, and conversely, you'll want higher force to actually strengthen your knees. Some kind of squats and/or weight training are in order. But get someone who knows what they're doing, as opposed to an internet stranger, to help you get started.

Yeah- I just thought I'd mention the knee as it's been fine for ages tbh.
It's just immediately after I do my cycle machine sessions it's SLIGHTLY, talking a 1 out of 10 here if that, apparent. It's not painful, I'm just aware of it basically. I THINK it'll be ok- gradual gentle increase in using the machine over time should strengthen it enough.

Thanks again for all the infos guys- appreciated as always..!

hey there Polaris, no problem, it's all good.

mesh--about your knee--the others all made very valid points about what it could be.

I do know that when I start biking after not doing it for a while, I've got a dodgy knee from the past that can be finicky, but when I am sure of seat height and overall bike fitting, the more I ride, the stronger the knee muscles get. I take it easy at first and keep the load down (not putting too much force into my knees, so keeping cadence from being too low) and riding regularly really does strengthen up things and the knee feels better.

as one of the others said, us internet strangers can't tell you if you have a specific physical issue, but at least read up on how to properly set seat height, and you should get fairly close on your own. A basic rule is having a straight leg with your heel on pedal, that gives more or less the right leg bend with your foot on the pedal in the position when you normally pedal. You can always make adjustments and see how things feel, but thats a good starting point.

an aside-- re being a Brit coming into the States, it's always better that you can show your return ticket and emphasize being a tourist only. One does hear of funny border questioning about coming into the U.S, a fellow on here has had some questioning that was out of the ordinary, but it should be fine.
I guess just be prepared and have all the required paperwork and answers if you run into finicky border folks.

One more thing I just thought of: Get some sort of travel medical insurance for the US. Everything you have heard about the (lack of) US health care system is true, if not worse.

Hi again guys,

is there a listing anywhere of "Things Not To Miss" or "Sights To See" for the PCBR?

Failing that- would any of you have any recommendations for things to put into my itinerary for the trip please? Would also be good to hear off locals for this one..!
I've ordered maps of each 3 States aswell so will study them to get more of an idea of distance and terrain and also where the sights are etc.

Monterey Bay Aquarium (almost local for me) is worth the stop. There is a lot in San Francisco if you can find somewhere safe to stash your bike.

Thanks for that..!
Ah, without trying to descend this into a potential minefield- could anyone tell me what places like SF and LA are like right now? I mean, are they dangerous, lots of addicts/homeless people wandering about etc etc?
Asking as I've never been, and as I am from the UK I have seen a lot on YT and X about these places- especially heard some not so good things about how SF has gone sadly.
How true is this?

Again- not trying to stir anything here guys, I'd just really appreciate some honest feedback and advice for when it comes to looking around these places.
SF has a special place in my heart as my favorite film of ALL time was filmed there, so I'm REALLY looking forwards to tracking down the areas from it.

I'll give you a hint:



I'll add another random one that I read on someone's YT video about this- they mentioned that it was a shame they didn't cycle the "Olympic Peninsula Discovery Trail"?
Does anyone know about this too, and would it be worth incorporating that into this trip?

I found a site for it:
Olympic Discovery Trail

My sense:
- If you go looking for it, you can find urban campers.
- As a total percentage of your trip it will be a very low amount - even in these urban areas
- I would be vigilant in locking your bike, particularly in hiker biker sites closer to southern California
- This can be an interesting question to ask people you meet along the way; though you will also want to know whether they have first-hand experience or more from media reports

Not LA/SF but I lived in downtown Portland for a few years. Even then I could find what I wanted to look for...

SF is extremely bad for bike theft (and car break-ins). I don't know anything about LA. Monterey is fairly safe; you can leave your bike locked to a railing outside the aquarium. Santa Cruz (near where I live) is a bit sketchy.

Cheers for the feedback guys- appreciate it.

I've got my plan to get slowly back into shape here as well- as I don't currently have access to my bike for many months I'm using a cycling machine.
As well as this I'm doing some light weights and also swimming daily.

How does this look for a 6 days a week plan to you guys, and remember I'm looking to AVERAGE 40 miles per day on this trip (Will be starting end of May).
I'm taking it gently as I don't want to aggravate (or create) another old knee injury from years back:

my opinion only - don't listen to any of us internet goofs, just listen to your own body and keep active. I personally find bike trainer riding boring as ka-ka but with a good tv series it can be okay for a certain amount per day -- being on a real bike in the real world is where its really at cuz your body really does get used to all the real world riding stuff and you also hopefully can fine tune your bike position details, plus knowing what bike shorts work best in the real world for you, what clothes work best for given temps etc etc
Just gradually build up the hours and distances riding

Not to mention in real life you can gradually add more load weight to your bike, so you get used to riding loaded, which gets you stronger, and hopefully you've got the bike fit thing sorted out and there's no reason you shouldn't get fitter as the weeks go along.

Just ride the bike regularly

Yeah mate- as I say, I don't have access to my actual bicycle for the next months so I have to train on this machine.
Honestly it's not too bad boredom wise etc as I've never used one before and there's a great view from the gym..! Up to now I've done a solid 10 miles a day for three weeks, taking a rest day on Sundays. It feels good to already be preparing for the trip like this rather than twiddling my thumbs waiting around.
I know it's still basically seven whole months away but I just think it's a good idea to slowly build up to the stated 40 miles per day target- as I've been so out of practice and shape for many years now tbh. In that regard alone it feels good to be "getting fit" again and it can't hurt I think.

Saying that, I'm also mindful of not aggravating any old knee injuries and so am doubling down on the taking it easy, slow and steady path.
I'm assuming this will indeed build up my fitness, endurance and also resilience to the old knee injury..!

you're absolutely doing the right thing -- building up your cycling leg and knee muscles gradually. For anyone getting back into cycling, not "overloading" the pressure going into your knees, more spinning than grinding, is always good. I've always listened to my body, or rather, I've gotten better at listening to my knees, and by regularly training on a trainer and or on bike, you will build up your fitness and all that jazz.

One thing that is good about your bike, being a mountain bike, it has good low gearing, so you'll always be able to downshift to take care of your knee / knees.
The other thing about eventually getting out on your real bike regularly is see how your older self adapts to its position. Seeing the photo of you on it, its good to see that you have bar ends--they are super essential to be able to change up hand positions. One of my bikes has them and they allow different hand positions, and I change up all the time. It really makes a difference for not having pressure points always on the same spots. I have mine angled downwards a lot more than yours in the photo, and use them almost like being on the hoods of a dropbar bike.
You may find also with your present bars that you may want the bars a bit higher, and "riser" type mountain bike bars with both a bit more rise than your present bars, and perhaps a bit of backwards sweep, can make a real difference to riding comfort. Only you can know how your bars are for you, but changing out mountain bike bars is quite easy, although if you raise them up quite a bit, you probably have to get longer housings for the shifter and brake cables--thats doable by you with some help, would be a lot lot less money spent, but this is just guessing on my part if it would be better for you with slightly higher bars.
But riding your bike regularly when you have access to it will at least give you an idea of how it works now for an older you.

Oh, re seat height-make a little scratch mark on the seatpost after riding it a lot and when you are sure of the good height--so that when the seat is either pushed all the way down into the frame for boxing, you put it back to the exact same height that you know works best for you. Even after decades of riding, I've made the dumb mistake of not putting it back to the right height and finally realized it days later after not feeling right.

Link to a San Francisco Comical article.