ridethecliche

So background (GO!):

I'm a college student and I applied for a grant to work for two months in Uganda this summer. I worked there last summer as well, so I know the whereabouts for the area I'm going to be living and working in. I have two bikes, an MTB and a Road bike and from my experience last year, the weather in that area of Uganda is perfect for biking.

I'd love to take one of my bikes with me (this is very tentative and depends a LOT on the costs, etc.), and I was wondering what I would have to buy and do in order to take a bike with me on a plane.

I don't know how to work on bikes, but I'm in the process of learning (I'm starting to hang out with someone who's in the Bike Co-op so I can start learning and helping out). In another case, I could probably buy a used road bike and work that up but I'm only going to be home for half a week to a week before I leave and that'll probably be all the time I'll have to fix it.

The Issue(s) at hand:

How to take a bike across continents, safely, effectively, and cost efficiently?
Which bike to take (MTB or Road). It can be pretty hilly there, and one of the main roads is a heck of an incline. Roads aren't all that great either.
Should I just buy a craigslist beater bike and use that, or just see what I can find there?
Thanks a lot!

Losligato

Check with the airline before booking on their bike policy. Many international airlines allow a bicycle as one of your pieces of checked luggage, others charge outrageous fees. You just need to put it in a box (bike shops are overloaded with boxes right now so it should be free) and take it with you to the airport.

We drove through Uganda not long ago and I seem to remember the roads were fairly good, just a bit bumpy from patching. A super sleek road bike might not be the best. You may want to bring along a Mt Bike for off road riding. Hook on a rack and some panniers and you can make long weekend trip to Jinja to kill yourself on those class 5+ rapids.

That said, you will probably be able to find a fairly decent beater in Kampala for a bit more than the price of a craigslist bike at home and you will not have to deal with the hassels of transporting the bike there (and you will not lose that extra piece of luggage to a bike.)

Happy travels

ridethecliche

Been there done that
I've done the rafting bit. I also went on a quad bike safari over there. It was an incredible experience.

I want to use the bike more for a commute than anything else. I'm thinking it'd probably be a better idea to bring the MTB. I'll call the airlines and check.

Thanks!