jur

Yep that sounds like the liner is guilty.

Clownbike

I second that on Black Dog. https://www.blackdogbicycles.com/bird...ravelbike.html. Run by a real nice fellow. NYCEwheels no longer supports the Birdy, and I too had a rather rude experience when calling about accessories. Funny thing is, the Silver that I got off a guy on the NY Craigslist originated from them.

There's also a new outfit in Frisco that has plans on providing full support. https://www.warmplanetbikes.com/retail.shtml.

Clownbike

Actually, the amazing part of the OP's story is that she's doing a reverse commute. That means bucking the afternoon onshore on the ride home, which must be a treat on the Dunbarton. A buddy Freemont used to do it a couple times a week when he worked in Redwood City. Even with the tail wind it kicked his butt.

msincredible

Yeah the winds were tough coming home!

msincredible

Birdy adventures part 2:

So I have now tried taking the Birdy with me on a trip.

Here it is packed up in the suitcase. It took me a while to figure out how to get it there, but the second time was easier and I suspect it will continue to get better with practice.



Got to St. Louis after a missed connection in Denver. Actually my luggage fared better than me, and it was waiting for me.

The next morning I put it together (easier than packing it away). Again this improves with practice.

Bike parking in the hotel room


I rode over the Mississippi River on Eads Bridge to Illinois (not sure what my obsession with bridges is).


The good news was, not much traffic in East St. Louis. The bad news, well it did seem to be the "wrong side of the tracks". Lots of abandoned buildings and sketchy characters.

I rode for a while anyway, then eventually came back across the bridge.


I then rode a bit around downtown and by the stadium. There was a marathon and half-marathon going on at the same time.

msincredible

This morning I decided on a different direction.

First I started off riding through the park where the Arch is.

The bike in front of the Arch (I would have had to cross a busy street to get the entire Arch into frame, it is that big).


The Old Courthouse across the street.


Here we are in front of the north side of the Arch.


And leaving the park.


Caught sight of myself in a "Walk" button.


We then headed north through town.

Found an interesting sculpture.


But mostly found again some questionnable neighborhoods.

This "Biker's Paradise" was not really my idea of such.


Tomorrow I will try my luck out west and see what I find!

jur

Remarkable. There are cars but you seem to be the only person in that city. Utterly deserted.

markhr

7-8am maybe or even earlier judging by the light and lack of cars?

BlastRadius

The sign on the inside of the same kind of looks like it reads "If you do not know how to fly a plane do not remove anything"

ShinyBiker

Someone had to have taken the pix in front of the arch(?) That, or maybe a tripod with a delayed shutter release.

msincredible

Yep, you got it.

msincredible

it says "This is a folding bicycle. It only fits in the case one way. If you do not know how to fit it, please do not remove anything. Thank you."

I'm a little paranoid about TSA.

msincredible

Mini tripod on a park bench with a 10 second delay.

x136 

Wow, I hadn't noticed that. That is something. It's like a zombie movie sans the zombies.

10 seconds? That must've been quite a Sprint 'N' Pose™!

pm124

I have the exact bike (yellow) and suitcase (orange). Hopefully we are not ever on the same flight, b/c it would be a bummer for you to get a very heavily used substitute by accident. ;-) I also have packing instructions taped to the inside.

Anyway, one thing that will greatly expedite packing is to use MKS QR pedals. They come in clip on and regular versions, and can be interchanged. (I.e., you can put your regular pedals on whenever you want a night out on the town without biking shoes.)

With these, you don't need tools for assembly/disassembly. I do 2 bikes at once (my g.f. doesn't like to take it apart or put it together), so I've gotten quite fast. Over our last few legs of the trip, I packed/unpacked the bikes 16 times in all, mostly at airpoirts or train stations.

The downside to the pedals is that you have to be very careful to ensure that they are snapped all the way in. They come with little plastic locks that have to be used, or your pedal can un QR itself on a hard climb (ouch). When muddy, it's very difficult to tell that they are snapped in well. But it's been worth it overall.

kb5ql

Still beats Gary, Indiana.

jur

The empty places remind me of Myst and Riven.

oaklandcyclist

In my bike travel cases, I usually include a Powerpoint printout with numerous photos of how the pieces should be arranged, and a very polite note to TSA inspectors, along with a phone number where they can reach me if they need help with repacking it. TWICE, I've reopened my case at my destination with a handwritten scribble "THANK YOU" from the inspector(s).

redspoke

It's exactly like our hometown on a Saturday morning... Not a creature is stirring at the Capitol or Old Sac. Until you cruise down I street and you have the Scientology protestors and the line of visitors at the County Jail.

I see that bike and I sing the song to Charlie Brown's Thanksgiving... Little Birdy.

I've only been to St. Louis as a kid but one of my coworkers says the town is mostly rolling hills. Sounds like a good place to ride when it's not snowing or humid as heck. Is there a big cycling community there? Anyone?

oaklandcyclist

"Big" is a tall word to use relative to Cali and the Western states, but MO does have a growing week-long UCI 2.1 stage race that some d00d named "George" won last year. You'd imagine they got some peeps on wheels there.

msincredible

Oops, got behind on my posting.

Ha ha, actually it would be cool if we were on the same flight and could go for a ride together!

Thanks for the tip! I will check them out. I have been bringing the Park Tools pedal wrench with me and that works well.

Another great tip! I have been meaning to print out instructions / photos but haven't gotten a chance yet. I did stick in a business card with my phone number on there.

So, I got a bit luckier my third day in St. Louis:



(or so I thought until I went by this neighborhood)


Eventually I found my way to Forest Park. Scenery! Bike lanes! Bike paths! Little rollers!


Neat gate at the entrance to the zoo


A place to worship "moolah" at St. Louis University


The last day there, I spotted this fun-looking club


Made my way to Washington U.


This week, I'm in the Philly area. No pictures (I forgot to bring full-fingered gloves so my hands have been too cold to operate a camera), but I've been riding along the Schuylkill River Trail.

Packing and unpacking the bike keeps getting easier and easier with practice too!

pm124

Here is mine with the orange suitcase in Thailand.

pm124

When the conditions are right, Mae Hong Son has some of the best biking anywhere in the world.

https://www.pceo.org/S6300758.JPG

This is mostly thanks to the public works programs that built roads in areas where car ownership is low or non-existent. Believe it or not, the road in this picture is pristine cement with a yellow line down the middle. The leaves are dry...it hasn't been driven on in a long time, if at all. You might get surprised by an elephant, but not by a car.

https://www.pceo.org/S6300787.JPG

msincredible

Looks really nice! I've been to Thailand once but didn't get to bike there.

What did you have to do for the trailer conversion?

pm124

Howdy...it's just a regular Green Gear trailer (the kind used by Bike Friday) that I bolted on to my suitcase. You can sometimes get refurbished ones for about $100 on eBay. It fits into the suitcase fine, but adds an additional layer of finesse when packing. You do notice that you have something on your bike, especially when climbing. The other problem is that you have 2X the chance of getting a flat.

Thailand can be a touch too hot to ride, except in the mountains. So long as you stay clear of the burning season (when the air fills with thick smoke), it's paradise in Mae Hong Son. Also did a bit of riding down south in Chumphoon, which is equally dreamy and has the sea breeze to cool things down.