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Retirement, Travel and Cycling?

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Fifty Plus (50+) Share the victories, challenges, successes and special concerns of bicyclists 50 and older. Especially useful for those entering or reentering bicycling.

Retirement, Travel and Cycling?

Old 10-24-22, 04:03 PM
  #26  
Doubleplay
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Originally Posted by Thalia949
Ritchey Break Away. Standard size frame, manageable suitcase packing.

I've had over 200 flights with mine, 3 continents, many countries. I take it on 3 day trips and longer. I've never paid a fee to check it.

The case, fully packed with clothes, shoes and bike is aways below 50 lbs.
There's a lot of misinformation on this thread.
Break away or not if your bicycle case weighs less than 50 lbs and is included in your baggage allowance depending on your destination, status and class you don't pay a dime for it as sports equipment with most airlines.
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Old 10-25-22, 10:48 AM
  #27  
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Originally Posted by Doubleplay
There's a lot of misinformation on this thread.
Break away or not if your bicycle case weighs less than 50 lbs and is included in your baggage allowance depending on your destination, status and class you don't pay a dime for it as sports equipment with most airlines.
Delta, for example, has a size limit. Over 115 total inches and it will not be accepted.

https://www.delta.com/us/en/baggage/...ting-equipment
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Old 10-25-22, 10:52 AM
  #28  
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Most if not all the bike boxes in the market is less than 115 inches total.
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Old 10-25-22, 10:57 AM
  #29  
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Originally Posted by Doubleplay
There's a lot of misinformation on this thread.
Break away or not if your bicycle case weighs less than 50 lbs and is included in your baggage allowance depending on your destination, status and class you don't pay a dime for it as sports equipment with most airlines.
There are still many major airlines that charge extra fees for bicycles. See here: https://www.airline-baggage-fees.air.../sports/bikes/
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Old 10-25-22, 11:05 AM
  #30  
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Originally Posted by davester
There are still many major airlines that charge extra fees for bicycles. See here: https://www.airline-baggage-fees.air.../sports/bikes/
This list is more than 10 years old and not current. It has Continental Airlines and US Airways listed on it, lol!

Also I said MOST not all and it depends your fare class and baggage allowance.
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Old 10-25-22, 11:35 AM
  #31  
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Originally Posted by Doubleplay
Most if not all the bike boxes in the market is less than 115 inches total.
But still handy information to have. There was a thread in the Touring forum a while back about someone hoping to use an Amtrak bike box to fly a bike in.
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Old 10-25-22, 01:46 PM
  #32  
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Anybody ever just wrap their bike in plastic and hand it to the checkin girl?

A Euro dude I know does that. Says they are more careful and nothing breaks (he removes derailleurs and pedals and turns bars)
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Old 10-26-22, 09:38 AM
  #33  
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Originally Posted by Doubleplay
This list is more than 10 years old and not current. It has Continental Airlines and US Airways listed on it, lol!

Also I said MOST not all and it depends your fare class and baggage allowance.
I don't think you're correct. There are several changes on the list that postdate flights I have taken in the past few years and also reflect recent policy changes (i.e. United Airlines 2021 policy change) so it has definitely been updated in the last couple of years. I don't know why they keep defunct airlines on there though.
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Old 10-26-22, 10:46 AM
  #34  
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I'm late to this thread, but saw several mentions of travel to southern Utah and Arizona. If you ever go to this area bring your mountain bike. While there are some very pretty road segments in that area the mountain biking is absolutely outstanding. Since retirement I've traveled to St. George, Moab and other areas in that region several times with my MTB and loved it every time. Fun if you're hard core or even a slow timid old fart like me.



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Old 10-27-22, 07:31 AM
  #35  
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I have found flying with my bike in the US pretty trouble free for the most part and I have flow to a number of long tours in the lower 48 as well as some MTB destinations. These days a number of airlines no longer charge oversize or other bike fees for bicycles so it is just another bag. Also it is possible to ship a bike ahead using shipbikes.com or bikeflights.com. They are pretty reasonable and you can ship to a hotel, bike shop, warmshowers host, friend, or family member.

Personally if I am doing much riding I am likely to want my full size bike rather than the folder. I can imagine times when I might chose the folder, but one of the full size bikes is a more likely choice the majority of the time.

If I were going somewhere overseas for a very lengthy stay I might look into just buying a bike there. Also I'd check if there were ride share or other solutions there if I just wanted a bike to get around the city.
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Old 10-27-22, 07:34 AM
  #36  
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Originally Posted by wayold
I'm late to this thread, but saw several mentions of travel to southern Utah and Arizona. If you ever go to this area bring your mountain bike. While there are some very pretty road segments in that area the mountain biking is absolutely outstanding. Since retirement I've traveled to St. George, Moab and other areas in that region several times with my MTB and loved it every time. Fun if you're hard core or even a slow timid old fart like me.
Yeah, I spent some time there with my MTB and it was great. I did some hiking too in places where the bike wasn't allowed. That was nice too. I hope to get back in the next few years.
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Old 10-29-22, 05:52 AM
  #37  
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Originally Posted by 10 Wheels
Take your bike.
Agree - especially if you plan on long distance rides.
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Old 10-31-22, 12:17 AM
  #38  
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If you're going on a longer trip, then a regular, full-sized bicycle is preferred. Bike rentals may fit the bill, but not always. Riding your known, tried-and-trusty steed is usually the best way to go. Folding bikes are really intended for the frequent "ride on a bus, hop off" type of usage. Quick mixed-transportation commutes, or bringing on private aviation. Long-distance, loaded touring isn't that well suited to most true folding bikes.

I took a two week France trip in May. The only mechanical issues we had were on the.... you guessed it... RENTAL BIKES! One nice Ultegra carbon road bike had a stripped through axle. The rear wheel would NOT properly tighten. How you strip a through axle eludes me, but someone did. Worse, the rental outfit sent it out like that! For shame! Bicycle Adventure Club has had similar experiences with rental bikes abroad and they prohibit their use as a result.

A Ritchey Breakaway or other bicycle equipped with S&S couplers allow you to fit your regular bicycle into a standard-size suitcase approved for airline travel. No extra size penalties, no extra cost. Just come in below the 25 kg weight limit and you're (almost always) good and won't be charged. Go with a hard case and your bike is indestructible (obviously within limits!).

However, put an AirTag in your bike luggage! (Despite what Lufthansa is trying to pull!) I realized AirTags would be a REALLY good idea for our two tandem suitcases. Sure enough, we arrive at our destination and only ONE suitcase arrived. OH NO!!!! (I think getting HALF a bike is worse than no bike at all!) I check on our AirTag and sure enough our suitcase is at baggage claim at our LAYOVER airport!

Luckily the airline got us our other half just in time for our trip and disaster was avoided.

That said, break down and reassembly of a packed bike with S&S couplers is an ordeal. 2-3 hours, more if you've been indulging in good French wine or German/Belgian beer!!!! So if you're going for a long ride or tour, this works. For frequent travel, it's not ideal.
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Old 10-31-22, 12:27 AM
  #39  
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Ya'll just HAD to post Utah pics!

Originally Posted by wayold
I'm late to this thread, but saw several mentions of travel to southern Utah and Arizona. If you ever go to this area bring your mountain bike. While there are some very pretty road segments in that area the mountain biking is absolutely outstanding. Since retirement I've traveled to St. George, Moab and other areas in that region several times with my MTB and loved it every time. Fun if you're hard core or even a slow timid old fart like me.


At first, I thought this was a White Rim pic. Don't think so though. PURE BEAUTY! Oh I wish I were heading to Moab this fall. It's been too long already. Can't WAIT to get back out there. A friend is there now and I'm beyond jealous. But he's a returning local and is totally ho-hum about it. Like it's no big deal or something!

Can't wait to get back to ride the stuff I haven't been able to: Captain Ahab, Whole Enchilada, and a lot of other new stuff. We hit Moab almost every year from 1992 onward until we had kids. So we rode it rigid, and then on hard tails. Can't wait to get back out there to ride it on our current bikes. So much fun to be had!

But until then, can you PLEASE stop posting pictures of the incredible American desert southwest? It's not fair

PS If you're new to Moab and much of the desert southwest, bring the mountain bike. But also bring fitness and preparedness. It's no joke out there. Many fatalities have occurred on Moab's famous trails, so do your homework, be prepared, and don't over-do it. Even Moab's most famous trail, Slickrock, has injured scores and killed a few. It's the hardest riding many will have ever done, and it's deceptive. "Oh it's only a 10 mile loop, we'll do that in a few hours!" Joe Newbie says as he drags the wife and kids to Slickrock. I'm not trying be arrogant or elitist here. A 13 year old died within sight of the Slickrock parking lot way back when. Dad and his son ventured forth, ran out of water, became severely dehydrated despite receiving water from other riders. When they saw the parking lot, Dad stayed on the trail, his son bee-lined it. Dad made it back, but his son didn't. Succumbed to deyhdration and the heat. So please be prepared!
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Old 10-31-22, 06:24 AM
  #40  
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Originally Posted by LV2TNDM
At first, I thought this was a White Rim pic. Don't think so though. PURE BEAUTY! Oh I wish I were heading to Moab this fall. It's been too long already. Can't WAIT to get back out there. A friend is there now and I'm beyond jealous. But he's a returning local and is totally ho-hum about it. Like it's no big deal or something!

Can't wait to get back to ride the stuff I haven't been able to: Captain Ahab, Whole Enchilada, and a lot of other new stuff. We hit Moab almost every year from 1992 onward until we had kids. So we rode it rigid, and then on hard tails. Can't wait to get back out there to ride it on our current bikes. So much fun to be had!

But until then, can you PLEASE stop posting pictures of the incredible American desert southwest? It's not fair

PS If you're new to Moab and much of the desert southwest, bring the mountain bike. But also bring fitness and preparedness. It's no joke out there. Many fatalities have occurred on Moab's famous trails, so do your homework, be prepared, and don't over-do it. Even Moab's most famous trail, Slickrock, has injured scores and killed a few. It's the hardest riding many will have ever done, and it's deceptive. "Oh it's only a 10 mile loop, we'll do that in a few hours!" Joe Newbie says as he drags the wife and kids to Slickrock. I'm not trying be arrogant or elitist here. A 13 year old died within sight of the Slickrock parking lot way back when. Dad and his son ventured forth, ran out of water, became severely dehydrated despite receiving water from other riders. When they saw the parking lot, Dad stayed on the trail, his son bee-lined it. Dad made it back, but his son didn't. Succumbed to deyhdration and the heat. So please be prepared!
Yeah, I had a close call there myself. I did a solo ride on a snowy day. I stayed a few days after the fat tire festival and there was a rare dusting of snow in town the first day or so of November. I decided to ride a loop I had ridden previously, but backwards this time. I figured I could go up Jackass Pass and come back down the way I came if the snow got deep. I continued too far and was on the top where I need the rock cairns to navigate. Snow got too deep to see the cairns and covered my back track. My water bottle froze and I was cold. I was really afraid I wouldn't find my way to either end. I decided to try for Sand Flats Rod. Fortunately I eventually made it to the stock tank that marked the spot where the road was. I rode down to town at break neck speed. It was at least 70F in town I apparently stayed right with or very close to Porcupine Rim Trail just by dead reconing. The scenery was beautiful, but not worth dying for.

I highly recommend that loop, but not alone in the snow. The normal direction is up Sand Flat Rd and down Jackass Pass. Jackass pass was a fairly demanding ride in good conditions. Just riding up to Porcupine Rim and back down would be less demanding and is beautiful. It has some of the best views of the area IMO.

Things are a bit better these days. We at least would have gps navigation so the nagigation part wouldn't have been a worry. Also with cell phones possibly a way to contact help even without a satelite based device. I was told that If you can see the La Salle mountains you have a good chance of having a cell signal so at the top on Porcupine Rim you might have one (I wasn't to the point where I would have called any way).

I blame the stupidity of youth for that "adventure", but I still do dumb stuff, just less of it.
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Old 10-31-22, 11:53 AM
  #41  
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Our close call was riding Back of Behind and it turning into an 8-hour excursion. Pre-Camelbaks, so water was an issue. We planned our ride to terminate at Kain Springs. Well, by the time we got to the hike-a-bike at the end, the wife was hallucinating and suffering heat exhaustion. That perennial spring saved our butts!

A friend of my sister's went many years ago. I said, "Let's hope they don't have to call SAR."
They had to call SAR! All worked out just fine; it was an issue of miscommunication. But still!

Yes, back in the day when "Above and Beyond Slickrock" was the bible and GPS was rare, maps and compasses were common, and the trails were barely there, lots of people got lost and/or rimmed out. My SAR friend should write a book. He was even on the famous Lionsback crash that was featured on one of the national "Wildest Videos" TV shows. One of his favorite jokes is, "Out of the gene pool and into the food chain!" Gallows humor and all that.
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Old 11-02-22, 04:04 PM
  #42  
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I rode the Slickrock loop this past May. I was in decent shape and had delusions of riding the whole length of the trail. One steep climb put the lie to that. I had the traction, maybe even the strength, but my technique was lacking. Getting out of the saddle to attack the climb, the grade was steep enough that I let my CG get in back of the rear axle. You know what happened next. Fortunately it was right at the bottom of the slope so I only cartwheeled about 10 feet down. Equally fortunately my bike landed next to, rather than on top of, me. I ended up walking that climb and several others that day.


PS. The pic in my previous post was at Dead Horse Point - a much easier trail than Slickrock and realistically probably better suited to my abilities.

Last edited by wayold; 11-02-22 at 04:14 PM. Reason: Nobody needs to see that picture
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Old 11-02-22, 05:27 PM
  #43  
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Shipping a bike overseas has become super expensive in the past few months. I considered, for my recent month long trip to Germany, but decided to buy a bike in Germany instead.
It's staying there, for future use. An advantage I have.
I traveled extensively, all over the US, with a racing bike in bike case, for over 15 yrs. Was a PITA, and I was much, much younger. I can;t imagine how much more complicated it's become - and it has become more complicated.
Cars in Europe - most rental cars, except for some of the very largest, would have a difficult time fitting one bike with some dismantling, much less two or more, and some amount of luggage. So an external bike rack might be needed... Folding bike might be a bit easier. On this recent trip I had a rental Audi Q2, and no way would a normal road bike fit well inside, without some serious effort to minimize damage to the car interior.
If you're traveling US by vehicle/van/land barge then prolly ok if you can secure on roof or internal. Bike thieves have become real pros.
If you're considering the US west coast, Arizona/New Mexico or Utah (Utah having more winter conditions), do consider some extended stay time on the Cal. Central Coast to San Francisco area (and a bit north of SFO). Winter riding is great out here! Many pro teams use our area for Winter training, camps. A huge variety of riding types, warm daytime temps with abbreviated periods of rain.
Where I am, the Carpinteria/Santa Barbara/Goleta valley is a gateway to riding here and all the way up to San Fran. We also have a large number of ride groups and rides for many levels of riding.
We do get quite a significant number of snowbirds who spend extended time here.
Culturally, there's always quite a bit happening here; so cycling is not the ONLY thing.
Ride On
Yuri
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Old 11-04-22, 08:52 AM
  #44  
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We have lived in NorCal and currently live in SoCal. NorCal has a fabulous cycling infrastructure and many areas of interesting and challenging terrain. I would rate it very high against the best cycling in Europe.

Internationally, we have cycled in Italy, France, Switzerland, Greece, Croatia, Tahiti, New Zealand, Mexico and Spain. We have traveled with our bikes including the tandem. Although, it is work to do packing and unpacking as well as transit of the bikes, it is worth it. We did a rental once in Tucson, AZ and it was okay but not great.

Next year, we are making our 4th trip to Mallorca, Spain and we will take our road bikes. Although, Mallorca has many rental bike options. Mallorca is ground zero for cycling and many UCI pro teams have training camps in Mallorca and there are numerous sportivs and other cycling opportunities there. We rent a car large enough to carry luggage and two bike boxes and then use the car to take our bikes to various parts of Mallorca for rides.

We have done two training camps in Tucson, Arizona. Tucson has Mount Lemon which is one of the more challenging climbs featuring 26 miles of climbing. I did it once on a rental bike and another on my road bike. I prefer my own bike. I have zero experience with folding bikes. I find it hard to imagine tackling the terrain around and including Mount Lemon on a folder. But, if one has the juice in the legs, probably not a problem.

The other aspect of Tucson was so so road surface quality and wind. Fast legs and time in the saddle make any riding condition possible and enjoyable.

We have found the road surface conditions are important to have a great time cycling in an area. Tuscany had great roads and picturesque scenery but hard cycling. New Zealand had hard cycling and rougher roads. Greece and Croatia had hard cycling and spotty road surfaces and crazy traffic.

So when one selects a bike to ride for a period of time in a new area, it is good to know the terrain and match the equipment and ones fitness and skill to where one is going to cycle.
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Old 11-04-22, 10:04 AM
  #45  
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We're having a Mercedes Sprinter van being built out and will get it in the next month or two. We live in northern New Mexico and plan to travel all over the western US and Canada. We will take our bikes and I plan to ride in a lot of organized gravel rides - and my wife plans to stay at camp with our wonderful dog. We've been a number of places over the years in our truck and travel trailer and are looking forward to spending a lot more time on the road.
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Old 11-05-22, 08:08 AM
  #46  
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I traveled with my bike on an airplane just once and the problem I found is that the bike carrier is just too big to fit in any vehicle that isn't a van, which in some places will be a severe limit. Instead, I look ahead on the net to find shops that will rent a bike of my desired type. I went to San Francisco and rented a Specialized Roubaix for doing longish rides, but when I was in Scandinavia I rented whatever the locals ride. In Balestrand, Norway I was able to rent a decent hybrid to ride the fjords and it was beautiful. In Copenhagen the family was all on typical street bikes. In Maui, when I was planning on riding up Haleakala, I rented a Fuji carbon bike. I can take a bike free on flights as I have airline privileges but I choose to rent. It is just much easier logistics. If all you are looking to do is ride around a city, anything will do really. When traveling by car though I would just throw my own bike in the back, at least until I got rid of the minivan. Now with a Tesla it is a little harder but still possible, but then there is no room for anything else so it only works for local trips.
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Old 11-06-22, 08:11 AM
  #47  
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Originally Posted by wayold
I rode the Slickrock loop this past May. I was in decent shape and had delusions of riding the whole length of the trail. One steep climb put the lie to that. I had the traction, maybe even the strength, but my technique was lacking. Getting out of the saddle to attack the climb, the grade was steep enough that I let my CG get in back of the rear axle. You know what happened next. Fortunately it was right at the bottom of the slope so I only cartwheeled about 10 feet down. Equally fortunately my bike landed next to, rather than on top of, me. I ended up walking that climb and several others that day.
Yeah, I didn't manage it all even when I was young and fit. Now in my early 70's there is no chance I'd make a lot of the steepest stuff. I still want to get back there. There is so much to see and ride and I am not to proud to waik around the worst stuff or pick easier trails where that isn't possible.
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Old 11-13-22, 02:43 PM
  #48  
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Originally Posted by GordonP
I have a question for retirees who travel to warm weather destinations. Do you rent a bike or travel with your own? I am thinking of buying a folding bike to take with me when I travel overseas. Also where are some of your favourite destinations and experiences?
I don't know if the OP is still around, but I can give my experience. I bought a Bike Friday NWT folder in 2000, and a newer, somewhat lighter Bike Friday NWT in 2018. I've flown with a BF in a suitcase a few dozen times and never had any damage or issues with airport security in any country. Places I've toured in during the North American winter which I thought were especially good bike touring destinations include northern Thailand & northern Laos, the lake & volcano region of south-central Chile & Argentina, Sri Lanka, Hawaii, parts of Australia (esp. Tasmania), New Zealand, and the Yucatan of Mexico. I've always been able to find a guest house or hotel to store my bike suitcase, usually for free.
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