Thursday, July 1, 2010

The Bike is on its way!

Well, it is really getting close to time to go now!  The bike is packed and has been shipped.

A lot of people have asked how I am getting my bike to Washington.  I have borrowed a very large tandem/long wheel base recumbent bike case.  The case is huge.  It is wider than David's car.

Here is a pic:


I borrowed the case from Slo Joe Recumbo.  He let me use it for my trip to Arizona, too.  Thanks Joe!

Anyway, David and I took it apart and packed it.  David really helped me as there was no way I would have gotten all 4 wheels in the case.  For those of you that don't know, I have to take an extra set of wheels and a cajillion tires and tubes since my wheels are smaller than the average upright bike's wheels.  Here is a pic of the bike packed:



Interesting, but you can't see the actual bike! It is on the lower portion of the case.  I have both back wheels in wheel cases and the front wheels bubble wrapped.  In the upper left corner you can see my seat on its side.  The bike is "wrapped" in spongy pipe insulation stuff and then bubble wrapped.

I loaded the case in the car to take to Jim's for UPS to pick up:

 

Here the case is in the back of the truck!

I am actually using a company called Luggage express.   They contract with UPS or Fed Ex to ship the bike case.  I am paying about $7 more than had I contracted with UPS directly.  The main reason I like luggage express though is that they guarantee the delivery by my targeted date and they charge for a bike case regardless of weight.  Assuming my case is over 50 lbs, I would have to pay more to UPS.  So, most likely, I am getting a much better deal using this company.

1 comment:

Bill Mendenhall said...

You're bound to be excited! It's going to be a great trip Michelle.

-Bill