Bike Event Travel Tips

From someone whose brain is not wired for traveling

Bike racing is incredibly cool, and I am very lucky to get to do it, but sometimes, I wish I was a runner. Specifically, this thought pops up when I am traveling.

Bike races take me to spectacular locations, but that travel is taxing and not glamorous. Travel is costly, not envuironmentally friendly, stressful, filled with pitfalls, and a time suck.

Here are a few tips for getting to bike races as easily as possible.

1.) Become a Belgian CX racer and sleep in your own bed every night.

I kid, but sometimes, that seems attractive. Zero of the actual tips below are scientific. They’re just from experience.

Universal Tips

• Use packing cubes. There is nothing nicer than arriving with an organized suitcase. It also helps prevent you from forgetting stuff.

• Plan early. Map out how you are handling each part of the trip. If you’re flying, make sure you have transport to and from the airport lined up, including on the back end. If yoy’re driving, note down when you need to leave, and leave a lot of buffer room.

• Tell other people. Make sure to mark in your calendar when you’ll be unavailable and tell those who need to know. It never hurts to overcommunicate.

• Make a checklist. I use checklists like this one to prepare for trips. It helps me remember what to pack and the tasks I need to complete to be ready for my trip. It’s nothing fancy, but it provides great peace of mind for someone like me who gets very stressed.

• Bring spares for every proprietary part. I don’t care if you’re going to Girona or Miller, SD: assume shops won’t have what you need. This includes derailleur hangers, proprietary suspension parts, batteries, and anything else very unique to your bike.

• Research bike shops where you’re going. Related to the previous point, check to see what, if any, bike shops exist where you are going..

Tips for When You’re Driving

Pre-Travel

• Clean your car. I don’t mean vacuum it (I mean you can if you want). I just mean organize it. Start with as fresh a slate as possible.

• Leave your crucial items in the car from the last trip. I LITERALLY just contradicted myself. However, leaving the items you’re liable to forget in the car, if possible, is really, really nice. A bin with a few spare tires for each of your bikes, basic tools, cleaning supplies, sealant, chain lube/wax, spare cleats, a spare AXS battery, and a sderailleur hanger can go a long way to saving some major headaches when you arrive and have forgetten a key piece of your kit. If you have a spare set of shoes and a spare helmet, leave those as well.

• Pack everything you need. I prefer to drive to races. Generally, it’s cheaper, and it means I can bring everything I need. People might think I bring a lot, but having all of the tire options, tools, spare wheels and parts, clothes, and other equipment I need means I can go to the race ready for anything (almost anything).

• Ask friends who are flying what they need. Part of bringing everything you need is bringing what those who are flying also need. Anyone who has flown before knows how nice it can be to shed the load of tools and other spares when constricted by a weight limit in air travel. You bring what they need this time, and they’ll reciprocate the next time you’re flying and they’re driving.

• ARE YOU GOING TO THE RIGHT EMPORIA!?! This one’s for you,

  Joe Laverick
  . Remember that Emporia, VA, is home to the Emporia Bicycling Club’s Great Peanut Ride, NOT Unbound Gravel. Choose wisely.

• Bring Windex. I have to admit that I have probably killed 1,000,000 bugs in the course of driving to races. The front of my car shows this after a long ride. Windex is key.

Day of Travel

• Pack snacks. Optimum carbohydrate ingestion while driving is 100 grams per hour. No ,but really, you actually are working hard concentrating on driving, so you do need to bring food, and prepping meals and snacks for the drive is key.

• Don’t ride. I used to do unwise things like do intervals before 10-hour drives. Don’t do this. Even easy rides are taxing because of the mental stress involved in trying to fit them into a long day in the car. Your body can only handle so much stress in a day, and driving for a long time is enough.

• Make sure your bike is secure and not rubbing. I prefer racks like this one, but if you have a more traditional clamp and strap rack, put a rag between the clamp and the fork to prevent rubbing.

Post-Travel

• Get your errands done first. Get the food you need and any other errands done before you fully unpack. Also, Instacart is a great option if you have other stuff to catch up on.

Tips For When You’re Flying

Pre-Travel

• Pack your bike early. You never know when you’ll find a broken part on the bike or your bike case while packing.

• Use pipe insulation tubes to protect your bike.

• Use Bikeflights. I am no longer sponsored by them, but that does not change the fact that Bikeflights will save you a LOT of airport hassle. For many events, you can have your bike shipped to a local shop, and they’ll either hold it for you or build it. Make sure to get insurance for the value of your bike. You know what’s super nice after a race? Not lugging a bike case around the airport. As a bonus, it makes transport to/from the airport much cheaper and easier. If you choose this option, disregard the next ones in this section.

• If you have a Transmission bike, bring a UDH hanger. This is for if you have a case like the Evoc Pro that requires you to mount the bike on a stand. If your frame is too long, you won’t be able to keep the derailleur on, and once you take the derailleur off, you won’t be able to mount the bike on your frame. A UDH hanger solves this.

• Pack everything you need to rebuild and repack the bike. Never assume that where you are going will have what you need when you need it. Bring a mini pump, chain pliers, hex keys of all sizes, a torque wrench (this is a must-have, especially for those with carbon bikes), rotor locking tool, if you take your rotors off, and a shock pump.

• Put AirTags in your bike case and suitcase. Airline tracking is not always reliable.

• Pack a little bottle of hand sanitizer. Planes are not exactly clean, and your race is important.

• If you’re flying internationally, make sure your connection(s) are within the country (or region, in the case of the EU) where you are departing from. Why? Because one of the best ways to miss your connecting flight is to get stuck in a 2-hour customs line at JFK.

• If you can, get your nutrition products shipped to your destination. This will save a LOT of weight in your bag.

• CHECK FOR CO2s. No, really. Ask me how I know.

• Only pack your helmet in your checked bag if you have a hard shell suitcase. Helmets get broken easily.

Day of Travel

• Use an eye mask on the plane.

• If flying through DIA with United, pre-pay for your bags, then use the self-bag tag kiosk and GTFO fast before they weigh your bike. Whoops. I probably was not supposed to say that.

• Bring food. I pack snacks like nuts and rice cakes for shorter flights, and will sometimes even pack meals for longer ones.

• Check to make sure you’re getting the right bike case at the baggage claim. I’ve made this mistake before.

Post-Travel

• Build your bike ASAP. This will alleviate stress later and give you time to fix your bike if anything is broken.

• Get your errands done. Like when you’re driving, getting fully settled in as soon as possible will relieve a lot of stress.

I’m sure I’m forgetting something very important, so I might just keep adding to this (you’ll be able to view the updated version on Substack.) Fee