Gasoholics Anonymous

I recently took a trip to Chicago, and as discussed in recent blog posts I brought a bicycle with me on the airplane. On the trip I stayed in a hotel 2.3 miles from the event I was attending, and wanted a way to travel in-between without having to rent a car. While I could have walked between the hotels, that would have meant 1 1/2 hrs or more of walking each day. Since there wasn't convenient mass transit, what could I do? What I came up with was to bring a folding bicycle. The trek was not quite straightforward, I learned a lot, I would do it again, but this time with a different bicycle.

Unfortunately I was bicycle shopping at the last minute, which limited what I could get to what could be bought in a store.

I looked at the Breezer bicycle brands and went to a bicycle store hoping to look at one, but the store in question didn't stock their folding bicycle in the store. Further, Breezer doesn't have a bag for carrying the bicycle, and a bag seems to be required by the airlines. So, Breezer bicycles were out of the picture. In my research I'd read that boating stores, like West Marine, carry folding bicycles because boaters could well pull up to a marina and want to travel somewhere away from the marina. Indeed, West Marine does carry folding bikes, primarily the Dahon models. The store I went to had a Dahon bike out front, and for some reason I didn't like it. This store had in the back a Montague CX bicycle, which I ended up buying.

Montague has a great reputation and builds good quality full size folding bicycles. The CX has 26" wheels and in every way is a sturdy full size bicycle, which happens to weigh 30 pounds, and folds up, and they do have a bag.

I need to say a little about airline regulations... The baggage requirements stated by American Airlines discuss the maximum size and weight of the bags. You can check two bags and carry on one, the checked bags must be less than 62 inches circumference, and weigh less than 50 pounds. If your bags go beyond either you'll be charged a fee.

While the Montague CX weighs less than 50 pounds, being a full size bicycle it actually is oversized. Reason number 1 for using a different bicycle, the charge for an oversized bag is U.S. $80. Luckily I was charged this only on the outbound flight, on the return flight the bag check people weren't sure if the bag was oversize, and ended up not charging me. So I had $80 in fees rather than the $160 in fees I probably should have paid.

It's clear airline people are accustomed to bicycles being carried on the airplane. None of them batted an eyelash over it being a bicycle, so it must happen often enough. To me, though, it felt very strange and unusual to be carrying a bicycle on an airplane.

Reason number 2 for using a different bicycle: The Montague CX doesn't have a great folding mechanism. First, you have to remove the front wheel, second the hinging of the bicycle frame is a little less than convenient to fold, third getting the bicycle to fit into the bag requires minor and inconvenient surgery. To ride comfortably I chose to raise the handlebars all the way up, but to fit the bike in the bag the handlebars have to be lowered all the way. This meant carrying an Allen wrench with me to adjust the handlebars. Similarly the seat cannot be mounted on the bike and fit into the bag, so you have to remove the seat. I put it in the bag, hoping it wouldn't bounce around very much and cause any damage. Also the most convenient way to remove the seat is, with that Allen wrench.

Reason number 3 for using a different bicycle: Did I mention you have to remove the front wheel? On the outbound trip the axle on the front wheel got bent, making it really hard to reinstall on the bike. Being in a hotel room I didn't have my toolbox handy, and I ended up using a cooking pot as a hammer. On the return trip the fork arrived home a little less wide than when it left, and the wheel isn't fitting back into the fork. I'm working on spreading the fork so the wheel fits. Obviously airlines are hard on bicycles whose front wheel is not mounted to the bicycle frame.

All that aside, what was it like? In a word: Awesome!

I'm so accustomed on trips being a kind of prisoner. Either I have to rent a car, or I'm figuring out an unfamiliar mass transit system, or I'm stuck traveling to places within walking distance. Having a bicycle made for a feeling of freedom in that I could roam a much wider radius than if I were just walking. Further the lack of effective mass transit in this Chicago suburb didn't cause the problem it otherwise would have been.

I want to do more instances of bringing a bicycle on trips. But as I said, the bicycle in question will not be a Montague CX. At the moment I'm bidding on a Downtube folder on eBay, so wish me luck.