Flying with a Bike

I went out to Colorado Springs last week to spend a cycling phantasmagoria long weekend with my brother Craig. Having never flown with the bike before, I needed to figure out how to handle that.

The BIKND Helium bike case.
Product review: real good possibly excellent,
but with a price.

So I got this kick-ass BIKND Helium bike case for flying with your bike. Great little item (okay, not so little). Easy to follow instructions on how to break down the bike, pack it and protect it. The thing actually has sides that inflate to protect the bike.

I did a little research, but ultimately, I just did what Nate told me to, and Nate said "get this". As usual, that worked out real well for me.

The whole adventure worked out pretty well despite the extra set of wheels (somehow, I picked up a great set of used Zipp 404's while I was in Colorado Springs, which is a major outdoor sports mecca) I had coming back putting the case over the 50lb limit - I just took my toolkit out of the bike case and repacked it into my - uh, sir, sir, may I have that bag back? the one that's on the conveyor belt

 - yes, the blue one - the one that just went through that little door - what? what? nothing you can do? Harrumph, okay, I guess I can carry that in my carry-on luggage....


Except of course the TSA busted me for having "tools" in excess of seven inches long. "Sir, can you step this way, sir. Stand on that side of the table and please do not reach across. I need to inspect your luggage...". I had to go back to the main terminal at DIA where there is a full fledged post office and mail three screwdrivers (which I didn't use!) and the pedal wrench back to myself in CT - then go through security again. and get scanned again. and get sidelined for an up-close and personal piece-by-piece inspection - again.


Anyway, pain in the ass but I had plenty of time so no real harm done except I could have spent that 40 minutes doing something slightly more entertaining I am certain.

They coulda just said "and we took your
CO2 cartridges, sucker!"

Got home - noticed something oddly different about the case from when I had closed it up. As I opened the it, a special little note from the TSA fell out letting me know (in Spanish on one side and English on the other) that they had opened the case for inspection. *&^$ers.


It's a miracle they were able to close it again and get the wheels overlapped with the base of the case the way they are supposed to sit. No harm done - nothing broken - just screwed around an awful lot by brain-dead Frontier check-in people and the TSA.

The next day, while reassembling the bike and getting ready for a ride, I opened the saddle bag and discovered my CO2 cartridges were gone. A$$#oles.

Maddening because, as Nate at my LBS pointed out later that day, at DIA they always open bike boxes and take the CO2 carts, even though on the aircraft, underneath every seat, your inflatable flotation vest has an identical CO2 cart in it. If they were really dangerous, don't ya think...? but I guess all those guys need something to do. They didn't nick my CO2 at Laguardia on my way out there!


Lessons learned: when traveling with bike, (1) never carry more tools than you absolutely need (2) never carry tools in carry-on (duh!), especially not anything over 7 inches, and (3) never let the guys take any of your luggage away until you've determined you are under the max weight limit on all your luggage.

A little tactical repacking right at the ticket counter can set things right.