Antbrewer wrote:As I said in my original post I intend to leave the plastic bag and frame insulation and tape etc in the left luggage at Salzburg airport.
If you are doing that I wonder if it would be possible to beef up your packaging and really go to town on protecting your bike (obviously with soft packaging due to the left luggage locker)?
Another idea I had is if you had say an AirBnB booked for the first night and they picked up the packaging (or you carried it) and then left it until return. I think other people have reported doing that.
When the pestilence strikes from the East, go far and breathe the cold air deeply. Ignore the sage, stay not indoors. Ho Ri Zon 12th Century Chinese philosopher
Hi Horizon, This trip isn't until Sept so I have plenty of time for plans and adjustments. I already have thought that as I will be arriving in Salzburg about 21.00 hrs I will probably prebook a small hotel or Zimmer frei on that first night and could possibly end the trip in the same place then I could leave a small bag there without incurring a charge. Loads of options to dwell on. However my wife and I are off to Switzerland walking around Wengen next week and then we have a week cycling in August near Stamford before my Austrian sojourn so I have time to fine tune my plans. All good fun though.
I'm now having exactly the same debate with myself about my next trip from Bristol airport. Do I get him indoors to give me a lift to the station and then stay at a hotel overnight and taxi in the morning to the airport so I can be dropped at the door.
Or do I drive up, stay in a hotel (that bit is unavoidable as it's a 7:30 flight) and leave the car in the airport parking. In which case how does the bike get from the car into the airport. I don't think the bus driver will give a monkeys but bagged bikes are not very moveable and I think that there are no baggage trolleys at the silver parking drop off.....so I have the two bags one person problem.
Or cycle from the parking drop off to the airport and disassemble in departures (where there isn't much spare space).
Hmmm. The train is cheaper but it's not a whole lot of difference, so it's more a what the most practical choice is. Unfortunately the meet and greet is really pricey and I couldn't see a park fly sleep option.
Not sure about Bristol, but given your timings, etc, I would sleep at the airport. Then you have all your luggage with you and can check in as soon as it opens.
If you have camping gear, you can utilise, but I don't so its a bit of bubble wrap to sleep on and a blanket from the charity shop. Once I bought an old quilted sleeping bag for a quid - a real luxury night that one. Dump the gear before checking in.
Just wondering if anybody has any advice for travel by air with a bike when on your own. I've always managed to get dropped at Heathrow by a friend, so easy. Next flight is from Gatwick and I'll have to drive myself and park, this means getting my bike and bag on the transfer bus, a bit tricky if its busy. Just wondering if any body has any suggestions that would help. The bike will be boxed in a halfords box.
Cheers all.
If it's in a box it's really just a large piece of luggage, so in theory shouldn't be a problem. If it's a cardboard box I use the Arno straps that I'm going to use on tour to drag it with, and a flattened plastic 2l drinks bottle gaffer taped to the corner that will be dragged along the ground!
Return i often cycle to the airport with a box from a local bike shop (Google translate and emails ahead of time), carried rolled up with a strap and box the bike up at the airport with a couple of rolls of gaffer tape. Takes me a good couple of hours but it's often less stressful than negotiating public transport with a boxed up bike, unless you don't mind paying for a taxi.
simonhill wrote:Not sure about Bristol, but given your timings, etc, I would sleep at the airport. Then you have all your luggage with you and can check in as soon as it opens.
If you have camping gear, you can utilise, but I don't so its a bit of bubble wrap to sleep on and a blanket from the charity shop. Once I bought an old quilted sleeping bag for a quid - a real luxury night that one. Dump the gear before checking in.
Just a thought..............
Well, this proves I'm middle aged. I used to think sleeping in airports was ok. I still think it's ok as long as it's not me doing it. It reminds me of the kids sleepovers-the key feature is that no one gets any sleep.
I have reflected and utilised my 25% off to get the meet and greet parking and downgraded my overnight plans to cheap as possible to make the overall cost work. It does remind me though that the price of flying early (and getting a full day's activities in once you arrive at designation) is quite a chunk of cash on the night before etc.
For anyone flying from Birmingham, park at the off site 'airparks' , Mackadown Lane. They will transport you and your bike (in a box) on their bus. I enquired before travelling 2 years ago and have since used them twice. Simple and no problem. Regular bus service. There is a space on the bus for pushchairs and large items (bike boxes), but if this is taken just wait for the next one.. 15 mins usually. I carry some items of clothing in a rucksack and everything else in the box. My box has wheels. Worth the investment for a decent box. If you only use it once sell it on. There is a good market for used bike boxes.
Re the Easyjet ' standby' earlier in this thread. Cant be true as they are taking booking for bike on line and charging, unlike FLYBE where you cant book in advance.
My trip is nearly upon me now. Next week in fact I am off to Salzburg from Gatwick.
I will be using the ''Help me park Meet and Greet service '' which admittedly costs that extra bit more but it means I can drive directly to the drop off point outside the terminal and take the plastic wrapped bike directly from the car and the car will be whisked away by a nice man I've been assured and returned to the same place on my return two weeks later. I hope the check in will go as planned and as BA have said with no nasty little surprises? I am also stopping over night with a friend the day before who lives 30 mins from the airport and this allows me to stop worrying about sitting in a 4 hour traffic jam on the M25 watching the Salzburg plane fly away without me.
All very exciting even for a 70 yr old man. The last time I cycled this area of Austria was in 1959 with my father, sister and my late twin brother. I was 11 yrs old. Then we cycled over the Grossglockner so you can imagine the holiday stories we had to tell on the first day at our new school.
Nothing like a bit of nostalgia? Tinged with a touch of sadness at times as well. Anthony
Antbrewer wrote:My trip is nearly upon me now. Next week in fact I am off to Salzburg from Gatwick.
I will be using the ''Help me park Meet and Greet service '' which admittedly costs that extra bit more but it means I can drive directly to the drop off point outside the terminal and take the plastic wrapped bike directly from the car and the car will be whisked away by a nice man I've been assured and returned to the same place on my return two weeks later. I hope the check in will go as planned and as BA have said with no nasty little surprises? I am also stopping over night with a friend the day before who lives 30 mins from the airport and this allows me to stop worrying about sitting in a 4 hour traffic jam on the M25 watching the Salzburg plane fly away without me.
All very exciting even for a 70 yr old man. The last time I cycled this area of Austria was in 1959 with my father, sister and my late twin brother. I was 11 yrs old. Then we cycled over the Grossglockner so you can imagine the holiday stories we had to tell on the first day at our new school.
Nothing like a bit of nostalgia? Tinged with a touch of sadness at times as well. Anthony
Have a fab trip Anthony. I overdid it on the first day cycling from the airport so pace yourself. Meet and greet went well, see if you need coins for the baggage trolley. It’s just possible to balance a bike and bag on one. Expect to have to take the bike to oversized once your bag is checked in (this is based on my experience at Bristol last week) and the baggage guy will probably want to open up the bag/box to swab it. You can’t take the parcel wrap tape or whatever you use to seal the package on the plane so ditch it once the oversized baggage guy has accepted the bike and you’ve resealed the bike.
Thanks for all the replies, things at home took over and so the chance to whizz off for a couple of weeks was lost. It does seem I'm not the only who has the hassle of juggling things at the airport.
Not to worry, off to SEA in the New Year for a month and I'll get dropped at Heathrow by my mate,so no issue's there.
Hi to MrsHJ and others who wished me well on my very recent trip to Salzburg and Austria.
I returned on the 4th Oct and all went well. I have posted a note on another thread about the bike at Gatwick so I won't repeat myself. Suffice to say that my trip was a success albeit incredibly hard at times. The Salzgkammergut route officially is graded by the Austrian Tourist people as 'Intermediate'. God knows what 'Hard ' must be like as I found this really tough in places. This probably says more about my fitness than the route though. Accommodation was also difficult at times as there are fewer 'Zimmer frei houses available now . So Gasthauses and small hotels was often called on.
My ridgeback bike was good though I was surprised at the number of E bikes I saw. As we all know so many people cycle on the continent but I would guess that 70 to 80% of tourists I saw were using E bikes. 'And why not?'' They certainly had the edge on me.
My next trip abroad will probably be with my wife on a rive path route . We have done the Danube and the River Inn so perhaps the Rhine or the Moselle next? A somewhat knackered Anthony
