Where Is His Bike?

Last week, I wrote of a cyclist's nightmare:  a bike falling off a car carrier.  Worse yet, when Dara Gannon turned around to pick up her bike, it was gone.

Another incidence of compound misery befell Nicolas Roche*, the retired Team Sky and BMC rider.  He was on his way home to Monaco from London when his Easy Jet flight was cancelled.  His checked bags--which included his custom-made bicycle--went through, however.

Needing to get home for a work appointment, he took another flight to Nice.  When he arrived, he saw his front door--but not his bags.

Nicolas Roche's custom bike. Photo courtesy of Fifty-One.

The bike, like other custom bikes, is built to his physique and riding style.  But its design also includes graphics including his Irish road race championships, Olympic participation and Vuelta a Espana stage victories, which means it can't be mistaken for any other. 

Still, eleven days later, no airline or airport employee seems to have any idea of where his bike might be.  Worse, EasyJet told him that because he flew to Nice, it is now the responsibility of that city's airport to locate the bike, despite all evidence indicating that his machine is--assuming it hasn't been "found"--still in Gatwick Airport. 

Roche explained that because he was trying to travel lighter than he normally does, he used different bags for his bike, kit and other items from what he'd used previously. So, in his haste, he didn't put any tracking tags on those bags, as he has done with his other bags. 

Unfortunately, Roche's ordeal is hardly unique.  With the return of mass air travel, understaffed airlines and airports are cancelling and re-routing flights.  That has resulted in record amounts of lost luggage--including the bikes of a Canadian pro rider on his way to the Tour de France.  

*--Nicolas Roche is indeed the son of Stephen Roche, the 1980s Tour de France and Giro d'Itaila winner.

They're Uniting With The Other Airlines

 What do World Airways, Tower Air, Air India, Pakistan International Airlines, Delta, Air France and KLM have in common?

Well, they have (or had, in the case of World and Tower) many of the same destinations.  Oh, and I've flown them all.

World and Tower no longer exist.  Delta, Air France and KLM have become part of the SkyTeam group, but they were separate entities when I flew them.  And, although I've taken Air India and Pakistan International, I've never been to either of those countries.  I flew them because, until nonstops were available, flights from the US to India or Pakistan stopped in Europe.  With the demise of World and Tower (and other low-cost airlines like Laker), that became the cheapest way to get to Paris.

All of those airlines, though, had this going for them:  They didn't charge extra to fly your bicycle--if it was in a box or bag that didn't exceed their size regulations (Bike boxes from shops fit the bill!), and as long as you didn't exceed the allowed weight.  The boxed or bagged bike counted as one of your pieces of checked luggage--of which, as I recall correctly, you were allowed two, weighing a total of 32 kilos (about 70 pounds)--in coach/economy class, no less.  Since I travelled (and still try to travel light), I never came close to the weight limit.

All of that, of course, was before 9/11.  Then airlines used "security measures" as an excuse, not only to increase fares, but to slap all manner of surcharges on to the final tab.  Bikes were considered "oversized" or "security risks," were charged as much as $200--each way, in addition to "oversize" or "excess weight" fees.  Some airlines didn't allow bikes at all.

Now, thankfully, things are starting, however slowly, to return to what they were two decades ago. United Airlines has just announced that it's ending its $200 surcharge for bikes--something competitors Delta and American did recently.  Perhaps more important, the oversized-bag fees are also being waived for bicycles.  But whatever you check in still has to fall within the airline's weight limits:  23 kg (about 50 pounds) for economy class, and 32 kilos for business or first class.

Better still, United doesn't have some draconian mandate regarding how the bike is packed.  The airline even says that boxes of "durable cardboard" are permitted as long as they have "plastic foam or similar protective material" inside them.  Perhaps best of all, United doesn't seem to be excusing ham-fisted or crooked baggage handlers, saying only that the company isn't liable for "checked bicycles that are not packed as described."  

While United is making it easier for us to travel with our bicycles, it still doesn't allow e-bikes of any size or weight on its aircraft.  I suspect this prohibition has something to do with fire hazards.