CR's 'on the road and Take-apart bikes(was:Re: [CR]Airline Worries

(Example: History:Norris Lockley)

From: <ABikie@aol.com>
Date: Sun, 21 Dec 2003 18:44:13 EST
Subject: CR's 'on the road and Take-apart bikes(was:Re: [CR]Airline Worries
To: scapin-dmk@att.net, jtperry@worldnet.att.net
cc: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
cc: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org

In a message dated 12/21/2003 2:12:41 PM Eastern Standard Time, scapin-dmk@att.net writes: Another option which would allow one easy access by plane is the use of couplers on the TT and DT and/or the new style Richey frame that allows for a very small package...a very nice package indeed.

-- Don Keenan

Whoa, are we getting OT? Let's just keep our voices down and we should be OK. We'll clean up the room before the folk get home.

I'll start out, though, with CR talk. You could convett any classic frame of steel that you already own to a package the size of the wheel and 10" high with S&S couplers. You could also get a turnkey fully bvuilt machine with the appropriate back-pack case from Ritchey or a shop (I will not plug mine directly, but we've sold a couple of these already) and actually support a shop you know and love.

There are also several classic old travel bikes from makers like Moulton tnat got quite racy. Bike Friday started after the CR cutoff but many aficinados of the classics use the BF for their travel ride.

But remember, our brother/sisterhood is worldwide and the network we've established could have as much of a benefit for traveling CR;'s as the 'warmshowers' list has for groups like the CTC and LAW.

A historical vehicle organization to which I've belonged for 30 years has an 'aid' list that helps fellow travelers out of binmds and the Family Motor Coach Association had a 4-tiered structure of aid, from the simple offering to direct a traveler to something to space for a vehicle, to space with an electrical outlet, to a room in a wheel-less home away from home.

With hundreds of members nationwide, there could be several ways we can help beat the high cost and especially high hassle factor of taking a bike inside an airship - especially with actions like today's promotion of alert levels to orange.

I've traveled as a rally mechanic to many countries with some of the most challenging cargo imaginable- tandems. From tightly-packed tandems in 26x26x10 cases to 6-foot BikePro tandem bags to triple-sized 8-foot plywood crates, we've had every challenge imaginable. The world's leading authority on smoothness and the guy with the greatest success rate of talking around the fees and regulations is Santana's president, Bill McCready.

Before each trip, he published an updated guideline dialogue and planning bulletin for the participants.

In 32 years of travel, I've pain just once to take a bike in a plane- and that was a recumbent tandem I hend delivered to Heathrow for a customer and a holiday for myself. It was packed in two Serfas travel cases.

The record was two tandems in one bag to Santa Barbara in 1993, with the 4 wheels in padded 'Disc-Jockey'bahs that each of my kids took as luggage. We did some creative dis-assembly for the '76 Montreal Games and fit two road bikes with wheels in a single Kucharik softbag.

In modern times, I've been using a BF or borrowing, it's just not worth my time to schlep a full size bike around because I'm just not particular about what I ride. My recent trip to SF lasty month yielded a JoeBreeze (an on-topic guy, btw) borrowed from his office in Sausalito that was a 7-speed commuter with a built in mudguards, light and rack and I raced that unit around downtown SF for a week.

When I traveled to Morgan Hill for a Specialized meeting a few years ago, I wanted a track bike and knew they would not have any, and there was no CR, and time was short. It was a 28 hour trip total but a rare chance to add another track to my list.

I removed the bar/stem and right crank and de-forked the frame of my '69 Chrome P-14. Wheels were put into a wheelbag(that acted as anothert piece of luggage) and bars and crank into my duffel. The frame and fork were neatly placed between a few sweaters in a garment bag. It was a five minute dis-assembly and a five minute assembly.If it were any more difficult it would have been a no brainer.

Speaking of Specialized, thay now have a great history display featuring some cool old roadmachines (of theirs and of Italian descent) and an old microbus with lots of windows and an air-cooled rear engine filled with period bike parts, an old silca pump, tubulars, and the typical wool shorts, hairnets, and gear one would have had in the back traveling to a bike race in the 70's)

Happy trails (and roads)

Larry Black Mt Airy, Md (then Texas, La, and Arkansas next week, and Schmidtland the week after)