The Bike Has Been Shipped: I'm really doing this!

Ok, now I'm getting anxious. I packed and shipped the bike this weekend.  If you have ever thought about doing a vacation by bicycle ( maybe you were dreaming about flying to France and then bicycle through wine country), but the thought of packing up your bicycle and bringing it with you was too overwhelming, then read on.

Despite how intimidating the thought may be of cramming your bicycle into a box and handing it over to those oh-so-gentle baggage handlers, there's an option out there that not only makes it easier to pack up your bike with minimal dismantling, but it provides a reasonable degree of protection and is reusable.   Meet the "AirCaddy".

It arrives to your door in a relatively small box....

The Air Caddy bike box before assembly

...which is nice when you need to store it or ship the box after using it (less cost than shipping the larger assembled version). 

It easily unfolds into a wedge-shape that is double-walled for added strength, and it comes with several reinforcement pieces that lock in to key areas to further enhance the durability. 

Juniper was helping with the assembly

A metal plate is included that bolts the front fork of the bike to the bottom of the box. 

Because my bike is on the larger side (60cm), I had to take the front handlebars off, remove the seat, and remove the racks, front fender, and one of the pedals. A smaller bike could allow enough room to simply loosen the handlebars and rotate them downward.

The box comes with everything you need to secure items within. When I was done, I had all of the bike parts (wheel, handlebar, both racks, front fender, seat, hardware, handlebar bag) as well as my helmet, water bottles, tent, sleeping bag, pillow, sleeping mat, and, of course, the bike, in the box.

     (On it's way to Oregon!)