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10 Things You Need to Know About Traveling Internationally (to Europe) with Your Road or Mountain Bike

My name is David Silver, and I am entering my 3rd season as an elite / pro triathlete.  I got my start in triathlon five years ago thanks to a group working in the Radiology Department at a local Atlanta hospital.  As a former collegiate swimmer, competitive sports are in my blood.

As a really great/good/average professional triathlete, I’ve come to realize a big perk of the sport is the ability to travel to farther, more  interesting places to compete. In June 2008, my wife and I traveled to Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Netherlands, and England with the goal of competing in two ITU triathlons (ok, maybe there was some drinking at the Hofbrauhaus, Jack Johnson in Hyde Park, and European Cup soccer involved as well!).  I decided to do two European Cup triathlons, which meant the bike had to travel with us to Europe.

Now, I’d never taken a bike and tri equipment on such a long jaunt before. Was this going to be tougher than watching Brent Musburger broadcast the Rose Bowl?  Only time would tell.

Surprise, surprise – I should have done my homework. Here’s a summary of my lessons traveling internationally (Europe) with a road bike:

The Top 10 Things You Need to Know About Traveling Internationally with a Bike

1. Get a good case with good wheels and a good handle.  Plastic wheels will fall prey to those nasty European cobblestones.  Put your name all over the bike.  One thing to know before you go…a multi-week European trip could test your case to the max
2. Stuff your bike case with whatever gear you can. You are going to have to pay the bike fee, so why not maximize what you can get out of that bike fee.
3. Know the type and size of the plane before you go to the airport.  Some “pond jumper” planes are limited in their luggage capacity, so your bike may be left to fly standby if the plane has reached its weight limitation.
4. Know what size car you are renting before you land in your international destination as rentals are typically smaller, especially in Europe
5. You do not have to pay bike fees when traveling between countries in Europe.  They actually reward fitness in Europe, which is the antithesis of the United States….hurray for anti-obesity! 
6. If assembly/disassembly of your bike is an issue, don’t worry, there are plenty of bike shops in Europe. And the service is top notch (at a low cost!)
7. Know your terrain – there are some serious climbs in Europe – consider a compact double crank set up, or replace the rear derailleur with a mountain bike setup
8. Purchase extra CO2 cartridges while you are over there b/c you want to be able to change a flat if you are out in the middle of nowhere, especially in countries where you do not speak the language, or countries with cobblestones (which is every European country)
9. It is not worth traveling with a bike to Munich, Amsterdam, & London.  All three have limited and low quality riding, and you risk your bike being stolen in Amsterdam.  Also, careless, hybrid riders are everywhere and they bottleneck the bike paths with their hundred pound tank bikes.
10. Consider your other luggage when traveling with a bike case; the bike case is very heavy and awkward, so plan to travel lighter with your other luggage.  You might also consider luggage like duffel bags that can be placed on top of the bike case when you are pulling it.

How did I learn these ever-so-important lessons? Follow with me as I cover what I learned and how I learned it.

The Equipment: What I Took with Me

I ride a Giant Advanced 2 Road Bike and a Felt B2 triathlon bike.  Both are amazing bikes, but because I was racing draft-legal races only in Europe, I packed the Giant for this trip.  I ride Blackwell Research wheels in ITU (International Triathlon Union) races.  I use a SunLite Bike Suitcase, which held up well, that is, until we got to England.  I packed my Specialized Triathlon shoes, a Louis Garneau helmet, a bike pump, Tifosi sunglasses, transition bag, a couple Roswell Bikes bottles, and a couple other items in the SunLite case.  It was packed to the brim.  All of my stuff was provided to me by my Atlanta-based sponsors:

Roswell Bikes (http://www.roswellbicycles.com/)  
The Sport Factory (http://www.thesportfactory.com/site/index.shtml) (thanks guys!)

Flight Purchase

The key is to get to Europe as cheap as you can. Here is the most important thing I will write within this blog:  YOU DO NOT HAVE TO PAY BIKE FEES WHEN FLYING BETWEEN COUNTRIES IN EUROPE! If you get to Europe with a cheap flight, then you can then fly the cheap European carriers between countries with no worries about an additional $100 bike fee.

Atlanta to Switzerland:

We flew from Atlanta to Newark to Zurich, Switzerland on Continental Airlines.  I paid the bike fee as I have been caught fibbing in the past (one of the agents in Manchester, NH called my bluff that my bike case did not contain a tuba and instead contained a bike, surprise…luckily that story worked 10 times before that).  We rented an Alfa Romeo wagon, which was an excellent choice as the bike case fit nicely.  Make sure you know what kind of car you are renting before you land in Europe as the rental cars are typically much smaller over there. In Switzerland, the steering wheels are the same as in the States, which was a pleasant surprise.   I did not ride in Switzerland as we were only there for a brief period of time.

Switzerland to Austria:

We traveled to Tirol, Austria and stayed at the Alpenhotel Ernberg.  I was able to catch a leisure ride in the Tirol Mountains, which are part of the Alps…totally beautiful.  I assemble and disassemble my bikes all the time, but if assembly/disassembly is an issue for you, don’t worry, there are thousands of bike shops scattered throughout Europe. It is important to note that a lot of the riding will have some series climbs, so I would consider a compact double crank set up, or replace the rear derailleur with a mountain bike setup.

Austria to Germany:

After a couple days in Austria, we traveled to Schliersee, Germany for the 2008 Schliersee ITU Triathlon European Cup.  We stayed at the Seehotel  Schlierseer Hof, which was absolutely beautiful with some amazing views of Schliersee Lake.  I got some great swims in the lake prior to the race and was able to cruise around on my bike no problem.

However, on race day, I was shocked to learn that this would be the hardest course I I’ve ever encountered (much harder than the Escape From Alcatraz Triathlon).  Halfway into the  grueling mountainous course, I fell apart and only stayed in the race because of the hounding thought – “When would I ever do a tri in Germany again?”.  I swallowed my pride and suffered through the race to finish in the bottom 20% of the field.  If that race had been in the states, I would have “abandoned ship” after the bike.

     

The Tour de France-style climb that broke me during the Schliersee ITU European Cup

From Schliersee, we traveled to Munich (Munchen), Germany.  This is a really frustrating city for riding a road bike.  Why?  Because the bike paths are overpopulated with hybrid cruiser bikes – like University of Georgia fans at a barn raising – these bikes are everywhere, and the people who ride them are overly careless.  The Munich bike experience was one of the less enjoyed rides, as it was way too busy and bordered on dangerous with the high volume of cars and careless hybrid riders.

From  Munchen, we traveled to Rothenburg (our favorite European city), which is an amazing medieval city spared from bombing by the Allied Forces in WWII.  This town is all cobblestones, so it is very difficult to ride through.  I refrained from testing my balance and prevented any wheel damage by not riding in this town.  I did run to and from a local Olympic size public pool, where I was able to lap swim twice.

Germany to Netherlands (The Low Country):

After Rothenburg, Germany we traveled to Holten, Netherlands and stayed with some local triathletes on a farm just outside of Holten.  I was able to ride through the farmlands in preparation for the race.  .  The race was the 2008 Holten ITU Premium Cup.  I came out of the swim about mid-pack and quickly fell back after T1 as I had trouble with one of my shoes.  I got into a good bike pack, and we began to make up ground and real more and more riders in.  We made it through the first lap and were holding a good clip.  On lap 2, I was hanging in just fine and felt good.  It rained the entire day, so the course was pretty slick.  On the cobblestone section of lap 2, I slipped on the cobblestone and went off course.  I then got back on the course and rode the final three laps solo…the slip cost me the chance at scoring some ITU points.  Once again, I finished the race, even though I was out of contention for any type of a good placement.

Holten was great.  Riding in the Netherlands is very flat and easy.  You can compare it to riding in Florida or Louisiana.  However, riding in Amsterdam is a different story.

From Holten, we went to Amsterdam where I repacked my bike into the bike box. It is not worth riding your road bike in Amsterdam, as there are too many ways to damage your bike and hurt yourself.  Top that off with the amount of thieves in Amsterdam, and it is well worth keeping the bike in the hotel room.  You should, however, rent one of the hybrid cruisers and ride around Amsterdam – these bikes are tanks and riding through the old Dutch city is an enjoyable experience.

Netherlands to London:

After the Netherlands, we flew British Airways to London Heathrow Airport.  They have a good thing going in Europe with the free bike transportation on British Airways.  However, when you fly from Europe to the United States on any American carriers, you will pay the bike fee.

Traveling with a bike in London is painful. It is not worth it; it might be worth it outside of London, but we did not travel outside of London.  I actually wore out the wheels on my SunLite Bike Suitcase lugging it around London, to the point that two of the wheels cracked.  I then proceeded to drag my bike suitcase around London.  I didn’t even attempt to ride my bike in London; that seemed way too difficult.

After 17 days of travelling with a bike, it was nice to return to the states and maneuver without the bike case.  If it weren’t for the London leg of the trip, it really would have been a pretty easy trip in terms of traveling with a bike.  Hopefully, this will help some fellow cyclists or triathletes.

David Silver is a Pro-Triathlete whose day job keeps him busy at a major pharmaceutical company. He’s based out of the Philadelphia area.