This weekend we are traveling to Northwest Arkansas for the Big Sugar gravel ride. It’s the culmination event for a summer long series of gravel rides. To my chagrin, I can’t give you, dear reader, more details about the event. It’s something my husband is doing and we finagled a trip sans kids for our wedding anniversary so I gave myself permission to be a passive traveler on this trip and the freedom to enjoy everything without getting in the weeds of details.
Anyway, I wanted to document his method of traveling via airlines with his bike for Downhill Family.
Above is the photo of his bike in the bike bag. I intend to add a brain dump on how he packs his bike and all the ins and outs of using a bike bag in the future. But for now, this post is really only helpful to folks who didn’t even realize it’s possible to fly with a bike.
He packed the bike and necessary tools and lube in the bag several days before the trip. When he made flight reservations, he selected checked luggage. When he booked parking, he usually splurges on valet to ease the process of handling the bike bag and all of the other luggage. The bike bag rolls so it’s easy once you get inside the airport terminal. When we got to the ticketing counter at the airport, he handed the bike bag over to the airline agent and she rolled it over to the over-size bag area. Then we proceeded to security screening and on to our gate.
When we arrived at NWA airport, we picked up his bike at the “Oversized Baggage” terminal right next to our baggage carousel. Northwest Arkansas has developed a hub for biking in the area. Part of its economic development includes handling bikes at the airport. My husband’s was one of 8 or 9 bikes that parted the curtain and floated down the conveyor belt like a model on a run way.
I have been married to this bike fanatic for 25 years. In fact this is actually a wedding anniversary trip. ❤️ So, I’m just broken in. I know that the very first thing we have to do is check the bike for any inflight damage and put it together and test the gears so he can get a professional mechanic to address any necessary adjustments well before his race.
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