Travel Bags, Shipping and L.A. Route Suggestions
Next month, if my foot is better, I plan on riding from Dana Point, CA up the coastline to Sonta Monica, CA. Google Bike Maps seems to have provided me with a very reasonable route but I am just wondering if y'all have any suggestions. It doesn't look like there are any significant bike paths.
Which leads me to my next question. Does anyone have experience shipping soft shell bicycle travel bags? I have no interest in carrying my bike on the plane, I hate airlines and don't want to give them anymore more money than I need. Besides I would rather pay money to a company that has a policy of being accountable for their freight regardless of cost. I'm flying American so it's most likely cheaper anyway with their $100 fee.
The Skinz Bicycle Soft Shell seems to be the only player in the game on Google Shopping and it's pretty expensive. Any cheaper better alternatives? Oh and the reason I want a soft shell case, correct me if I am crazy, is that I want to carry it with me while traveling so that I can ship my bike back the day I am leaving on the plane.
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by pee wee on
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here's the route that i'd take -- keeping it pretty simple (PCHish) and nice near the coast:
* take PCH north from dana point through corona del mar towards newport beach
* in NB, take jamboree over to balboa island
* take the balboa island ferry (bikes OK) to newport peninsula (balboa blvd)
* head north on balboa blvd. and cut over to seashore drive
* take seashore drive north until it ends and cut back over to PCH
* take PCH north through huntington beach, harbor, seal beach (very nice ride, beach bike path)
* in long beach, get off of PCH and onto 2nd street, through naples island and belmont shore
* from 2nd street, head towards ocean ave. (there's also a beachfront bike path below the street)
* take shoreline drive through downtown LB and then north along the bike path to del amo blvd
* take del amo blvd west through torrance towards redondo beach
* take the south bay strand north through RB, hermosa, manhattan beach, el segundo, playa del rey, up to marina del rey
* take venice blvd to the venice beach boardwalk
* take the boardwalk bike path north to santa monica
overall the route should be pretty safe. one questionable leg, though, is getting from downtown long beach to redondo.
the segment above which takes you inland after downtown long beach might be questionable (lousy surface, near LA river, sometimes dangerous area). google bike maps recommends going through long beach harbor / san pedro, but that's a super industrial area with lots of bigrigs and unmarked roads that head towards cargo access points.
maybe you could take one of the big north-south roads from downtown long beach (long beach blvd, atlantic, pacific, magnolia) and then cut over westward to anaheim st. or PCH? don't go too far north / inland from long beach. from there, you could ride along the palos verdes peninsula / cliffs (which would be nice, but the drivers will suck) and then up to the bike path in redondo beach.
if you're ever in a pinch or want to avoid the harbor area altogether, you could always hop the MTA blue line from downtown LB to the redondo beach green line stop.
this will be a fun ride! totally jealous.
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Permalink Reply by Tank-Ridin' Ryan on
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I'd check out Crazy Guy On A Bike for journals that detail map 5 of the ACA's Pacific Coast Route.
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Permalink Reply by Spencer "Thunderball" Thayer! on
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Tank, thanks. I just bought that map. Though a print out of google maps and my phone is probably enough I always like to have a legit map in hand. Pee wee, I'm looking at this route you've sent and it looks very close to the Google map but with slight changes that make this ride look VERY WICKED. Thanks.
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Permalink Reply by Kevin Mulcky on
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Why don't you pick up a used cardboard bike-box at a LBS and ship it fed ex? You could probably pad the box with your panniers and stuff. Then at the end of your trip, do the same thing. I shipped bikes through fed ex, and it's not too bad, maybe $50-60. It can be cheaper if you ship it to a business with a fed ex acct. All you'd need to reassemble your bike is an allen wrench and a pedal wrench.
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Kelvin,
Yeah I know I can do the Amtrak like box. But the problem is I don't have access to a car. Though I could probably pull it off here in the city I don't really know where I can get a box that size in LA that just happens to be next to a FedEx. Getting a box from an LABS to a FedEx will be a bit of a challenge me thinks. Anyone else ever transport one of these boxes on a bike?
Do FedEx's carry these boxes at their stores? Doesn't seem like any here in Chicago do.
Spencer
Kelvin Mulcky said:Why don't you pick up a used cardboard bike-box at a LBS and ship it fed ex? You could probably pad the box with your panniers and stuff. Then at the end of your trip, do the same thing. I shipped bikes through fed ex, and it's not too bad, maybe $50-60. It can be cheaper if you ship it to a business with a fed ex acct. All you'd need to reassemble your bike is an allen wrench and a pedal wrench.
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I like that name, PikaPac. No riding eh? I get the impression that most of the travel cases you would trust to ship FedEx would be too bulky to strap on something like a Chrome Sultan pack. I don't fully know this but reading specs pages more or less convinces me that's the case. I don't have a touring bike, I'll just be rocking my Bad Boy Ultra on this trip, so I'll be slinging whatever I carry on my back.
So I'll just have to figure out the FedEx system. I imagine if I call a FedEx LA Int. I'll be able to make sure they have a bike box in stock for me by the time I am ready to leave.
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Check this out:
There are a couple shops within two miles of LAX
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Permalink Reply by ad on
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Several decent local bike stores will break down a bike, pack it well, and arrange the shipping for you for a fairly reasonable fee. Had a friend do that after he finished a tour in Cali rather than fly home with the bike, and it wasn't anywhere near as expensive as I would have imagined. I would check with a LBS in the area you plan on finishing up in to see what they charge.
edit: I see this was already partially-suggested above.
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I thought about that. But I can break down a bike without a problem and really I would prefer it. So I don't really need a LBS for anything other than supplies. I'll call FedEx today and find out if I can ensure that the nearest location next to LA Int has a bike box for me.
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if you're going to be in the venice / santa monica area anyway, maybe try getting in touch with the folks at bikerowave collective and see if they can help you out with the boxing and packing or whatever. good people, and they usually keep the "shop" open late.
http://www.bikerowave.org/
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I got the Adventure Cycling Association touring map for the LA area. Man it sucks. Not even a real map. Just a series of cut outs of a larger map. Worthless if I wanted to use it as a map to guide me other places. I guess I'll just buy a map map and use a red marker and highlight the trails based off of google maps. : \
Gonna write them and explain what a worthless piece of crap this is.
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Permalink Reply by Seri97 on
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I went to LA for my brother's wedding last September and arrived several days early with my bike and SciCon comfort aero 53 plus bag via Southwest Airlines. My brother lives in Hermosa Beach off the strand and I used the bicycle paths every day to tavel around 35 to 50 miles each day. There are lanes on many roads as well. Avoid PCH by the airport as it is busy and not bicycle friendly as I found out.
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