I may be a bit of a nut, but I always pack my bike ahead of time for these trips (just in case something needs to be fixed, and to keep me calm...), and this time I packed everything else early too. Well, almost everything - I'll pack my electronic toys at the last minute because I want them to be fully charged when I leave. And I'm not trusting those to checked baggage; they'll go in my carryon bag.
It's been a while since I packed a bike - actually close to a year. That's hard to believe! It almost looks like a joke when I open the case and sit the (fully assembled) bike and trailer components next too it. It just doesn't look like everything will fit in the case, but of course it does. OK, I'll admit that I didn't even try to fit the trailer wheels in the trailer - they are in my duffle bag - but everything fit into the case with no fighting. I cleaned and re-lubed the bike before I packed it, so it should be all ready to ride when I arrive.
I did have a bit of adventure packing the bike (can things ever be totally smooth?). I stripped everything off of the bike - beam, seatpost, handlebars, stem, pedals, and tires - unscrewed the bolt that holds the frame straight, and picked up the bike expecting it to behave itself and fold. Nope. OK, this happened once before when the hinge bolt was too tight. So I loosened the bolt. My Air Glide said again, nope, I'm not folding. Come on you crazy bike, you and I traveled across the country last summer - don't you want to go to Hawaii? (All right, I'll admit it - I do talk to inanimate objects sometimes!) I was a bit perplexed, so I asked my neighbor to come help me solve my puzzle. He looked at the bike and agreed that I'd loosened everything that should be loosened, then asked me if I'd tried whacking the frame with a piece of wood. My response was no - I don't have a piece of wood, and I never considered it anyway. Paul went off to fetch his rubber mallet, we picked up the bike, and he gave it a gentle tap. Voila - the bike decided to behave. It folded and packed itself in the case, no problem. And I re-tightened the hinge bolts so I won't have a problem later. The funny thing is though, I told this story to a couple of guys at work, and they said their initial reaction would have been to take a hammer to the frame. I never thought of that. Do you think it's a guy thing? If something's stuck, pound on it with a hammer! I guess I tend to have a softer approach...
It's a good feeling to be pretty much packed. I have a few things to throw in later - like my bike shoes and helmet - and I have a big note on top of my bag to remind me. I'd like to get a couple of short rides in this week, although it looks like the weather may not cooperate. But I do need my shoes and helmet for any rides I do before I leave...
Rover didn't want to be closed in yet either, so the silly red dog is watching over the electronic gadgets before he jumps into the carryon bag.
Wait, is that really the whole bike? Yup, folded and packed! I've packed it before, and even I was having trouble believing it would fit in the case when I looked at the bike and all of the trailer parts before I started...
