How to safely ship my bike and who can recieve it?

[AJxr]

Planning on touring California. Starting in Sacramento, heading west and due south on the pch. I will be getting a one way plane ticket from NY and shooting out there. I found a bicycle shop to package and ship my bike but I have no friends or residence in Sacramento. Are any of you aware of a place I could ship my bike too and have them hold it for a few days? A safe reputable place, my bike will be my lifeline

[John Nelson]

Here are five common options:

1. Ship it to a bike shop. Typically you pay them to unpack, reassemble and check over the bike. In return, they hold it for you.

2. Join Warm Showers and/or Couch Surfing. Contact a host in the area and ask if you can ship it to their home.

3. Buy the ACA map covering Sacramento (that would be the Western Express Section #1 Map). Look in the resource directory for churches, fire stations, homes, etc. that offer hospitality services in the area. Contact them to see if you can ship it to one of those.

4. If you are planning to spend the first night in Sacramento, contact your accommodation to see if you can ship the bike there.

5. Take the bike with you on the plane. Only reasonable if you fly a bike-friendly airline (i.e., Frontier or Southwest).

[AJxr]

awesome info. thank you. I am liking the bicycle shop idea

[BikingBrian]

There is a hostel in downtown Sacramento. The public bus runs frequently from the airport to downtown, with a stop near the hostel if I recall correctly. Maybe you could ask the hostel if they will take your bike, or if they know a nearby bike shop you can ship to?

[AJxr]

thank you

[PeteJack]

If you live near an REI that has a bike shop they will pack and ship your bike to REI Sacramento. They are incredibly cheap. They shipped my bike from near Seattle to a motel in Bangor ME for $60, it would have been cheaper still if there had been a nearby REI.

[BikingBrian]

Oh, so they will ship from one REI to another REI for cheap? Good to know.

Did you have to provide your own bike box at REI? The reason I ask is that REI has told me that unlike most bike shops where each new bike is shipped individually to the store in a cardboard box, with REI the bikes are shipped on their truck from their distribution center to the store partially assembled. So according to REI, they don't have the "typical" cardboard box that we would need.

I've also shipped a bike via Amtrak. That is cheap, and the nice thing about that is the boxes are huge, so you only have to remove the handlebars and pedals.

[AJxr]

thanks guys. I ended up going with the ship to a bicycle shop option. might be a little more expensive in the end but the deal is done. I fly out next Friday so lets hope the bike makes it there before me!

[PeteJack]

they don't have the "typical" cardboard box that we would need.

Never said anything like that to me

[BikingBrian]

Never said anything like that to me

Thanks for the heads up. That was an REI at the end of a tour route which said that to me. I'll check with my local REI and see what they say.