Shipping bike to Astoria/ Logistics

[tourbotswana]

I am doing the Trans AM in May/June and I am just wondering what other people normally do for this part of the process and the cost I am looking at. Definitely not the most exciting part for me. I stay in Philadelphia.

[staehpj1]

I usually try to fly Southwest and check my bike as baggage most tours.  There is a $75 charge for the bike box and your other checked bag and carry on go for free.  For the TA we flew into Portland and the three of us rented a medium sized SUV to get to our start which was Florence.  On other tours I have often just ridden out of the airport.

Having your bike shipped to a bike shop, warmshowers host, or hotel can work well too, but I usually only do that on the way home.  Be aware that just going into a UPS or FedEx store will typically result in a crazy high shipping charge.  I have found that bike shops typically get enough cheaper rate that I can afford to pay them to box and ship the bike and have it still be cheaper than just the shipping if I go to UPS or FedEx myself.

There are also a few outfits that specialize in shipping bikes and are typically cheaper and easier than going directly to the carrier. https://www.bikeflights.com/ and http://www.shipbikes.com/ are two such businesses.

[indyfabz]

I shipped my bike from Philly to Missoula last year using bikeflights.com and had a great experience. Since I didn't have a scale I wildly overestimated the weight of the box, racks, fuel bottle and stove at 90 lbs. The rate for four-day FedEx shipping was $76 including a $5 surcharge for picking the bike up at a local shop. That was less than half what my airline wanted to fly with the bike. Definitely check them out.

If you are near Philadelphia Bikesmith and need your bike professionally boxed, there is a FedEx/Kinko's location around the corner from the shop. If you buy shipping from Bikeflights, you can take your boxed bike there are avoid the pick up surcharge.

I shipped to the Missoula REI store and had them reassemble and tune the bike so it was ready for me when I arrived. You might find transportation and shipping to Portland cheaper. It's my understanding that you can ride or take some other transport from there to Astoria. There is an REI in downtown Portland. The Bike Gallery, a good shop, also has at least one downtown location.

[John Nelson]

I have not shipped my bicycle to Astoria, but I have shipped my bike from Astoria. Bikes and Beyond did a good pack and ship for me. I'm betting that you could ship it there.

http://www.bikesandbeyond.com/

But if you have a bit of spare time, you could fly to Portland and ride to Astoria. If you do ship your bike to Astoria, there is good bus service between Portland to Astoria, and good light rail from the Portland airport to the downtown bus terminal.

[indyfabz]

and good light rail from the Portland airport to the downtown bus terminal.

+1. And if you happen to fly to PDX with your bike there is a bike assembly area complete with some tools and a repair stand right near the  the airport light rail stop.

[jimbo]

I have been told that Bike and Beyond assemble about 100 bikes a year for Lewis and Clark/Trans AM cyclist.

[indyfabz]

If Bikes and Beyond is that busy and you are going to use them for work, I think it would be wise to get on their schedule way in advance. Glacier Cyclery in Whitefish, MT is a busy shop that, among other things, receives a lot of bikes. We were advised to be on their schedule more than a month in advance.

[DaveB]

If Bikes and Beyond is that busy and you are going to use them for work, I think it would be wise to get on their schedule way in advance. Glacier Cyclery in Whitefish, MT is a busy shop that, among other things, receives a lot of bikes. We were advised to be on their schedule more than a month in advance.

Excellent advice, particularly if you need to have the shop unpack, assemble and adjust your bike.  If you can do the reassembly yourself, a lot less notice is needed other than to be sure they have room to store the box for the few days until you arrive.  Of course if you can do the setup yourself you aren't limited to shipping it to a bike shop.