Posting Bike box ahead

[andyroo]

Hi,

I'm new to the forum and to touring in general. I am planning to cycle the Rockies route from Jasper to Durango. I will be flying into Canada from the UK.

Basically, I was wondering if anybody could give me any advice about how easy (and expensive) it would be for me to post my bike box from Jasper to Durango, so that I can collect it at the end of the trip.

For instance, has anyone got any experience posting their stuff ahead of them using general delivery (post restante), to either a post office or hotel? All relevant recommendations and advice welcome.

Thanks,
Andy.

[ptaylor]

Posting ahead is pretty common for cyclists in the US. I've never heard of any problems with General Delivery.

However, since you are shipping a bike box, I would suggest you use UPS or FedEx, rather than the Post office. I would also suggest that you have your box sent to a hotel. Durango is a fairly small town, so your choices may be limited, but contact the hotel ahead of time, and make sure they will hold your box until your arrival. The hotel will tell you how to address the shipment.

Both FedEx and UPS will pick up your box at your hotel of departure in Jasper, for a small fee.

For cost, I'm going to guess $50USD. Expensive because of size not weight. Log on to either site, and you can get a cost estimate.

Enjoy your trip!

Paul

[staehpj1]

Sending stuff ahead via USPS general delivery is easy and works well.  The problem is that I think bike boxes are too big for USPS and kind of expensive to ship with private carriers based on their size unless you fold them up or something.

Do you mean just a cardboard box like bikes are originally shipped in?  Or a hard case?  If it is just a box, why not just email a bike shop in Durango and ask them if they can save a box for you?  I am sure that you can find a shop that would be happy to give you a box.

Another option might be to buy a box from the airline.  I think we paid $25 with Continental last trip.  The box was big enough to require very little disassembly of the bike.

[cyclesafe]

Whoa.  It is not a simple matter to ship a bike box from Canada to the US.  In theory, yes, in practice very much NO!  Within the US and within Canada a piece of cake, but try to ship between the two is a different matter.

Last year a local UPS store in Mobile Alabama wanted to charge $400 to ship my bike case to Owen's Sound Ontario.  They would only ship by air and gave me no other option, regardless of what the UPS website said.

The reason for this (they said) was that the dimensions of my case exceeded the "international" dimensions for normal transport and that instead I would be charged the "less-than-truckload" rate and be charged $50 duty.  It would go by air because "that was the only rate in their computer".

To avoid this nasty surprise, I would heartily recommend that you use a cardboard box to get your bike to Jasper and another cardboard box from Durango.  Don't put yourself in a situation where it is cheaper to throw away your bike case in Jasper and buy another at the end of your trip!

[andyroo]

Thanks for the replies. I was going to use a proper bike box rather than a cardboard one, which sounds like it may cause some problems. I think I'm going to get some transport quotes for the bike box and see what offers I get. $400 would mean a rethink about the bike box though! A box from the airline sounds like it might be a good option.

Cheers,

Andy.