Getting my bike case from the start of my ride to the end

[melindaduer]

 I'm planning on cycling from Vancouver to Los Angeles in August/ September for charity.  I'll fly my bike out to Vancouver and then back from LA in a bike case.  My problem is, how do I get my bike case from Vancouver to LA?  I can ship it via FedEx/ UPS etc, but I have no address in LA to get it delivered to.  Any ideas would be very gratefully received!  

[John Nelson]

For point-to-point tours, I prefer not to bring my hard case. Shipping an empty case is usually the same cost as shipping one with a bike inside. So I just use cardboard containers when doing point-to-point. If you are concerned about damage, there are a number of ways you can reinforce the cardboard container and/or pack it well inside.

If you do want your case at the end, then you can ship it in the normal ways such as FedEx or UPS. You can ship it, with prior arrangement, to a bike shop, to a hotel, or to a Warmshowers or Couchsurfing host. Any of these can hold it for you. For a fee, you can sometimes have FedEx or UPS hold it for you as well. For an especially long trip, you could ship it home and then back to the finish as your trip nears its end. With all this shipping, it might be cheaper to buy a new case at the end. There are some fairly good containers that can be had for $100, perhaps less than the shipping cost.

[staehpj1]

There are some fairly good containers that can be had for $100, perhaps less than the shipping cost.

Can you recommend some specific ones?

[paddleboy17]

Look into Greyhound Freight.  The bus line has extra space on their buses, and fill it with freight.  They are usually the cheapest way to ship a bike.  You item is shipped from one Greyhound depot to another Greyhound depot.  If you make arrangements, they might be willing to hold onto your item.  Ship time is less deterministic, than the other carriers, but I don't think you care.

[John Nelson]

There are some fairly good containers that can be had for $100, perhaps less than the shipping cost.

Can you recommend some specific ones?

Pete, I thought you already had the air caddy. That would be one. But it would be hard to find at a bike shop. Since it folds up, however, it would be cheaper to ship from the start to end of a tour, and easier for somebody to store for you.

If you google "bike shipping boxes" you can find a number of others. One problem might be which ones might be in stock at a bike shop at the end of your trip.

My hardshell case from Performance only cost me about $170. In this market, given some of the shipping costs I've seen, it might be cheaper to throw it away rather than ship it home or ahead.

I prefer to start with a bike shop box and then reinforce it with stuff I find at Home Depot. That's for the trip out. For the trip home, I think I'd settle for letting a bike shop pack and ship it. Even if they don't do as good of a job as I would, at least some minor damage won't ruin my tour.

[staehpj1]

Pete, I thought you already had the air caddy.

Yes I do.  I thought you were saying there were some hard cases in the $100 range that bike shop might stock.  If there were I might use them to get our bikes home at the end of our summer tour.

The air caddy worked great when I was starting and ending the same place (with a short Amtrak leg) and it happened that I had a cooperative friend living there, but it is a bit of a hassle to knock it down to ship ahead or home so I am less inclined to use it when the beginning and end of the tour are not the same.

I am still undecided what I am doing for the Sierra Cascades trip.  There is a chance we will travel via Amtrak.  In that case it is a no-brainer that we'll take the bikes on the train.  We may ship Amtrak Express if we fly out.  Still tossing around options...

[don quixote]

I make a motel reservation at the end point and then tell them that I will have 1 piece of luggage arriving that I want them to hold for me until my arrival date. I recently shipped my box from Florida to Maine with FedEX Ground, about $35 and a week or so travel time. It took me 2 months to do the ride. Be sure to specify Ground. I spend a couple of extra dollars for the insurance as it is a fairly expensive box for my S&S equipped Co-Motion Americano.

[Tourista829]

I do not know what kind of bike you are riding? Is it one with 700c or 26" wheels? Do you have S&S couplers? If you have a hard case that is 26"x26"x12", the company that makes the trailer, Bike Revolution, for the Bike Friday. They make a collapsible heavy duty trailers, that can be toted behind your bike. However, you may not have enough time to have it made.

Robert, thank you for your follow up. I checked in with the owner & Fabricator and the decision is... yes we can build a custom trailer for your hard case. Based  on the wider wheel span & your described use it will need to be a heavy duty trailer.                                            info@bikerev.com
cost will br $ 249. + shipping
and completing would be estimated at 7 - 10 days from time of order.
Thank you for your interest let me know your decision Take care Rita