Bike Shipping Logistics

Last night I started thinking about how this will work out. I know a few things are for sure, when we are leaving and when we have to get there, but what about all the stuff in between and after we arrive? Well I want to be able to ship the bike back home, but I don't want to have it brutalized in transit, or to be prohibitively expensive (when I say expensive I mean over $150, remember I'm a struggling college kid). I looked into a few options, first was UPS which would require some fancy cardboard work to get something that wont be too big. I can do some cardboard magic (middle school cardboard boat regatta), but I don't want to risk being slightly off and having to pay the 60 dollar charge if the dimensions are over 130 in" ( UPS my box size i hoped would be 72x25x4.... not standard at all... and just for the frame). The cheaper options that I found from a forum was shipping greyhound express or amtrak express.... basically putting it on a buss or train and picking it up at the final destination. These options currently seem to be the best options. I found this old post  that appears to give prices for amtrak (granted the date is very old) but I also saw other places that Greyhound is more flexible on box size. This is something to figure out once I know what size box our tandem will fit in. 

Right now I am on a search for a bike store that will help with providing boxes and tools so that I can take almost everything apart on the bike and fit it in boxes. I think most bike shops are nice about that, but I do not know for sure. I think our plan is going to be ride to the bike shop in florida, take apart the bike, make it fit into some combined duct taped bike boxes. Also try to fit as much gear as possible around the cracks of the box, and ship it. There is a possibility that the wheels and frame together will be too big, SO I hope we could get a wheel box from the bike shop that is less than 62 linear inches (L+W+H) so that it can be a checked bag on our flight back(southwest). 

I am putting a lot of faith in a bike shop having spare boxes and tools. But if this is the case, and if we are able to bring some boxed gear and bike parts as our 2 free checked bags each, hopefully I can ship our bike and gear back home for less than $150...but recommendations would still be gladly accepted

The Beginning

So this is the beginning, the beginning of the crazy bike trip that my girlfriend and I are going on this summer, 2015: Philly to Florida. It is no secret, everyone thinks that we are crazy, but its the best time to do it and its going to be a great trip! I have always dreamed about doing a bike tour, something about exploring and enjoying nature at a slow pace... also I just really enjoy bike riding. Why is it the best time? I am graduating from Drexel University in June and will begin working as a Biomedical engineer shortly after. It is not like me to ask for long periods of time off at a time so I am saying that this will be one of my only adventures before marriage and kids...when that sort of thing is very unlikely. 

It was actually my girlfriend who really advocated doing this, which is awesome! I had talked about wanting to do a cross country ride, and this was the alternative that people were more okay with. I'm not sure if she agreed to this ride because she wanted to, or so that I would feel like I got to do something I really wanted to, probably the latter. In any case, I am really appreciative and excited to do it. Best girlfriend award goes to Gabi!!!

I guess to finish this post I can summarize by saying that we are doing this and though this is something that I am very excited to do and have always thought about doing, she is putting her all into it, having a great outlook, and being extremely supportive. I cant wait to take this journey together!

I'll try to update with our plans, our gear, our route, and anything exciting I can think of as we are preparing!...here we go.