Anybody ever shipped their bike back from Europe?

[Mr. Pink]

At the moment, planning a lengthy (3 month) stay in Italy next year. The numbers tell me it makes more sense to bring my bike instead of renting. I'll carry my bike to the airport for the flight over (Trico clamshell case, I trust it), but I want to do a little traveling at the end without the bike, so, best to ship it back and get it out of my hair. Any experiences? Is this going to be a customs issue?

[cachagua]

Maybe you already thought of this, but -- stash it somewhere while you're completing your travels, and then fly back with it as on the way there?

Or, maybe it's cheaper to ship it than to check it on the plane. I've actually never tried either.

[11.4]

Have BikeFlights ship it back for you. You can have the tag preprinted and just drop it off at any Fedex location in Europe. It's the best way to avoid gouging from customs management fees as well.

Be sure to include the baggage tag from your flight over in the paperwork that goes with the bike, and be sure to indicate that it's personal property that is simply being returned to you.

What is the bike (brand)? Do you still have the purchase receipt for the bike, at least for the frame? I'd include a copy with the documentation. It really helps to show a sales receipt from a US retailer if you're returning with a Colnago or other European frame. You can arrange all this paperwork ahead of time in a discussion with US Customs and with BikeFlights.

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[Mr. Pink]

Have BikeFlights ship it back for you. You can have the tag preprinted and just drop it off at any Fedex location in Europe. It's the best way to avoid gouging from customs management fees as well.

Be sure to include the baggage tag from your flight over in the paperwork that goes with the bike, and be sure to indicate that it's personal property that is simply being returned to you.

What is the bike (brand)? Do you still have the purchase receipt for the bike, at least for the frame? I'd include a copy with the documentation. It really helps to show a sales receipt from a US retailer if you're returning with a Colnago or other European frame. You can arrange all this paperwork ahead of time in a discussion with US Customs and with BikeFlights.


Ya, thanks, I actually called Bikeflights today and they explained the procedure, so, they will be my service when I get this together. It's a Strong custom steel frame, so, very American. Probably will be one of the very few Strongs in Italy at the time, if any.
This only makes sense if I'm going to be there for a few months, because total shipping will probably be 7-800, and a decent rental for that time will be about 1200-1500. And, of course, it's my bike, not something that may not fit me or work well.

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[JWDR]

If you would like a place to show ash for a week or two in northern Italy, let me know. Without knowing where you are flying into or out of, I live about 45 minutes from the Venice Airport.

[Mr. Pink]

Of course, there is another option....
These options are located in places like Cambiago, Verona, Padova, Seregno, Curno, Treviso, Vimercate, Cusano Milanino, etc.

PL enablers, step up! :D

Do tell, I'm intrigued. I plan to use Verona as a base. What is this option?

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[Mr. Pink]

Thanks, yeah, I'll try to solve that puzzle. I was thinking of Vicenza, but Verona won out because of the train situation. Major east west and north south trains run through that place. Venice can be a day trip. The riding can be mellow, or heavy climbing, and, it's fairly flat, so I don't have to climb some steep thing at the end of every ride to get home, like the hill towns in Tuscany. I want to live in a city, not the country.

[OtayBW]

Ya, thanks, I actually called Bikeflights today and they explained the procedure, so, they will be my service when I get this together. It's a Strong custom steel frame, so, very American. Probably will be one of the very few Strongs in Italy at the time, if any.
This only makes sense if I'm going to be there for a few months, because total shipping will probably be 7-800, and a decent rental for that time will be about 1200-1500. And, of course, it's my bike, not something that may not fit me or work well.I took a bike over to Switzerland on the plane in a Trico case for a few months while I was working over there a few years ago. I did fly it back, though. I second the idea of stashing it somewhere and flying it back when you're done. $700-800 is a lot of dough for shipping. That said, schlepping a Trico (actually a Serfas case in my situation) through the airport(s) with 3 months worth of luggage is also a PITA. So, good luck either way.

[Mr. Pink]

I took a bike over to Switzerland on the plane in a Trico case for a few months while I was working over there a few years ago. I did fly it back, though. I second the idea of stashing it somewhere and flying it back when you're done. $700-800 is a lot of dough for shipping. That said, schlepping a Trico (actually a Serfas case in my situation) through the airport(s) with 3 months worth of luggage is also a PITA. So, good luck either way.

Well, the way I see it, it's going to be about 250 to put the bike on the plane, although one never knows these days until you get to the ticket counter. Last time I went over there two years ago, my extra bag was free on Italia going over, but, coming back from Milan, it was, oh, sir, this is a problem, as they stared at my big thing. Then I went through a process at the airport that is my favorite story to friends illustrating life in Italy, involving seven people at three stations (all smartly dressed and convivial) before all was settled with a 200 dollar charge and I was off to duty free. Baggage charges are the new airline profit center, so, I'm expecting 250 minimum, and wouldn't be surprised at more next fall. Bikeflights is quoting me 450 back from Verona, so, considering the convenience factor, fine, whatever, worth it. If I knew exactly where I was going to stay and had somebody to receive it safely, I'd ship it over, too. Flying over there is enough of a hassle, I'll pay a little money to eliminate the lugging of my bike case through JFK and beyond.

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[OtayBW]

Yeah - I hear ya about the charges. For me, British Air through Heathrow was cheap at the time, but nowadays, well, I'd recommend bringing your own toilet paper! It is a royal pain carrying all that gear around. You just don't have enough hands!

It is the Trico case that may be the big expense. Maybe think of shipping it Bikeflights both ways in a well-packed cardboard container. I'd rather do that than some of the soft-side bike cases that I've tried, and it might cut down the expense considerably.

[kgreene10]

Have you considered leaving your Strong at home, having a new Canyon shipped to your first location in Europe, stash it at the end of the bike portion of the trip, and then fly back with it? You might be able to get VAT reimbursed in the airport upon exit. How you deal with US customs would be up to you I guess. Perhaps there are problems with this approach I'm not aware of.

[Mr. Pink]

Vicenza is great too, but Verona is fantastic. It is an excellent choice, and a very beautiful city. If you are interested in architecture I can give you some suggestions.

No puzzle: you will be there for 3 months, so you can meet people, make friends. He's a truly warm, funny, generous person. He likes nice whisky. You should meet him. And if you desire to order a frame, well...:) But you do not have to. He may even have shipping suggestions.

http://www.dario-pegoretti.com/masperigallery/z3hcvcip5vfjfnp6x6v63756bfpsoi


http://d4nuk0dd6nrma.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/ONEV3138.jpg


Awesome. That really wets my appetite for Verona. No way I can afford a new, er, another bike, especially since I want to spend my money traveling, instead of on stuff these days. But those are very cool paint jobs. Maybe I'll stroll by and knock on his door.
I have read more than once that I am going to experience quite the bike culture in the Veneto. That, with the food, architecture, art, and people, is going to be something.

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[Mr. Pink]

"ombre e cichetti"



Oh, yeah, cichetti bars were a fun stop when we were in Venice. Sorta the tapas of Italy. But that phrase, weird. Ombré means, literally, shadows, so, shadows and food, I guess? Makes sense if you look at when its served, which is about 6-8 pm, right? Man, this language thing is going to be the hardest part, but, worth it. Ciao. Grazie Mille!

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[Mr. Pink]

Good for you! And it seems you know some Italian too. You are well on your way, and Italians are very friendly re: helping English-speaking visitors.*

You are correct: "ombre" does mean shadows.

The word "ombra" or "ombre" was associated with cichetti because "back in the day", as they say nowhere in Italy, the wine-sellers in Piazza San Marco would move their wine around to follow the "ombra" of the Campanile, in order to keep the wine a bit more cool. So, vino became ombra n'venessian.

https://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/07/49/0c/a6/caption.jpg




*(At least they try, some with more success than others. My cousin, who is terrible at languages, would try to translate "don't bust my balls" into English. Balls in Italian has several slang translations, one of which, common in the north, is "castagne" (chestnuts). The slang for "castagne" is "marroni" (the color brown(s)). So he, a grown man of 30, would walk around the house all day saying, in his horrible Busto Arsizio accent: "Do not break my browns!" :confused: :D He was far worse than Babelfish years before Babelfish was invented!)


Ha, just found this the other day. https://www.babbel.com/en/magazine/11-best-italian-expressions-and-sayings I'm just starting out with how much? and will it rain today? and then I have to figure this stuff out, but that's way down the line. Fortunately, of all Europeans, the Italians like Americans the most, so, we have that to foam the runway. In the same survey, I read that they hate the Russians the most, so then I can learn cool new ways to insult Russians under my breath while smiling and slapping them on the back.

That picture just adds to my amazement at Venice. How did they do that? How did they build that place in an almost marsh with no machines? And, to this day, everybody walks. No bikes, even.

[11.4]

That $450 price tag from BikeFlights sounds too high. I shipped two bikes back from Amsterdam last summer for $235 each. Using BikeFlights. You might see whether you are asking them to do something that jacks up the price abnormally. Mine were fully insured and in hard plastic cases.

[Mr. Pink]

That $450 price tag from BikeFlights sounds too high. I shipped two bikes back from Amsterdam last summer for $235 each. Using BikeFlights. You might see whether you are asking them to do something that jacks up the price abnormally. Mine were fully insured and in hard plastic cases.

Thanks. That's what the website gave me after just plugging in simple stuff. I'll double check with a human before doing it.
Where do you live? I'm in upper suburban NYC.

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[Mr. Pink]

When is the last time you were in Venice? A different country rules there now, not Russia, not Germany.

Lots and lots and lots of poplar tree trunks.

I rode there everyday! (Of course I was 4 to 13 or so....:) )

Early December, 15. The flooding was frequent, although well managed. It was my only time, and I'm fine with living in Verona and treating the Italian train system as a personal monorail, like Disney World, to get me back and forth from Verona for the day. It's a freaky place, in a way, a huge museum filled with, well, international (damn Chinese!) tourists supporting it, sorta like a destination museum like the Lourve or the Met. But, on a larger scale. No way would I want to live there or even be there n the summer. Just the coolest place, in so many ways, though. Just find the Hard Rock Cafe, and never go near that neighborhood. So much cool stuff off the beaten track.

Padua is very large on my list. Looks awesome. But, not for biking.

[oldpotatoe]

Vicenza is great too, but Verona is fantastic. It is an excellent choice, and a very beautiful city. If you are interested in architecture I can give you some suggestions.

No puzzle: you will be there for 3 months, so you can meet people, make friends. He's a truly warm, funny, generous person. He likes nice whisky. You should meet him. And if you desire to order a frame, well...:) But you do not have to. He may even have shipping suggestions.

http://www.dario-pegoretti.com/masperigallery/z3hcvcip5vfjfnp6x6v63756bfpsoi


http://d4nuk0dd6nrma.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/ONEV3138.jpg

Buy a peg, ride it for 3 months, strip it..have Dario send it back to you.

[AngryScientist]

i realize you are probably estimating on the high side, to save yourself from sticker shock, but if it is indeed going to cost you close to $800 buckeroos to travel with your own bike, i would never do that.

what sized bike do you ride? if it's a somewhat common size, i'd be tempted to buy something used from a bike shop, ride it a couple months and sell it right back to them. i bet you'd make out just fine in that scenario, plus then you'd meet some people and have the support of an italian bike shop if anything goes wrong.

just a thought.

[Mr. Pink]

Hey, I wish I was overestimating, but, I don't think so. It is what it is these days, in a time, like I said, that airlines are making zillions of new revenue charging for luggage in any form.
If I was only over there a week or two, like most trips, then, sure, I'd rent. But, even then, unless I'm going on a nice, expensive packaged "tour", or staying in a bike hotel, I am a the mercy of the rental market in whatever locality I land in, in a place I can't even speak the language. And, it fluctuates by the day, too. Suppose a group of, oh, Aussies show up in Verona a few days before me and hoover up whatever available bikes may fit me? Suppose I find my size at the quality level I like, but, it's essentially an old broken problem I have to deal with twenty miles from a shop in a place I've never been and, again, trying to communicate not knowing the language?
No, this is about convenience and feeling secure. Life will be hard enough figuring things out over there (heh, pity me), so at least I don't have to deal with the hassle of obtaining a strange bike. Besides, do the math. I really doubt I'll find a quality Ultegra bike for less than 30 euro a day, so, 30x60 (two months)=1800 bucks. And I may be there three months.
Nope, I'll just put a new chain and new tires on the Strong, tune and polish it up, and carry it over. I'm guessing that it will be a conversation starter with local bikers, too, which is cool.

[AngryScientist]

i totally understand wanting to have your own bike and eliminating potential variables, cant argue with that.

i still think $450 to ship a bike back to NYC is absolutely crazy. i bet it will actually cost less. bikeflights is essentially the equivalent of having access to a high volume corporate fedex account and the rates that go along with that. I'm certain if i buy a bike from a european based bike shop it doesnt cast them near that amount to send it to me in NYC.

anyway - all that $$ stuff aside - have a great trip! please bring us back lots of pictures and reports of what you did, i've got a europe trip in the works sooner than later and love hearing people's travel stories.