Keeping a bike overseas for occasional use on business trips.

[Globalti]

Does anybody do this? I'm currently is South Africa on a 2 week business trip and for the last 3 years I've brought my bike and finished the trip in Cape Town by riding the Cape Argus race. However this year I'm not doing it and I'm finding it frustrating being stuck in the hotel without a bike when it's lovely and sunny outside. Gym bikes are just so awful and positively injurious due to the bad position.

My agent once borrowed a bike for me but it was a shocker, a worn-out aluminium Scott the wrong size with knackered gears. He has offered to store a bike here for me so I was thinking of bringing a Triban 3 with me on my next trip, which would be perfect for the occasional trip with the local shop group or with friends who go out early on Saturday morning or Sunday on the Veld.

Anybody else done this?

 

[Kies]

I really hate you

Just do it you lucky man!

 

[ColinJ]

I did exactly that!

My agent sister offered to store a bike here in her garden shed in Coventry for me so I took a Triban 3 self-built singlespeed bike with me on my next family visit, which was perfect for the occasional trip with the local shop group riding round to visit my mum when she lived in sheltered accommodation a few miles away, or with friends who go out early on Saturday morning solo rides out Corley way or Sunday on the Veld forum rides in the West Midlands with dave r et al.

Well, almost exactly that ...




More seriously - it made a big difference to me having a bike down there. For the last few years of my mum's life I was spending about 8 weeks a year visiting her and 8 weeks without a bike is a long time. I used to do a 10-20 mile detour on the way to visit her, and a quick ride back to my sister's house afterwards.

I only go down a couple of times a year now so I brought the bike back up here. The mate who lent me the frame/forks/wheels now has the bike so I am effectively returning the favour because he is borrowing all the other parts off me!

If you visit somewhere frequently, have somewhere to store a bike, and can afford a spare one, it makes a lot of sense rather than carting your best bike back and forth all the time.

 

[Brains]

Yes. I keep my old touring bike (a converted MTB ) down in my mums garage in Cornwall, it only gets a few days use each year, but it saves a lot of hassle about bringing a bike down by train

 

[BigonaBianchi]

I may buy a bike to keep out in Cyprus.

 

[MarkF]

I wanted to leave my bike in Barcelona, where I regularly visit a pal. I left the bike in Badalona, Oct 2010, at a pals industrial unit. Some Cuban gangsters from BCN, moved in locally, they stole my bike, beat my pal and assumed control of his "life" (house & business) in Dec 2011. It took me 3 visits, and a lot of stress and fear, before last October I managed to repatriate it. Never again.

 

[cyberknight]

If anyone wants to store a super bike in my garage i will not charge , although it might get a bit of mileage to ensure that it still works

 

[BigonaBianchi]

Yeah security is a headache in some places...best thing is that nobody knows it's there...or tAke.it to bits and spread it around the flat...

 

[P.H]

It didn't work out for Sir Alan, he had a custom Pinarello in each of his homes but couldn't bear to be parted from them and bought them home to Essex. Though with a private jet to fly them about he probably isn't too worried about baggage handlers.