Traveling to Races with Your Equipment
ReCycling Team rider James Hibbard explains in his most recent article for the site about how to properly travel with your equipment. Here is how to get it done without losing your gear or your mind!
How to Manage Your Equipment at a Major Event
By James Hibbard
The time of year is fast approaching when many athletes, including the members of the ReCycling Professional Development Team, will be traveling and flying to events all over the country. When competing at a major event, it is critical to arrive not simply physically prepared, but also psychologically calm. Critical to engendering a state of psychological calm is to arrive at the race hotel or host-housing with one’s equipment intact, and with an ample supply of spare equipment should a component fail while at the event- all with the aim of minimizing the environmental impact of traveling. How do the athletes of the ReCycling Team travel, and what can the weekend cyclist who might be thinking of traveling with a bike for the first time learn from them?
What should I bring?
What one brings depends upon what events one is competing in. When ReCycling Team riders are traveling to a road race or criterium, they of course pack their road bike as well as a set of training wheels, a set of race wheels, spare brake blocks, a spare chain, lubricant, as well as a set of tires for each of one’s wheels. Also, don’t forget to bring a spare set of cleats should your cleats fail. If one is using tubulars on their race wheels remember to bring tubulars that have been stretched and an ample supply of tubular glue such that a flatted tubular can be easily and quickly replaced. In addition, don’t forget to bring your usual complement of tools to make minor adjustments, as well as your seat pack and frame pump. Although, if the race has a neutral support vehicle, you will not need either during the actual race, the training that you do while at the race site should certainly be undertaken with a frame pump and spare tube should you puncture while training—especially in an unfamiliar city.
When traveling to a stage race with a time trial, or a track event, we will, as a matter of course, have to travel with additional bicycles. These additional bicycles necessitate additional spare parts. When traveling to a major time trial it is ideal to have multiple sets of race wheels, as a puncture in the moments before starting the event can mean switching to a slower spoked wheel. However, for most athletes multiple time trial wheels are cost prohibitive, so make certain to travel not only with spare race tires but also to avoid training in the days and hours leading up to the event on the wheels that you intend to race on.
When traveling to a track event also bring both a race and a training set of wheels, as well as pre-stretched tubular tires and glue. If you are traveling to a track that you have not yet been to and expect that you might be using gear combinations that you have not been using in your weekly training, make sure to also bring a chain breaker and some links of chain should you need to add or remove chain in order to obtain the necessary gear ratio. I remember many athletes coming from sea level to the velodrome at Colorado Springs and frantically adding links to their chain to obtain the larger gear ratios necessitated by the altitude of that velodrome. Also make sure to keep spare chainring bolts and bar plugs in your track bag. Although small and inexpensive, these are items that one does not want to be looking for in the minutes before one’s event. And, because of safety concerns, many officials will not allow racers to start events with missing bar plugs as exposed bar ends present the possibility of swinging around in a crash and impaling one’s thigh.
How Should I Pack?
There are numerous bike bags on the market designed for both one and two bicycles. Double bike bags work well when traveling with a road and track or road and time trial bike and because it is a single oversize bag can reduce the excess baggage fees that one incurs when flying with multiple bicycles. Bike bags are generally divided between hard shelled and soft shelled bags but one can also always also go to a local bike shop and ask for a bike box which one can usually get for free, and the use of which of course has the least environmental impact. A good way to think through what is best is to simply consider how many times you intend to use the bike bag. The more you intend to travel the more a bike bag is worth the investment.
The benefit of a soft shell bag is that it will tend to be somewhat lighter and because it is constructed from nylon or other synthetic fabric it will fit a greater range of frame sizes and handlebar types. However, as one can imagine bicycles in soft shelled bags can be more prone to damage by the airlines. A hard shell bag is more limited in terms of internal space, usually requires more disassembly of the bicycle, and one has to be careful to avoid having components rub against one another. Although, once packed well, a hard shell case does tend to protect equipment better than a soft shell case.
Most bike bags are designed to hold the bike and two wheels. It is ideal to place one’s less delicate training wheels in the bike bag or box and to separate out race wheels either in a cardboard box or in a hard shell wheel case. Remember to always carry on your shoes with you in your carry on luggage. Should your bike be lost or damaged it is always possible to borrow a bicycle and still compete at the event you are traveling to. By contrast, it is far more difficult to obtain and set-up a pair of shoes (much less a pair with custom orthotics). A cardinal rule of traveling for cycling is thus to never let one’s shoes out of one’s sight.
When packing bicycles, pipe insulation is inexpensive, recyclable , and when placed around the tubes of the frame, works well to protect the paint of the bike. Also, make certain to avoid damage to the frame’s dropouts by placing a wood or plastic spacer between the front and rear drop outs. With wheels removed in the bike bag, they are vulnerable to being crushed in transit. When removing your stem and saddle make sure to mark your saddle height with electrical tape and to take note of how many spacers are under your stem. In addition to these physically marking your position, it is also always a good idea to carry a fit sheet with you with all of your measurements.
Just as with regular luggage, the TSA frequently inspects bike bags. Although one can do little to be sure that the TSA properly repacks one’s bike bag after an inspection, at least having in mind the potential that one’s bag might be opened, can help facilitate packing decisions that can mitigate any possible damage.
What if Something Breaks at the Event?
If something breaks at the event seek out locals for a reputable shop. Although the ReCycling Team works with our sponsor shop when at home in Chicago, it can often be worth traveling to a more distant bicycle shop in order to have mechanical work done by a mechanic experienced in working with high-end bicycles. If you are looking for unusual parts make sure to call ahead to minimize your stress prior to the event. When competing outside of Europe, Australia or the United States always err on the the side of caution and bring more spare equipment rather than less, as one can never be certain about the availability of spare parts.
James Hibbard is both a member of and mentor to the 2010 ReCycling Professional Development Cycling Team. Over a fifteen year career, he has earned international medals representing the United States National Team on the track, and was a member of the top-ranked Shaklee and HealthNet professional cycling teams.
SInce retiring from racing on a full-time basis, James has coached road and track athletes of all abilities through Wenzel Coaching