In my February 12th post I discussed the options when going on a destination cycling vacation. I decided against schlepping my bike on the plane and avoiding the $200 baggage fee. That's one way! I used ShipBikes.com and packed Blanca in one of their AirCaddys. The cost FedEx Ground from Chicago to Tucson was $110 which included $1000 of insurance. Basic insurance is $100. I shipped directly to the hotel and Blanca arrived in perfect condition a couple of days before I did.
Upon arrival, all I had to do is position the handle bars, put the seat post in and put my front wheel on. Took like 5 minutes. We took a quick spin to test the gears and then good to go.
My friend that came with decided on renting a bike from a local bike shop. He's considering buying the brand and model they were renting. So perfect opportunity to do a test drive before spending a lot of money. Some key things to consider when renting. It is always advised to bring your own seat and pedals. Kinda obvious why you would want your tried and true saddle. But not so obvious for pedals. First, you'd want the pedals that work with your style of cleats. Second, they are adjusted correctly to your cleats.
However, this experience has taught me two other things to consider when renting which never crossed my mind. Gearing and tires.
Ask what kind of gearing will be on the bike. Is it a compact crank? What size cassette? If you will be doing a lot of climbing, do you have the right gears to get up the mountain? In this case, the cassette on the rental wasn't ideal. Could have used an 11-28. It worked out okay, just made it tougher to spin up some of the steeper climbs.
Check the condition of the tires on your rental. If they look worn or have cuts asked them to be replaced prior to leaving the store. You want your equipment in tip top shape before you do a steep decent from the mountain.
I'll cover cycling in Tucson in a future blog, but I can say this is a Mecca for cyclist of all ages, of all abilities and for all types of bikes. Having an amazing week and makes it better hearing it's single digits back in Chicago. Will be tough to go home.
Enjoy the ride,
Sheri
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