Before you can start riding the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route you need to go to ‘the starting point’. Wherever that may be, depending on personal choices. In my case, the starting point is Banff, Alberta in Canada, where I will start riding South-Bound.
So, my bike, gear, and I need to get to Banff. Since I live abroad, I will be flying to Calgary. Although I already booked quite some family holidays to the US myself (flights, rental car, accommodations, etc.), this time it feels different. I need to make sure the bike is confirmed (both ways). I prefer a direct flight on my way to Calgary to minimize issues with the bike (damages, loss, …). The date for the return flight is an estimate, I need some flexibility for change (preferable date/time and also departure airport). In short, I would like a professional to look into this. I hope this makes things easier for me, and they might be able to help with other parts of the journey (shuttle to Banff, accommodation in Banff, or alternatives). So I decided to make use of the services of a travel agency.
Travel Agency
I wrote down my plans and wishes and sent them to a travel agency in my region which I think was most suitable for my requirements. After some phone calls (COVID remember) in which we discussed my wishes, it turns out they mainly are interested in arranging flights. Since this is the most important for me, I decided to proceed. Arranging shuttle service and accommodation is easy to arrange yourself online anyways. The travel agency nicely arranged my flights. Would I use a travel agency again in the future? Maybe not. Normally I already book direct at the airlines so no change. In this case, I would do it by phone to make sure the bike is reserved and approved. However, another advantage of the travel agency is that I can send them an email during my trip if I would like to have the flight changed. They will inform me of options and possible costs involved, and after approval make sure the change is made. This could make a huge difference in trying to arrange things myself on-route. UPDATE: when looking for insurance options for the bike, especially for damages/loss during flights, they could only come up with an additional travel insurance, which (again) only partially covers the bike. I did find out myself the option to arrange a ‘Special Declaration of Interest (in Dutch: BbijzonderVerklaring van Belang’ during check-in. This is a way that airline companies can raise the maximum liability limits (which is little over 1200 euro). I asked the travel agency about this. Strangely, they never heard about it, and just referred me to the airline company (which I already explained was not reachable). Again another disappointment and again a reason to arrange it myself next time. The result, I should go to the airline desks at the airport to check it out :(. I saw other airlines where they charge 15% of the value for a single flight. That is way too much. I decided to insure my bike with laka.co.
Bike transport
Transporting the bike on the plane will be done by packing the bike in a cardboard box. Maximal sizes and weights are available on the airline’s website. In my case this is a maximum of 300 cm (118 inch) (length + width + height) and 23 kg (50.7 lb). When booking you have to specify the measurements. I have used the size of the boxes the airline sells for this purpose (176.5 x 23.0 x 101.5 cm and weight of 4.5kg / 70 x 9 x 40 inches and a weight of 10 lb). My bike will not fit in the box without removing some parts. For example, I will need to remove my front wheel and store it next to the frame in the box. I will also include my bike bags, tools, and some other gear inside the box (as long as it stays within the weight limit). When arriving in Calgary I will pick up the bike box, check for damages, and move to the shuttle service. For the return flight, I will need to find out how to get a cardboard box. Probably contact a bike shop in the area, or in the worst case get a lot of cardboard boxes from a grocery store and a lot of tape to assemble something useful.
Shuttle service
I have made reservations for a shuttle service from Calgary International Airport to my accommodation in Banff. There are several companies offering such services. I decided to use Banff Airporter. They have good prices, easy to book online, and are the ones with the most choices for drop-off locations in Banff. Getting the bike registered for the shuttle service is easy. Sent them a message with your booking number and the message that you want to take your bike and all is OK. Be aware that the bike does need to stay in the box for shuttle transport.
Endpoint
When we arrive at the end-point in Antelope Wells, New Mexico, there is nothing. Ab-so-lute nothing. People are either being picked up by car, picked up by or cycling back to Jeffrey Sharps’s Bike Ranch in Hachita, or cycling towards El Paso to move out from there. If all goes as planned, I will be picked up at Antelope Wells (arranged by my bike companion) and dropped off at Albuquerque so I can take my flight back home from there.