This guest post from David Bender, an avid cyclist who has travelled to more than ten countries with his bike. describes some methods of packing your bike to affordably take with you on a plane.  He writes a lot about bikes at his blog.  When not attending to his blog he enjoys riding around the neighborhood.     

How to Fly with a Bike the Cheap and Easy Method
If you are a fervent mountain bike rider, at some point your adventures may include international travel with your beloved bike. You may be bringing your bike along during a holiday vacation, participating in a bike tournament abroad or simply looking to experience the thrill of exploring new, foreign trails. Transporting a mountain bike is regarded as an immensely tedious and costly undertaking by several mountain bikers but it needn’t be this way. This post will pilot you through the ins and outs of bike packing and show you the most affordable, safe and hassle-free way to fly with a bike.
Preparing to fly with a bike
Your flight’s success will be determined majorly by the way your precious bike will be handled in transit. You can improve the chances of having a successful plane trip with a bike as luggage by preparing adequately. As you plan your journey, be sure to include the following:

1. Look into the various airlines’ bike-luggage policies to identify which one best suits your needs. You may want to consider their weight and size allowance alongside luggage charges. A majority of international air transport service providers agree on general baggage allowance of below 50 pounds weight and 62 dimensions size
2. Decide which method of bike packing aligns with your preferences and prepare it in advance. You’ll need to purchase your bike’s packaging with its corresponding provisions including duct tape, wrapping twine and bubble wrapping
3. Acquire a set of bike tools like Allen keys and hex spanners for use during partial bike disassembly prior to air travel and re-assembly after arrival
4. Measure and record all adjustable bike parts like handlebars and seat-post height before setting out to disassemble the bike- this will save you substantial time when tuning them to your liking after reassembly.

How to pack your bike for air travel
Today, most airlines require that all bikes be partially dismantled and packaged for cartage although they only recently allowed them to be wheeled right into plane’s luggage bays in polythene bags. Airlines relay numerous reasons for these require provisions including:

• It’s necessary to reduce the size of the bike so that it easily fits on airports’ luggage conveyor belt systems
• Packaging will help protect the bike from damage and theft of some parts
• Boxing up your bike ensures it doesn’t interfere with or destroy other luggage
• Wrapping up the bike aids in easing its transport by luggage-handling crew

There are various ways of packaging your mountain bike for a flight. While the easiest and most cost-friendly are using cardboard boxes and clear plastic bags, the more costly ones are by use of bike cases and bike travel bags. Admittedly, the latter are also safer thus more reliable than the former. However, this doesn’t mean packing your prized mtb in a clear plastic bag or cardboard box is a trumpet call to have it mishandled en route- on the contrary, your bike is actually handled more delicately when in clear wrapping or fragile cardboard boxes. Nonetheless, you’ll need to go the extra mile in using extra padding like bubble wrap if you choose to pack your two-wheeler in a soft box.
Whether yours mountain bike or the most costly cycle dragon in the market, airlines will require you to adhere to their strict luggage weight and seize restrictions otherwise they’ll be glad to charge you heavily for excess baggage. You should do the following to stay within package size boundaries:

1. Disengage the front wheel to reduce the length of your bike then screw back the axle into the forks to shield them from warping
2. Unfasten the stem and push the handlebars down to reduce your ride’s height. Further, turning them parallel to the frame will lessen the width of the bike
3. Unhinge your bike’s pedals or twist them inward if they are foldable. This will also condense your bike’s width.
4. If your bike has disc brakes, be sure to unfasten them and secure the brake pads with padding between them to prevent scraping
5. Disconnect the rear derailleur from the frame to protect the two from damage in transit. You can also secure the derailleur with duct tape or bubble wrap for added protection
6. Partially deflate the bicycle’s tyres as required by several airlines. This is supposed to shield your tubes from rupturing at high altitude
7. Lowering the bike’s seat-post before packing aids in reducing its height to the required 1m or below
8. After packaging, ensure the box, bag or polythene is carefully labeled with your name and address (home or destination) to streamline customs clearance as well as aid in convenient shipment in case it’s lost.

Post-packing tips
Once it’s handed over to the luggage-loading crew, there’s little you can do for your precious cargo but cross your fingers and hope the baggage handlers will be careful. However, you can take pre-flight precautions to safeguard your bike from avoidable damage by ensuring it’s packed with sufficient padding to absorb and transmit most of the shock of impact. Further, it’s imperative that you ascertain whether the airline’s luggage insurance covers damage, loss or theft of bikes in transit.
Final words
It’s clear from this post’s coverage that international air travel with sensitive luggage can be a tricky undertaking. Still, we are optimistic this post has presented practical tips on the easiest and most affordable way to fly with a bike without compromising its safety.
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My previous post I touted the benefits of having a folding bike for travel and there is no better example of how convenient it can be than if traveling by plane.  That post doesn't mention or describe my favorite travel bag for stashing the bike because I didn't need to use it on our road trip.  After reading the information presented above consider this from a reviewer of the Rock Bros Folding Bike Carry Bag.  
"​Great folding bike bag! Best I have ever owned. Intelligently designed to include a comfortable lightweight matching backpack which can be used when traveling to hold the folded bike bag: get off the plane get bag at carousel unpack and unfold bike and fold bag into backpack and bike away. Backpack also has velcro so it can be used as a handlebar bag".

Learn more about David and his relevant content for mountain biking enthusiasts at his site Best MTB Gear.
Or visit him at Facebook or Twitter

Links related to this topic
Save Money with Folding Bike for Travel
​A Folding Bike That Fits

My mission if I chose to accept it was to drive Lisa's seventy six year old mother (Grandma Lynn) from our home in League City, Texas back to her home in Phoenix, Arizona via a lengthy scenic route.  

Lisa planned out a nice road trip vacation for her mother which consisted of visiting some of her mother's favorite areas including Santa Fe, New Mexico with the arts and crafts scenes that area has to offer while staying a night at nearby Madrid, a very eclectic if funky little town.  From there we would drive to Lisa's mother's cabin in Heber Overgaard, Arizona and then drive her home to Phoenix on our return drive home. 

Sad as it is, Grandma Lynn is experiencing some early stages of dementia which is just one of the reasons I was asked to do most of the driving, that and I'm simply an excellent driver.  : ) Anyhow, knowing how much stuff the gals tend to pack for a vacation (Grandma Lynn, Lisa and a teenage girl) I decided to see how full the car was before I selected a bike and bikepacking kit. Ironically while I assessed which bike to bring Jennifer Campbell asked me to share her informative piece on How to Choose a Bike According to Science, 10 Factors to Consider.  It's a pretty good read although there is no mention at all of folding bikes for travel. 

Four years ago I visited Grandma Lynn's cabin at Overgaard, Arizona (blog post here) and had such a nice time I thought next time I would bring a bikepacking kit for the Tall Timbers Trail Park.  That's what I had in mind and figured it would be alright to squeeze in one overnighter along the way.  Unfortunately, the trunk lid of the little Nissan Versa flexed too much with the bike on the Saris Bike Carrier.  Plan B, which is what I keep the old Dahon Mariner folding bike for and the fact that it doesn't require any precise bike fit consideration for the rider I can always fold it down and throw it in.  (Older post regarding this bike is here.) 

As simple as that seems to be able to do, not having a full sized bikepacking or touring bike frame for packing gear on might imply a bit of a challenge.  For bike commuting and urban touring I used a handlebar basket and a hydration pack with the little folder but packing a tent, poles, sleeping bag, pillow, air mattress, photography kit and some food seemed a bit daunting of a task and of course how would the ride feel once the gear was packed on to the little bike that could?  

Photo at left of my typical kit for bike touring that includes a solar panel for charging camera batteries, a power brick, tablet and phone.  A very small cooking kit mostly for boiling water.  I kinda stood there looking at that mess for awhile before unfolding the bike.  I brought a couple handlebar bag options (nothing fancy) and was glad I brought my hydration pack designed for mountain biking and trails due to the fact that other than the rear rack trunk bag the old Dahon doesn't have a water bottle holder and July in New Mexico requires ample hydration.   

Photo at left and above show how I got everything to fit on the bike without having to use panniers so it is more of a bikepacking kit than what is typically considered a bicycle touring set up.  Keeping in mind that I used a decent sized hydration pack for miscellaneous items that wouldn't fit on the bike.  

That inexpensive handlebar bag has proven to be very versatile and useful as a bikepacking kit item as I was able to stuff my sleeping bag and pillow into the Outdoor Research Dry Bag and used the straps of the handlebar bag to secure it.  I was able to fit my tablet, power brick, assorted cables and a mini tripod in the main compartment while the two pockets on left and right held my phone and Canon G 16 camera.  Behind the seatpost is the Seat to Summit Compression Dry Bag with my Alps Mountaineering Lynx 1 Tent.  Rear Trunk bag has external pockets with assorted snack food items, small cable lock and cinchable water bottle holder.  On top of the trunk bag I secured the solar panel for charging device batteries and power brick while the main compartment of the trunk bag was able to fit my bed mattress.  Seat wedge bag held a spare tube, patch kit and a few tools.  

I'm glad I had an opportunity to experience some new variations on bikepacking and bike touring with a folding bike for travel.  Not only was it the perfect bike in a fun little town like Madrid, New Mexico populated with artsy craftsy folks who appreciate the style and uniqueness of a folding bike I was also able to experience how well it would perform for fun recreational sight seeing rides and as a get around bike for my photography.  While in Phoenix I had an opportunity to visit the Bicycle Nomad Cafe and owner Erick Cedeno after riding the little old Dahon Mariner said "it rides better than it looks, I always wondered about these types of bikes."  

This folding bike being touted on this post is a '98 Dahon Mariner five speed.  It's mostly all original with stock components with the exception of a new chain and free wheel gears as I wanted to diversify some gear ratios for trails.  Another modification was replacing the 20 x 1.5 street tires for commuting with some better quality 20 x 1.75 tires like these from Schwalbe.  Interesting that the reputable company which has been providing high quality bicycle touring tires made the Marathon Plus available in a size to fit folding bikes like this.  Also, the tread pattern provides just enough grip for some off road excursions which I found to be very useful in areas where I wanted to get some photos with the bike.   So to wrap up, as much as I wanted to bring my sorta fat bike for the trails previously described it turns out that the appropriate bike for our summer vacation proved to offer plenty of fun and a good conversation piece.  If you're reading this post in consideration of getting a folding bike to add to your riding options I definitely recommend it for their sheer versatility and convenience when a full size bike isn't an option under some traveling circumstances.  

While writing this post I received yet another email from the editor at "The Folding Bike Zone" where they consider a folding bike to be the best bicycle for your commuting needs.  Sure their a bit biased : ) everyone has varying commuter needs but their five reasons why they consider it to be the best choice may just help with your purchasing decision if you're someone in the market for this type of bike.  

When it was all said and done and I drove over a thousand miles in one day to get us home on time, Grandma Lynn is home safe and sound, I got some excellent photos for my bike touring stock images collection while putzing around on a silly little bike that made me smile.  Until next time, keep on riding even if you need the convenience of what many consider to be a fuddy duddy folding bike.  

Links Related to this topic
Folding Bike for Travel
Dahon

These EDiscoverpic UK Road Trips [Infographic]
The UK may not have road trips like you see in the movies, but there are many scenic routes throughout the UK that are worthy of the big screen. With more national parks and areas of outstanding natural beauty than you could ever visit you can easily discover a route that will become an unforgettable road trip.
Despite being fairly short compared to more famous road trip destinations the UK still has a couple of fairly long road trip opportunities, we won’t spoil the below graphic by mentioning them quite yet, but if you want a whistle stop tour of England or Scotland then a couple of the road trips could be a perfect fit. Or if you’re after something short and snappy then other trips offer exactly that.
So without further introduction here are the 5 UK road trips put together by De Vere Hotels for your driving pleasure: