Value of Bike = 650

A 15 year old, fully rigid MTB is worth 650 dollars.  That's what the bike-friendly folk at Qatar Airways were wanting to charge to get my jalopy to the UK. And no, they don't service it or deliver door-to-door. I could have spent a third of that price and send it international express courier (which is door-to-door), but. . .it's a 15 year old bike!  

Suck it up Martin, and vote with your wallet when next flying to Europe. 

I was hoping to hold out on an upgrade until I got  back from Bangkok in a couple of years, but what's not to like about perpetuating your poverty with a two-wheeled purchase?

Wary of the cost of shipping the bad boy back, I figure that a folding bike will earn it's premium price back in one flight. 

The problem with a folding bike is that I can't see one of the usual suspects ( above right) getting me and my gear across Western Europe. Add to that the unique parts, and attendant difficulty in servicing, and they don't look so great.

Then I stumbled on an ebay listing for a "normal" MTB which also folds. 

All the running gear is standard stuff, so there's no concern with what to do if gear breaks. 

The funny thing is that it's also worth 650. . .pounds.  

The auction got away from me, but the UK importer was changing over their 07 demonstrators, and gave me a deal on a similar model for 450. An upgrade to road tyres, and I think I have a bike.

OK, so it's not as light as it could be, not my favorite colour, and not as keenly priced as they are in the US, but it's a good solid bike that, I'm assured, will be delivered to Chris's house on Monday. 

Fitting panniers is a challenge to be solved another day.

What are the Chances?

With the 3 of us heading to start the journey in a a seemingly obscure, cycle friendly city in Switzerland, we never expected accommodation to be a problem. Not until we learned that the Euro 2008 football tournament starts in Basel that weekend. What are the chances!? 

None of us are into football, though I remember that Chris used to play it in primary school, broke a leg for the privilege in year 8. All the same, we had to go through the extra hoops of providing everything short of DNA to the campground management to pass on to the Swiss authorities. 

we're so not into the football scene, that we're looking to bail on Basel ASAP,  which is a shame, because its probably a nice place when not overrun with lager louts. At least they're going to be predominantly Swiss and Czech louts. I can think of worse.

Sleeping it off

So where do you rest up when cycle touring?

The plan for this trip is to camp when it is convenient, but to we're looking to stay in more substantial digs - B&Bs, pensions and so on - if the weather is bad, kindly locals take us in, or we're feeling desperate for a real bed. 

We've also heard good things about Hostels en-route, so have all joined up, to keep that option there.

Keeping it flexible also means that we'll be able to say on top of mundane stuff like clothes washing, but still keep the budget down where we can.

The downside is that we're carrying a lot more gear - We're each over 6 feet tall, and will each have a hike tent to keep each of us sane and content with just our own B.O..

Best Laid Plans. . .

The plan for a bike seemed so perfect: Ben would be in Australia for a month, so I could use his bike while he was away.  A thieving miscreant in London had other ideas. Ben's now bikeless, and I have 10 days to find one.

My options are three: borrow, buy or bring.

Ben's still a bit tender from the break-in, and had planned to spend his meagre savings living it up in Australia.  he's not really ready to buy another bike soon, so borrowing seems out.

The bring option would see me tackling the river on a 15 year old MTB.  It wouldn't be as fast or comfortable as it might, but could be made better with a pair of road tyres. The bike was decent in its day, so is pretty light, and the components are reliable. Lugging a bike box through airports and the london underground isn't optimal, but it's quite doable, particularly given that Simon will be at the Hethrow end to help out.  If Ben wants a budget bike on his return, this one might even fit the bill.

Buying in London is also an option. Always looking for something different, I've considered a couple of folding bikes. Regardless of what I buy, I'l give Ben the option to buy at a discount at the other end.

I've got about 2 days to decide.