Stupid Hurts

My Letter to VirginAmerica Airlines Regarding Bicycles as Baggage. I have sent it to a few other airlines to.

Hello,

It seems that you all are trying to create a different kind of airline that exceeds customers’ expectations. For all the folks out there that are trying to live a green lifestyle and minimize their use of cars, bringing your bike with you when you travel is ideal. However, most airlines — yours included — charge $50-60 each way to check a bicycle. In contrast, checking oversized ski equipment is often free. Bicycles are primary modes of transportation for many people particularly people with limited means, whereas skis are a luxury item.

Please consider allowing cyclists to check bicycles onto your planes for free, or for a reduced price such as $10 each way, which would be comparable to what trains and buses charge. You would immediately win the loyalty of all the cyclists and green-living folks out there and would likely get a lot more money in ticket sales from those types of travelers.

Thanks for listening!

…I encourage every cyclist to write a similar letter to any and all airlines. Email VirginAmerica about this, you can copy and paste my text if that helps.

virgin customer service

Flying with any of my bikes has always been a hassle. Since I almost never check any other baggage. and I have to assume they bent my wheels.

So I decided a bit back that I wanted another [tag]fixed[/tag] [tag]gear[/tag] [tag]bike[/tag] to replace my [tag]langster[/tag] that was sold while I was in the [tag]hospital[/tag]. I almost bought another one of the same bike, but they are amazingly hard to come by in this part of the world. So after a bit of research I decided it would be best to [tag]build[/tag] my own [tag]fixie[/tag] this time.

I started by hunting up an interesting [tag]frame[/tag]. I came across a steel [tag]Italian[/tag] time trial frame that was odd enough to make a good start for a build.

I figured while I was waiting for parts to start coming in for it I would go ahead and sew up a top tube pad to match my bag.

Given my predilections for things that are odd or interesting means I have to put up with making things myself or special ordering stuff. This time was was no different than the others. While I was able to pull several parts from my big box of spare parts I keep lying around. Several things either had to be special ordered or found hidden in a box under a self at one of the local bike shops.

But even that being the case, the build has managed to come together fairly smoothly and well under budget. I have had loads of fun doing the research and hunting down the parts. The wheels had to be custom built to keep the overall project cheap.

It almost ready to be ridden. Today I went into my local bicycle shop to pick up my tires. Unfortunately they had to be special ordered as well. When I got there they told me “we are sorry they aren’t in yet, and we don’t know when they are coming in.” After a bit of talking, I found out that the $14 dollar tires I had ordered had no estimated time of arrival but they would gladly sell me some $45 dollar tires to ride on until mine came in. I chose to pass.