How to travel with a bike, skis, snowboard, how to transport equipment on a plane, train, car

Everyone realizes that in the XXI century it is possible to do sports anywhere in the world. At the same time, you can easily find the right sports equipment. With 100% certainty we can say that if you plan to ride in the mountains, you are sure to find a rental. The interesting thing is rather different.

If you can’t stand rental equipment, if you have exclusive custom equipment made for you, you need to take everything with you. It’s worth saying that it’s not that difficult, and most importantly, it’s not scary.

Professional athletes, whose whole life is tied to constant moving, choose this option. They told us what to pay attention to and how to make sure that the equipment gets to its destination safe and sound.

Snowboard transportation

Depending on the time of year, one or another season in the sport begins. The most basic is the winter season. When the first snow appears, many people start pulling their snowboards and skis out of the closets and planning where they will blast the puffy snow this year.

June

professional snowboarder

It all depends on the specific trip. If it’s a short trip to a resort and you’re not going off piste, you can fit into one good snowboard case on wheels.

Jun: In my case, this option doesn’t work for me because I travel far and long. I have to take everything I need for all occasions, from technological clothing to avalanche equipment and a serious first aid kit. I usually bring at least three snowboards with me, so I travel with a bag, backpack, and wheelie case.

For those who don’t have any status with the airlines and take more with them but don’t want to pay for an extra piece of luggage, I recommend reading the carry-on rules carefully. Or call customer service the old fashioned way, as many airlines do promotions during the winter season that allow you to carry your snowboard/ski for free.

Transportation of windsurf boards

If you’re more into warmth, sun and water, then you’re probably a water sports fanatic. For those not in the know, summer sports equipment is often much larger in size than winter equipment. Take windsurfing, for example.

Olya Raskina

professional windsurfer

Traveling with your own equipment is easy if you follow these points.

Buy a ticket of an airline that offers free transportation of equipment or a special fare for your sport. For example, you can carry a case weighing up to 23 kg free of charge on S7 and Aeroflot if it is your main baggage. If it is in addition to your main luggage, you will pay 4-6 thousand rubles one way. When we fly somewhere as a family (we have two adults and two children), we take four tickets with luggage and carry two suitcases and two cases of 23 kg each for free. Airlines such as Turkish Airlines, for example, have special rates for sports equipment. Moreover, they also often take the case for free if there is no other luggage. So read the airline’s rules before buying a ticket.
Don’t buy heavy and bulky cases that will weigh up to 10 kg. They are unlikely to protect your board from breakage. I have all covers without wheels, with zippers, light and wide, and I wrap the boards with cardboard and wrap them with hydrides, foam rubber and other soft and light things.
Sometimes it is easier to rent or buy equipment locally than to fly with it. If you fly to the same places regularly, you can store your boards there at a friend’s place.
If your board gets punctured in transit (it happens a lot), you can fix it with quick-drying epoxy. Always carry a repair kit with you, you can buy it in any specialized surf store or in an ordinary construction store. By the way, if you are in Moscow, Lyosha Chokh will be able to repair your board.
Many airlines have restrictions on the weight of the case, so sometimes instead of one heavy one it is better to make two cases of 23 kg.
Many carry equipment for free in golf cases. Golf equipment all over the world is carried for free.
I can’t remember which movie, probably Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, was, “Don’t piss off the woman at the counter.” That’s the golden rule. The times when you could shake rights or persuade to take a match are free are over – sometimes as luck would have it, so luck would have it. And if “unlucky” – pay.
When weighing a case on the counter, carefully hold it with your hand. Then you will always have the permitted 23 kg.

Transporting a bicycle

Of the essentials, what else would stand out among the sports equipment is a bicycle. More and more freestyle riding parks are opening up all over the country, and ski resorts are trying to organize summer off-piste mountain bike areas in their territories. Sure, you can find a rental, but it won’t be your titanium-bolted, ultra-lightweight bike.

Pasha Alyokhin

mountain bike rider

If you initially choose an airplane flight – be sure to check the company’s policy on carrying your bike. There are very cheap tickets, but the transportation of a bike in this case may cost 5-10 thousand rubles one way, and this, respectively, will compensate the rest of the savings.

Pasha: I personally prefer Aeroflot, and this is not an advertisement. It’s because they have a strict policy, according to which a ticket with the possibility of carrying 23 kg of luggage includes a bicycle and you don’t have to pay extra for it. I can’t remember all the details, but I repeat that you should always check the conditions for sports equipment.

Certified Surf Coach (ASI) and Lifeguard (ILS)

The two main ways are by airplane and by car. The other cases are private, the train for example, but there is never a problem there. So let’s consider these two points.

By airplane

Dima: The first thing to understand about transportation of boards by airplane is that before buying a ticket, it is important to know the rules of transportation in a particular airline, because they all have their own. Accordingly, it is necessary to look at the possible flight options, call the company and clarify the conditions of transportation of surf equipment. Because they can be very different. Some airlines may not take sports and surf equipment at all. Somewhere it is allowed to carry it as part of luggage: if it fits in kilograms, you can take your boards without any extra charges. Somewhere, regardless of how many kilograms of main luggage you have, you have to pay extra for surf equipment, and a specific amount is specified. You need to find out all these features and choose the best option.

Sometimes, on the phone, they say one thing, but in reality at the counter is quite different. This is due to the fact that people at the counter do not every day encounter boards, especially if it is not a popular surfing destinations. They start looking for rules, they don’t find them, they decide for themselves how it’s going to be, they call somewhere and find out something inaccurately. You can call your friends and find out how it is in reality. Those who fly often have a better understanding of the issue.

Dima Zabula

On the same Aeroflot says that boards should be carried in an extra seat, you have to pay extra, but in fact, I know that in the same Maldives you can just put all the things in one case together with the boards and you do not have to pay anything extra.

The second thing is packing. The most important packing flyhack is a good, quality case. Modern covers are made strong enough, dense, there is a very good material and you can additionally not pack the boards in any way. Such covers are initially labeled with a “shot” (“careful, fragile”). But I always, if the shot is not drawn, ask at the reception desk for stickers “fragile” and glue two pieces at the top and bottom, I hope it helps and the cover is not too much thrown.

Nuance. I try to always put the boards separate from all the other stuff so that the cover is as light as possible. If it gets thrown around, there’s less chance of getting damage to the board. Also, if there are heavy or hard objects inside, like fins, they can push through or damage the boards. So my approach: a good quality case and only boards inside.