The week before a training camp is supposed to feel like anticipation. Routes you're going to ride and training you'll undertake, the weather forecast, whether the coffee at the place near the hotel is actually as good as someone said it was. In practice, though, it's usually spent reading contradictory airline policies, second-guessing your packing decisions, and wondering if your bike is going to arrive in the same condition it left in.
Most of this travel stress is avoidable, however, and we know we'd much rather be thinking about coffee and riding than packing and worrying. Here's how to actually approach it with some tips and advice from people who have been there and done it before.
Start with the airline, not the flight time
The most common mistake is booking a flight based on price or schedule and treating the bike fee as something to deal with later. Bike surcharges vary considerably between carriers, and some of them are steep enough to change which flight makes financial sense (if that's an option). A few carriers still include bikes within the standard checked baggage allowance, but most don't. Some apply oversized rates, which is worth budgeting for, including some which offer a flat sports equipment fee which does include bikes.
Check the bike policy on the airline's own website before you book, not through a comparison site, and not on the basis of a forum post from a few years ago. Screenshot it, as policies do change, and having a record of what was in place when you booked is useful if there's a dispute at check-in. If the airline requires advance notification that you're travelling with a bike, do it at the same time you buy the ticket.
Our airline baggage guide - which we try and update a few times throughout the year - covers the major carriers in more detail if you want a starting point. But always go direct to the source for confirmation.
Pack the box like your first ride depends on it...
...Because it probably does! Camp schedules can be tight, and if you're landing in Mallorca at 5pm with a group ride starting at 8am the next morning, the last thing you want is to spend your first evening looking for the bits you need.
Beyond the bike itself, most of the space inside a well-loaded bike box is usable. Shoes can pack neatly around the rear of the frame, helmets can sit in the frame triangle, supported by wheels in wheelbags. Kit can also fill gaps and stop movement of smaller items. A good rule of thumb is to put anything delicate inside something soft - so be mindful of letting bike computers drift around loose inside your box, or better still take those smaller digital items as carry-on luggage. It is also worth putting a floor pump in the box if there's room, securing it under elastic webbing available in all our boxes, since camp accommodation varies on whether there's a shared one available, and starting your first ride with unknown psi in your tyres because you borrowed a track pump with a dodgy gauge is not ideal.
One thing worth doing regardless of your confidence in the box arriving: carry a basic tool roll in your hand luggage. A multi-tool, a tyre lever, and a couple of common hex keys - having these to hand can often be extremely useful and eliminates the need to dig through your gear to find them.
At the airport
Check the box in early and at the correct desk. Most larger airports have a special or oversized baggage drop. If yours does, use it. Declaring your bike as sports equipment rather than general baggage is the correct approach, and occasionally the agent needs a moment to process it, so give them the time. We usually find a good attitude at the oversized baggage drop is warmly reciprocated given how stressful a job it can be! You'll also likely need to either check the box in advance or let the airline know a large piece of luggage is coming. Again, check airline websites for specific individual policies.
Keep your boarding pass and contact details inside the box as well as on the outside label, and make sure your bike is insured for transit if your home or travel insurance doesn't cover it.
On arrival
The transfer from the airport to camp accommodation is usually when the first practical question about the box comes up. A standard estate or SUV taxi handles one or two boxes depending on the model. Buxumbox bike boxes are usually easier to transport in cars thanks to their regular shape. A group needs a van transfer, and a van transfer needs to be arranged before you land, so sort this in advance. Groups that agree the transfer logistics on the WhatsApp thread at departures are groups that end up arguing at arrivals.
Once you're at the accommodation, build the bike the same evening.
Storing the box during the week
Most camp venues - villas, apartments, dedicated cycling hotels - have somewhere to store a bike box for the week. A garage, a storage room, a covered outdoor space. The box doesn't need to be in your room.
If you're at a hotel without private storage, we've found that reception will usually store it. Confirm before you arrive rather than appearing in the lobby, though.
The return
Clean the bike before you pack it. Most camps have a hose point, and packing a drivetrain that has spent a week on Mallorcan roads directly into the box without washing it down is hard on everything - not least the box interior, the bike, and your patience when you unpack it at home. Let the bike dry before it goes back in too.
The return leg of any trip always takes longer than the outbound to sort. Your attention is lower, your bike may need a clean as above, and there is a reasonable chance you've acquired extra kit, a bottle of local olive oil, or a coffee cup from a café that you've convinced yourself will look great in your kitchen.
For group travel, agree again on the transfer back to the airport. This is the bit people forget to re-confirm.
The logistics of camp travel are genuinely not complicated once you've done it a couple of times. We like to think our bike boxes make life easier for riders attending camps, as it takes away the key worry of the bike itself arriving safely. So why not check out which bike box is right for you?
If you're looking for track-based training, our friends at Black Line Coaching run annual training camps and personalised coaching. We can highly recommend them - and they even have an informal "Buxum Club" for camp attendees with Buxumboxes!
Photo by dylan nolte