# Storage of bike box while in Europe?



## Tri-2-Du (Dec 21, 2005)

Has anybody flown with their bike to Europe then rented an RV for a month? We are riding in the Maratona dles Dolomites, cruising Tuscany and then France to catch the Tour in the Alpes and Paris. What should we do with our bike boxes when we get there? The RV rental agency in Munich says they have no room to store our two cases. Any suggestions?


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## teoteoteo (Sep 8, 2002)

Tri-2-Du said:


> Has anybody flown with their bike to Europe then rented an RV for a month? We are riding in the Maratona dles Dolomites, cruising Tuscany and then France to catch the Tour in the Alpes and Paris. What should we do with our bike boxes when we get there? The RV rental agency in Munich says they have no room to store our two cases. Any suggestions?



I've successfully been able to store my case at a hotel in the past but you are getting an RV so my plan is troublesome. That being said, I also suggest considering a case from crateworks (www.crateworks.com) because it is strong but can be broken down to 100% flat. I own the corrugated plastic model. It has been to europe 7 times and on numerous other domestic trips. It shows wear but has tons of life left. Fwiw I even used it to sleep on at the base of Izoard..the plastic made for a nice waterproof layer for my bag under the beautiful sky.... 

If my crateworks suggestion doesn't work try finding out if the train station has large item storage....


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## Kerry Irons (Feb 25, 2002)

*First night*



Tri-2-Du said:


> Has anybody flown with their bike to Europe then rented an RV for a month? We are riding in the Maratona dles Dolomites, cruising Tuscany and then France to catch the Tour in the Alpes and Paris. What should we do with our bike boxes when we get there? The RV rental agency in Munich says they have no room to store our two cases. Any suggestions?


Any chance you are staying in a hotel before you pick up the RV? If so, that's the place to leave the boxes. Otherwise, you might Google for bike clubs in Munich and see if they have ideas.


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## M.J. (Jan 28, 2004)

that's a tough problem - (if you were starting in London you could have left them with me) - when I have flown in Europe with a bag it's always a hassle on where to store - it's actually a problem just trying to leave the airport rental car or not - I think someone could make some money offering some sort of service in thie regard

my only advice is, as others have said, consider staying in a hotel the first and last nights of the journey and make storage of your bags part of the reservation

also

the contacting local cycling clubs is a possibility

the most practical suggestion is to ship the bikes in a cardboard bike boxes, wrap it up well and pick one up at the other end (make a reservation at the other end with a store to have your bike properly packed) for the return journey

my next trip to the continent will be on the ferry for this logistical reason

if I travelled regularly with my bike I would get S&S couplings so it could fit in a normal suitcase - I already have the frame and fork - now just need the job...


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## wim (Feb 28, 2005)

*If money is no object . . .*

Both the Munich main train station (Hauptbahnhof) and the Munich airport (Flughafen) offer another type of storage in addtion to lockers. It's called "Gepäckaufbewahrung." Someone will take your items, log them in and lock them up in a secure area. The (very expensive) airport Gepäckaufbewahrung daily charge depends on the size and nature of the item. The train station Gepäckaufbewahrung charges considerably less, but has a limit of exactly one month.

Airport Gepäckaufbewahrung for a bicycle (most expensive rate) is 8.00 Euros the first day, 6.50 Euros every day thereafter. A month would be about 200 Euros, so long-term airport storage wouldn't be an option. But the daily charge might be less for a bike _case_.

Main train station Gepaeckaufbewahrung for a bicycle is 3.05 Euros a day for a maximum of one month. Your case might be considered mere baggage, which is 2.05 Euros a day.


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## gonsa (Feb 20, 2005)

I did what others have suggested here. I made sure that the hotel I was staying at near the Zurich airport had a storage room for the bike boxes. There was no charge for storage the three weeks we were traveling. Your travel plans are a bit confusing. It sounds like you might be doing a open jaw ticket flying into Milan then out of Paris but then renting the RV in Munich? For only a month, you're covering a lot of ground while trying to get in riding. You'll have to figure out how to strap those boxes onto your RV.

I also used this website to get a lot of specific information about traveling with bikes:

http://www.bikeaccess.net/BikeAccess/BikeBoxs_DB.cfm


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