Las Vegas Take-Over, Day 1

Protecting the bike with foam insulation

The new Aerus Biospeed Bike Bag

Bike neatly packed away

After an immense amount of preparation for my Vegas Camp (mostly packing,) I started off the morning with a nap, as I came off my last night shift at work. Off to the Bellingham Airport, Dad was giving me a ride down so I could save money on the parking costs. We skirted through the long border line-up by going through the duty-free, (to save time on the wait,) and an 85% Dark Chocolate bar (my favourite,) and one pack of batteries for my camera later, we were through the border in an awesome 12 minutes!!! Lucky us.  As I went through check-in at the airport, I was a little nervous about checking my bike. For those of you who have never travelled with a bike bag or box before, there is an extra fee associated with bike travel. I’ve paid up to $175 ONE WAY for a bike box (thanks United Airlines,) and as little as $50. It is a combination of overweight/oversize fees, but EVEN if your box/bag is undersize/underweight, and they find out you have a bike, they’ll still ding you with the fees. And when it costs more to fly your bike than yourself, something’s up. So instead of borrowing a bike box for this trip, I made an executive decision and decided I needed to get a bag for myself, as racing internationally will require flying a lot (duh!) and it would be a good investment. I did a lot of research, and finally figured out which bag I wanted to buy: the Aerus Biospeed Bike Bag. It was modestly priced as far as bike luggage is concerned (about $450 all-in, to my front door,) but there was something even more enticing about this bag: the possibility of AVOIDING bike fees!!! Most of the reviews I read about the bag (including pro’s like Brent McMahon, and Heather Wurtel,) said they almost always were able to avoid the bike fees with this bag, as it was very inconspicuous (just a plain black bag, no “BIKE” written all over it,) extremely lightweight (only 7lbs,) and didn’t really look like a bike bag at all. I figured if I showed up to the check-in counter with normal clothes on (ie. Not wearing a shirt that says “Tour de France for LIFE” all over it,) they might not question what was in my bag.  This way, the bag would practically pay for itself.

Getting the bike on the other side

Well, it’s starting to pull it’s weight now (ha ha ha, no pun intended.) I EASILY made it through the check-in counter without paying the bike fee, all I had to pay was the check baggage fee ($20,) MUCH cheaper than it could have cost (with Alaska Airlines it’s up to $75, relatively cheap compared to other airlines.) It JUST made the regular weight, coming in at 49.6lbs on their scale (50lbs being the cut-off,) so I guess I’m not too bad at packing! Some people would think that a bike bag would be a bad idea for bike travel, (fear of damaging their bike,) but the bag is decently sturdy, and there were no negative reviews from owners stating any damage to their precious rides. Following other’s advice, I went to Home Depot and bought a bunch of foam pipe insulation to pad the heck out of the bike. It keeps it even more protected, like armour for my bike. It was super easy to pack the bike, even this being the first time with it, and it is so neatly tucked away, with lots of spots to throw other stuff. It carries super easy with the shoulder strap, (being a strapping young man, 50lb bags are no problem :P Haha!) This investment is already paying for itself, and within a few flights it should be paid off (especially with the expensive airlines that charge a bundle.)

I was very curious about how to get all my supplements down to vegas with me, as I have a LOT of them. After consulting Bjoern about what to do, I packed a whole bunch of the E-Load Gels and an E-Mend Recovery Drink canister in the bike bag, and packed away a bunch of single serving E-Load packs in my carry-on, as well as a bag of E-Load powder. I put enough of my daily vitamin capsules for the trip into one big pill container, and bagged enough glutamine, BCAA’s, Veggie-Greens, Phytoberry, and Bet-Alanine for the trip. I discovered there is a supplement store only blocks from my condo, so I will make a stop there to buy some Vega Whole Food Optimizer for my breakfast shakes, as well as some protein, Omega Oils, and a few other goodies to make sure I’ll be stocked up for my camp. This will be the biggest block of volume I’ve ever done, so I have to ensure that I’m properly fuelled for the long days of training (in the heat, no less.) This is where the E-Load Heat Endurance Formula will really shine. There is also a bike shop about 4 miles away, which has enough to get me by in case of any problems. Seeing as I don’t have a car for the trip (there’s a $20 a day surcharge for drivers under 25yrs old, DARN!) I’m lucky there’s a grocery store across the street from my condo, and a Safeway a short walk away. I’ll probably end up shopping frequently, so this makes life so much easier! I may end up renting a car for the last portion of my trip, that way I can actually go to the pool to swim, and maybe get out and see some shows or something. 

The bike made it through the flight unscathed, and after a nice 1hr30min run through the neighborhood to do  some exploring (which ended up taking 2.5hrs, as I kept stopping to look inside stores and what-not!!) I unpacked all my stuff. Only then did I realize something absolutely DREADFUL:

Midnight food run, fully stocked though!

I didnt have anything to eat for dinner. Oh....my....god! My worst nightmare! So I had to WALK to the nearest grocery store (just over a km away,) and by the time I finished shopping and left, it was just past midnight.

That's right, MIDNIGHT. Some people go to vegas to shut down the bars. I go to shut down the local grocery stores. After dragging my loot back to the condo (not fun, but I guess a good workout,) I finally get to go to bed.

Interesting start to the trip, but that's how I roll.