Win, Win, Win Situation

We bought a bike case yesterday.

Before I get into that, I must invoke a flashback to last August when we traveled to Norway for a few weeks. We traveled there several times in the past to see her family, but I hadn't ridden a bike of any type there. To be fair, our travels had generally been in the winter. I wanted to ride this time.

I knew that NWA allowed bikes to travel internationally for free as checked luggage, and that they sold bike boxes at the airport. I inquired at roadbikereview.com about the quality of the boxes, and some local lurker delurked to ask if I simply wanted to borrow his Trico Iron case. He was even willing to leave it in his backyard for me to pickup. I was uncomfortable with that, and felt that I'd at least like him to meet me face to face before parting with a case that cost at least $250. At any rate, I borrowed the case and took a fixed gear to Norway. Since we were staying mostly on a very small island, I had to take the ferry to the mainland to do any serious riding, but I had a great time exploring the area.

Anyway, when the crew from work was planning for the California ride, they asked me about bike cases. I suggested they post an inquiry online, and three out of the four were offered cases for free on loan. The other was "rented" a case for $50 for the trip. One of the women mentioned that the man she borrowed her case from was interested in selling his. I had packed her bike in the case, and it was practically new. It was a Performance Bike case that had an actual latch, rather than the Trico style using straps. It was a actually a bit smaller than the Trico, but it worked fine. My coworker gave me the contact info, and the price was right. Additionally, my wife actually recommended buying it.

I contacted the seller by email. We agreed on a price. My coworker had the case at work and had been planning on dropping it off after work with a small gift to show her appreciation for him loaning the case to her. I ended up giving her a check to give to him and took the case. In the end, she had a free case for a week and helped him finally sell it.

The real issue of course is not the sale of the case, but the generosity of complete strangers when it comes to biking.