Written by: @lizkefotografie
Cyclists and triathletes all own their own bikes and often bring them on their cycling holidays / training camps. Bringing your own bike guarantees that you know your bike and feel comfortable on it – but besides from this bringing your bike is also often related to lots of extra stress: How do I pack my bike safely? Which airline will take my bike? How much will it cost? How do I get to and from the airport with all the luggage? What if I have mechanical issues at the travel destination? And most important: will my bike arrive on time and without any damage? Who doesn’t know the stories about broken frames.. or bended rear derailleurs hangers.
I’m pretty sure you’ve been asking yourself questions like these before – and if you do, I have one big recommendation for you: just rent a bike.
People often think rental bikes aren’t good bikes – but this is not true in any way. To be completely honest, my rental bike at Berganti was even in a better condition than my road bike back home: perfectly running gears, disc brakes, almost new frame. The bike mechanics keep the bikes in really good condition and there’s a big variety of different frames available so everybody will find a bike that fits perfectly. Even more than that, Berganti Bikes also offer assistance on the road in case that something accidentally breaks down.. I personally wouldn’t like to spend extra money on a big taxi and not being able to finish my ride. ;-)
You want to go mountain biking on one day and road cycling on another? You don’t need your bike on all days of your holiday? Why stress about all of this when you can just rent a bike, switch bikes from one day to another and focus on the fun part of your holiday.
As a triathlete I often travel to races with my own bike so at least for the training camps I want to keep it as simple as possible. I left my bike back at home, travelled easy with my luggage only, arrived to a perfectly prepared bike, road many miles and then dropped it off at the shop at the end of my camp.