Getting out of Verbania... on the bike... finally!

View from the apartment, with the sun shining.

Finally today, I got out on my bike. About five miles into the ride, I remember what I am here for. The food has been less than expected, tourist stuff is boring, but cycling is always fun in Italy. Unfortunately, I'm having trouble with Garmin Connect (have to use it in order to get stuff on Strava) because it is a complete and total shit application. Traveling with an iPad is great, but it doesn't help with the Garmin connectivity. I said it last year, but this year when I get back, I'm going to call up Garmin and give them a piece of my mind. I wish there was someone who I could hold responsible for their terrible program so I could beat them with a large stick. It's completely unacceptable. But I digress...

My first ride was 35 miles, along the lake then up a big climb over 4000ft above sea level. I don't really have any stats on it since I can't connect to Strava right now, but it was hard, especially as the first climb I've done. I started out just cruising along the shore road, and at some point, just past Intra, a group of three riders came by and I jumped on their wheel. They were flying so I just sat in and spun up my legs. I could definitely feel the jet-lag still in the legs. Even though I feel rested now, my legs were still a little funky. Then I turned off and started the climb. I took it easy because I didn't really know what I was in for, how my legs and lungs were going to respond, etc. It was a nice road, wide, well paved for the main section. Once I got about 7km up, the road turned off and got really narrow as it wound through the woods. Luckily as it seems to be protocol, all the cars beep their horns before coming around blind turns so it was very safe. Around 12km of so up, I thought I got to what was the top, 3000 ft of climbing. I stopped, took some pics and started to roll downhill. After a km or so, the road turned back up. Another 1000+ft up. Once I got to the actual top, I was more than ready to descend. Luckily, the descend lasted all the way until I got back to Pallanza. But, since I bypassed the main road back towards Intra, it was definitely the most technical descent that I've ever done in my life. So many turns, tight narrow roads, but luckily no cars. It was pretty fun!

I came back to the apartment, made myself some pizza on focaccia and a salad. Probably the best food I've had here so far. It's getting a little disappointing. There are two more restaurants I want to try, otherwise I'm going back to the grocery store, buying some pasta and taking dinner into my own hands.

After a late lunch, I went out for another "quick" ride. Just 19 miles... with 1800ft of climbing! The climbs were really nice, and despite there being a lot of traffic, there were tons of riders all about and Italian drivers know how to deal with cyclists. It was a pleasant ride. Unfortunately, I took some back roads with lots of speed bumps and tight turns on the way back so I wasn't really able to fly down the descent back to Intra. There was lots of traffic in town so a bit of stopping and starting, but once I got back to the road between Intra and Pallanza, it was all clear. This road used to be a two way main road, but at some point, the made it one way and closed off the other lane with a barrier to cyclists and pedestrians. Only in Europe! It's extremely scenic along the lake so it makes for a really nice ride.
That was my day! Dinner was actually ok, but the service was so bad. I felt bad because the place was swamped. It's nice to not leave tips here, but having waiters work for tips sometimes keep their service level up. Nothing like waiting 20 minutes to get the check. It was a little frustrating.

Unfortunately, that wasn't the only frustration for the night. When I arrived at the wifi spot, there was group of terrible "musicians" playing. When I say "musicians", I mean a guy singing and another guy playing guitar and his computer, controlling terrible MIDI backing tracks. Very untalented, extremely loud, completely annoying. I guess this is a thing here in Italy... and all the stupid cigarette smoking. I just don't get it. If there is only one thing I like about America, it's that people can't smoke in restaurants, even outside. They gotta get that together here.
Of course, my Garmin isn't syncing with my iPad and I have a feeling that I won't be syncing until I get back to a computer in the US. We'll see. I hope I don't loose all my rides. So, for a lack of Strava today's ride(s): 55 miles, 5800ft vertical, average speed... not so good.
Tomorrow, I think I'll try this other climb from Stresa over to Lago Orta. Should be hard, but scenic. Maybe I'll get the Garmin working. Until tomorrow... buona notte.
PS, if there are grammatical errors (I'm sure there are) please excuse them. I'm sitting here at midnight, at a gelateria/ bar. I don't have time to proof-read before they close!

Verbania Day 2- No cycling yet

View of Pallanza, Verbania

As I sit here typing this post, I can see lightening flashing in the sky over the Alps to the north. That's the forecast for the time I'm here. It's going to be cloudy, foggy, and there will be thunderstorms around. Great cycling weather.

Dreary Weather

I awoke this morning to pouring rain and quickly ran out to my balcony to grab my bath towel, which was drying on the line, before it got soaked through again. I guess I'm going to have to be ready for that anytime this week. With the dreary weather, I decided today would not be a day for riding, as I was still feeling a bit jet-lagged anyhow. Luckily the weather cleared up a bit, the sun shined through from time to time and it turned out to be a nice day for tourist activity.
But before I turned my attention to being a tourist, I first had to put some effort into being a human and go to the grocery store. I have shopped at many farm markets, smaller local stores and such throughout Italy, but today was my first time in a huge Italian grocery store. Just like anywhere, the supermarket has the standard stuff, but there are a lot of interesting things that make Italian supermarkets unique.
First off, as I've noted before, pretty much everyone uses reusable bags for their groceries. I couldn't find them for purchase anywhere in the store, but somehow, everyone has them. If you want plastic bags, you are charged for them. Whereas Shop Rite in Flemington give a few cents discount for every reusable bag you bring, every grocery store here makes you pay if you're planning on further destroying the earth. Unfortunately, I need some plastic bags to pack with later, so I had to pay the extra 50 cents or so for bags.
Also, the cheese section at Italian supermarkets is pretty spectacular. No where in America will you find Mozzarella di Bufala on 30% off sale! And, unlike in the US, where the cashier has to memorize all these codes and weight the produce at the register, here you have to do it yourself and these little stickers print out that go on the bags. It's a good system, as long as there is more than one scale working, which there wasn't today. My other favorite discovery about Italian supermarkets is that not only is the pasta isle an entire isle filled on both sides with literally the entire catalog of pasta shape variety, they also sell whole kilogram boxes of pasta. That's 2.2lbs!! And to top it off, there must have been half an isle's worth of refrigerated fresh pasta in every variety imaginable. So, Italian supermarkets are more.... Italian!

Pallazo on Isola Madre

I think going to the grocery store was the most interesting part of the day. The other part consisted of taking the ferry around the lake between the three Borromean Islands. Isola Madre: with it's botanical gardens and palace, Isola dei Pescatori, which might have been good for fishing at some point but is not filled with restaurants and tourist trap shops, and Isola Bella: with grander palace and famous gardens. I ended the day in Stresa, which is a real tourist town if there ever was one. I don't think they've ever done anything else with the place. It's beautiful and quaint beside the lake, but its pedestrian zone is over saturated with shops selling ITALIA clothing and a gelato shop practically every three doors. I would be nice to go there for dinner sometime, because there are so many restaurants, but I don't know if I can get a bus back later at night.
The islands were interesting enough, but besides the cycling, I'm looking forward to getting to Parma, which will be much less touristy. As evidenced by the islands and their development, people have been vacationing here for hundreds of years. I feel like I'm in a vacation spot, and although I am in fact on vacation, I miss the feeling of Firenze for example, where while there are lots of tourists, there is a real sense of local community once you get out of the center.

Pallazo on Isola Bella from Isola dei Pescatori

Overlooking Isola dei Pescatori from one of the Grotti rooms in Pallazo Isola Bella

Where the wild things are.

Isola Bella gardens

Also, from what I've found, the restaurants are less than stellar, at least right in the Pallanza section of Verbania that I am confined to. I think I'm going to start cooking myself lunch and dinner because I can cook better than the food I've had so far. I'm sure that won't be the case in Parma!

My Bufala con Pomodorini e Basilico is way better.

Tomorrow, I hope the weather is better and I can finally get out for a bike ride. I'm still pretty tired from traveling, so I'm going to get back to my apartment and get some sleep. It's been a long day of hauling groceries and walking on steep stone paved streets.

View from my front window, view from my balcony.

Quick Check-in from Verbania

Today I arrived in Verbania, on the shores of Lago Maggiore. After flying into Milano Malpensa, I traveled by train, boat and car to get here. Despite what that may sound like, it wasn't too bad. The more you travel somewhere, the easier it seems to get around without any stress. I think I have the Italian train system down by now and unbelievably, all the trains ran on time today. Even the apartment manager who picked me up from the ferry was on time. Unreal!

Without going too far into the triviality of my day, I basically just settled in, hit up the grocery store for some supplies, forgot to get half of them of course, then caught up on a little sleep before dinner. Dinner was alright... actually it wasn't bad at all, I just have very high standards for food in Italy. But I can make Trofie with Pesto better than I ate tonight. Anyway, I have to do a little more research and find some good places to eat here. It's certainly touristy, lots of Germans and Swiss from what I can tell, but it's nice and there should be some good restaurants tucked away on some of these little winding back streets.

Only photo I got today. More to come.

The biggest hurdle I have to overcome here is not having wifi in the apartment. It's not like I want to spend my vacation checking emails or Facebook-ing, but being able to spend time at the end of the day writing, researching, and planning is much easier from the comfort of your own place. That said, I am currently sitting at a little gelateria on the lake typing this. The cost of a gelato is not a bad price to pay for some wifi so I won't complain too much about how Italy still thinks that smoking in an outdoor cafe with kids around is somehow acceptable. I guess a little smoke won't kill me, but it's so strange how out of place that seems compared to what we've grown accustomed to recently in the US.
Besides that, my plans for tomorrow are to get my bike together, finish up with some grocery errands, and hopefully get on the Italian sleep schedule asap. I don't know if I'll actually get a ride in tomorrow, and if I do it'll be short, but hopefully with a little more energy I can spend some time walking around this beautiful town.
As I sit here now, I can see the lights of Laveno across the lake. That's another town I want to explore, as well as the Borromean Islands. Those, however, are plans for another day. For now, I think the sofa-bed (which is actually pretty comfortable) is calling! Until my next gelato-wifi stop, arrivederci!

Un'altro giro

Gran Fondo Mondiale Franco Ballerini- Lucca- Sept 2013

Un'altro giro... another lap. I'm doing it again.
At the end of this summer, I'll be taking a much needed vacation, heading back to Italia for some more cycling. It's sure to be a much different trip this time around, though. No big Gran Fondo, no epic races to watch; just me and my bike, some hills, some mountains, and lots of great food and a bit of relaxation.
As previous readers may recall, last year I went to Italy for a month and in that time, I stayed in four unique and beautiful places (make that three, I still hate Rome). I participated in two Gran Fondi and attended the UCI Road World Championships and Il Giro di Lombardia as a spectator. I visited picturesque towns throughout Tuscany and stayed in a near abandoned- for- the-season mountain top village in the low Alps, just down the street from an icon cycling museum and sanctuary. It was a beautiful, eventful trip.
I won't be doing many of those things this time around, but I hope to have just as amazing of a time. This trip will be only three weeks long. I'll be dividing my time between Verbania, on the shores of Lago Maggiore, and Parma, in the heart of Italy's "food capital", Emilia-Romagna. I plan to ride, of course, but I also can't wait to get back to the markets and cook. Both of these places are new to me, so I'm very excited to see a part of Italy that I've never been to before. It'll be a bit of an adventure, but I have felt so at home in Italy that I'm sure to find that sentiment again.
Since it's a shorter trip, I hope not to spend much time on the train. Both locations are easily accessible from Milano, so much so that I might even sneak in one day to get some of that amazing focaccia and shop for a pair of shoes. I hope to also ride to Reggio-Emilia and Modena and instead a buying lots of cloths this time around, maybe I'll fill any empty space in my luggage with dried porcini mushrooms!
I'm really excited about this laid-back trip. I am far from the fitness level that I had achieved before my trip last year. While I have a few weeks still to train, I have no "racing" goals this time around. I just want to ride and have fun and unwind a bit. It's really the greatest feeling in the world to wake up and remember that all you have to do is ride your bike. As an avid Italophile, I'm a firm believer in the metric system and the right to a proper three week holiday, amongst other things, so I can't wait to have mine.
So, I hope you'll follow along again (or first the first time). I'll be departing the thrid week in August, so watch this space for updates and hopefully some great stories and photographs.
I'll sign off for tonight with some well wishes for Vincenzo Nibali in hopes that he'll be able to win this 101st Tour de France for Italia. Vai Nibali!!

The Winter of the Arctic Blasts

Winter started looking like this in early December and we stayed buried in snow until just last week.

Ahh, winter. My favorite season.... NOT!! Every year I hate winter a bit more and every year it seems to get worse. Well, this winter it did not seem to get worse, it did! The first snow storm hit in early December and we got pummeled by storm after stom for nearly four months. To make matters worse, without an El Niño or La Niña this year yet again, we were at the mercy of the jet stream and arctic fronts, with massive blocks of cold air dropping down frigid temperatures across nearly 2/3 of the country. It was a winter like I've never experienced before. In February alone we had 21 of 28 days below average and 14 of 28 days in which the high temperature for the day didn't even get above freezing. We had long stretches of temps in the teens and 20's and several record cold days. Above all, I think everyone on the east coast became familiar with the term Arctic Blast, and in my memory, the winter of 2013/14 will be in fact one big Arctic Blast. And to make matters worse, it's still not over. It may snow again tomorrow! It'll surely be a slow warm up and a below average Spring this year.

I hate the snow, but I had to stop and take this photo on my way to work on day.
I'll admit, it was really scenic.

That said, it's been miserable for cycling this winter. Usually I'll try to ride as much as is safe but with road conditions effected by the constant snow and ice storms, even the most dedicated hard-men I know hung up their bikes this winter. I tried to ride the rollers inside, but by mid- February I couldn't make myself go down into my 45 degree basement and spin the hamster wheel. I am unusually and depressingly out of shape. It was a rough winter and it's going to be a tough spring. It's hard to believe that just months ago I was flying up mountains, dropping groups of riders in Gran Fondi, and feeling the best I've ever felt on the bike.

But, it's time to get on with it. The annual Hell of Hunterdon ride, an epic 75mi romp over the steep hills and gravel back roads of Hunterdon County in the style of a Flemish Classic, is next Saturday. It's going to be hell in every sense of the word. After riding a bit this week (and getting too many flats) I am starting to feel a little better, but it's going to be nothing compared to last year's blitz of the course. Last year I averaged 18mph, this year I'll be happy to do 16mph. But I think everyone is going to be going a bit slower after this winter. What can you do? Let's just hope it doesn't rain.

So, what have I been up to this winter? A lot of cooking, baking, and eating. A lot of homemade pasta, artisan bread, some killer cookies... and that doesn't even include the usual giant Christmas feast! Every snow day (and there were a lot of them) was a chance to concoct another loaf, another batch of ravioli, etc. I guess if you can't get out and ride you might as well give up and get as fat as you can on good home cooking, right?! Below are just a few examples of some of the food I've made this winter:

Clockwise from top left: Homemade Spinach and Ricotta Ravioli with Portobello Mushroom and Grape Tomato a la Toscana; Homemade Spaghetti alla Norma; Creamy Polenta with Spinach, Onion, Cremini Mushroom, and Sundried Tomato; Orecchiette and Tuscan Braised Beans (not your typical Pasta e Fagiole)

Pasta with Spicy Seitan Sausage, Roasted Peppers, Eggplant and Garlic (see Vegetarian Cooking Tab for recipe)

Finally perfected my own pizza dough.

Are you hungry yet? Well, keep an eye out for lots of new recipies and additions to the Vegetarian Cooking page of this blog. Lots more to come this summer and hopefully some exciting announcements about new culinary ventures.

Besides that, who knows what the cycling season has in store for me this year. Maybe some traveling in the US for a change, probably not another trip to Italy this year, but I'll keep you all up to date. I'm just excited for the season to finally begin. It's been a long, cold, lonely winter. I've missed all my cycling buddies!

Product Review: Louis Garneau Speed Zone Vest and Sportful Hot Pack Rain Jacket

The Louis Garneau Speed Zone Vest in action.

There are a few pieces of apparel that every rider needs to fill in the gaps between summer and winter kit. A vest, or gilet as they are sometimes referred to, and a super lightweight packable rain jacket are two such pieces that are indispensable for a cyclist who wants to ride year 'round. Especially during the spring and autumn, when temperatures on a given day can change greatly and weather conditions can change suddenly, being prepared with a vest and rain cape in your wardrobe is essential.

Louis Garneau Speed Zone Vest

The vest I have grown particularly fond of is the Louis Garneau Speed Zone Vest. It is far from your run of the mill vest. The garment is meticulously tailored for a true Euro race cut and was developed in conjunction with World Tour Team Europcar. It has all the features a good vest should have: wind blocking material in the front, a well ventilated back, full zip with a long pull cord for easy adjustment even with long-finger gloves, a high collar and form fitting elastic around the waist and arm holes to avoid flapping in the breeze.
Where this vest really stands out is the ingenious back panel. Instead of having a full back, the bottom area, which would typically cover your jersey pockets, is cut away, replaced with a large elastic with silicone grippers at the bottom and thin elastic around the sides and top. Now, instead of struggling to access food or whatever else you might keep in your jersey pockets, you simply reach back and grab it. It's like you're not even wearing the vest! And race numbers pinned to your pockets peak right through.

When I saw this design I instantly needed to get my hands on one. After a couple of months waiting for it to come on the market, I placed my order. I was anxious to test it out and see how the design performed in a real world situation. After nearly two autumns and springs in the vest, I can say it performed outstandingly. It is the one garment that I am most proud to own and for some crazy reason, I've never seen anyone else with one!
The most striking thing about the vest is that people usually never even notice the design unless I point it out. I don't know if this is a compliment more to my cycling fashion sense of well matched kit or a testament to the cut and well thought-out design of the garment itself. Regardless, I hope to see more people out there sporting this, the best of all vests, this spring.

Sportful Hot Pack Rain Jacket
When it comes to cycling in the transition seasons, a lightweight rain jacket might be the most important item taking up some space in your jersey pocket. When I found out that I was going to Italy on the cusp of the rainy season, I knew it was time for a good rain jacket. After probably too much deliberation, I settled on trying out a company that was new to me, Sportful. The Italian brand has a great reputation, sponsoring World Tour team Saxo-Tinkoff (now Tinkoff- Saxo). There are two ways you can go with rain coats, somewhat fancy like those offerings from Castelli, or the basic version like the Sportful Hot Pack that I purchased. In my opinion, spending $250 on a rain jacket is a little absurd, so the $100 option made more sense to me.

That is not to say that the Sportful Hot Pack is shabby in anyway. If there is one thing I really hate, it's wearing something that isn't race cut and inflates in the wind to make me look like the Michelin Man. I've owned rain jackets like that and they've since been retired. The Hot Pack in size medium fit me like a glove and felt perfectly cut when on the bike. I purchased the black version. Probably not the best in terms of visibility, especially in that the jacket has no reflective features, but whether it's cycling clothing or street clothes, I wear a lot of black. Maybe one day I'll have enough money to wear Ferragamo (Italian designer from Firenze who is famous for most of his men's lines being black... and black).

Wearing the Sportful Hot Pack in Varenna, Lombardia

The jacket was even lighter than I could have imagined and it folded up into itself to be about the size of a baseball. I was impressed. For my rainy days in Lombardia, I had the Hot Pack either in my jersey pocket or on my body nearly the entire time. Even just throwing it on over a jersey and arm warmers kept me warm enough on the long Alpine descents. And due to the overlaid ventilation "ports" on the back I was able to wear it even on the toughest climbs without overheating.
How do I think the garment can be better? I mean, it's checks all the boxes for me, but some tasteful reflective details on the back might not be a bad idea considering when it's rainy visibility is often lessened. Besides that, if I wanted something even more pro and race cut, I could have spend the big bucks, but this jacket did everything I needed it to and more. I even wore it with my street cloths once on a rainy day in Orvieto just to stay dry. If that's not a compliment to its understated stylishness, I don't know what is.

Product Review: Pika Packworks EEP Standard Bike Travel Bag

The first question I get asked by cyclists and non-cyclists alike when I tell them that I went on a month-long cycling adventure in Italy is, "so did you bring your bike? Do you have a hard case?" The answers are yes and no, respectively.

Yes, traveling with a bike can be a bit of a hassle. Bikes bags are big and for us scrawny cyclists, they can be quite heavy. But, renting a bike for a month easily out-prices the cost, however high it is, of flying with your own bike. Finding quality bikes to rent in cycling meccas like Tuscany and Lombardia might not be very hard, but getting to them without a car and dealing with the hassle of setting them up so you are comfortable and efficient on epic rides makes bringing your own bike entirely worth the effort of dealing with airport baggage handlers and hiking through the ancient streets of European cities with a 50lb bag on your shoulder.

While having a hard case with wheels might seem like the way to go, it's just not practical. You might see an ad with Chris Froome endorsing some hard shell case, but do you think Chris Froome is hauling his bike around for himself? Not anymore, anyway. And even with the biggest travel budget, I don't think your travel will be nearly as glamorous as trekking around in that giant space ship of a bus employed by Team Sky. Hard cases are heavy, and even if you have wheels on the thing, between doors, cobbled streets, walk-ups apartments or tiny elevators in most European hotels, you're gonna be lifting that case a lot more than you might think.

This is where the Pika Packworks EEP (Exercise Equipment Pack) comes in. It is a very thickly, strategically padded bag for your bike that has become the best friend to many traveling cyclists, professional and amateur alike. It is light weight, making it easy to transport when transferring from airport to train, to bus, and so on. The all black exterior, made of super strong cordura fabric is very unassuming with the goal of helping you get through airport baggage claim without paying that huge fee (it's never worked for me though, they always know it's a bike). The interior of the bag is a neon yellow color, which is very helpful when you are in a dimly lit hotel room trying to find your y-wrench that you dropped to the bottom of the bag for the tenth time. And an abundance of handles and a padded detachable shoulder strap make the bag surprisingly easy to carry even while rolling a majorly overpacked carryon bag. Handmade in the USA with quality materials, this bag is impressive even to other travelers, who will definitely spend time staring at you trying to figure out what is in that massive case.

As far as function, I could not be any happier with the bag. After traveling both domestically and internationally with my bike, I can say I do so worry free. Aside from the airline possibly losing the bag, which they can do with anything, there is no worry about damage. And, by securing the bag with a TSA approved lock, your bag can be easily inspected without the TSA messing with you bike. I can't help but think that the yellow lining helps them too. With a few buckles around the perimeter of the bag and industrial strength zippers, you won't have to worry about it failing either.

Throughout my trip in Italy, I put the bag to the test, packing and unpacking my bike a total of four times. After traveling with the bag earlier in the year, I had a pretty good feel for the process. The first time took a little longer to figure everything out, but for the most part, it's really simple if you follow the illustrated instructions provided with the bag. By the second move (traveling by regional train you don't need to pack the bike, but by national and international trains you do) I had a system down and I could both reassemble and disassemble my bike in about 15 minutes. Here's my method to disassembling the bike with out a mechanic's stand:

Pop the bars off the stem, wrap in padded sleeve provided and strap to top tube; remove saddle and post from frame and slot into side interior side pocket; remove pedals and wrap in an old sock; remove wheels from bike, remove skewers and slot wheels into side interior pockets; lay frame down on the laid-down bag and remove the rear derailleur, then place it in the padded pouch provided which then straps between the chainstays; place the bike in the bag, then use remaining space to carry items that can't go in your carryon (a bag containing a knife, tools, chamois cream etc).Your helmet and shoes will fit right under the down tube and you're ready to go. Keep the bag under 50lbs so the airlines and your back will be happy.

While I'd be lying if I said I had any other experience with another bag, I can tell you that my experience with the Pika Packworks EEP has been nothing but positive. I can't see myself using any other product. I practically lived out of this bag for a month and it served me outstandingly. While other luggage may begin to fatigue after a few trips, after what I put this bag through, it looks in the same condition as the day I unboxed it.

Going beyond the usual product review, as I often do, here is some advice for those of you traveling with your bike:

1) For domestic trips that are short in length, just pack your bike in the bag. It'll be more like 30lbs. Pack the rest of your stuff either in a carryon or a second checked bag (if that is free).

2) For international trips, in which you can only bring a carryon and your bike bag, you're going to live out of your bike bag. Fill it up. This way, there isn't a lot of room if your bike moves around a bit. Some items that are not carryon-able must go in your bike bag. Once you get to your destination, use an expandable carryon bag, unload as much from your bike bag as you can if you are moving from place to place and save your back.

3) On my last transfer from Orvieto to Roma on a local train, I decided I didn't feel like packing the bike up. Instead I'd roll it, as well as my overpacked carryon bag, and sling the bike bag over my shoulder. I had some stuff in the bike bag as well. DON'T DO THIS. It's way too much to handle. The bike bag, even when empty is so big and awkward, your arms will never be long enough to roll your stuff. It took me nearly an hour to walk a kilometer like this. I tried everything, switching shoulders, bungee-cording it to my carryon (that didn't work because the bag is very unbalanced without the bike in it). It's a major pain in the ass, so don't make that mistake. It was probably the biggest effort I made during the entire trip, and I rode to Gran Fondi after all!

4) Like I said earlier, on regional trains there is a section of the first car which hold bikes, so either put your bike there (you have to purchase a ticket for the bike at the time you purchase your own ticket and remember to validate them both in the little machine before you leave the station). If your bike is in the bag, you don't have to do this. On bigger national and international trains, your bike needs to be packed just like on the plane. Try to purchase a seat near the end of the car near the baggage area. You can leave you bike bag there with no worries. If there isn't room in the baggage racks, just leave your bike in the corridor adjacent to it. No one will worry about it. It's not like in America. This advice is obviously for European travelers.

5) When you fly with the bag, remove the shoulder strap and place it inside the bag, this way baggage handlers are more inclined to lift if from the main handles and the stap can't get caught on something.
I ultimately decided to purchase the Pika Packworks EEP after reading several great reviews online. It's surely no secret that this is one of the best options for traveling with a bike. I hope by sharing my experiences with you, you can make a more informed decision when you consider traveling with your bike (which I highly recommend).

For more information about purchasing the bag, visit http://pikapackworks.com