Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Wrench in the Plans

After doing the responsible thing and trying to make sure everything was set I called Japan Airlines to double check on the extra charge i will face for the bike case. Based upon the information on their website i was under the impression that it would be an additional $50.00 charge to bring the bike in it's travel case with. After working through the dimension and estimated weight with the rep for the airlines she came back and gave me a total of $390.00 each way. This is putting a large snag in the plans as I don't exactly have this kind of cash to put towards getting it there, let alone bringing it back.

So, with a week to go, I am stuck with this problem, but have already been sending out SOS signals to try and alleviate this situation. At the writing of this post answers are still pending, but I have even gone so far as to shoot Waterford Cycles an email querying how much and how fast they could fit the frame with S&S couplers which would allow me to fold the bike up and put in a standard suitcase.

At the moment I am faced with two options; somehow get the bike there cheaper or cancel the trip.

If I cancel the trip I would have to find out from JAL if I can even get a partial reimbursement on the cost of the ticket. The hostel is easy, I would just be out the small percentage I already paid to reserve my bed and they have open cancellation up to 24 before check in. I would disassemble the bike and send it back to the guys at Eighth Inch.com, as I wouldn't be able to promote the brand in Tokyo if I wasn't even going. If I can't get the bike there it is pointless of me to go and not race.

So I am at a crossroads at a late point in the game. If anyone has any ideas let me know, I'm open to pretty much anything at this point.

1 comment:

  1. Discovered that the S&S retrofit would be about as much as the shipping would be.

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