Praise

Cyclo-Cross Nationals Madison, WI and Cyclo-Cross Master Worlds Louisville, KY 2012

A service you can’t afford to be without, A simple solution for traveling across the country for races

One of the most important technical items for improved race results that I have tried so far in this very new year is Pro Bike Express. This is a service to transport race bikes to races, and it is way more than that as well. I used Pro Bike Express to transport my bikes to cyclo-cross nationals in Madison  WI, and I had no idea going in how great it would be. At $275 for the first bike,  $55 for the second bike, and $35/pair for  additional wheels, the $365 I invested  for two bikes and a third pair of wheels  was a significant chunk of what I had  planned to spend for the entire trip. That price also included taking the bikes to Louisville, KY for the masters world ’cross championships, which I’m not doing (as it falls on my wife’s birthday). So I paid for two trips for my bikes, which are now in Louisville without me, but there was no other pricing option. Still, even without racing worlds, the math wasn’t too hard, given the amount United would have charged for those items simply to Madison and back.

However, as it was the first time I had flown to a cyclo-cross race of any kind, much less to race nationals, I was not considering myriad other details that made it a smart investment beyond the simple math. For instance, one of my Boulder Cycle Sport teammates, Allen Krughoff, has  been traveling all season to USGP races and now to nationals aboard Frontier  Airlines, which charges him nothing for two bikes (two free checked items, and  bikes count no more than any other suitcase!). I was flying free on United frequent flyer miles, but that calculation certainly had me thinking twice about my decision. However, now I’m very glad I did it the way I did. Some things I had not considered were transport and storage of my bikes and  equipment during the week, a service that is included in the fee I paid to Pro  Bike Express. Getting a huge rental van or SUV would have been required, and it would have undoubtedly gotten muddy on the inside, conceivably incurring more charges.

And had I been staying at a hotel, overnight storage of muddy bikes would have required fast talking or skulking around — in any case, extra time. instead was staying with an old college buddy and his family. His wife picked me up at the airport, and I borrowed one of their cars for the week. That car never would have fit a single one of my giant bikes, much less two muddy ones and lots of other gear. I could also leave my muddy shoes and boots with Pro Bike Express each night, rather than getting mud all over their car and house. The weather turned out to be unseasonably warm and dry in Madison, but it could have been bitterly cold, snowing, and/or raining, in which case the six, tall, interconnected tents attached to the Pro Bike Express trailer would have been life savers. As it was, these tents and the trailer itself, with two large propane heaters, a dozen Saris stationary trainers, bike stands, pumps, tools, tables, chairs, brewing coffee, and room for lots of gear inside, were a great place to change, work on bikes, and warm up, especially in below-freezing morning temperatures.

With so many friends from home using the same Pro Bike Express service, plus lots of others who had not signed on for the service but who gravitated to where we were parked, it was like a mini Boulder in Wisconsin. It’s nice to feel like you have a home field advantage when you’re so far afield! The huge Pro Bike Express trailer transports 50 bikes, and proprietor Wesley Smith’s truck bed with its camper top will hold lots more gear. The trailer is fully rigged with electricity and burglar alarms.

Lennard Zinn, our longtime technical writer, joined VeloNews in 1987. He
is also a frame builder, former U.S. national team rider, and author of
many bicycle books including “Zinn and the Art of Mountain Bike
Maintenance,” “Zinn and the Art of Road Bike Maintenance” and “Zinn’s

Cycling Primer: Maintenance Tips and Skill Building for Cyclists.” He holds a bachelor’s in physics from Colorado College.

Duathlon Nationals  2011 – Tucson AZ 

Thanks again for transporting my bike and bag. It is great to show up at a race and not worry about your equipment.
Wesley had my bike unloaded, tires pumped up and bike checked ready to race. Everything we could have needed was available tubes, water bottles, water, food and even the sunscreen. (definitely required) I was able to have my bike back at home Monday after the race with no shipping issues. It was also great to see Wesley assisting other bike riders who were not as lucky as the Colorado folks with quick tune-ups and bike checks. A great experience and allowed me to focus on my race plan and not my bike.
Valerie

Ride the Rockies 2011 – Crested Butte, CO

I strongly recommend that anyone thinking of shipping a bike check Pro Bike Express out.
Yon