Bike Assembly

If you travel through Portland International airport, you may be surprised to find a bike assembly station. Travellers can either use the station to dismantle their bike for transit, or re-assemble it after a flight, ready to be ridden away. There’s even a cycle lane away from the airport.

There’s no doubt that cycling is on the up, and more and more people are transporting their bikes by air. Not sure how ‘transportable’ this idea is though – as it stands. I don’t think there are many people arriving at UK airports with bikes and ready to cycle away. Don’t know about you, but the idea of cycling away from Heathrow or Manchester isn’t one that is readily appealing. And what about the rest of your luggage?

However…what if such a  service was available outside a railway station….or a busy car park where cyclists routinely turn up to go on pleasure rides. That might work. Certainly, a lot of cyclists are perfectly capable of  assembling and dismantling their bikes, but there are many others who would rather have someone else do it for them. And if that person had a bit of bike-mechanic knowledge, they may pick up one or two other little jobs while they were there.