With years of travel experience under our belts, there are a few things we have learned to pay attention to when taking long flights or extended trips overseas. Follow these tips to make the most out of your next adventure!
One thing we’ve learned over countless flights is to have a travel wardrobe. Comfortable clothes will make your in-flight experience less stressful, and if you’re to be away from home for a while, simplify your day-to-day tasks. We like to pick fabrics that soft and stretchy, are slow to smell and quick to wash and dry. Tapered sweatpants are a go-to, but brands like Outlier make stylish slacks with modern technical fabrics. I am partial to Ex-Officio underwear - super comfortable and easy to wash while on the road. There’s a million good choices for shirts, but a couple choices I really like are the naturally microbial-resistant merino wool shirts by Ibex and Icebreaker. Ibex is also, as Orucase is, born in Vermont.
You can bring food with you through security, you just can’t bring large amounts of liquid. Sandwiches, fruit, granola bars, et cetera are all good to go. I have been known to partake in the complimentary refreshments of an international flight, but you never really know what you’re going to get, so it’s good to bring some healthy standbys. The same goes for when you arrive in an unfamiliar land for the first time. By all means explore what this new place has to offer, but think of those Clif bars as an insurance policy...
Prolonged periods of inactivity during flights can cause your lower legs, ankles and feet to swell. Swelling limits blood flow to these tissues, which can sap your athletic performance. Add insult to injury, low humidity and air pressure in the cabin can cause dehydration, which can exacerbate these effects. It’s important to get up and walk around when you can, and to drink plenty of water. Compression socks will also help by preventing fluids from pooling in your lower legs.
I consider the foreign travel I have done to be one of the great privileges of my life, and I am fortunate to have stayed safe and healthy throughout. Although my trips to the Tour of Poyang Lake in China were in part because I do speak the language, I found it quite difficult to find medicine and supplies that I am familiar with. Even when I could work through the obscure translations, medicines I somewhat trusted (such as acetaminophen or ibuprofen) were often combined with other active ingredients I didn’t recognize. And forget trying to find decongestant or allergy medication. If you’re traveling someplace unfamiliar and remote, do yourself a solid and bring along a few essentials.
This goes along with Number Eight. Sometimes the best you can hope for is internet access in your hotel, and this is certainly not a given. Take advantage of internet access while you have it. Download some maps of the area so your rest day spin doesn’t turn into a multi-stage tour.
In case you missed it… for more travel tips check out our recent blog Seven Essential Non-Cycling Items for the Bicycling Nomad!
The Orucase Airport Ninja is the only bicycle case designed by cyclists to avoid excess baggage fees. We build every bike case to order in house, this allows us to accommodate every customer's unique needs, while building the highest quality product. We can build cases for any sized bike. The best part is that compared to a traditional hardshell case design ours requires only one additional step in packing, the removal of the fork! The next time you get charged $150+ each way traveling with your bicycle, remember that the Airport Ninja Bike Case is the solution to stop paying bike fees!
