At Orucase, our mission is to get your bike from where you are to where you want to be as safely, conveniently, and inexpensively as possible. But once you’ve Ninja’d your bike past the check-in counter and onto the baggage belt, you may feel your travel experience is at the mercy of the terminal layout, the weather, or your fellow passengers. That’s why we compiled a list of non-cycling-related gear we bring with us every time we fly; so you can make the best of whatever the ninja-hating travel gods throw at you. 

Seven Essential Non-Cycling Items for the Bicycling Nomad

1. Bluetooth Noise-Canceling Headphones

Jet engine noise and screaming babies can be a real downer. Noise-canceling headphones won’t completely eliminate outside noise, but they go a long way in cutting it down. You won’t need to jack up the volume to eardrum-rending levels just to make out what you’re listening to. Throw on your favorite tune, podcast, or audiobook and sit back (as far as your seat will allow you) and relax. You can’t go wrong with Bose or Sony.

2. Ear plugs and Eye Mask 

These serve a similar purpose as item Number One, but you’ll find them useful long after you deplane. Often when traveling for races one of us will want to get some shuteye when others don’t. Ear plugs and an eye mask will allow you to get some rest when you otherwise might not be able. Check out Sea to Summit travel gear.

3. Collapsible Water Bottle 

Nobody I know wants to pay $4 for a half-liter bottle of water, no matter what tropical island it came from. A collapsible water bottle, such as a Platypus, packs super small in your carry-on and will save you from having to walk back and forth to the water fountain. I’ve used the same one for four years now and it has yet to leak. Platypus and MSR Dromedary are two great choices.

4. Portable Power Bank 

Battery pack. Portable Charger. Power bank. Whatever you call them, these things have saved us more times than we can count. Sometimes it’s impossible to find an outlet, and anyway it’s no fun having to keep a hawk eye on them to make sure your gadgets don’t disappear. A palm-size thing can give you multiple charges of your phone, tablet, GPS, headphones, or what have you. Check out Anker products on Amazon. They are the best.

5. Good Book or E-Reader 

Read anything and everything. Reading has the power to expand your horizons way beyond where a jet plane can take you, or take you back home in your mind no matter where you are.

6. Shop Towel

I prefer a full-size bath towel for this. An old one that I don’t mind getting dirty. When I travel I want all my stuff to stay clean, but something is inevitably going to spill. Something is going to fall in the mud. I throw a towel in my bike case so I have one thing that can throw the team on its back and sac its bod for the rest of my stuff. 

7. Trash Bag for Stinky Stuff

Keep a trash bag in your bike case to isolate stinky riding clothes and other wet stuff if you don’t have the opportunity to wash/dry them before you head home. 

The same can be said of bicycle travel cases…

 To learn more about traveling with your bike, check out our blog Five Pro Tips for International and Long-Haul Bike Travel

STOP PAYING BIKE FEES.

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!