Getting the bicycle to the starting point

Boxed bike on top. Mutsumi demonstrates her concern for slippage

This didn’t take much consideration.  As China has a surfeit of courier services, sending the bicycle ahead seemed a better option than trying to find a car to carry it to and from the airports. I spoke with SF’s English customer service to determine in advance if there were any special requirements for shipping a bicycle. Unfortunately, the person I spoke with had poorer language skills than many of my students and all I succeeded in doing was wasting time. A few weeks later while returning a package ordered from an online vendor, I asked the SF delivery person about this and all he said was that it would cost about 200rmb, which suggests there are no major hurdles to shipping a bicycle, so long as it’s properly packaged.

Some weeks ago I had gone by the local bicycle shop to inquire after a box and to my great surprise on that very day found a few empties on the sidewalk outside, one of which I carried home.  Once I got to work, packing took about 30 minutes and required removing the pedals, handle bar, front tire, seat, luggage rack, and kickstand.  To get the pedals off required ordering a wrench that could, in other circumstances I suppose, be used as a formidable weapon.

I spent about 30 minutes entering data into the courier company’s online order form only to be informed of an invalid entry, but not which field might contain invalid data.  So, I gave up and called customer service and requested a pickup.  Despite requesting a truck, the driver arrived in a three-wheeled bike, and despite what I was told on the phone, the driver didn’t weigh the package but only took measurements.  I note on my copy of the bill that he has estimated the package at 22kg, which seems a bit high.  Insurance worth up to 2000rmb was available for an additional 10rmb, total shipping was 154rmb, and the driver estimated three days transit (shipped on Monday and arriving on Thursday).

I’ve sent a message to the hotel informing them of the package’s arrival. Nothing to do now but wait.


Update
I called the hotel on Tuesday after no email reply.  I spoke with a young man who told me his name is Roger and who assured me the package would be received and held for my arrival. He also replied to my email a couple of hours later.

According to the SF tracking website the package has arrived.

Two more sleeps before boarding the plane to Xiamen.

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