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The new travel rules: ensure a smooth trip by knowing how to tote your sports equipment in today's security-conscious skies

Men's Fitness, May, 2003 by Robert McGarvey

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"Ask yourself what you can rent at your destination. It may really simplify your travel," says McGee.

As a consequence of 9/11, an increasing number of companies are focusing on renting fitness gear to vacationers. Oftentimes, too, hotels will provide necessary rental equipment. At what cost? To pick two examples:

* At Winter Park Resort in Colorado, about 65 miles outside of Denver, mountain bikes rent for $33 for a full day.

* At Beaver Creek Resort near Avon, Colo., a day's use of a kayak is $20.

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Sound like a lot? Shipping a bike as checked baggage on an airplane runs about $80 each way, and the bike has to be prepped (pedals removed, handlebar turned). Similar costs apply to kayaks and other bulky items--if the airline will handle them at all. Do the math, and in many cases renting makes keen economic sense and will also speed up your passage through security.

Travel Tip: Ask the hotel where you plan to stay for names of local rental outfits, and comparison shop before you go.

CONTACT A THIRD-PARTY SHIPPER

If you really love using your own personal gear and don't want to rent, "think about using a third-party shipper," suggests McGee, who says that more and more savvy travelers are putting their pricey gear in the hands of such outfits. Usually the gear is picked up at your home and delivered directly to your hotel, meaning no hectic schlepping of unwieldy items around a busy airport. "This is no-hassle, no-worries shipping," says Sascha Segan, author of Frommer's Fly Safe, Fly Smart.

Segan points out that it's also easier to properly insure your gear when you go this route. Airlines offer stingy compensation for lost or damaged baggage, but go with a third-party direct shipper and, usually for minimal additional expense (about $1 per $100 of declared value), you can fully insure your $2,500 bike or $1,000 golf clubs.

What does direct shipping cost? "Maybe even less than an airline," says Mike Smedley, a spokesman for Durango, Colo.-based Sports Express, which specializes in shipping sports gear. That's particularly true when you plan ahead, opting for three-day shipping. Ship a bike from New York to Los Angeles, and instead of the $80 an airline will nick you, Sports Express, for instance, charges $72, and that includes door-to-door service.

Travel Tip: Compare multiple third-party shippers--such as Sports Express (www.sportsexpress.com), Virtual Bellhop (www.virtualbellhop. corn) and Skycap International (www.skycapinternational.com)--and ask tough questions. Who does the actual shipping? (Typically it's Federal Express, but sometimes UPS gets into the act.) What guarantees are there for on-time delivery? What insurance options are available? Keep probing until you are satisfied this is the best means for ensuring your prized surfboard a safe trip.

SURVIVING SECURITY

If security is hassling you--if they want to seize that prized aboriginal boomerang you crammed into your carry-on--keep cool. If you hassle back, by arguing or acting belligerently, you may find yourself escorted into a tiny, windowless room for intensive questioning. And you very well could miss your flight. There are plenty of reports of folks who wised off and were kept cooling their heels until their plane was in the air.

The new travel rules: ensure a smooth trip by knowing how to tote your sports equipment in today's security-conscious skies

Men's Fitness, May, 2003 by Robert McGarvey

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