This is a guest post from Oliver Letz who packed more into a single day with 2 Montague X70’s than most people pack into a week! Have a story you’d like to share with Montague blog readers about your bike adventures. E-mail us at marketing@montaguebikes.com. If we use your story we’ll send you some cool Montague swag!
All photos © el8edvisions.com and used graciously with their permission.
Dear fellow travelers,
The mad ducklings in training, Edie and Oliver, were out again to test the limits of single day adventures.
Travel mission:
1. Pack 2 people, 2 Montague X70 folding bicycles and lots of gear into a Cessna 172 single engine airplane
2. Fly from Roanoke Regional Airport, TX (52F) via Possum Kingdom Lake to Abilene Regional Airport
3. Ride the Montagues 20 miles to Buffalo Gap, TX
4. Purchase world famous egg poachers from George and Wanda Holland
5. Ride to Perini Ranch Steakhouse for a delicious lunch
6. Bicycle back 20 miles to Abilene Regional Airport
7. Fly home to arrive just before sunset
To sum it up: It was fun, it was a lot, don’t try this at home, kids, unless you are certified on more than one sort of craziness 😉
Enjoy the pixies below.
Signing off with warm thoughts,
Edie and Oliver FlyRideDuckling
We made it, Abilene Regional (TX) airport after a pleasant flight. All saddled up and ready to go...
First stop and travel mission: Buy the worlds most famous and beautiful egg poachers made by George and Wanda Holland in Buffalo Gap, TX
George Holland at work with Edie FlyRideDuckling
After the cooking demonstration a beautiful delicious poached egg for Oliver FlyRideDuckling
George could not believe that someone could be as crazy as us and fly-bicycle to him.
Edie almost ran over this guy because she was so hungry for lunch.
Ahh, steaks are waiting for us.
Texas country metropolis - Buffalo Gap.
Almost there with 15mph headwinds.
The fine folks at Abilene Aero wondered about our sanity when we started to pack up the airplane.
Lots of stuff for a little airplane but it all fit in nicely. Just slide it in an hook it...
Holly Cow. Why can’t my day be like that. Here I am stuck at my desk while Edie and Oliver fly and ride all over the country. That looks like an absolute blast.
I have a Cessna 172 and would like to see an explanation and photos of how the two bikes fit in the aircraft. Were both bike bags sitting on the rear seat? Was one bag on the floor between the front and back seat? Were the front wheels in the baggage compartment?
Bob: Thanks for your enthusiasm … from my desk … 😉
Bert: Yes, both bike bags were store on the back seat. We used Velcro tape between both seat belts to secure the bikes. There was no movement during the flight. The front wheels were stored in separate bags in the baggage compartment, loaded first over the back seats. We since added quick remove pedals to the X70s to reduce the required space in the back of the cabin and to reduce the danger of scuffing up the rear seat with the pedals sticking out. Loading was a breeze…
Best, Oliver
Oliver,
Thanks for the information. I forgot to mention that I have a 2004 Montague CX (similar to yours but without the front shocks). As you suggest, I’ve now bought a set of MKS EZY detachable pedals which make the folded bike more compact.
Good luck with your travels.
Bert
Thank you for sharing your adventure. I recently earned my Private License and am flying for day excursions with my wife in a Cessna 172M. We’ve been fortunate to find cars at the local airports, but the thought of bicycles that we can load in the plane are fantastic! Now I need to look at the full line-up of Montague bicycles to see what will fit in the plane! 😉
That’s great! We were featured in Plane and Pilot magazine recently, there are many pilots that take folding bikes with them on their aircraft – they’re light and provide a great way to have adventures no matter where you fly!