Buying gear from Europe

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timtune said:
Guess again.
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How so? If I land in Rome with no phone, 30 minutes after I get my suitcase, I'm at the train station at a Tim/Vodafone/WIND shop with a new cheapo phone and SIM in my hands. Getting to a shop that sells helmets, especially for anywhere near as cheap in that time? Good luck.

I can read a paper map and ride in much of the world... but I can't ride without a helmet in much of the world. Helmet over phone, every time.

Lightcycle said:
We've learned that if there's something you need for the ride, make sure you take it on the plane with you as carry-on.
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100%.

I'm spoiled that I can probably ship some parts from Amazon Italy directly to the people storing my motorcycle this year.... so I might order up a new battery pre-emptively one week before departure just to be safe. May or may not order up a replacement fuel pump too as the bike's been sitting 11 months a year for two years at that point... we'll see. If I order it I won't need, and if I don't order it I will need it, right?
 
I pack a carry on as if my checked was to be lost.
 
A couple of travel tips:

- The more connections you have, the greater the opportunity for your bags to get lost or delayed. Direct flights and arriving early to check in bags gives me a little more confidence (but not 100%) that my bags will also be there at the same time and place as me. Sometimes there's no rhyme or reason as to what bags get loaded and when. I've checked in two bags very early on a direct flight and a couple of times, only one bag makes the flight another arrives later on. 🤷‍♂️

- If you have connections, the closer the flights are to each other, the more likely your bags will be delayed. If you have to run to catch your next flight because your last flight was late, then there is virtually no chance your bags will make it onto your new flight. If I foresee having to check bags, I give myself at least a 3 hour layover between flights, or be prepared to start my ride a day or two after I land. This is also good practice if you need to time to acclimatize to a drastic time zone change.
 
I'll add... I don't think paying the extra for priority bag check does anything... or at least not with Air Transat. We paid the extra, we waited forever lol
 
adri said:
I'll add... I don't think paying the extra for priority bag check does anything... or at least not with Air Transat. We paid the extra, we waited forever lol
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My buddy likes to show off his frequent flyer status.

When we fly together, he makes a big show about heading off to the lounge while us plebes wait in Gen Pop. He boards early and waves goodbye to us.

We were checking in our bags and because of his frequent flyer status he gets a priority tag put on his luggage. He said when we landed, he'd be halfway home before our bags came out on the carousel.

So, we land and lo and behold.... our bags came out before his.

I waved goodbye to him as we sauntered out of Arrivals.
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