Auspanglish Posted January 20, 2018 Share Posted January 20, 2018 So once again I'm calling on the local knowledge of the good folk on the Celtic side of the pond precisely I'm off on a three day journey to Spain where I will be mixing business with pleasure and I want to arrive early on the first day for which there are outbound flights from Luton Airport between 6 and 7 a.m. the problem resides in that the first bus arrives with only half an hour from me to get through security to the boarding Gate and usually boarding Gates Close about 20 minutes before take off that is cutting it far too fine as I usually allow myself a 2 hour window to cover Murphy, Sod and the evil Eye. So I figure I could take the tigress and besides concerns such as riding in close to zero degree Celsius temperatures for an hour and 10 minutes at 5 o'clock in the morning, the possible odd patch of ice somewhere along the way, or my GPS going haywire and taking me on a wild goose chase, my main concern is that while parking in the mid term car park at Luton is free for 21 days, they officially state that vehicles are monitored but left at your own risk. I'm wondering what the incidence of bikes being lifted at Airport car parks might be like in the UK I'm sure there are security cameras all over and they may be able to capture the images and a number plate but the number plate would obviously be false and if they do get out with the bike I'll never see it again. Obviously I would take my Oxford Monster supersized chain and lock and attempt to lock it to a post because otherwise between 4 Arnold Schwarzenegger type muscle pumpers they would just pick the bike up and throw it in a van. At least with the chain and lock they are required to spend some time breaking the chain with some possibly noisy instrument but it still would not be a completely insurmountable obstacle. I guess another option is to try and negotiate a price with a taxi or other shuttle service. The last time I took a taxi from Oxford to Banbury which is a 45 minute drive it cost me 50 quid. Luton is one hour and 10 minutes away at least, the bus is worth between £15 to £28 but takes longer because it has several stops along the way. The petrol on the bike would be negligible. So taking a taxi is almost doubling the cost of the flight. I can afford it but I would much rather spend the money on something else more enjoyable and I am by nature a tightwad. Am I risking it leaving the bike there for a little over 48 hours? Is the biggest risk actually riding the bike at 5 a.m. along the M40 and connecting roads? I will be leaving the riding gear in the top box. May the forum opine! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Dutchy Posted January 20, 2018 Member Contributer Share Posted January 20, 2018 Put a cover over it with SUZUKI printed on the side, you will be fine Set out on my regular saturday 6AM bicycle ride this morning. But as we rode deeper into the polder, we realised that nippy is ok, but too nippy ain't.... road iced, so at 7am was back under the duvet.... You might reconsider tigering.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer JZH Posted January 20, 2018 Member Contributer Share Posted January 20, 2018 I've only left a bike at a UK airport once (Stansted), but I had no problems. I think it depends on whether anyone with a van can drive by "innocently" and see it somewhere within reach. A cover helps. As would the weather--because no one would leave a bike worth stealing at a UK airport in the winter! I think it will be fine, provided the weather allows you to get there (and back!) I had to leave my VFR in Italy one winter because my route back to Germany was no longer passable. But then, that's kind of how I met my wife... Ciao, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspanglish Posted January 20, 2018 Author Share Posted January 20, 2018 Meteorological "experts" have the following to say... at such a long timeframe for them it´s to be taken with a grit of salt (on the roads): UK Outlook for Sunday 4 Feb 2018 to Sunday 18 Feb 2018: Early February is likely to bring relatively settled conditions with a good deal of dry weather, relatively light winds and frost and fog expected to form overnight. However spells of wet and windy weather are still likely across the north. There is considerable uncertainty at this stage however, as we head towards the middle of February we are most likely to see short spells of wet and windy weather move across the UK, interspersed with colder, brighter and drier interludes. Throughout this period temperatures are expected to average out at close to normal but it will be colder at times during the periods of more settled weather. Sounds promising actually. Just so not excited about climbing onto the bike at such ungodly hours... BlaBlaCar has nothing to offer, it´s too soon for that option to cough up anything on a search... Arriving with 35 minutes to spare on the bus is just pushing it too fine... the Tigress is looking good... or taking the midnight or 0100h bus and "sleeping" at the airport... oh life... don´t talk to me about life... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Skids Posted January 20, 2018 Member Contributer Share Posted January 20, 2018 I've left my 08 VFR at Luton for a long weekend twice thanks to the free bike parking (but this was just outside the terminal, I think they've changed that recently) with no issues. We live 30 mins the other side of Luton (near J10 of the A1). There's a bed here if you want one, depending upon the date. Still an early start but much less time on the road, albeit the roads on our estate are not gritted so if there is ice, it's 1/2 mile to the main road which is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspanglish Posted January 20, 2018 Author Share Posted January 20, 2018 That´s very generous Skids but not logistically feasible. The gesture is much appreciated though!! The more I think about it the more I lean towards the 01:10h bus and just being jet-lagged and red-eyed the following few days... and probably scoring less on the exam I´m travelling there for due to poor quality sleep, but the exam is Saturday so I´ll just have to turn the fiesta-dial down a few notches Friday night. 20 years ago I would have biked it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer YoshiHNS Posted January 20, 2018 Member Contributer Share Posted January 20, 2018 Can't a friend take you over to the airport? Or maybe ride to the airport and Skids could ride it home and keep it there? Sort of like a valet, but the valet guy gets a free loaner bike to hoon around on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Skids Posted January 21, 2018 Member Contributer Share Posted January 21, 2018 19 hours ago, YoshiHNS said: ...but the valet guy gets a free loaner bike to hoon around on. Yeah, but it's a Trumpet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Woodie Posted January 22, 2018 Member Contributer Share Posted January 22, 2018 19 hours ago, Skids said: Yeah, but it's a Trumpet. Oi... I resemble that remark... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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