Shipping a bike to Page, AZ

[German Tourist]

I am a German long-distance hiker and cyclist currently preparing my next trip to the US. I will first hike (Florida Trail) and bike (ACA Atlantic Coast Route southern part) on the East Coast. I will then fly to Arizona and hike the Arizona Trail from South to North. When I am done with the Arizona Trail I want to bike around the Southwest.

This plan includes one big logistical problem: How do I get my bike from the East Coast to Page, AZ (closest town to Northern Terminus of Arizona Trail) without me accompanying it?

I have already figured out that I can ship the bike via USPS, Fedex or UPS. I even have friends on the East Coast who will help me shipping it or even hold the bike until I tell them to ship it. But where would I ship it to? Could I ship it to a bike shop? I have not been able to find a bike shop in Page, AZ on the internet. If there was a bike shop, would they hold it for me and how much do they charge for that? Or is it possible to ship bikes to a post office c/o General delivery? This works with normal packages, but I doubt that a post office would hold such a huge package such as a bike.

Thank you for any input or advice!

Greetings from Germany,
Christine

[AZTtripper]

How about getting a room reservation for a date near your finish time you should be able to figure an estimate time line to get through from the South Rim. There must be a hotel call them a see if they will let you ship something to them and plan for you to pay for a room (something you might want to do anyway). Then have friends ship the bike you should be able to pre plan this with a known hotel and box and label it yourself. You should be able to hitch hike from the state line to Page.

[naked indian]

contact a local shop, they may be willing to help you out.

[AZTtripper]

There is one bike shop in Page

http://mtbike.mountainzone.com/bikeshops/detail.asp?bid=542445

Or if money is not an issue have a shuttle service out of Flagstaff bring it to you at the State line.

[naked indian]

 I live in Florida and if you need a place to ship it in Florida, I would be willing to offer up my address OR my Sponsors Bike shop would probably oblige you as well.

[German Tourist]

Thanks for the answers and the address of the bike shop in Page.

Before I contact them: Is it normal for a bike shop to hold bikes? And if yes: Do they normally charge for that service? If it is just a nominal charge, I don't mind, but I want to avoid hefty charges.

Also: Can I ship with USPS and have the post office in Page hold it for me General Delivery?

Thanks a lot,
Christine

[German Tourist]

.....You should be able to hitch hike from the state line to Page.

I conclude from your name that you are familiar with the AZT... The AZT association mentions a shuttle service from the Northern Terminus of the AZT to Page. This is the only reason why I came up with the idea of shipping my bike to Page. Do you really think it is feasible to hitch to Page? That would save me over 100$ for the shuttle, but I also do not want to be stranded in the middle of nowhere with no traffic and probably no cell phone coverage to call a shuttle.
Christine

[Mike Brown]

Christine- those are very remote byways.  As much as I hate this, I would not recommend solo hitchhiking as a woman.

[daveB]

Mike Brown-
In general I tend to agree, but GT has traveled in a lot of weird places, so has plenty of experience with hitching.  She's also reasonably prudent about forking out the $ for a shuttle if its necessary. 

Happy travels GT!
Dave

[AZTtripper]

While the state line is quite remote there is a very popular hike near there something called "The Wave" both times I have been to the State Line TH there have been groups staying there before or after doing the hike to "The Wave".

No guarantees of course but I bet someone would give you a lift.

I should think a bike shop would hold a box for a small fee (nothing is free after all).

Not sure if USPS would ship anything that big worth checking out then you could have it held for GD.

[Mike Brown]

USPS will not ship full sized bike boxes.   Check out their dimensional limits.  A frame box and wheel boxes can be shipped and this can actually be cheaper sometimes than UPS. 

Every bike shop I've used is willing to hold a bike a for a few days.  Most shops, however, have limited storage and will not hold indefintely.
Regarding hitching...
I lived and worked in the space between Flagstaff and Page years ago as a social worker. 
 Based on this experience, I would not recommend hitchhiking randomly.  Getting a ride from a hiker at the trailhead, however, is a tee-totally different story and sounds like a valid option. 

[AZTtripper]

Ya I would not have thought of telling any one man or woman to hitch hike from Flag to Page tho I did meet some nice people biking along that route. And I did meet one guy who was planning to hitch from Lee's Ferry to Flag.

When I arrived there in the spring of 04 whooping and swooping down to the state line. I was pulling a Bob trailer and had a rack and panniers on the front of the bike. Well over 1000 miles of riding with the added miles, via Tuba city 230+ mile detour around the canyon. I was warned in Flagstaff that road bikers had been beat up and mugged along that route. When I was on the south rim a guy driving a tour bus told me he had done the route once as part of a transcon trip. "When I asked for water they gave me shit I had to ride all the way to Cameron then they let me have water and let me sleep out back".

I don't doubt that these things happened, but I had a totally different experience. I bought bottled water (I don't know that bottled water was always available in the past). I said hello to every one I met even the craziest looking guys hanging out behind the building. I found every one to be very friendly.

If water wasn't there to be bought I don't know. AZ state laws (or so the wivestells say) it is against the law to deny water to any one. But the reservation is not AZ. I could see some one pissing someone else off just by what the person said about another person. And it would not surprise me that you could easily get your ass kicked on the res. Maybe back then you had to ride all the way from Page to Cameron the only place to buy anything is Cedar Ridge and it's just the one store.

Back at the state line I was getting whoops back from one of the camp sites as I rolled it to camp I pulled in to that last camp site. I was immediately offered both wine and beer, dinner and all of the water I wanted.

At the end of the 06 trip I had the camp to myself for several hours but eventually people showed up. Several miles north there is another trail head where the actual hike starts and there quite a few cars there.