Pack, Ship, Tour with Bikeflights

Jerry Kopack [00:00:02]:
Welcome to Bike Life, a podcast from the Warmshowers Foundation. Here we celebrate our global community of touring cyclists and hosts who make life on the road unforgettable. Through stories, insights, and shared experiences, we explore the connections that fuel every journey. Whether you're pedaling across countries or welcoming travelers into your home, you're part of a movement rooted in generosity and adventure. Discover more and join the community@warmshowers.org now let's hit the road together. Hey, everyone, this is Jerry Kopeck, the host of Bike Life, coming to you from the Rocky Mountains of Breckenridge, Colorado. Let's say you just finished a big cross country bike tour and you're wondering, how do you get your bike home? You don't really want to deal with lugging a giant cardboard box around the airport. Or, or maybe you just don't trust the airline to not lose your bike.

Jerry Kopack [00:00:58]:
I know they've lost mine a couple of times. So what do you do? Today's guest has an answer. Sue George is a lifelong cyclist, adventure rider, and the vice president of bikeflights. Sue, welcome to the show.

Sue George [00:01:10]:
Hey, Jerry. It's great to be here. Thank you.

Jerry Kopack [00:01:13]:
So for listeners who might not be familiar, what is bikeflights?

Sue George [00:01:17]:
bikeflights is a bicycle shipping service. So we ship bikes, wheels, and gears for all kinds of folks who love bikes. You can be an individual, you can be a bike shop, you can be an event or tour operator. You can be an industry bike brand.

Jerry Kopack [00:01:31]:
Okay, so you mentioned that it's not just for shipping your bike for big races or big trips.

Sue George [00:01:39]:
Yeah, I think, you know, in our early years, we, we did quite a bit of marketing around shipping your bike for different events. It was a common way to use our service. But a lot of people don't know that. In fact, you don't have to ship a complete bike. You can ship a set of wheels. You can ship parts and accessories. You know, that a pair of handlebars to ship or new drivetrain parts or any, really any, any bike related component or gear. We're happy to ship that.

Sue George [00:02:06]:
And it doesn't have to be for an event. Like, it doesn't have to be that you're shipping a spare set of wheels to a mountain bike race or a cyclocross race. You could just be shipping them to a friend, you know, or to somebody that you just bought and sold those wheels to online.

Jerry Kopack [00:02:21]:
Excellent. Okay, so I was one of those people who kind of mistakenly thought that. I just see people shipping these giant cardboard boxes either to an event or home from say a bike tour. So it's good to know that you guys don't just do that. So then I'm guess sorry if this sounds obvious, but why would I use bikeflights and not just UPS or the post office?

Sue George [00:02:42]:
Well, bikeflights, you know, we've been around since 2009. Everybody on staff is a cyclist and we take care of everything. From the time you're looking into booking all the way until the time that your package delivers, or if you do have any issues and need to follow up with claims or anything you interact directly with us, we'll save you up to 80% off bike shipping. But you're also talking to people who are experts in shipping all things bike.

Jerry Kopack [00:03:09]:
That makes sense because I definitely have tried to call FedEx or call UPS and well, we all know how that turns out, so it's good to know that. And the other thing is, to your point is when I call UPS or FedEx, they do good work, but they're probably reading from a script. They don't know me. They don't know what is in that box. They don't know that that is my prized bicycle that I've had since I was 19 years old. So it's nice to know that people on the other end pick up the phone for one and also care about bikes.

Sue George [00:03:40]:
Yeah, I mean if you call us and ask us what to do about your derailleur when you're shipping bikes, we're going to know what you're asking. You probably don't get that if you call 1-800-THE CARRIER unless you just happen to get an agent online who is also a. A fellow cyclist.

Jerry Kopack [00:03:54]:
Yeah. And what are the chances there? Right?

Sue George [00:03:56]:
It happens, but maybe not, not as often as you might want it to happen.

Jerry Kopack [00:04:00]:
So you guys are a US based company. Do you ship to all 50 states, including those two outlier ones?

Sue George [00:04:07]:
We do ship to all 50 US states. We also ship to US territories. Yeah.

Jerry Kopack [00:04:15]:
Anything else? Internationally? Do you guys venture outside, like the US?

Sue George [00:04:18]:
Yeah, yeah, we, we ship to about approximately 60 countries that I say approximately because things are changing constantly, especially in the world of international shipping right now. So the answer I give you today might be different by tomorrow morning at the current pace of change.

Jerry Kopack [00:04:37]:
Sad but funny. But true. Right. So you mentioned your history. You guys have been around for a while. Kind of a random question, but do you know how many bikes you guys ship in a given year or you've shipped so far?

Sue George [00:04:49]:
Well, we celebrated. Oh gosh, I think it's been well over a year. Now 1.5 million shipments, people served. So it's been a lot of. A lot of shipments. We have more than 50,000 excellent customer reviews on our review service Trustpilot. So it's been a lot over the years.

Jerry Kopack [00:05:10]:
Yeah. Okay. That's definitely reassuring for people who don't know your story to know that you guys aren't just operating in some basement in Minnesota or wherever you are.

Sue George [00:05:17]:
Right? No, that is correct.

Jerry Kopack [00:05:20]:
Okay, good. So for people who have never shipped a bike before can be a bit intimidating. What should people know before they start sending their bike?

Sue George [00:05:29]:
I would say the first thing is to don't be scared. There's lots of people to help you, lots of resources out there. I would reach out to us, check out our YouTube channel. We have tons of educational resources on how to pack your bike and all different kinds of bike boxes and bike cases, step by step instructions. That said, if you have any questions, you can always reach out to us. The other thing I would say, and I think you said one thing, but I'm going to say too, is don't procrastinate. You know, don't wait till the very last minute. Start thinking about it ahead of time so you can figure out what box or case you're going to use and if you don't already have that in your possession, how you're going to get it.

Sue George [00:06:09]:
You know, think about some of the logistics of where you're shipping to and from. It just makes it go a lot more smoothly. As with most things in life, if you plan ahead a little bit, it does make it a little bit easier.

Jerry Kopack [00:06:20]:
So true. So I'm still stuck on the idea of shipping bikes. I'm just going to use that as a reference point. So people sometimes have their own bike cases that they use. Do those work or do you have to get one of the bike boxes, the carbon?

Sue George [00:06:34]:
We do ship both boxes and bike cases. We also sell bike boxes in a couple of different sizes. So you always have the option to use one of our bike boxes. But you don't have to have to use one of our bike boxes. Most people don't. A lot of folks will go to one of their local shops and reuse a bike box that was used to get a bike initially from a manufacturer to a shop, for example, or they may already have a case or they might rent one from their local shop. That said, you know, all bike cases and bike boxes are not created equal. We do have, like I said, a lot of resources on our website and on our YouTube channel.

Sue George [00:07:15]:
We have some Recommended cases. You want to make sure your case is robust, that it's, you know, suitably designed for withstanding normal shipping conditions, for example. So you don't want just a little thin cloth thing over your, your precious bicycle and expect that that's going to withstand shipping. You also need to make sure that your boxer case meets the size requirements for shipping. And again, there's lots of information on our website about the maximum allowed size for domestic shipping. It can be different for international shipping, but it'll tell you the maximum sizes, the maximum wage for that.

Jerry Kopack [00:07:52]:
Ah, so what about E bikes? Because I know that's a growing trend. E bikes, of course, weigh a lot more. They have the batteries as well. How does that work for shipping an E bike?

Sue George [00:08:03]:
So we can ship E bikes domestically within the lower 48 states. So because of the batteries that are in E bikes and current battery technology, E bikes have to be shipped via ground service. That's why we can't ship it to Alaska or Hawaii or Europe, for example. But within the US we can ship them just like you would ship any other bike. Except there's a few extra special steps that you'll want to follow. You know, they include things like if you can turn off your battery or off your E bike, you'll want to power it off. You'll want to make sure your battery is fully installed the way it normally is in your bike. You're not putting it out.

Sue George [00:08:41]:
We can ship the battery that's fully installed into the bike, but not extra spare batteries. You'll want to discharge your battery to 30% or less prior to shipping, for example. But again, we have all these resources available on our site, really simple instructions. Otherwise you pack it just like a regular bike, but with. As you astutely noticed and mentioned, E bikes are frequently on average, heavier, sometimes substantially than a non E bike. So when you pack anything that's bigger or heavier, you still have to meet the minimum or not exceed the maximum allowed size and weight. And when you pack something that's heavier, you often have to have more padding, better protection, because those objects just need additional, you know, padding and support within the box or container that you're using to ship those bikes?

Jerry Kopack [00:09:31]:
Yeah, that makes total sense. Uh, so do you see a lot of the most people just going to the local bike shop and getting an old box and using that? I mean, that seems like that works pretty well.

Sue George [00:09:40]:
It's, it's a great option for people who live near a local bike shop. It's also, there's a lot of people out there that aren't very close to a shop, they might not have the time or the, you know, even the. The. A shop nearby enough to go get a box. They might not have a vehicle that they could bring a box home with them, in which case you could order a box directly from us. We'd ship it straight to your front door. It would arrive, it arrives very small and compact, and then you build it up into the size that you want to use.

Jerry Kopack [00:10:11]:
Wow, that is a great solution. It ships right to your door because. Yeah, I guess I totally didn't think about that. If you have a smaller vehicle and you're putting this giant bike box in there, it may have to get strapped to the roof or not at all.

Sue George [00:10:23]:
Right. Or you live in a city and you don't have a car, how you're going to transport that bike box back from your job. Now, that said, we work with thousands of bike shops across the country, and for some people, the best solution is to take their bike to a local shop and hire the shop to pack their bike for them. Either they don't have time or the expertise to do it themselves, or it just fits their schedule. It's more convenient overall. And then we can arrange the shipment such that we pick up that packed bike directly from your local bike shop. And you can do the opposite on the other end. Like, if you know your tour is going to start or finish in one location or another, you can plan to ship directly to or from that shop, and you could choose potentially to hire them to pack it for you.

Sue George [00:11:09]:
Oh, that's assemble it and put it together. If it's the beginning of your tour.

Jerry Kopack [00:11:13]:
Yeah, especially if you're going to be. Or if you're going to go in and out of the same place, you're doing a tour in, say, a different state, you can ship to that bike shop, they build your bike, you take it and go do your thing and. And then drop it off at the end of your tour and they ship it back for you. It makes so much sense.

Sue George [00:11:27]:
That's the way that many people will do it. I mean, you can also do it similarly with a local hotel. For example, if you're traveling for some sort of a tour and you're starting and finishing in the same place, you might ship it to your hotel. I did that myself this summer on vacation. They held the bike box for me until I was back from the tour. It was a loop tour. So I started and finished in the same place and then packed it back up, picked it up Right from the hotel and it was back to my house from there.

Jerry Kopack [00:11:53]:
Easy, just like that.

Sue George [00:11:55]:
Yeah. We tried to make it as easy as possible.

Jerry Kopack [00:11:59]:
None of, none of that lugging that big cardboard box or whatever case around the airport. Right. Because that's a pain.

Sue George [00:12:03]:
Well. Oh yeah. And it's really funny because I did grow up doing that. I raced quite a bit growing up and I remember one time having to travel with two or three bikes to, to a training camp or an event or something I was doing. And you know, it was very young and yeah, at least one of them was a track bike, so it wasn't that heavy or big, but it was still a nightmare to juggle that. I can't imagine going back to that at this point.

Jerry Kopack [00:12:30]:
Yeah, I think that I've traveled with my partner on different trips and for two people to lug two bikes, at least we own, we have one set of hands for each bike. But still two bikes is, is a lot, especially on a bike when you've got tent, sleeping bag, all your clothes and gear, like it's, it's a lot of gear. So this, this is a really good solution. So since we're talking about this, can you, I don't know, really easy. Walk me through. How would I use your service? Let's say I have a bike box myself. What do I need to do to get this process going?

Sue George [00:13:01]:
So it's very simple and straightforward. You go to bikelights.com which is our website. Once you go there, you'll click the button ship a bike. It'll take you to a form online where you'll be prompted to enter information like your ship from address, your ship to address. You'll need to enter the dimensions for the box that you're shipping in. You'll enter the market value of whatever you're shipping. So what is your bike worth? You'll purchase protection, we call it premium protection. For we recommend the amount that your bike is worth just in case something were to happen.

Sue George [00:13:36]:
And then you follow through as prompted and you'll enter your purpose of your shipment and then you'll go to the next page. You'll be presented with different rates that you can choose from. We work with UPS and so we offer different levels of service ranging from ground level services to all the way up to next day air services as needed as you're booking. You also have the option to schedule a pickup or you can choose to drop it off at a local UPS store or location as you prefer. And so that all gets taken care of as you book for our domestic shipments. One of the cool things we rolled out this summer is labels are instant now. So you get through the end of the process. Check out literally like, I don't know, maybe 30 seconds or less, depending on how impatient you feel.

Sue George [00:14:25]:
It might feel shorter or longer, but right immediately after you pay, you get your label available and you could print it out right there and get ready to put it on your box. If you're not near a printer at the time, don't worry, all that stuff saved in your account. It's really easy to go in after the fact. Pull that label printed and get it ready for your shipment. And then you've got your labels. You also need to pack your bike. I personally tend to pack my bike first and then I get my label. But you can do it in any order as long as you know what you're doing.

Sue George [00:14:55]:
Dimensions and weight are going to be of your bike. So it's. It's pretty straightforward, you know. And, you know, like I said, if you need help with how to pack your bike, if you do it a lot, it becomes much more second nature. You've never done it before. Check out some of those videos of how to pack all different kinds of bikes and all different kinds of boxes and cases on our sites.

Jerry Kopack [00:15:13]:
Yeah, because you had mentioned earlier that there's discussions about what to do with your derailleur, for example, because that's one of those points of failure that if you break a derailleur or derailleur hanger, well, you're kind of sol.

Sue George [00:15:27]:
Yeah, so. And that's a great question, so I'll just go ahead and answer it. So the answer depends on how you're putting your bike into your box or case. So in some scenarios, you leave your rear wheel on and you just take your front wheel off. That's the case in a lot of common cases. It's that way in our bike plates, bike box large. In that case, you want to shift your derailleur all the way to the inside, like toward the spokes so it's not protruding out. That means it's less likely to get contacted should anything impact the side of your box.

Sue George [00:16:01]:
I am a big fan of padding, lots of things and everything. So I might choose to wrap something around it in that scenario. If I'm packing in a smaller box, like the one or a case where I need to take off both wheels, well, then I'm almost always, you know, just take off your derailleur too. It's one more bolt can wrap it in some foam padding or bubble wrap. It's what I'll often use and just zip tie it or use a little molay strap or something and you know, attach it to your frame, kind of tuck it up in the inside so it's secured in place but not subject to damage.

Jerry Kopack [00:16:34]:
Yeah, that makes a ton of sense. What about people who have disc brakes? Do you have people take their discs off the rotors off?

Sue George [00:16:42]:
We generally recommend that the best practice is to remove your rotors. Okay. It is very easy to bend them when you're shipping. Obviously again, it depends on your boxing case, how vulnerable they are. But the best practice is to remove them if at all possible, especially when you're taking off those wheels and then you can just slide them in like make a little small parts box. That's what I'll often do is pull off the rotors, pull off your pedals, any other small parts like water bottle gauges and stuff so things can fit in there. I need just. I also put in the tools I used to take the bike apart so I have them when I get to the other end to put it back together.

Jerry Kopack [00:17:19]:
What about deflating tires? Does that matter?

Sue George [00:17:23]:
No, I don't. I mean, I don't deflate my tires before I, I shoot my bike. I mean. Yeah. And then I often will throw in usually how? But anyways, if you're a bike turn, you often have a little pump or something with you. So if you do need to top off your tires like they lose air over time, I'm sure you've noticed if it's a while from when you shipped until you actually get to ride a vice versa, you probably going to need to put some more air in your tires. Now I will say that there is a really good reason to sometimes let some air out of your tires if the fit's a little tight in your boxer case. Especially because you have big fat tires on a gravel bike or a mountain bike, if you let a little bit of air out, that can give you the space you need to get everything in there just right.

Sue George [00:18:09]:
Now if you run tubeless, you might not want to let too much out so you don't end up with a puddle of sealant in the bottom of your boxer case when you ride. You don't really want to break that seal if you don't have to.

Jerry Kopack [00:18:20]:
Yeah, right, of course. So you, you had mentioned that when you were racing you would transport one, two, sometimes three bikes. And you've been in this, in this industry for a while. You've Been with bikeflights for a while. What changes have you seen over your tenure with the the industry?

Sue George [00:18:37]:
Well, the bike industry or the shipping industry?

Jerry Kopack [00:18:41]:
Let's talk about the shipping industry. Good question.

Sue George [00:18:43]:
Okay. I feel like the shipping industry changes every day, sometimes two or three times a day and especially this year because of changes with tariffs and international shipping constantly changing. But no, I mean looking at it longer term then in with bikeflights since 2014, so 11 years, you know, everything is always changing. The carriers are always innovating in their systems and their ways of, you know, accepting orders and tracking things and processing things. So we're constantly adapting on our back end, like lots of new tech and everything to be able to efficiently serve all the people that we serve, all the customers that we serve. Obviously if you're shipping as many bikes as we ship, you need to do it very efficiently. We also are always rolling out newer and better ways to do things, newer and better processes. Like I mentioned the instant labels that was new for us this year before you had to submit it and then we'd email them to you after they process.

Sue George [00:19:48]:
For example, lots of just increased, I would say self serve capabilities, better tracking, accountability, just trying to roll out all the latest and greatest technology that we can to make the ex, the experience go as smoothly as possible. That said, you know, I see trends of carriers kind of ebb and flow in who's leading whom. It's like watching a bike race. One day this guy's faster, the next day this guy's faster. You know, maybe one day this, this carrier innovates this way, the next day this carrier innovates this way or the next year. So you know, they all have a lot of strong points and they're great to work with. And you know, we see that, that over time as they bring more and more tech into their operations now they're under increasing pressure to do more with less. So we definitely see increased technology.

Sue George [00:20:43]:
You know, just like we see that rolling out across a lot of different industries. More automation across the board, you know, less human being touch to each shipment along the way.

Jerry Kopack [00:20:57]:
So you mentioned more automation, which in theory should translate to more efficiency. Does that translate to faster shipments? As far as deliveries, someone's still flying the plane or driving the truck.

Sue George [00:21:11]:
Yeah, I think, you know, you're still gonna see pretty similar shipping times. Especially when you think about it, you purchase your shipping by shipping speed. So there's no business in selling a, you know, two day service and delivering it in one day. You'll never sell your one day service. So, you know, typically you'll, you know, you get kind of the service speed that you pay for.

Jerry Kopack [00:21:37]:
Got it. That makes sense.

Sue George [00:21:38]:
So that said, I mean, they're going to be better at sorting. You know, as automation spreads across carrier facilities, things will be more efficient in those sorting approaches to packages moving through systems, you'll need less people to touch stuff and transfer stuff. Now with bikes, you know, it's always a challenge to automate more and more too, because, you know, they're big, heavy packages. It's really easy to ship a small box or a envelope with a puffy down jacket in it. They can get handled pretty easily and all kinds of conveyor belts and, you know, things don't tend to go as wrong with that once you get larger packages or oddly shaped packages, like the way some of the cases are, you know, can be a little bit trickier.

Jerry Kopack [00:22:19]:
Yeah, that makes sense. I want to pivot a little bit and just talk about sort of your background, because I love when I get a chance to talk to people who are executives in organization who are actually passionate about the industry that they're a part of. So tell me about your background. You said you grew up racing and how did you find your way in this industry and into bikeflights?

Sue George [00:22:43]:
That's a good question. My parents enjoyed riding recreationally for fun. And they were a member of like a local wheelman style club in the area where I lived. And I remember being on a ride with them and we pulled up to a stop sign and some other people came up nearby and they're like, oh, it seems like your daughter likes to ride. Have you heard of the velodrome? And they were like, no. So then we heard about it and then I spent a lot of time at the Trucks of Town Velodrome. Growing up, they had tremendous programs for oriented, community oriented programs for youth growing up to get into the sport. And bike racing can be pretty expensive to get into.

Sue George [00:23:23]:
So it's a pretty special gift to be able to borrow a bike and go to a practice and sign up for a summer program and see if you even liked it before you really committed and got into it. So my dad was a school teacher, so he could take me to a lot of practices in the summer at the track. And there was a really great community. So got into racing track, got into racing road, because you usually did both. And I enjoyed it. It was a lot of fun. When I got to college, I didn't live near Velodrome anymore, but I'd already been racing for like 11 years. So it's kind of over the racing track part, so switched to racing.

Sue George [00:24:02]:
Some mountain bikes still race the road a little bit and just had a blast with it and over time, eventually stopped racing. But I just love to ride my bike, so still try to get out there as much as possible.

Jerry Kopack [00:24:13]:
Yeah, I mean, think about that. You're fortunate that you live near a velodrome, because track racing is a very niche kind of sport. Like, anybody can go off and ride in their bike down the bike path or into the woods or on country roads, but to live no a velodrome, that's pretty fortunate. What do you think? Yeah, what do you think about the velodrome? Interested you or excited you?

Sue George [00:24:37]:
That's a good question. I'm so long gone. Not totally sure I remember, but I mean, I think the community. Like we had a group of fellow juniors that we all grew up together, so they're almost like an extended family in a way. And we supported each other as we grew up. We raced together, but more importantly, we trained together, you know, sometimes twice a day. So those folks become really important in your life and they witness you sort of coming of age and, you know, improving over time and encourage you and you challenge each other. Like, we're all competitive.

Sue George [00:25:13]:
So, you know, you're racing with. Against someone that you train with a lot of times, but you're pushing each other. So you're. That seeing that improvement progress over time, I think is very satisfying. And having that community support is satisfying. And you know, I think a big advantage to growing up in that kind of an environment too, is if you've ever watched racing on a velodrome, you can see everything. And that was an amazing experience because our coaches could like, watch everything unfold. And they could be like, no, you needed to be in this position, in this turn, on this lap, you know, you could get really great feedback on your strategy and your approach and your execution within a race, which you can't see that even in a criterion.

Sue George [00:25:58]:
Cause they disappear around the backside. You know, especially not in a road race or a mountain bike race that go off for a while. Maybe in a cross race, you can see folks pretty well through a lot of it. But being able to get that kind of a, you know, feedback and learn from these other really experiencers, I think was. Was really useful.

Jerry Kopack [00:26:15]:
Do you think. Do you think that skill set or just that fitness or just raw strength from. From the. From track racing translated well into your other disciplines?

Sue George [00:26:25]:
Um, that's a good question. So I think I was always kind of an Endurance rider.

Jerry Kopack [00:26:30]:
Okay.

Sue George [00:26:30]:
And I just didn't know it because you never went that long on the track. Like, you know, 2 kilometer pursuit was just a big long event, you know, for folks. A lot of times we're at 30 lap points race or something. And it wasn't until I was later on, like, I mean even on road racing I remember doing some 70 mile road races as a late junior, but you know, it wasn't really until I could get to college that you could really start doing long stuff, which it turns out I really enjoy. And I remember talking to a coach at some point, many years off of the valley, he's like, oh, we told him to do that. Like you weren't one of the fast twitch sprinter people. But we were all welcome to compete and we all just did the best we could with whatever our genes gave us, you know, to be able to, to do.

Jerry Kopack [00:27:15]:
So ultimately, what do you think was your favorite discipline in the cycling world? Cyclocross? Mountain bike, Road riding, criteriums.

Sue George [00:27:26]:
I can't hill climbs, I can't pick between. Well, racing wise I did really enjoy racing the road for a while, but then I also really enjoyed racing mountain bike. But riding wise, like I still equally ride on and off road and I would hate to have to pick one because you know, I might be doing a lunch road ride one day and a mount long mountain bike ride on Saturday, you know, so it's, it's. I really just love all of it.

Jerry Kopack [00:28:00]:
So what do you love most about bike touring or riding for fun? Like how does that connect you with the mission of what you're doing professionally?

Sue George [00:28:09]:
Um, I mean I really enjoy the bike touring because I think as you get older it's a little easier to slow down and my competitive days are way behind me, so. And I, I sometimes I joke with people that I actually just ride so I can take pictures of all the wild flowers that are blooming along the way. So it's a nice fit for that, you know, just taken in the views and I love that it lets me get to places that I would probably never otherwise get to if I wasn't riding a bike. Love to travel, love to see different places. And I think that you said, how does that tie in professionally? I mean, at bikeflights we serve clients all over the US and all over the world. So I think that experience of having ridden in a lot of different places, interacted with people from a lot of different places is very useful because you're doing that on a daily basis, whether it's people within the company or partners or customers. Right.

Jerry Kopack [00:29:07]:
So. So looking ahead, what excites you most about the industry or cycling community or bikeflights specifically? What are we looking forward to?

Sue George [00:29:17]:
Well, this is kind of the. I mean, I'm always excited because I feel like I work with the best colleagues who are totally amazing, and it's a real pleasure to work with them every day. And I love that we are a small company that is constantly adapting and trying new things, and no two days are the same. And so I'm also really excited about all the. All the technology we've rolled out in the last year that has just, I feel, like, set us up really well. I know the bike industry is having a challenging time right now, and I think we're in a really good position as the industry kind of rebounds and search to grow again to really be able to serve people well and give them the best possible bike shipping experience.

Jerry Kopack [00:30:00]:
Perfect. I love it. So I want to thank you for taking some time today to chat with me and explain to all of our listeners the fantastic benefit that is bikeflights. If there are any other ways for us to sort of find out more, just check out your website.

Sue George [00:30:16]:
Well, always check out our website. We do also have a promo code. You could enter Warmshowers and save 10% off your first shipment with bike lights. So if you haven't tried us, give us a try. Enter warmshowers as you check out and save 10% off your first shipment. And I just encourage you, if you have any questions at all, you know, along the way, I know it's kind of intimidating. If you've never done it before, give us a shout and we're happy to walk you through it.

Jerry Kopack [00:30:42]:
I love it. And I will say, personally, I've worked with you guys many times shipping bikes. I also work at a bike shop in the summer in Breckenridge, and we use you guys a. And every time I've ever picked up the phone and call you guys, you answer, which is a great start. And you always have tremendous help and support. So keep doing what you guys are doing. It helps everyone.

Sue George [00:31:04]:
Thank you very much.

Jerry Kopack [00:31:05]:
All right, so I want to thank everyone for listening to my conversation today with Sue George. Stories like these hopefully will inspire you to set off on your own bicycle adventure and maybe make the world feel a little bit smaller. One pedal stroke at a time. Until then, keep the wheels rolling. And the story's coming. Thanks for joining us on Bike Life. I'm Jerry Kopak, and I hope you enjoyed today's episode as much as we enjoyed sharing it with you. Please leave us a rating and review or just tell your friends.

Jerry Kopack [00:31:34]:
This helps us reach more cyclists and hosts around the world. To learn more or become part of this amazing community, Visit us@warmshowers.org or follow us on Instagram at warmshower. If you'd like to be a guest on the show or have a question you'd like us to explore, email us@podcastarmshowers.org.