90 | AustrAliAn triAthletetext by peter herzIG | photogrAphy by shutterstoCK.ComD
o your friends ever tell you how
lucky you are to be travelling to
a race? While I’m sure you are
looking forward to the race, in
the back of your mind you’re probably also
thinking, “Man, I am not looking forward
to packing the bike, the running gear, the
swimming gear, the nutrition products,
the water bottles, plus the clothes that
normal people take when travelling.” The
travelling triathlete is indeed a tough gig.
As a seasoned campaigner of domestic
travel and assisting athletes find their
way more easily, I hope to bring you some
down-to-earth (sorry, DTE) suggestions in
this month’s article.AIR
Okay, so you’ve packed your
bike, your bag and have all
your race foods. Magically
you’ve also avoided
unnecessary excess baggage
charges. No? Well, my hot tip for travel is
to make use of your hand luggage. This is
the best place to put (besides your
electronic devices) your sports nutrition, if
short on baggage allowance. Most airlines
will give you seven kilograms - some
athletes may or may not have gotten away
with more than this. Because your sports
products are high density they don’t take
up much space, so they are the perfect
option for your backpack, along with a fewextra snacks (more on this later). So,
recheck your other luggage and add
anything heavy and small to your hand
luggage to avoid excess fees.
So, you’ve avoided some extra fees,
you’ve checked-in, but you’ve realised that
there aren’t any food options that suit your
regular diet. Yes, I know, in reality, there are
usually many food options at the airport
from which to choose. However, let’s for a
minute assume you are flying out of one of
the regional centres. What do you do?
Have something out of the ordinary?
Or go hungry? Or plan ahead? A great
proportion of carefree travel comes down
to planning. If you plan, you have options.The Travelling Triathlete
- Domestic Travel