Annie Brooks writes at Tales of Annie Bean and is a well-established adventure-seeker who loves to travel and keep active on-the-go. She's always looking for new holiday experiences with good food and beautiful scenery, and exciting places to explore, run or cycle.

Cycling is an incredible sport, and an excellent form of transportation. You can see places you perhaps couldn’t before and of course, get from A to B, by keeping active. However, in the UK that’s not always so appealing, primarily due to our weather as you just don’t know what you’ll get. This is where cycling abroad comes in to play.

Preparing for my triathlon

For me, in this scenario, I was going to be training for the IRONMAN World Championships in Kona, Hawaii. A notoriously hot and windy country for a triathlon race, so staying in the UK to train for it wasn’t an option – I needed that warm weather training! I’d been out to Lanzarote at the start of the year to tackle those infamous Lanzarote winds on my bike, but I needed more. Plus, I needed to ride on the bike I’d be racing on, because previously I’d just hired one while I was out there.

Heat training required

Luckily, we had family in Tenerife, up at Vilaflor, so decided to fly over with Jet2 to go spend a few weeks doing some altitude training, but then spend time in the heat towards the coast too. I had to take my bike I was racing on, especially as it was getting increasingly close to the race date!

Taking your bike abroad with Jet2

A lot of people are nervous about taking their bike abroad for fear of it getting damaged. I have a solid bike box, but you can hire them from some companies, if you don’t want to buy one. You pack your bike down, snuggly pop it in and you’re good to go. Make sure when booking your flight that you pre-book your sports equipment, please don’t just turn up with your bike as you don’t know if they’ll have capacity to take it.

Once you’re booked, checking it in is super easy. Simply head to the check-in desk. Load your luggage on and they’ll send it off, but you’ll need to take your bike to the oversized luggage check-in, which they’ll direct you to. Wave bye to your bike, then head off to security to get your flight.

Simple, right!

Collecting your bike

Once you’ve arrived at your destination, go to your luggage collection area, and look for where it says ‘oversized baggage’. Sometimes they'll just wheel them out next to where bags are coming in. If you’re unsure, always ask. Soon enough, you’ll be reunited with your bike and you can head off for your training.

By having my own bike with me, I was able to train better, but not only that, I didn’t have the cost of hiring one, and I was far more comfortable on my own bike. Jet2 staff were incredible in helping get us checked in and sorted on both sides, in the UK and in Tenerife. My bike is worth a lot. It is also my pride and joy, and I needed it for the IRONMAN race! It’s safe to say, it was my number one priority over my checked suitcase!

If you’re interested in taking your bike or sports equipment, take a look at the Jet2 website for more information. Finally, a huge thank you to Jet2 for supporting me with my training journey to my triathlon race.