We know it is as convenient as it gets, but does it make financial sense?
It has been way too long since I have done a blog entry for bicycle couriers and after a phone call this morning, I had the perfect excuse to attack the keyboard. Pierre wanted to send his bike down from PTA to Graaff-Reinet for John Swanepoel’s Camdeboo gravelgrinder.
We’ve done so before and we will do so again. But for this example, let’s consider financials. Does it make sense to driver down with your bicycle(s), or is sending your bicycle with #bicyclecouriers just a luxury?
Let’s look at the numbers.
We know that from PTA to Graaff-Reinet is almost 900km (alternatively client will have the bikes boxed and sent from Warren Muhl at TREK Wolwespruit, from where we frequently collect, and have done overnight 24hrs deliveries to/from CPT). And now follow some real-life examples (we’ve done this before from JHB to Knysna for the oyster festival).
Considering a Volvo sedan (2-liter four-cylinder petrol engine with an automatic gearbox and a Thule roof rack for 2 bicycles). Normal fuel consumption is 8.5l/100km on the open road. But with the bicycles on the roof, it jumped to 13.5l/100km. That is a difference of 5 liters of fuel for every 100kms driven. Which is a total of 900/100*5*2 = 90 liters for the return trip.
So, what does it cost to drive down with your bicycles in this scenario? At a current petrol price of just under R23/ltr, this trip would set you back over R2000 in additional fuel, barring risk of theft, or forgetting that you have bikes on the roof(!), etc etc. Now, what is the alternative?
Compare this to sending two bicycles as follows. Drop them off at the bike shop. Where it will be boxed. And we collect from there when ready. And send it down to the hotel in Graaf-Reinet. Where the bikes will be ready and waiting when the participants arrive for the stay. The ultimate convenience. Hassle-free door to door boxed bicycle transport. For the current special price of only R999 per bike each way.
Conclusion!
What are you waiting for? See you in Graaff-Reinet!
