Going to Spain to do independent bicycle touring. Should I ship mine or rent there?

Question

A friend of mine and I are going to Spain and would like to bicycle at several areas from the North West to North East Central and South. We can't make up our minds whether to ship our own bikes or try to rent them there at each city we visit. Has anyone ever done this?

Answer 1

I haven't cycle toured in Spain, but have in Croatia and Cuba.  I rented in Croatia and took mine to Cuba.  The latter was a nightmare.  My bike was lost, my girlfriend lost a part in transit and dealing with bike boxes etc was a spectacular pain, nevermind trying to deal with the Airline.  It WAS nice to have my own bike once it arrived but getting it there and back was expensive ($100) and frustrating.  When I rented, we got very decent bikes in Slovenia to tour Croatia and I suspect you could do even better in Spain.  So, in retrospect, I'd rent if possible unless I was going for a really long time i.e. more than a couple weeks.  I hope that helps...