Bike Shifting in Chikkabanavara

Many houses around Chikkabanavara are lived in before they are finished. The rent or the EMI has started, the rooms are ready, and the outside is still work in progress. The compound wall may be half built, the gate may be temporary, and very often the entrance has no ramp: just a high step from the road, a kerb, or an open gutter running across the front with no slab over it.

Furniture can be carried over all of that. A bike can't be carried easily, and it can't be ridden or pushed over a 20 centimetre step without scraping the underside, or over an open drain without a wheel going in.

So before the delivery, stand at the gate of the new house and look at it as a bike would. How high is the step from the road to the compound? Is there a drain in between, and is it covered? Is the ground inside level and firm, or is it loose soil, sand and leftover building material? Is there somewhere covered and secure for the bike to stand once it is in?

If there is no ramp yet, there are simple fixes. Two thick wooden planks, laid side by side from the road to the step, make a temporary ramp a crew can push a bike up. A few cement blocks or bricks can build up the low side. A sturdy steel sheet or a slab of board can bridge a narrow open drain for the day. Ask the builder or the contractor if they have planks on site; most do. If not, mention it while booking and a loading plank comes with the crew.

Check the inside too. Building sites leave nails, broken tiles and steel offcuts on the ground. Sweep the route between the gate and the bike's spot, so a tyre doesn't pick up a nail on its first evening. If the parking area is still bare soil, a flat board or a couple of paving stones under the side stand stop it sinking.

Then think about the first few weeks. If the gate step is high, getting the bike in and out every day will be awkward until the ramp is built. Ask the builder when the entrance is due to be finished, and whether a small concrete ramp can be poured early. It is a small job, and it makes daily life with a bike much easier.

Lighting is the other gap. A new house often has its outside lights wired last, and a delivery that runs into the evening means unloading in the dark onto unfamiliar ground. Book the bike for daylight, or have a strong torch or a work lamp ready at the gate. The crew need to see the step, the planks and the drain clearly while they push.

Until then, consider where the bike sleeps. With no compound wall and a temporary gate, a bike inside the plot is only as safe as its lock. Use a disc lock or a chain to something fixed, and if a neighbour has a secure parking space, ask about using it for the first few nights.

Our Chikkabanavara packers page covers the first fortnight before the compound wall and gate are built. This page is about getting the bike over the step.

A new house may not have its parking socket wired yet. Ask the electrician whether a point can be fitted near where the bike will stand, and charge the electric scooter fully before the move in the meantime. When booking, tell us which brand it is and whether its pack slides out.