How to sort transport - tips?

[Wheelie]

Every time I am to go on a trip, sorting out the shipment of my bike in and out is by far the most difficult task... in particular just trying to find a company that will take my bike or that will respond to my e-mails at all... regardless if I try to arrange air, ship or truck...

How do you go about this? How do you find out who to contact? Who do you, and do you not contact? How much time does it usually take before you start searching until you have found anyone that will help you? How much time do you expect to spend sorting out getting your bike home - that is after you have sourced a company and you arrive at your destination.

My personal record is three days after having arrived at my final destination and having rolled into the parking lot of the lostics company... before my run arround from office to office, getting crate sorted, waiting for people to get their thumbs out, is finished...

Any particular type of companies you contact or tricks that you use?

The past few weeks for instance I have been trying to sort out freight from Norway to Iceland and then back home again. I have sendt e-mails directly to two air cargo companies that I know work this route (Iceland air and SAS), DHL and UPS, and four shipping companies/ferries (Smyril Line, Smyril Blue Water, Eimskip, and Samskip). I am no closer to get my bike to Iceland. Googling freight companies that do Iceland - Norway is coming up short.

On my last trip to Spain for instance, it was only through the grape wine that I was able to find a trucking company that would take my bike from Oslo.

From Guinea Bissau, it was only by chance that I got in touch with a totally unknown logistics company that had arranged container shipments from Bissau to Norway before - and that was after having contacted just about every office at Maersk, DHL, UPS and every airline that goes out of Bissau, and tens of other companies. It was only bu chance that I) got in touch with a fellw overlander that had done this particular shioment before and pointed me in the right direction. Not only was it a nightmare to get my bike out of Bissau with three days speaking with just about every government official, bribing, pushing... and that was after everything was "sorted" before I went on my trip. I also had to pay for a whole container - luckily I got four others to share it with me.

On a previous trip before that, getting in touch with the right people at DHL to get my bike to Cape Town, and then later out of Nairoby, was pure luck. And, things did not even remotely go smooth. Three days in Nairoby before I felt remotely assured that my bike would be taken care of - and i had to leave it without having everything sorted. It was a nightmare getting the rest sorted from home.

I am thinking there must be something I am doing wrong, and that there must be an easier way.

Any tips would be appreciated.