Hey folks, who has biked to DC and taken some form of bus/train back what is the best deal/ least pain-in-the-ass? Amtrak Greyhound? Inquiring minds want to know??
Despite everyone's gripes that it isn't roll on-off, taking a bike on amtrak from DC is not that bad. Just make sure to show up plenty early (at least an hour) at the station in DC or they'll get stressed out. The boxes they sell (or give away) are plenty big for any bike with the handlebars turned and pedals takin off.
Can you use your own box from a store??
On amtrak, you can bring your own box. I think the price of their box is about $15 bucks if you need one of theirs and maybe another $10-$15 for the bike. I did this last year. The boxing is very basic, just remove pedals, handlebar, take off the front wheel and jack down the seat.
It was a great experience riding the train. They even bumped my ticket up 2 days early for free because I wanted to leave early. You just need to verify that both stops (boarding and departing) have checked baggage service, you can call ahead to verify.
Sweet deal!, I once tried to box-up a bike on the Amtrak going from Philly to Pittsburgh. They said they had to put it on a separate train with a baggage car. Trouble was- as I found later- that train was not actually going to Pittsburgh. And hilarity ensued!
they'll also give away used boxes if they have any laying around.
Your idea of hilarity must be different from mine.
Cut from the same cloth as Type 2 Fun.
Ted, check out the "rail sales" on their site.
Amy and I took trains back from our trip for
17 each plus like 15 for bikes. Their boxes
dont require total disassemble, just turning
the bars parallel with the wheel and taking
off the pedals, which is kind of cool.
I just came back from a GAPCANDO trip with 2 others and we rented a large SUV (~$300). We just fit the bikes in the back. Turned out to be about cheaper than each of us buying train tickets with bike storage. Faster trip back too.
@Ryan Does $300 include gas?
when are you planing to ride to DC or return to Pittsburgh? I'm planning on doing the ride with my brother sometime soon and we wouldn't mind splitting costs on getting a rental car to save cash
Boxing on Amtrak is a viable option. The train drops you off downtown at midnight though, so have transportation on this side.
Rental shuttles should be around $270-300 for the trip, total. Companies like Cumberland Trail Connection and other shuttlers can do this for you.
Yes, @Mikhail, that includes gas. I found a full size SUV rental on hotwire for $244, gas was about $67, so around $310 altogether.
The downside was that the Ford Expedition basically brought my carbon emission offset back to neutral!
