Boxed and on the way - "An Impressively Meandering Route" - CycleBlaze

June 9, 2022

Boxed and on the way

Today we delivered 3 out of 4 bikes to Amtrak, in boxes, so as to get them to Portland by the time we arrive. (The 4th bike will be handed off to the baggage attendant and Cheryl will traveling separately and joining us 3 days into the ride.)

Amtrak bike boxes are huge, so all we do is remove the pedals, loosen and lift up the handlebars so they are parallel to the top tube and zip tie them. Then we just roll the bike into the box and tape it up.   On previous trips the bikes have always arrived undamaged so, although we briefly thought about padding, we didn’t end up using much.  

The same attendant who sold Jim the boxes($15 each) was working and he commented that he would try to get them on today’s train because it has a normal, large baggage car. Apparently they do not know what size baggage car is on the train until after it leaves Las Angeles. So with any luck, the bikes should be waiting when we arrive on Sunday. 

Bike ready to box.
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Jim and Rich and boxed bike
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Loading ‘em up
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Scott AndersonPretty disgusting that Amtrak can’t even tell you if they’ll be able to load the bikes on the train.
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2 years ago
Genny FoxYes, I agree. Ultimately it is best to reserve the walk-on and hand-off option whenever you can. This trip that option was full even when we booked almost 5 months in advance. The Coast Starlight is a really popular route so it might be easier on some of the less traveled trains.
I think the bikes will be there in Portland though; the attendant was sympathetic and implied he would make an effort to get them on an early train.
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2 years ago