Step 1 of taking a bicycle 120 miles out of San Francisco without a car: ride to BART station (the subway in the Bay Area ).
-
@FranceskaMann all the new BART trains also have better bike storage
-
Adrianna Tanreplied to baloo last edited by [email protected]
@baloo most cars are probably fine but there are some specific ones for wheelchairs that are now clearly marked I think. Will have to check! I feel like I had to scramble to the next car recently at some point
-
Step 2: get off in west Oakland. Ride to Emeryville Amtrak station
-
Chris Alemany🇺🇦🇨🇦🇪🇸replied to Adrianna Tan last edited by
@skinnylatte I am jealous already!
-
I just heard someone in my family, a regular and appreciative BART rider, gush about the new Caltrains.
The new trains are pretty cool.
-
Adrianna Tanreplied to Adrianna Tan last edited by [email protected]
Step 3: if you get rained on and the train is delayed by a few hours, get fed by your friends who live near the train station
-
Adrianna Tanreplied to Adrianna Tan last edited by [email protected]
Step 4: check Railrat to see how delayed the train is. (3h 15 min. There was a freight train stuck in Dunsmuir overnight)
It always surprises me there are fewer trains in the US than some.. Indian states (Indian Railways is extensive and is also the national railway I know best!)
Amtrak Train Status - RailRat.net
Real-time Amtrak train status, with arrival and departure updates organized by route, station and train (unofficial).
(railrat.net)
-
Adrianna Tanreplied to Adrianna Tan last edited by [email protected]
Step 5: check in at the counter before the train arrives to get a bike tag. Before boarding, go to the luggage section (usually ahead of the sleeping car) to check in your bike. They’ll pull it up into the luggage car and keep it there. You don’t need it boxed or locked. (Check info for your specific train / station. Some of them require earlier checkin)
-
@skinnylatte "every car is a bike car" it's beautiful 🥹
(this is technically true of the MBTA except the Green Line, but there's no dedicated space/hardware, you're just supposed to move to the ends of the cars and probably take up accessible space)
-
If I’m in coach I much prefer to just sit in the lounge car
There’s a cafe downstairs and the views are the best
-
@skinnylatte RailRat is great, and there's an even-lower-bandwidth option now, too: https://amtrak.live/
-
@SnoopJ excellent!
-
Can you take your bike on the bus connectors?
-
Peter Saathoff-Harshfieldreplied to Adrianna Tan last edited by
@skinnylatte I was wondering if you’d try using the Coast Starlight to get down there. I didn’t know you could bring a bike without a box on any Amtrak long distance trains.
-
Adrianna Tanreplied to Peter Saathoff-Harshfield last edited by
@pesh I’ve done it on the coast starlight and California Zephyr. Depends on the train and also sometimes the station.
-
@skinnylatte I was wondering why you chose Emeryville over Jack London. Proximity of friends?
-
@scott yep!
-
Step 6: enjoy the view
Also some genius mum has got her kids knitting and they are so into it
-
@skinnylatte Yeah, sadly that airport shuttle is basically the ONLY reliable transportation between SF and Monterey.
-
@rednikki I was kinda annoyed at the cost but I’m going to just take that now
just had to move my bike one way today
