Family vacation by train and bike

[Andy Smitty Schmidt]

The wife, kids and I spent the last week tooling around Seattle. We took advantage of the bike racks on Amtrak's "Cascades" line and brought Homer and Betty along. Mileages were low and we were mostly going to familiar places around town like friends' houses, parks or favorite eateries, so it wasn't necessarily the most spectacular of bicycle adventures. Despite the non-epic nature of the trip, the whole family had a blast. Visiting our old turf and seeing friends is always a good time, and doing it door to door by Rivendell and train is even more fun. 

Pics prove that it doesn't always rain in Seattle

--Andy

[Michael Hechmer]

Looks like you had a great time.  I've been to Seattle twice & and every day was sunny.  On the other hand as soon as I take our tent out of the loft, rain clouds convene a war council.

Michael

[Manuel Acosta]

Sounds epic to me. Great looking pictures Andy. Makes me miss Seattle already. Good to see the kids had a blast.

[Kip Otteson]

Excellent post.  Nothing better than "non-epic" family day rides.  I think riding with the kids always creates some epic moments.  Inspirational.

[Jamie]

Love the green & cream Betty.

--Jamie

[Andy Smitty Schmidt]

Thanks for the kind words. 

Donald, The kid seats are still work in progress but the progress stopped when they were good enough. The foot peg is tapered and pounded in to a slightly undersize hole in a piece of 3/4 plywood for a solid fit. The big plastic high-back seats are fine for toddlers, but my kids are (obviously) big enough to hold on. 

Michael, My first trip to Seattle was during a freak warm & dry spell in Jan or Feb in '95. I fell in love with the NW on that trip, and moved to Seattle a few months later. Then I learned what rain everyday for a month was like. 

Kip, I agree... somehow having the kids in tow can make an otherwise mundane ride across town into an all-hell-breaking-loose adventure. 

Jamie, I had nothing to do with choosing the color. Vince at Riv HQ spent a lot of time pulling out frames for my wife to pick that color. It was a great choice. It's more pretty in person... sparkly. 

--Andy 

On Monday, August 20, 2012 8:47:27 AM UTC-7, Andy Smitty Schmidt wrote:

[Montclair BobbyB]

That's a dream of mine... to one day take a long bike-train vacation around the USA, by rolling onto an AMTRAK train here in NJ, then rolling off in another location, pedaling to a destination where I can roll back onto the train, and literally work my way across the country and back by bike and train... how great would that be? You're fortunate to have roll-on service in the Northwest; AMTRAK has been over-promising this on the East Coast and then fails to deliver... frustrating.

On Monday, August 20, 2012 11:47:27 AM UTC-4, Andy Smitty Schmidt wrote: