rivs on amtrak: my report on a fun technicality

[Brent Knepper]

hiya grouppe! I'd like to share a fun solution I found via amtrak this past week. there's been some recent posts from Leah and from Chris about fitting Rivs in all their long chainstay and big tire glory on Amtrak's in-car bike parking and racks. in the mid-2010s I did a ton of amtrak adventures coupled with bike camping and backpacking all around the US and Canada, so I enjoyed these posts as 2024 resources for traveling/touring via train and bike- especially now that amtrak is outfitting more of its trains with designated bike areas

anyway, I spent the weekend moving from Chicago to NY's hudson river valley for a new job (midwest group members: forgive me!) and I needed to limit my belongings to what could fit in one (1) U-pack relocube and my car. that was all fine, except I did not have space for my two rivendells! the horror!!

ok, sure, but what about amtrak: well, ya can't officially ship things via amtrak anymore. they stopped their express shipping service in 2020 much to chagrin of college students and frugal others. however they do allow for two, free checked bags– or bikes!

before the days of roll-on bike service and bike racks, which some trains still don't have, amtrak allowed passengers to check bikes inside comically large $10 cardboard bike boxes that only required turning the handlebars sideways and removing the pedals. a decade ago, I used these boxes extensively. the baggage handlers have always been respectful with the bike boxes too. a lot of stations even let me keep my box in their baggage area while I was out touring for a week or whatever, so I wouldn't have to buy another box on my way home

I love amtrak, and you've probably figured out what I did by now ◡̈ compared to the time investment of disassembling two bikes, packing them safely in bike shop boxes, and then the cost of bikeflights or pirateship, turns out a one-way amtrak ticket from Chicago to Albany was way cheaper

so last saturday I took my two rivs to chicago's union station- bittersweet as that may have been the last time I roll a bike through there for a while- and checked them in at amtrak's baggage claim. I simply showed them my amtrak e-ticket and they filed it away in their pen-and-paper baggage system. huge bonus: da amtrak guyz said they had a stack of used boxes from friday's holiday travel, so I reused those for free! with the excess of riches, I even shoved the bike boxes inside of each other to double-up the cardboard protection for my brand new periwinkle Sam!

two days later, I drove over to albany's amtrak station and picked up my bikes. no one knew, or cared, that I wasn't on the train or that I was picking up the bikes half a day after the train arrived. hopefully someone on the train enjoyed the additional space of the empty seat I "paid" for too ◡̈ bikes looked great, I stopped by albany's honest weight grocery co-op for snacks, and now I'm back in my new lil apartment filled with moving boxes and anxiety about unpacking them all. luckily, I got cool bikes to ride around on to assuage said anxiety

tl;dr: it was cheaper to buy a train ticket and check two bikes as bags then ship 'em through ups or whatever. 10/10 would do again

[Bill Lindsay]

That.  Is.  Freaking.  Genius.

Bill Lindsay

El Cerrito, CA

[Chris Halasz]

Brent

That is valuable information for this list! 

Looking forward to year-round photos riding through the Hudson River Valley! 

- Chris 

[Brent Knepper]

a nice person asked over PM about the packing materials I used around the frames, so for the collective hive mind: I zip-tied some random carpet padding scraps to the frames, then zip-tied the bars to those scraps so nothing would move around. honestly I did it a bit rushed in the train station, but my goal was to keep the paint safe from the brake levers and quill stems. it all worked out, but if I had to do it again I'd use pipe insulation and reusable straps like voilés.

I'll attach pics of the bikes fresh out of the boxes at the albany station. one is my first ever riv bought off this list, a Bleriot. other is a new Sam that I keep threatening to post a bike check of on here

 

-Brent, now in kingston NY

[Michael Kauk]

Great story! Thanks for sharing. 

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[Patrick Moore]

That's a wonderful instance of someone making a still good system work for him.

Were you not anxious whether your bikes would be treated well and kept secure when they arrived and remained for half a day at the Albany station without you? Can one rely on such good bike treatment from Amtrak staff?

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Patrick Moore

Alburquerque, Nuevo Mexico, Etats Unis d'Amerique, Orbis Terrarum

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[Patrick Moore]

And good luck in your new city. Share your riding experiences in Albany.

[Bicycle Belle Ding Ding!]

Ok, you’re fun. And clever. I hope we’ll be hearing more from YOU.

Leah

[ascpgh]

Fantastic!

On par with renting a U-Haul pickup to reach a destination in the dearth of rental cars following mass flight cancellations.

Just using (not abusing) what's available in a manner not anticipated. 

Andy Cheatham

Pittsburgh

On Thursday, September 5, 2024 at 3:04:47 PM UTC-4 in...@brentknepper.com wrote:

[Michael Baquerizo]

damn, that xtr mini group on the sam. it's the little things.

[RichS]

That's what I call a brilliant "train ride report"!!! Nicely done Brent. I'm glad your Rivs arrived safely and were waiting for you at the station.

Congratulations on your new home in Kingston. The Hudson Valley is a special place for this former New York State resident. Hope you enjoy it.

Best,

Rich in ATL

[Brent Knepper]

thanks for the kudos, everyone! the riding out here has been great so far, as is having a bike with 1st gen XTR parts and paul v-brakes ◡̈

to answer Patrick's question: yeah, bikes were perfectly safe- amtrak workers can be gruff but they don't want to deal with the hassle of a damaged bike either. in the many years of throwing touring bikes in boxes, I never had more than some tears in the cardboard- which were usually taped up by the staff before I received the bikes. amtrak security is some kinda federal level I think. checked bags stay in the access-restricted areas and aren't handed over to anyone without the claim ticket given back when the bikes were originally checked. also, there's a spot on the boxes to write your name, address, and phone number

-Brent in kingston ny