Touring - How to Get Me & My Bike Back Home

Hello,

In a few months, I hope to do the TransAmerica from east to west, ending in Oregon. Can anyone provide any suggestions for getting myself and my bike back home to Pennsylvania? If possible, I was hoping for suggestions that are somewhat specific. For example, are any car rental agencies near the route's ending point? Or specific train route suggestions? Or any kind of ride-share program? Other ideas? I'll have a 4,300 mile return trip, so it would be great to be at least a little prepared upon ending my journey. Thanks!

Wolfy (David in PA)

I read your post as questioning how to get your bike back - if that isn't the question, then this won't be much help. I am packing a bike in a box and using UPS ground to get it from Honolulu HI to San Diego (cheaper than UPS Air and yes it is available from Honolulu to mainland) it will only take 3 to 5 days.

I am going to tour from San Diego to Dallas and then box it up again for return.

Tom

All these details seem so important to work out now, sitting at your desk and thinking about your trip. One of the coolest things about bike touring is that nothing ever works out the way you expect. As long as you stay flexible and keep a positive attitude towards change, things will fall into place.


That said, here's some more concrete thoughts:

You don't say how you want to travel, or how much $ you can spend, or how much time you are allowing yourself.


I started in Astoria last year.

I think the TA ends in Florence, OR (?) but you can easily get to Astoria / Portland from there, by riding on the pacific coast route.

Astoria is only 1 - 1.5 days ride from Portland, and it's a perfectly reasonable road - even nice! You can just ride to the airport/bus station/train station in portland.

PDX is a major airport, you will be able to get a flight to anywhere.

You might want to book it two or three weeks in advance of your planned arrival, to take advantage of cheaper flights - but please don't lock yourself in to a flight and then run out of time to make it - better to spend a few more $ and finish your ride.

If you don't want to ride to Portland, you can rent a one-way uhaul from Astoria to Portland, which costs less than a one way rental car. There's uhaul rental places all over the place, try their web site for a location near your finish line. There's a uhaul rental center about 3 miles from the airport in portland, I bet you could return it there and get them to give you a ride to the airport, (or take a cab), if your bike is already boxed. (I put my bike together in the airport and rode to the uhaul place.)

You can also get a hotel room for your last night, box your bike there, then have the hotel's shuttle service take you to the airport.

There are lots of bike shops in portland, you could have one of them box/ship your bike, or you can box it yourself (contact airline in advance to obtain the box) and fly it home with you, for $80 extra over the airfare. It's probably cheaper to UPS your bike than take it on the airplane, but what you do depends on if you want your bike with you when you get to your destination.

Search the www for instructions on how to box your bike, and allow yourself 3 hours to do it if you have never done it before. (My first time: 3 hours to box/2 hours to reassemble, Second time: 45 minutes / 1 hour)

Amtrak goes through there too, as does greyhound, both will take boxed bikes, you will pay a little extra, and on Amtrak they don't let you take luggage off at every stop, so make sure your start/end/transfer points allow bag transfers. Both have web sites with route and fare information.

Try craigslist.com for portland ride shares.

You are going to have to do your own homework on the details to compare prices/times.

Again, don't sweat it or over-plan it for now... there are so many options. I rode across the country with no plan as to how I would get back, only that I would figure it out when I got closer to being done.

I ended up meeting a man at the Devil's Tower, when I was taking a few days off the bike to go climbing. He was going back my way at the right time, and he gave me a ride back from NY to CA.

Stay flexible, have fun.

Have a great ride!
Anna
(sorry for the long post, this is SO much more fun that working!)

I've heard that the reason most people ride west-east is because of the wind...generally it comes from the west.

just my two cents.

Howdy -

Wind isn't that much difference either way. Going west it will be tough in southern/central Wyoming and along the Oregon coast as you head north.

As for the bike - I am a big beliver in shipping UPS rather than taking it as baggage - I think baggage handlers are bigger gorillas than UPS workers - plus it's a pain dealing with getting a bike into and thru airports. Plus the airlines charge extra for the bike - plus the box - so it almost a $$$ wash. One time I disassembled my bike in a corner of the ticketing area - but that would probably get you arrested by security nowadays.
Just take it to a bike shop in Astoria and pay them to box and ship - then go have a beer - or, if you are under 21, a beer.

As for travelling back - Amtrak keeps going downhill - it might even get totally axed this year - but it's an adventure in ghetto travel - my last trip the bathrooms were overflowing and the train was 5 hours late. I used to be a big supporter - never again. I think a cross-country train trip after your bike ride might prove to be a real downer. Don't even think of Greyhound unless you are dirt poor - even so - when you add the bus ticket and four days food on the road it may end up more than the plane. Busses serve the poor, homeless, and the mentally ill - also ex-cons get a bus ticket when they get out of the slammer. Consider flying Southwest from Portland - Southwest is one of the few airlines that have reasonable one-way fares. There's a bus connection between Astoria and Portland - check some of my earlier posts.

Best - J

bike back?

Hello,

In a few months, I hope to do the TransAmerica from east to west, ending in Oregon. Can anyone provide any suggestions for getting myself and my bike back home to Pennsylvania? If possible, I was hoping for suggestions that are somewhat specific. For example, are any car rental agencies near the route's ending point? Or specific train route suggestions? Or any kind of ride-share program? Other ideas? I'll have a 4,300 mile return trip, so it would be great to be at least a little prepared upon ending my journey. Thanks!

Wolfy (David in PA)

First of all, have you never travelled anywhere before??? Sorry, but I find it astounding that someone has no idea about these things! My apologies if you really have never travelled ... this will be a great experience for you!

OK ... if you want us to be specific, then you'll have to be specific too. What city are you ending in? Any somewhat major city will have a whole collection of car rental agencies ... Hertz, Budget, Thriftys ... open your local yellowpages and have a look. Make some calls!!

Through the internet, or your local yellowpages you should also be able to track down the trains and busses that would take you across country ... like Greyhound, for example.

But the way I'd plan to get back would be to fly. Quick and easy. Book your flight in advance for the best prices, buy the bicycle box at the airport for about $10, and in a few short hours you'll be home.

Hello,

In a few months, I hope to do the TransAmerica from east to west, ending in Oregon. Can anyone provide any suggestions for getting myself and my bike back home to Pennsylvania? If possible, I was hoping for suggestions that are somewhat specific. For example, are any car rental agencies near the route's ending point? Or specific train route suggestions? Or any kind of ride-share program? Other ideas? I'll have a 4,300 mile return trip, so it would be great to be at least a little prepared upon ending my journey. Thanks!

Wolfy (David in PA)

I've used one-way rental car for going to and returning from tours. It works well and is very convenient. A word of caution however: not all car rental agencies will do one ways. Budget works for one-way rentals (you can do it from their website) but Budget has a weird system. It has corporate owned outlets and franchise outlets. You can't rent a car at a corporate outlet and drop it at a franchise. So, for instance, renting a car from Denver to South Dakota, I couldn't get a rental to Rapid City, even though they have an outlet there. I had to go to Souix Falls.

National does one-ways also but they have more outlets you can use. I'm going to try them next time.

Be aware that there is an extra charge for taking a car from the west to the east (across the Mississsippi). Even if it's only a few miles there is still a charge.

Stuart Black

I've used one-way rental car for going to and returning from tours. It works well and is very convenient. A word of caution however: not all car rental agencies will do one ways. Budget works for one-way rentals (you can do it from their website) but Budget has a weird system. It has corporate owned outlets and franchise outlets. You can't rent a car at a corporate outlet and drop it at a franchise. So, for instance, renting a car from Denver to South Dakota, I couldn't get a rental to Rapid City, even though they have an outlet there. I had to go to Souix Falls.

National does one-ways also but they have more outlets you can use. I'm going to try them next time.

Be aware that there is an extra charge for taking a car from the west to the east (across the Mississsippi). Even if it's only a few miles there is still a charge.

Stuart Black


Right, and that charge varies from outlet to outlet. If you happen to rent from a place near an airport, the charge is higher than if you rent from a place downtown. Smaller towns will also often charge more. Occasionally, with some companies, you can luck out and get a reduced rate for moving a vehicle one way because something has happened and the company needs to get this vehicle to the next town ... so if you happen to come along at the right time ... :) Sometimes also, the rates listed on the internet will be quite different from what the individual outlets will charge you.

But he needs to check the internet, and pick up a phone and start making calls ... find out how much each of the possible methods will cost, and how far he can get with them (planes, busses, and trains may not take you to the exact city you want). Also don't forget to ask about how much the various methods of transportation will charge for the bicycle, and how they would like the bicycle packaged, and if you can buy the appropriate packaging there (you can buy bicycle boxes at airports, but I don't know if that's possible with busses and trains).

Hi all,
I recently looked up some one way car rental prices from my home in Pennsylvania to Oceanside, California, the start of my proposed x-country tour. I checked Orbitz.com and the best price was
$388.00. You can plunk in any dates and locations and it spits out various prices according to vehicle size. Add the price of gas and you are off. I look at the drive as another part of the adventure.
Rick (Pa)

Box it up and take an amtrak back. If you box it, they don't charge you for the bike. Go to www.amtrak.com to find out what their routes are from Oregon to PA.

Your other option is to find an airline that doesn't charge if you box it up. I take American, and if you can get it to fit within the luggage guidelines (take it apart and put it in a box of 62 linear inches), then they don't charge.

Koffee

i second that amtrak recommondation. i frequently take my bike from pittsburgh to philadelphia. however, recent budget cuts mean that i cant put it on the baggage car in pittsburgh anymore. i dont know where you live in this state, but the worst case means you would have to go back to the station the next morning to pick up your bike. i have had no problems from amtrak aside from this recent waiting business.

Hi all,
I recently looked up some one way car rental prices from my home in Pennsylvania to Oceanside, California, the start of my proposed x-country tour. I checked Orbitz.com and the best price was
$388.00. You can plunk in any dates and locations and it spits out various prices according to vehicle size. Add the price of gas and you are off. I look at the drive as another part of the adventure.
Rick (Pa)

Make sure you check with the rental company about drop-off points. At this point National looks best to me for car rentals.