Looks like I'll be going to chico next week for my job, get there monday, leave friday afternoon. Ill be getting a ride out there and will be bringing my bike. Anyone out there? Any shops worth checking out? I know Paul Comp is out there, but whate else?

Secondary question: I have to take Amtrak back, anyone have experience taking bikes on the train?

Sierra Nevada Brewery! My gf and I went there when we went through Chico. You can get beers there that they brew that don't leave Chico.

mmm. beer. I like beer.

They had a unfiltered dopplebock and a malt liquor on draft. It is also one of the nicer brewers that I have toured. Food in the resturant was okay, but I was really there just to drink Chico was a sleepy town with not much to do, so bringing the bike is a stellar idea.

yea id go a little crazy w/ a week with no bike. i just wish I knew someone there. Drinking alone isnt my idea of a good time, even if the beer is top notch. I wish my bike drank beer. Then we would be bestest friends evAR.

chico students are notorious partiers. whenever some came to santa cruz they were always pretty friendly. can't say i ever observed them in their own habitat though, enjoy!

I live in chico. the good bike shop is Pullins Cyclery. the rest of the shops are for yuppies.

I have taken my bike on Amtrak before. For the route I was going, I had to buy a bike box (they have them) for $10, and pay a $5 handling fee. Call ahead and check on everything, they are totally sketchy about details and all of that, so you have to be prepared to deal with them- they are a total bunch of *******.

my gf went to chico state, so we often go back to visit friends/family and take our bikes. it's crazy flat, so coming from a fellow sf rider you might find it a unique break from the norm. pullins cyclery seems to be the best one i've noticed. i've been meaning to ride out to the paul factory to check it out, but haven't yet had a chance to. i notice a lot of bikes/cyclists but not many fixed, though i haven't been back in almost a year now. everyone there seemed to ride cruisers with ******** chopper bars and i got weird looks for my "race bike".

also, i always get taken to a nice little bar called duffy's - fyi booze is CRAZY cheap in chico. it was like $4 for knob creek. when you go to college in the sticks there's not much else to do than get schnaukered. and if you aren't veggie, a place called nobby's has really great burgers. what else... oh it should be hot as all get-out too. bring your shorts, place is a fricken sauna. go swimming at some "swimmin hole" called upper park or something.

amtrak should have bike cars, sorta like caltrain. we've taken it as far as sacramento with our bikes. we usually bart with our bikes out to richmond station, then transfer to the amtrack stop and vice versa to avoid the bus from emeryville>the city via the bridge. if you have any more specific questions pm me and i can ask my gf.

**** this town is boring. Im tempted to go around and kick over anyone on a cruiser bike. Biggest bonus: an entire city of people entirely confused whenever i trackstand at a light. I miss SF already.

Ride your bike through Bidwell, it's pretty.

I did already, twice. And I've only been here a day. I am that bored.

Ah yes, now I remember why I chose SF State over Chico State...

"i know, ill ride across downtown!"

3 minutes later.

"i know, I'll ride back across downtown"

3 minutes later.

"now what do i do. ****"

hi adam!

hi jon!

good luck getting out of chico with your bike if you aren't willing to ride it to sacramento or get a car to drive you out.

amtrak are a bunch of jerks and after waiting an extra hour and a half for a late train they told me and my friend we couldn't take bikes on the train since we can't check them it(even though all we had were bikes and no luggage and other people had a few big bags). i guess they wanted to x-ray our bikes and make sure they weren't bombs or something. you need a station with a baggage check, so good luck getting it on the train which comes at 530am about 2 hours late every night, but sometimes ontime so you have to wait there for that whole time.

grayhound is the same way, no bikes on their buses. amtrak buses no go either.

if you are trying to leave on amtrak this weekend tell me, so i can come and watch and laugh when they don't let you on. just so i can get my revenge on someone else waiting 2 hours to try and get out of chico with a bike.

ps for the person wondering about paul comp factory... its more like half of a tiny little building. like a miny warehouse. probably like 300 sq feet. marked only with a "UPS drop-off here" or something like that.

and finally, yes the people there don't under track/fixed gear bikes. except last weekend when i was there for graduation some cop guiding traffic was like "track bike?" and i was like ummm yeah. confused that someone in chico knew what a track bike was and even more so that he was a middle aged cop.

sternm - fortunately the transport situation has been dealt with, and I and my bike are getting driven back. I went to a bike shop earlier today and the guy thought I had put a freewheel cog onto some track hubs. he was very confused and almost fell over when I let him try riding around after I explained to him what was up and offered to let him on my bike.

lol ^

what shop was it? probably cycle sport those dicks. i will never go there again. pullins is about the only shop worth going to.

hell if i know. I just went to the first shop i found that had a track bike in the window (it was a stock pista). heh.

bwahahahaha

go to duffy's while you're there

dude chico has the national yo-yo museum.
dope.

dw - googling clamper lead me to this: https://www.phoenixmasonry.org/masoni...mpus_vitus.htm

if thats what you're talking about, I totally want in.

yoyo musuem!? (googles) OMG its like 3 blocks away!

and i'm wondering why you googled when i gave you the direct link to it.
enjoy.
learn to track stand while playing yo-yo.

young jedi, you can do it.