DizMT

Hello, When I arrive in San Diego, I'll need to get back to my vehicle in Crescent City.

What is the best method of transportation with a a loaded touring bike?

mev

My favorite form of transportation for a loaded touring bike is to ride it , but realize this may not always be possible.

One thing I've done is take Amtrak. You'll need to get off at a station with baggage service and looks like Klamath Falls would be nearest station.

When I do the HI-AYH Christmas Bike Ride this winter, my plan is to take Amtrak from Portland to San Diego. On return, take the train back with a few day layover in San Jose. Not always the quickest way to travel, but one I find enjoyable with my bike.

Cyclesafe

In San Diego get your bike packed up and shipped to your home ($100). Fly to Crescent City to retreive your vehicle ($200). Same day.

DizMT

Great input thanks

zeppinger

I looked into Amtrak from SD but it was really expensive and stupid. My itinerary included a train from SD to LA, then a bus from LA to bakersfield, then a train from bakersfield to Sacramento, then a bus from sacramento to the bay area, then a train from there to SF. I think the whole trip was going to take something like 51 hours and cost $100 or so dollars, not including the bike and having to carry it from one mode of transit to another. Oh boy sign me up! That was about 2 years ago. I love trains but Amtrak is a piece of ****. If you take a bike on a plane it usually only cost $50 just check with whatever airline before you buy your ticket.

sstorkel

Why all the crazy routing? I would think you'd take the Amtrak Pacific Surfliner from San Diego to Los Angeles, then switch to the Amtrak Coast Starlight from Los Angeles to San Jose, then take CalTrain from San Jose to San Francisco.

DizMT

I couldn't help but laugh while reading your post zep. I would really consider paying the extra to take my bike along, as it will be my main mode of transpo. Has anyone flew united with their 2-wheeled beasts?

arctos

United- The Un-Tied -Airlines lost my Santana Tandem for two days on a direct flight from Spokane, WA. to LAX. They tried very hard to destroy the box and its contents but good packing saved it from damage.

zeppinger

This was roughly (it was two years ago) the most "efficient" itinerary that was given to me both online and from an Amtrak person over the phone. There was more hours of the travel time devoted to layovers than there were hours spent on an actual train or bus.

I told them to suck it and asked if anyone has ever booked that trip. They told me that that information was not available to non-amtrak employees.....

zeppinger

I wish I had been able to laugh at the time, though now I do realize that it was funny.

To be brutally honest, if there was anything that I was ever ashamed to be an American about its our train systems. The wealthiest most powerful nation in the world cant put me on a train from one major city to the next closest major city. I could go to Russia and ride the same train across the entire country but I cant ride one train from LA to SF, some of the biggest cities on the continent... wow!

DizMT

That's my experience with Greyhound leaving MT. 1 day 15hrs to get to Crescent City... I might as well ship myself 2nd day air!!

mev

That does seem strange. I go to the Amtrak site pick tomorrow and hit plan and pick "SAN" to "SFF" and the second choice I get is:
Pacific Surfliner to LAX
Coast Starlight to Oakland
Bus to San Francisco

I'd probably ride from San Jose rather than take bus from Oakland, but not far from normal choices I'd make. If I pick today then it seems to think to get me on a bus right away to Bakersfield but that isn't how I'd otherwise think of it.

I've ridden a train in Russia with my bicycle before. However, in that case the logistics of getting the baggage ticket in one spot, paying in another and coming back with payment coupon --- followed by having my bike go on a train with baggage car that was different from the train we were on --- makes it not all a bed of roses either.

int19

Amtrak is a possibility:

Take the Pacific Surfliner from San Diego to LA Union Station
Take the Coast Starlight from LA Union Station to Klamath Falls
Take the Amtrak Bus from Klamath Falls to Crescent City

Amtrak quotes me $167 and it will take you a day and a half : )
You'll need to box your bike at LA Union Station.

However, its a nice trip, especially if you can spring for the sleeper on the Coast Starlight.