balto charlie

Hey folks: I plan to drive to Waynesboro Va then bike the BR pkwy. What is the best way to return to my car? Not certain if I will go part way(Asheville???) or all the way down to Bryson. What have others done. Bus? Shuttle service?
If I chose only part of the BRP what areas do cyclist enjoy most for scenery and lite vehicle traffic. Thanks, CHarlie

bwgride

I am not aware of shuttle service. One option is to rent a Uhaul or similar company truck one-way from NC to VA.

tarwheel 

If you don't mind extending your ride a bit, you could cycle down to Greenville, SC, and pick up the AmTrak there. They will carry bikes.

Pedaleur

Does the Crescent have roll-on/roll-off? Easy enough to call and check, I suppose. Otherwise it's $5 as checked baggage I think.

The Crescent comes through Charlottesville, and the ride from here to Waynesboro is quite nice. I think you can just follow the Trans-Am route 76.

balto charlie

The train, awesome idea. I take MARC commuter train daily, love it. Only $22 to get to Charlottesville from Dc and 25 miles to BRP. You're onto something guys. Coming back via train will take 70 more cycling miles but it is a night train so I can sleep on my way home. Hmmm gotta look more into this. Thanks for the suggestions. Next year I hope to ride the train out to Montana and cycle Glacier park. I really need to retire soon, lots to do. Thanks for your suggestions.

Rental vehicle, this is a possibility but I like to use mass transit type vehicles as much as possible. Thanks

staehpj1

If you can make the train work that is awesome.

I will say that if you decide to rent a vehicle, don't automatically use Uhaul or similar. I know that when we compared they were way more expensive than the rental car companies. Three of us wound up splitting the cost of a mid sized SUV from Enterprise for less than half what Uhaul quoted us when we decided to drive to the start of our TA from Portland.

Pedaleur

FYI, the NE regional line is $30 one-way; it's $58 for the Cardinal or Crescent (I think -- I usually take the regional). The NE Regional definitely does _not_ take roll-on/roll-off bikes, and I'm not even sure you can do them as baggage.

Anyway, call ahead.

tarwheel 

All I know is that AmTrak rolls through Raleigh (where I live) and you can take bikes on it up to Wash DC or south to Charlotte. They have different trains leaving at various times of the day, and some may be more accommodating to bikes than others. AmTrak even has a brochure about bringing bikes on board that I picked up at the local train station once.

bwgride

I suggested Uhaul because a friend and I found just the opposite for a planned tour this summer. Car rentals, with one-way drop-off, started at $195 (or maybe $175, don't recall now), but the total bill for Uhaul was $112.

staehpj1

Yeah, prices can go either way. We found that one way prices to vary widely with location and rental company. My point was that you need to comparison shop or you might pay way more than necessary, not that Uhaul was necessarily more expensive.

balto charlie

If I decide to rent I will go through a family friend. Still pricey but good idea when there are more cyclists. Will have to find out which is cheaper. Still gotta look into the train.