Thank you. Yep got the Reedsport suggestion. Just was hoping that maybe somebody had some info that could get me down the coast further. Little leary of doing the reedsport route do to the mileage where there are no services. being that it would be our first tour, i would feel better being able to get help if we need it.

It is also the farthest point south that ypu can catch an Amtrak train without going east of the Cascade Mountains. Trains will carry from 6-12 bikes unboxed, depending if the cars have been updated. You have to reserve a spot for your bike when you buy the tickets, and if none are available the bikes need to be boxed and checked.

Boxing a bike using Amtrak boxes takes about 15-20 minutes. Just have the tools to remove pedals, and loosen bars and stem. We used Amtrak at the start and finish of 2 tours this summer, and had to box the bikes 3 out of the 4 trips. The 6-12 open spots fill up fast. There has been a lot of discussion on this topic.

If you have cantilever brakes, pulling the stem will not affect headset adjustment. The brake bridge will hold everything together. However, if you use disc or v-brakes, installing one of these in place of your normal spacers will save time and potential trouble.

http://www.universalcycles.com/shopp...s.php?id=10595

Amtrak also runs connector buses from some of the coastal cities. There is a bus from Crescent City, CA to Klamath, Falls Oregon, the nearest Amtak station. It would be a long 9 hour bus ride. There is also a connector bus from Coos Bay, OR directly to Eugene. There might be some better options. I've used their connector buses on several occasions, and they will take bikes. However, I'd check it out before I factored it into my plans. The Amtrak site has this information.

Last time I took the Coast Starlight , north, the K Falls stop was in the middle of the Night..

Doug, maybe you can answer a question I haven't been able to find an answer to (including calling Amtrak). When you check you bike (I did reserve a spot), do all 4 panniers have to come off the bike?

Someone else suggest a light duffle to put the panniers in and check them like that, but I though I might be able to leave the rear ones on the bike.

might be able to stuff them in the box but it will be too heavy then,

Willamette valley, Eugene North there is a Commuter train in addition to the Amtrak once a day Run.

When we check our bike boxed, we empty the panniers into a light weight duffle bag and leave the empty panniers on the bike.

On our last trip, my wife did not use her duffle. She only carries 2 rear panniers, a rack pack and a bar bag. She thought that she could manage them, and she did. However, I carry front, rear, rackpack, and bar bag, so it is easier if I consolidate.

This is the Amtrak connector bus from Seattle to Vancouver, BC. The bikes are boxed in the cargo bay with the empty panniers on them. All our gear is in the rack packs and duffle bags.
http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/y...0c3263f7aa.jpg

If the bikes are not boxed, a variation of the technique is used. My empty panniers were compressed into my wy wife's duffle, and she carried her full panniers onto the train. When they put the unboxed bikes into the baggage car the panniers need to come off. The challenge is dealing with all the pieces. A version we haven't tried yet is to bundle all our empty panniers into one bundle using our bungees or what we call our "ferry straps". Our ferry straps are a piece of 4' long 1/2" webbing with buckles. We each carry one to secure loads, use to secure the bikes on ferries and on some trains. This reduces the number of pieces.

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/y...618cf9a5f2.jpg

You can see my daughter's blue "ferry strap" actually being used on a ferry to secure her blue LHT in the middle of the photo. Our other daughter used her red one to secure the red bike to the right in the photo.
http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/y...f904185685.jpg

Sorry for such a long answer to a straight forward question.

While that can happen when there is some sort of mishap, it is scheduled to arrive northbound in K Falls around 8:00 AM and usually gets there an hour early.

Check out the Seattle randoneurs' route to Crater Lake. They turn in at hwy 38 and then come over a bit south of Eugene. The run of miles between services is a bit shorter on their route, but it won't be as nice and you'll still likely need some guidance to get back up to Eugene to catch the train home. There are both flat and hilly options with more or less traffic, respectively.

Scheduled time? It's Amtrak not Europe .. Remember: the rails are Privately owned and Freight has the priority

and the cost of railbed maintenance is something reducing profits to the right of way owner ..

Emeryville to Eugene is about 24 hours ..

You could always rent a car in Crescent City or Eureka then drive back to where you can get a train. Or just simply take the bus there. By no means do you want to stop in Reedsport. The coast south of there is awesome. The coast in Bandon just has to be seen, along with Port Orford and a few others.

And I mentioned Eureka because of the Redwoods. It is simply a magical experience riding through the park. Once outside the park it is not so great going through Orick and all (by comparison). But then it starts picking up again around Trinidad. Just hope you don't have fog like we did. :)

Once past Trinidad it gets pretty boring again but Mckinleyville and Arcata and pretty nice towns for a ride. You might be able to find a rental at the airport in Mckinleyville. Nice and close to Trinidad.

My wife and I ride the train between Eugene and the Bay Area regularly. Sure, there have been times when there have been such delays, particularly up to about a eight years ago. Now, when such a thing happens it is usually the result of some sort of derailment or slide across the tracks.

The reasons why inordinate delays are mostly a thing of the past may surprise you. It turns out the the freight companies were riding roughshod over Amtrak illegally. A train-loving friend of the Bush family talked to W. about this and the result was the freight trains can no longer shunt Amtrak off onto sidings for extended periods. Since I live within earshot of the tracks that the Coast Starlight runs on, I do have occasion to observe whether or not it is running on time and it seems to roll out of the Eugene station pretty close to its appointed hour most afternoons.

In addition, Europe has more than it's share of delays. Traveling by train in Italy was like playing Russian Roulette. Train arrives on time, you get on it and they just might just decide to call a strike. Maybe a few minutes, maybe a few hours it is hard to tell. Also they love to change tracks on you. A big deal when you have a bike loaded down with gear. Once the track changed twice. Once to another track and the second time back to the track I was originally on. :mad:

Switzerland prides itself on on time trains, not sure of how many others.

There's also an Amtrak Thruway connector bus from the Arcata airport to Martinez, CA, part of the San Joaquin schedule. From the schedule PDF:
Though it would be a good idea to wrap your bike in some kind of protection.

Thank you everybody for ALL of the help and great suggestions. I am thinking of maybe trying to rent a van in one of the towns then driving back up to Astoria where our truck would be. There is three of us so I am going to start looking around and see if I can find a van possibly without back seats. Still in the planning stage of things.

We have not tried it yet, but I always thought in a pinch one of the small U-Haul cargo vans would haul our bikes and gear, and may even be less expensive than a "real" van rental. However, I'm not sure they will have seats for 3 people.

We camped next to a couple in Canada that rented one just for camping. When the guy went to rent a regular van after flying in from the east coast, he could not find a rental company that would remove the back seats. His wife was deathly afraid of bears and wanted something they could sleep in. He rented one of the U-Haul cargo vans in Spokane, WA, and was driving it on their road/camping trip up into the Banff area of Canada. He claimed it was cheaper than a traditional van rental.

An old co-worker spent a year on sabbatical in Europe. He told me of getting on a train in Switzerland after spending some time in Italy. When he asked what time the train would be departing, the conductor looked at him coldly and replied, "On time" as though such a question was the height of rudeness.

That is a good plan. Give yourself plenty of time for the drive back. Make notes on the way down for places to explore further. There are lots of places that are a bit off the main road. If you have a long day of riding either behind you or in front of you then you (or at least I didn't) really don't feel like exploring down the many paths and side roads to see the sights. Makes it a bit easier in a vehicle and the bike on the way down gives you an opportunity to see a place that might peak your interest.