Yeah, but then as you're pedaling you'd be missing the ride of your Bleriot, right?
On Nov 3, 5:29 pm, kevin lindsey <lindsey.ke...@gmail.com> wrote: > On the very positive side is the Valley Transportation Authority > (VTA), the light rail service here in Silicon Valley. I take it every > morning; racks are almost always available and, if not, I'm free to > stand with my bike so long as I don't block the aisles. The trains > linger at the stations long enough to get on and off, and overall the > system is extremely supportive and inexpensive. The only downside, in > fact, is my Rivendell; hefting a commuter-loaded Bleriot onto the > ceiling hooks is about the only thing that makes me miss my > featherweight carbon fiber road bike. > > On Nov 3, 12:11 pm, Ray Shine <r.sh...@sbcglobal.net> wrote: > > > > > The most convenient and user-friendly bike/train experience I have found is > > the > > local CalTrain line that runs between San Francisco and Gilroy. I have > > bike/trained on Amtrak to from Oakland to Portland (14 hours late due to > > mandatory ceding of right-of-way to freight haulers), Capital Express to > > Sacramento from Emeryville (second best experience) and frequent BART > > rides. > > Local Bay Area chaps will disagree with me, but I find BART to me a > > needlessly > > restrictive hassle. Despite the hype, BART does not make it accommodating to > > bike with BART. Back to CalTrain. I use it often. Each train has a > > dedicated > > bike car with an easy-to-use rack system, seating above the bikes, etc. > > Too bad > > the longer run lines don't pattern their policies after CalTrain -- > > INCLUDING > > BART! > > > ________________________________ > > From: Montclair BobbyB <montclairbob...@gmail.com> > > To: RBW Owners Bunch <rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com> > > Sent: Wed, November 3, 2010 10:26:51 AM > > Subject: [RBW] Riv & Rail - Travelling by Bike and Train > > > I can't stop thinking about my experience this past weekend, > > travelling to the Philly Bike Expo on my Bombadil and the train. It > > definitely opened my eyes to the possibilities of this kind of combo > > travel, but perhaps more important it exposed weaknesses in the train > > transit system that will need further development. But overall it was > > a great experience. > > > This was my first (of hopefully many future) bike-train trip(s). Does > > anyone else have experiences travelling with your bike by train? How > > would you rate YOUR train service in terms of bike-friendliness? My > > key observations about Amtrak, NJ Transit and SEPTA (greater Philly > > area): > > > - In the hall of shame is Amtrak, which although they allow folding > > bicycles at all times, they prohibit roll-on/roll-off along the > > Northeast Corridor line (even during off-hours), a situation that > > frankly is unacceptable. This is our national rail system, our taxes > > subsidize this system, and yet their mindset is so far behind the > > times, it's frustrating. In fact, I wrote a letter to the Northeast > > Regional Office of Government Affairs at Amtrak (Peter Cohen) last > > winter, requesting special permission to roll my bike onto the train > > to Washington to represent my state of NJ at the National Bike > > Summit. Not only did Mr Cohen not reply, after receiving my second > > inquiry he referred me to a customer service rep, where I got the > > stock party-line answer "We don't have the equipment to handle > > this"... which is a gutless and LAME response. (Thumbs DOWN!) > > - NJ Transit allows folding-bicycles at all times, and full-size bikes > > (roll on/off) during off-peak hours. The new double-decker trains are > > very well-suited for bikes (in the accessible/wheelchair area) and > > score high marks!!; the older single level trains are less well- > > suited, and require placing bikes in seating areas in close proximity > > to other passengers, often encroaching on the aisle. The conductors > > were VERY helpful... this was much appreciated (thumbs UP!) > > - SEPTA trains have a policy similar to NJ Transit, and these trains > > are single level with no special accommodations for bikes, other than > > to occupy an accessible seating space (like NJ Transit's older > > trains). Conductors were polite and very accommodating (thumbs UP!) > > > The encouraging news is that Secretary of Transportation, Ray LaHood > > and the League of American Bicyclists are leaning on organizations, > > including Amtrak to change their policy, and to make it feasible for > > full size bikes to roll on and roll off Amtrak trains. > > > One day I hope to hop on a train (with my Riv), and perhaps visit a > > few people on this forum. > > > Peace, > > > BB > > > -- > > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > > "RBW > > Owners Bunch" group. > > To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bu...@googlegroups.com. > > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > > rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > > For more options, visit this group > > athttp://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. 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