Bicycle travelers Russ Roca and Laura Crawford are going to ride the rails to discover more paths to pedal.
The two are setting off from their temporary home in Portland to discover and document the benefits and hardships of combining train and bicycle travel.
Leaving in May, they're calling their trip “Big Adventure, Small Wheels: A Rambling Journey Across America on Bikes and Trains.” It will be updated at their The Path Less Pedaled website.
Along the way they'll be shooting video for a film they want to show to policy-makers, including Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, when their journey ends in the nation's capital.
Rules of the rails
Using bicycles to extend a trip by train sounds like it should be easy, but it isn't. While some Amtrak lines allow easy roll-on/roll-off access to bicyclists, others require bicycles be stowed as baggage or cargo. Discovering the myriad rules for bike-train travel is one of the frustrations of traveling this way. [Here are the Amtrak policies about bicycles on trains.]
The benefits of integrating train travel with bicycles is huge. As they point out at IndieGoGo:
and get to small towns, quiet roads, state and national parks. Bikes
are the ideal way for people to explore an area just beyond a rail
stop. Imagine getting off the train at the gateway to Glacier National
Park or in the heart of Chicago. If you have your bicycle with you, all
you have to do is pedal away.”
Russ and Laura will be riding their Brompton folding bicycles on this journey. The folding capabilities of the Bromptons make them ideal for using with mass transit. In spite of their small frame and wheel sizes, they're said to be comfortable for long-distance riding as well.
Experienced bike travelers
You probably are familiar with their previous adventures.
A couple of years ago they sold everything they owned and hit the road on their bicycles.
Their travels took them on a meandering journey of thousands of miles around the US on a bike tour they dubbed “The Path Less Pedaled.” Along the way, they created a website by that name to tell about their bicycling adventures.
As they accumulated miles and campsites, they began sharing their experiences in presentations where they talked about the joys of bicycle touring and the how-to's of a successful trip.
Their plans
This summer of train and bike travel will be more of an advocacy trip. They'll meet and interview bicycle and railroad advocates around the US, produce an E-Book about touring by train and bike, and raise attention about the possibilities of such travel.
We're looking forward to keeping up with their travels this summer. Let's hope that their work will contribute to better accommodations for bicycles on passenger rail service.
They explain all the reasons for their journey at The Path Less Pedaled and in the video at the top of the page.
Recent Comments