Nobody Expects A Man in the Baggage Car

3.20.2016
14m
mtd:102 ytd:236

Rode Falls Church, Va to Union Station via the W&OD, Custis, and Mt.Vernon trails. They were all in excellent (paved) condition. Weather was cool and sometimes light rain. It's fantastic to have a network of trails.

Saw a Syrian protest at the Lincoln Memorial. Saw the ongoing work on the reflecting pond, and I wonder if that project isn't just a facade for a major underground deep-government project, hidden in plain sight. Saw the Capital building which looks a bit like Parisian barricades.

Rode to Union Station. My recent Amtrak experience is small stations: Pittsburgh, Connellsville, Harper's Ferry. Union Station is like the ORD of Amtrak. Also, a remarkable structure. Rolled in with my bike, no problem at all. In Union Station there was no need to take elevators between levels, the track platforms are at the same level as the outer doors. (So are the tracks, so you have to lift your bike up into the baggage car).

The Amtrak experieince is great. There's a phenomenon common to cyclists I call GBCWHW: Great, But Can We Have WiFi? When a new bit of cycling infra is introduced, it's wonderful, it's magical, it's a capability where there was none before, it's a miracle after years of planning, coordinating, and persuading. And while the magic persists and we continue to appreciate the new (bridge, ramp, service), very quickly the cyclist mind turns to: Great, But Can We Have WiFi? I love the Amtrak service and I really look forward to onboard Wifi, which is a thing they do on other routes. I'm very happy with my RORO service, I just wonder: I can has RORO&Wifi, por favor?

I really try not to delay the train when disembarking (I can't quite say detraining, although the Amtrak announcements use that term) so I'm positioned outside the locked baggage compartment fifteen minutes before arrival. In a few minutes the conductor arrived to unlock the door, and I go into the baggage compartment and derack my bike, then retrieve my five bags and start loading the bike so I can roll off in one Therblig.

The train arrives just as I finish schlepping, and a different story is onfolding on the platform. An Amtrak worker drives a tug pulling baggage carts out on the platform, stops next to the arriving train, the train stops and she opens the big baggage hatch.

I'm standing inside the baggage hold, the door opens, and by reflex I said "Hiiiiii!" as is my wont. I don't think she expected that, it kind of startled her. Nobody expects a man in the baggage car.

Who Was Jubal Early?

03.17.2016
28m
Mar mtd:56 ytd:190

Departed Pittsburgh with Amtrak's roll-on, roll-off bike service to Harper's Ferry, WV.

The Amtrak bike service was just perfect. I have been wondering how a loaded touring bike would be handled given Amtrak's baggage policy, but there was no problems. I went on board with four panniers, a medium-size drybag athwart-ships on my rear rack, and a small drybag on top of my front rack and it was no problem at all. I took the bags off the bike in the luggage car and set them on the deck. No discussion of excess baggage charges.

Although I was the only bike on the train when it departed Pittsburgh, when I departed in Harper's Ferry there were 3 bikes on the rack. I'm glad to see the RORO service is being used. I've never been to the Amtrak Station in Harper's Ferry.

I hadn't been in Harper's Ferry since the July 2015 fire, which was kind of a big deal. The tourist industry is still very much intact.

While I was in town I stopped at The Outfitter at Harper's Ferry, which is co-located with a General Store. They have a pretty-well stocked bike section, and also a camping section. Met a lovely lady at the cash register, which had two phone numbers prominently displayed for customers: one for NASA, one for the White House.

I asked, What's with the phone numbers? She said, a surprising number of people coming of the Appalachian Trail need one or the other. She explained, people are alone on the trail for a while, maybe there's some drinking or drugs involved - I'm not saying - but they've seen something and feel the need to report UFOs. I just give them the NASA number and we move along.

I ask, and the White House? She said, some other folks do a lot of thinking on the AT, and they come into town convinced they've found a solution to one of the world's big problems. I give them the White House number and somebody there takes their message. She had a certain mirth in her explanation, I liked it a lot.

Anyway, I think The Outfitter at Harper's Ferry is a good place for supplies. Not a full bike shop by any means, but tubes and common items.

Rode into Brunswick. The local bike shop, Three Points Cycles, is closed Tues-Wed-Thur, but there was a really nice sign in the window to the effect, "Closed T-W-Th during the winter, but here's my cellphone number. If you're in a jam, call me and I'll help you if I possibly can." I really liked that.

The trail was in excellent condition. No handles on any of the hiker-bike water pumps; maybe it's too early in the year. No leaves on the trees yet, so I saw a few things I didn't know were there; a few train tunnels, for instance, such as the one at Point of Rocks. Saw a lot of squirrels, turtles big as my dog (I have a small dog), ducks, some turkey vultures, and got to see a magnificent blue heron takeoff.

Pulled into White's Ferry to cross the Potomac to Leesburg. The ferry bears the name, General Jubal Early. I've been on this ferry a dozen times but never pondered the namesake.

Turns out Jubal Early was a Confederate officer who attacked Washington DC. His forces were winning the day, unexpectedly, but he knew he didn't have enough men to hold the city if they took it. So he fired artillery into the city, saw Abraham Lincoln on the defenses, and withdrew - crossing the Potomac back into the Confederacy. Kind of interesting that his crossing the Potomac is memorialized every time this ferry crosses the river. Kind of weird, the entire presentation of Confederacy "heroes" in the South.

Jubal Early went on to develop and promulgate the Lost Cause of the Confederacy myth, which was embraced by Southerners and is still heard in today's rhetoric. The Lost Cause apologists gave us today's "South Shall Rise Again" idiocy.

The Legend of the Lost Cause began as mostly a literary expression of the despair of a bitter, defeated people over a lost identity. It was a landscape dotted with figures drawn mainly out of the past: the chivalric planter; the magnolia-scented Southern belle; the good, gray Confederate veteran, once a knight of the field and saddle; and obliging old Uncle Remus. All these, while quickly enveloped in a golden haze, became very real to the people of the South, who found the symbols useful in the reconstituting of their shattered civilization. They perpetuated the ideals of the Old South and brought a sense of comfort to the New.

So there's that.

Test-Riding Amtrak Roll-On Bike Service, Pittsburgh DC

8.28 25
8.29 34

Riding your bike from Pittsburgh to DC, or DC-Pittsburgh, or even some segment of the GAP-C&O is a wonderful experience - but there's a logistical problem that presents a barrier to many folks; once you ride from one end to the other, how do you get yourself and your bike back to your starting point (which is often where you left your car). How do you make a round-trip out of a 335-mile one-way ride? You could take the train for $80, but it's not so easy to take your bike on the train.

Until now, the only way to move your bike between Pittsburgh and DC via amtrak was to box your bike - to scrounge or purchase a box, take the pedals off your bike, take the handlebars off your bike, maybe take the seatpost off your bike and then hand the bike-box off as cargo to be carried by the railroad.



I have never heard of any trouble using the bike-box between Pittsburgh and DC, but I have been reluctant to take my bike apart (after having it dialed in) and handing it off to strangers. Fortunately, Adventure Cycling and other advocates have been urging Amtrak to deliver Roll-On, Roll-Off (RORO) service in the DC-Pittsburgh corridor, and they're about to roll this new service out.

I had been an Amtrak RORO test-rider in October 2013, when the project was starting to firm up to something "possible" and I've been waiting for the announcement.

Sept-Oct 2015 is a very exciting time for Pittsburgh bicycling on the GAP and C&O. The Montour Trail will be opening two new bridges to eliminate at-grade crossings. The Pinkerton Tunnel, between Confluence and Rockwood will be opened. And: Amtrak RORO is promised!

This follows up on what's already an exciting year in Pittsburgh, what with the introduction of Penn Ave (and other) bike lanes, and Pittsburgh BikeShare (HealthyBikePittsburgh) rolling out in May. It's an explosive time in Pittsburgh cycling.

My wife and I were asked to be test-riders for one more evaluation ride between Pittsburgh and DC before the railroad finalizes its procedures, placards, documents, etc. The invitation was wonderful but involved being at the Amtrak Station well in advance of our 05:20 departure. Waking up at 0230, to leave at 0330, to be downtown at 0430: I am not the 24x7 guy I used to be.

We parked our car at the Greyhound station and walked across the street to the Amtrak terminal. There were six cyclists onboard for the first leg; friends Yale and Paul, a new friend Don, and Lilly an editor from the Post-Gazette. Our group did stand out a bit in the waiting room.

At the appointed time, we rolled our bikes out on the platform. As we walked out we met a family who had boxed their bikes for this trip, and wondered why they couldn't do the RORO; we had to say this is just a test, sorry. Maybe soon!


We walked our bikes into the bike-car, mounted them in the racks, then took our gear and found seats in a passenger car. It was very straightforward. (Participants were asked to not show pictures of the equipment because it's not formally locked-in yet.) It was just as easy as it should be.

We rolled out of the Pittsburgh metro area and rode for about ninety minutes, stopping in Connellsville. The nature of the evaluation ride is they want to simulate max riders coming off the train, and max riders coming on the train at stops along the way, to see if there's any delay presented by the cyclist shuffle.

As we got off in Connellsville, six fresh-faced cyclists were ready to get onboard. I recognized Linda Boxx, the Great Lady of the GAP. We got off, they got on, and the train rolled away leaving us with our bicycles, 60 miles of trail to Pittsburgh, and a great weather forecast.

One member of our group was eager to depart quickly, because he intended to ride the GAP to the Montour Trail and make a 100-mile ride out of the day. The others rode together over to Village Dairy for breakfast. We used the Connellsville Loop route to get to the other side of town.

Breakfast was excellent, as it always is there, and then we rode behind Martin's Foods and joined the GAP Trail. It was still a bit foggy and chilly close to the river, but in August a cool ride is a welcome thing.


photo: Don Erdejlac

My plan was to ride 25 miles with Karen to West Newton, about halfway to Pittsburgh, and overnight at Bright Morning B&B. My friends Yale and Paul were going to ride back to Pittsburgh, along with Lilly (the newspaper editor).

We rolled much faster than I thought we would, maybe because of the chilly morning and we needed to generate some heat. The fog burned off and it was a pretty, blue-sky day.

In West Newton, we split off and crossed the river to have lunch at Gary's Chuck Wagon. It's an authentic local mom-and-pop, which is the sort of place I'd always rather stop at. There were no espressos to be found in town but we did enjoy an excellent lunch.

We crossed back to the trail. It was early to check-in at the B&B but the room was unused from the night before and we were able to check in early. Hot showers, naps, books and wifi; awesome.

We walked to dinner at the Trailside Inn, located on top of the bike shop. Then we called it a day.



Saturday morning we enjoyed a tremendous breakfast from our hosts and got to talk with the other guests. There was a solo rider from Chicago, riding DC to Pittsburgh and a Canadian family with three young children riding Pittsburgh to Cumberland. It was a very solid breakfast.

We rode out with 36 miles on the agenda. Bought some Gatorade at the Buena-Vista mini-mart, stopped to drink them at the Dravos Cemetery Campground which is always a very nice stop.

Continued through McKeesport and Duquesne into Homestead and the Waterfront complex. Stopped at Red Robin for lunch. Then we rode into Pittsburgh proper; I always appreciate how the first skyscraper visible to inbound cyclists on the GAP is the Cathedral of Learning and not the downtown banks. Reaching civilization, we immediately detoured for some high-power caffeine at Big Dog Coffee on the Southside.

We saw quite a few friends who were out riding: Amy and Sara; Stef, Dan, and Ted doing the 90 Neighborhoods Ride; DanY setting up for the next day's ride at REI, and Stu coming into town.

After coffee we joined the Jail Trail, rode to Grant Street and then rode crosstown on Grant to pick up the car at the Greyhound station. It was a great demonstration of a non-extreme overnight ride, made possible by Amtrak roll-on, roll-off service. I look forward to the rollout.