Amtrak to Burning Man? (reno)

[tattoogoddess]

I've been entertaining the idea of taking Amtrak from San Fran to Reno. Getting the bike from San Diego to SF on Amtrak is a pain though, only certain trains have bike hooks and on the others you have to box it...

they are both checked bag stops. Put your bike in a box and check it. It is $5

[Savannah]

When in doubt, call the station (and bring up the matter of the bicycle when you book your tickets). You don't want to get a bike all the way down to the station and find out you can't take it. You'd then have to hope one of your friends could come down and retrieve it.

[Drawingablank]

Coming from the east, Fernley is the last stop for supplies and the Wally mart parking lot there is like a pre burn party.

There's a Smiths that's open 24 hours in Elko, NV ... basic all-purpose grocery store (and, since it's in NV, including beer, wine, and liquor.) With far fewer people coming from the east, there are fewer chances for shortages. Winnemucca, Lovelock, then Fernley are the only closer places to get anything, although they're all smaller than Elko (has a Home Depot; Fernley has a Lowes.)

As for hauling water, it usually doesn't make a noticeable difference in gas mileage. Although all the water for a person is pretty heavy, it's still less weight than one more passenger, and that doesn't tend to affect mileage either.

Added weight means it takes more energy to accelerate, climb hills, and causes higher rolling resistance, but it also changes the suspension load and can improve the aerodynamics (by riding lower in the rear, or just lower overall). In addition, the rate of gas use in a car does not necessarily increase with increasing load — sometimes adding a few hundred pounds of weight decreases fuel use because the engine is operating in a more efficient way (efficient in the sense of power out ÷ fuel used, which in this case, also applies to miles-per-gallon). In the end, a few hundred pounds does not make a detectable change, although adding a 2,000 pound trailer will.

So if you feel like taking water from home, don't worry about it. Unless I'm staying at a hotel, I find it a little harrowing to arrive somewhere during the 24-hour day and try to find a place that will let me take 15 gallons of clean drinking water.

Good point, I wasn't really thinking about the solo aspect. Between the 3 of us the liquids including water, ice, beer, booze, mixers, and fuel for the generator added up to almost half a ton which would probably have made a difference on the 2,700 mile trip and certainly would have made it more cramped.

[BoyScoutGirl]

Just so it's on record in the Amtrak thread, I'm riding in from Salt Lake City on the same train as TattooGoddess (the Saturday overnight train, arriving Sunday morning). If anybody wants to split a taxi from the station to the Budget truck rental place on Gentry Way, let me know

Looking forward to some on-train good times!

[ultratang7]

I thought this would be good, but then I found a caravan of RV's leaving Co, so I'm going to do that instead. I was really looking forward to meeting you guys, maybe out on the Playa?

[Simon of the Playa]

free showers!

[lucky420]

oh fuck...

[theCryptofishist]

Now, lucky, all sorts of horrible things can happen with trains.

[kalouts1]

Hi Guys,

I am arriving in Reno Sunday morning using AmTrack.
My trip is:

Fort Lauderdale ==> Washington
Washington ==> Chicago
Chicago ==> Reno (Sunday 0836)

So, aparently, I will not be the only one, from Chicago to Reno at least...

See you in the wagons !!

Kind Regards,

Kalouts

[tattoogoddess]

Heck yes!!Glad to see there will be a fellow burner on my leg of the trip. I will be getting on in Osceola ( half way between Chicago and omaha)

I wonder if it would be possible for you to talk to the people in Chicago and see if they can save half a "box" for burners so we can all hang out together? I know of 4 so far that are getting on as well. 2 in salt lake. Im sure there will be more. Hell if they can make this minor accommodation for us they would win some major brownie points from Burners for sure!

[BoyScoutGirl]

Yay - one more for the train. Looking forward to meeting you, Kalouts!

I like your plan, TG. I can bring fresh food and hopefully some baked goodies for the last leg. Brownies for brownie points!

[tattoogoddess]

That would be awesome! Yeah Im going to try to find some good food for the trip to. Im sure he or she? will be hungry by the time iowa hits and I know I will get hungry to. The train food is so spendy and not very good. Still have not figured out what yet though lol. I know im going to do chicken salad for one meal. other then that no idea.

Just trying to bring enough food for the train then hitting up Winco in Reno. Hope to hit it on the way back to cause damn that bulk section is amazing!!

[theCryptofishist]

Amtrak sorts by destination anyway...

And one meal on the train is nice. You meet interesting people. I really missed that in 09 when I took the train...

[tattoogoddess]

They do? They always just opened one car put us in and away we went. Maybe things have changed?

[theCryptofishist]

May depend on how many cars and destinations they have.

[tattoogoddess]

We are burners damn it! we will make it happen haha.

I emailed Amtrak on their facebook page. They are going to email me back about making accommodations for everyone. They want some more info so waiting to hear back.

[Dr. Pyro]

You know, if you reserve a sleeper car ("first class"), then have it so it rotates every eight hours for several people to get some sleep in comfort, if you have six people it would not be a huge financial burden. Just a thought.

[tattoogoddess]

I like your thinking! PLUS a shower!!

[junglesmacks]

You also get free meals with a sleeper car.

Those things are bad ass. I had one years ago when I went from Spokane, WA to Lexington, KY. So pimp. Like a full on hotel room on the train with a choice living area and window.

[Zhust]

They do? They always just opened one car put us in and away we went. Maybe things have changed?

They like to group all the people going to big destinations in one car. In New York, they'll often put all the New York City people together and all the little town stops in-between are in another car or cars. I'm usually boarding with 50 or 100 people, so it's worth their while to set up two entrances and sort people that way. If there's only a dozen or so (e.g. a very small stop) they just have one door open and don't sort as aggressively.

[Zhust]

I really missed that in 09 when I took the train...

I had to do some Googling to confirm that you were indeed, not making a tasteless joke on your behalf.

[theCryptofishist]

Yeah. Um. Facefin.

[Simon of the Playa]

my pinata oversight is redeemed...

[kalouts1]

Hola !

Very nice to see that we'll be able to meet in the train !
Anyone coming from FLL as well ?

Just checked for a "room" for CHI ==> REN, it is kind of expensive: I have to add $382 on top. More expensive than the whole trip...

However, the trip being 44 hours, we can have 12 people sharing this and getting around 7 hours of sleep each (there two single beds). Will be around $35 each. (FYI)
It is still expensive for me, and it's not my priority financially. And 12 people have to agree with that..
I consider this as an option..I've got to say it looks comfy...wouuuu

See you soon !

Kalouts

[tattoogoddess]

SLeeping in the seats is not to bad to be honest. Done it quite a few times. way better then on a plane. I just wouldnt mind a shower. But oh well baby whipes and have one waiting for me in reno.

[Zhust]

Just checked for a "room" for CHI ==> REN, it is kind of expensive: I have to add $382 on top. More expensive than the whole trip...

Although it may not be ideal, I think it may be cheaper to do the sleeper ("Superliner Roomette" with access to common showers) for one "leg" rather than the whole trip. I coerced the online ticketing system by making a multi-city trip (if you do one leg at a time, it's a lot more).

CHI-RNO = $140 + $485 for roomette = $625
CHI-DEN-RNO = $67.80 + $72.20 + $381 for roomette CHI-DEN = $521
CHI-DEN-RNO = $67.80 + $72.20 + $298 for roomette DEN-RNO = $438

Curiously, it's 18 hours from CHI-DEN (so $21/hour for the roomette) and 25.5 hours from DEN-RNO ($12/hour) so clearly the DEN-RNO leg is the better deal.

I have heard rumors from travel advice people that you can ask on the train to get upgraded to a roomette and it's far cheaper. I seem to remember $100 kicking around, and I seem to remember it being for a bedroom which would be astonishing.

[tattoogoddess]

only thing is around that time all seats are sold out. SO trying to get a sleeper would be hard i think. But worth a shot

[Canoe]

I've been entertaining the idea of taking Amtrak from San Fran to Reno. Getting the bike from San Diego to SF on Amtrak is a pain though, only certain trains have bike hooks and on the others you have to box it...

they are both checked bag stops. Put your bike in a box and check it. It is $5

from http://forums.mtbr.com/cargo-bikes/taki ... ost9253732, thread/post on Amtrack and bikes:

• says $5 to check the bike
• $15 for a bike box from Amtrak (you can use another box if you like, but it needs to be in fairly good condition)
• bike goes into bike box with wheels on (box is larger than the box new bikes come in)
• 50 lbs. weight limit (problem for cargo bikes!!!)
• will accept tandems with two bike boxes telescoped together
• If you are going to pedal to station, make sure you test your pedals and tools before leaving home, and use some good ant-sieze compound to insure you can remove them at the train station... Tip: A short piece of rope to tie a crank to the chain stay makes pedal removal much easier, it is cheap and doesn't weigh much.

[Zhust]

The Path Less Pedaled made a video on how to pack your bike along with some written tips. (Ah well, the YouTube video won't embed.) One more thing: do call ahead to make sure they have boxes!

[tattoogoddess]

Talked to Amtrak when moving my return date. They do indeed set us all in one area.