I know Murph had a pretty bad time with his bike on the train but I'd be grateful for any suggestions and tips. Taking the Auto Train north in about a month.
Extra tie downs, soft straps, towels? Anything else I should bring? Presumably we tie our own bikes down?
We took it last summer, no issues with the bike at all. They will tie them down. I slipped the guy a $20 and said take good care of her. He took a little extra time and got everything set up right.
As far as the train goes, take ear plugs. We had one of the little roomette thingies and it was noisy at night. The horn goes off at every single crossing, people talking, etc. We talked to a few people who take the Auto Train often and said the interior bedrooms are the best for sleeping because you're laying side to side and not front to back.
We'd both do it again. I figured it saved us close to 2 days of riding.
Lauren I think they tie them down. My advice would be to include a 4x4 and your own good straps. I'd also tape instructions on the gas tank to have them put the 4x4 under the frame to take the load of the straps rather than bottoming out the suspension, and use your straps, and have them strap it to the rigid fork, not the handlebars.
You might want to print this picture to show them:
As far as the train goes, I loved it and met some cool folks. You can bring on your own cooler, I have a soft sided one for NASCAR races, packed it with blue ice packs and some beverages, had a terrific dinner and slept like a baby. You can hang in the bar car too which is fun. Electricity at your seat so you can watch movies on your computer or iPad but when I did it, no wifi and cellular coverage was spotty between cities.
I would like to do the train / bike ride! I don't know about a 4X4 under my bike. It is not like you have to collapse the forks/springs to secure the bike....
snug up the strap and then two-three more clicks. Not like the train is going over potholes and bridge bumps (ever see a train bounce going over a rail road crossing?).
Big Dawg along with others has taken the train 4-5 times with no bike issues. Murph brought his own straps and directed the tie down. Let the guys do their job and it will be fine. They video tap your bike as it is being prepped. Big Dawg's last trip had a couple snafus with a tree taking out the first engine so he got to spend some extra time on the train
Go for the roomette - small but if you want to sleep its the only way to - nice to have a bathroom for them early morning calls with out going down the hall.....would do it again...
Go for the roomette - small but if you want to sleep its the only way to - nice to have a bathroom for them early morning calls with out going down the hall.....would do it again...
If the porter asked if you want the bed(s) made while you are at dinner - hold off - when they drop them down the space is really limited - we just use the bottom bed - a little tight if you move around a lot or use to a King.
06-10-2015, 08:59 PM
Bike on the Auto Train FL to VA - Tips?
