Bringing Bike on Bus

[Tahoelake]

One Option I have is using Bus/Train Transit to get from S.F. to the to the Lake Tahoe Basin. 1 or 2 days Camp. Then ride about 65 miles out of the basin and down the mountain to a bus station and take transit the rest of the way back. there is one thing holding me back though. The Bus line doesn't have bike racks on the front, so i would have to bring it on as check-in luggage. Ive done a little research an found that Bags you can put your bike in are expensive and I'm not into folding bikes. Has anyone had to deal with bringing your bike on a bus with out the bike racks on the front? has anyone bought or made a bike bag for transporting a bike as checked luggage? Has anyone bought a bike bag from an Amtrak Station? If so, How much are they? can i re-use on my trip back? will it transport easily since i will only have a small hiking backpack?  Has anyone ever rode west on HWY 50 from the Lake Tahoe Basin? I guess my friend and I could get rides from our gf's up the mountain but that's no fun.. Thank you for your time. This summer i have to make the trip in one weekend. Next year i will have time to ride the entire 420 miles with out any buses or cars.

[daveB]

I can't address any of your California questions, but I have put my bike on a bus when I hadn't planned to.  I raided the cardboard recycling dumpster from a nearby restaurant, bought a roll of packing tape from a gas station, and went at it.  Given that I was using modest sized boxes and not a "real" bike box or refrigerator box, I could easily have used another roll of tape, but my bus ride was only an hour and the driver didn't seem to care.  It took me 45 minutes start to finish...that's all the time I had.  The result was a veritable "cardboard sculpture".  It looked ridiculous, but it served the purpose.

[Goatrak]

Again no CA specific input, but a relatively light and cheap alternative for a bike bag is to sew up a bed sheet you can get at a thrift store into a makeshift luggage bag. We did this for a trip mainly to bring bikes into our rooms at night without causing a mess, but actually ended up using them as bike carry on luggage bags on the Swiss trains. Basically you just fold a sheet in half and sew up 3 sides, safety pin the 4th side/top. As far as bike prep, we took off the front wheel, bungied it to the frame, and turned the handlebars sideways. Guess you could also take pedals off.  I wouldn't trust it to airline baggage handlers, but for a bus where you'll be right there monitoring the handling/loading, it might work.

[Tahoelake]

Thanks for your answers. I figured i could just improvise in placerville on my way back and find some cardboard an tape. Time is still a problem since i have to ride 65 miles (mostly DH except for the echo pass and a 7 mile climb out of the american river basin) and get my bike sealed up by 3:55pm. Itll be cutting it close.. ive heard your bike can get destroyed real easy if you dont protect it in the luggage section of the bus. I think im gunna scrap the bus idea all together and just catch rides from my girl.. lame.. fuckin amtrak needs some bike racks and i need more free time.

[wdlandparker]

I coulda sworn Amtrak had places to put bikes on the trains...

[Chad B]

I used to do this a few times a year while I lived in Mexico. Tying some cardboard around the bike was an easy answer. One time, the bus driver actually let me take the bike into the bus.

[Tahoelake]

I coulda sworn Amtrak had places to put bikes on the trains...

you are correct. They do have spots on the trains for your bike.. up to six spots..  the trains arent my problem though its the buses. Amtrak buses don't have bike racks so you have to bring them on as luggage in their under-compartments. They run one train all the way up the mountain but it would take me 40 miles from where i want to be dropped off.

Good News though.. Lake Tahoe has a rim trail with parking lots at the trail heads. It leaves me with endless possibilities. I might end up just making a revolution around the lake instead.. i really want to ride the 6000 feet of DH on W. HWY 50.


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