Comments on: 5 Lessons Learned From My Second Long Distance Bicycle Tour http://bicycletouringpro.com/blog/5-lessons-learned-from-my-second-long-distance-bicycle-tour/ Bicycle Touring Pro Tue, 01 May 2012 02:46:55 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 By: Ken http://bicycletouringpro.com/blog/5-lessons-learned-from-my-second-long-distance-bicycle-tour/comment-page-1/#comment-9866 Ken Thu, 03 Mar 2011 07:17:33 +0000 http://bicycletouringpro.com/blog/?p=157#comment-9866 You arent kidding when you say people just want to help. In 2009 I toured from MN to CA and I too was hesitant having grown up being told not to trust strangers compounded by years of corporate media only reporting the negative things, etc. What I discovered (amongst a great many other things) is that this country is filled with amazing, thoughtful, generous, and genuinely good people! I also have to agree with utilizing law enforcement as a resource. Being on a touring bike, most cops realize your not just some vagrant and are extremely helpful. In a little one store town in Idaho I was actually cooked breakfast by the county jail. It was a Sunday so all the inmates had to have cold cereal but the deputy on duty had the cook make me a huge hot breakfast. People never cease to amaze me. God bless and keep pedalin! :) You arent kidding when you say people just want to help. In 2009 I toured from MN to CA and I too was hesitant having grown up being told not to trust strangers compounded by years of corporate media only reporting the negative things, etc. What I discovered (amongst a great many other things) is that this country is filled with amazing, thoughtful, generous, and genuinely good people! I also have to agree with utilizing law enforcement as a resource. Being on a touring bike, most cops realize your not just some vagrant and are extremely helpful. In a little one store town in Idaho I was actually cooked breakfast by the county jail. It was a Sunday so all the inmates had to have cold cereal but the deputy on duty had the cook make me a huge hot breakfast. People never cease to amaze me. God bless and keep pedalin! :)

]]> By: Karen http://bicycletouringpro.com/blog/5-lessons-learned-from-my-second-long-distance-bicycle-tour/comment-page-1/#comment-1099 Karen Thu, 04 Dec 2008 19:16:59 +0000 http://bicycletouringpro.com/blog/?p=157#comment-1099 Yes, I agree, I received a voucher for over $900 for a messed up trip to Denver last summer, but I didn't even pay that much for the trip in the first place, nor was the experience that bad in the end (I had a sleeper for 2 people). I even arrived "on time" (when an Amtrak train is only 2 hours late I call it on time ;-). Needless to say, I plan on taking several one way trips with my bike this year, for free. The trick is to ask for customer relations, NOT customer service. Call them right away, as soon as you get a chance after getting off the train. On my messed up trip I met a woman who basically travels free because she calls and complains about every little thing and they keep giving her vouchers. I've learned that some trains are more reliable than others. Some lines are owned by the freight lines and tend to ALWAY run late. The Coast Starlight on the Pacific Coast is a disaster, but it will get you there eventually. Some routes have a morei intermittent. lateness I also expect to be late. I don't plan on meeting someone at 6:00 if the train is due at 4:00, for example. I plan lateness into my schedule. Yes, I kind of like Amtrak, with all its faults (and there are many) but if you know how to play the system its a form of transportation that has its advantages. Yes, I agree,

I received a voucher for over $900 for a messed up trip to Denver last summer, but I didn’t even pay that much for the trip in the first place, nor was the experience that bad in the end (I had a sleeper for 2 people). I even arrived “on time” (when an Amtrak train is only 2 hours late I call it on time ;-) . Needless to say, I plan on taking several one way trips with my bike this year, for free.

The trick is to ask for customer relations, NOT customer service. Call them right away, as soon as you get a chance after getting off the train.

On my messed up trip I met a woman who basically travels free because she calls and complains about every little thing and they keep giving her vouchers.

I’ve learned that some trains are more reliable than others. Some lines are owned by the freight lines and tend to ALWAY run late. The Coast Starlight on the Pacific Coast is a disaster, but it will get you there eventually. Some routes have a morei intermittent. lateness

I also expect to be late. I don’t plan on meeting someone at 6:00 if the train is due at 4:00, for example. I plan lateness into my schedule.

Yes, I kind of like Amtrak, with all its faults (and there are many) but if you know how to play the system its a form of transportation that has its advantages.

]]> By: econnofoot http://bicycletouringpro.com/blog/5-lessons-learned-from-my-second-long-distance-bicycle-tour/comment-page-1/#comment-970 econnofoot Sun, 23 Nov 2008 12:48:13 +0000 http://bicycletouringpro.com/blog/?p=157#comment-970 Something I learned about AMTRAK that can be useful is that when you have extreme delays as I did in a trip to California a couple of years ago. Call their customer service as soon as possible and demand a voucher for your delay, my common gripe( a white lie generally) is that the 18 hours or so caused me to miss a meeting, interview, ride, etc. Any time I use AMTRAK for a signifigant journey outside of the Northeast corridor I figure an extra day into my travel to begin with, AMTRAK doesn't have the right of way over freight for the most part so delays are gonna happen. My trip to California from the East Coast though netted me enough vouchers that got me back to Chicago from the Bay Area then on to WVA and PA for nothing. It can be frustrating to deal with but sometimes you can come out ahead... And always pack your own food, unless you go the sleeper route(which includes meals) but is generally 3 times as much. Train travel in the USA has a long way to go, but trust me it's better here than in many asian countries, India for example. Something I learned about AMTRAK that can be useful is that when you have extreme delays as I did in a trip to California a couple of years ago. Call their customer service as soon as possible and demand a voucher for your delay, my common gripe( a white lie generally) is that the 18 hours or so caused me to miss a meeting, interview, ride, etc. Any time I use AMTRAK for a signifigant journey outside of the Northeast corridor I figure an extra day into my travel to begin with, AMTRAK doesn’t have the right of way over freight for the most part so delays are gonna happen. My trip to California from the East Coast though netted me enough vouchers that got me back to Chicago from the Bay Area then on to WVA and PA for nothing. It can be frustrating to deal with but sometimes you can come out ahead… And always pack your own food, unless you go the sleeper route(which includes meals) but is generally 3 times as much. Train travel in the USA has a long way to go, but trust me it’s better here than in many asian countries, India for example.

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