Amtrak return after cycling the C & O towpath

[cyclingfool]

Hopefully this link has the answers to your questions. I think the service is offered year round.

https://www.amtrak.com/ccurl/939/340/Amtrak-Offers-More-Bike-Service-On-The-Capitol-Limited-ATK-15-048.pdf

This linked podcast episode has some good info and practical experience shared as well.

http://pedalshift.net/2015/11/the-pedalshift-project-035-a-fall-co-bicycle-tour-trying-out-amtraks-roll-aboard-service/

Cheers!

[PotomacCyclist]

This is the general Amtrak bicycle summary page:

https://www.amtrak.com/bring-your-bicycle-onboard

I haven’t used Amtrak’s bike service at Union Station, so I can’t offer any specific tips. But it’s always better to arrive a little earlier, so you don’t have to rush, or in case you can’t find the correct entrance. The Union Station area is very busy with cars, buses, cyclists and pedestrians.

If you plan to take your bike on the MetroRail system in DC to Union Station, note that bikes are not allowed on Metro trains between 7 and 10 am, and 4 to 7 pm on weekdays. Since you might be arriving during the Cherry Blossom Festival, there might be further restrictions on busy holidays. Check the WMATA/Metro site for further details, especially closer to the Festival.

This is the general bicycle policy page on the Metro website: http://www.wmata.com/getting_around/bike_ride/

Good luck and enjoy your visit to DC. If you do arrive during the Festival, be prepared for very busy traffic, especially pedestrian traffic around the Tidal Basin where many of the cherry trees are located. The views are great and it’s interesting to see people from all over the world, but you do have to bear with the jam-packed sidewalks during the peak bloom dates.

[pslates]

I have seen the dates of the cherry blossom festival and I was looking to arrive in DC on 4/20 to stay overnight and visit on 4/21 and take the train that afternoon. Would that day likely be cleared of most people there for the festival or would a week or so later be better.

[PotomacCyclist]

The busiest days are during the peak bloom. That doesn’t necessarily coincide with the dates of the Festival though. It’s impossible to say when peak bloom will occur at this point. It depends largely on the weather a couple weeks before the bloom. No one can say until early to mid March. The National Park Service posts updates on their Peak Bloom Watch on the Cherry Blossom Festival website. If you have flexibility in scheduling, you could keep an eye on that starting in March.

All the hotels get booked up during the Festival, so people have to make travel plans in advance. This means that the area will be somewhat busy throughout the Festival. Once the Festival ends, there’s a little less pedestrian traffic, but in general springtime is the start of the main tourist season in DC. I would just plan for the tourist areas to be moderately to very busy at any time in April. Even after the Festival ends, school groups from across the country arrive on their annual DC trips. I see large groups of out-of-town students and chaperones in DC and Arlington throughout the spring and summer. The Cherry Blossom Festival and the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in June/July are two of the very busiest periods, but there are always a lot of visitors in the area from mid-March to early August. I’m not complaining about it. Just pointing it out.

[paytonc]

Don’t worry, you’ll be fine. I took the Capitol Limited with my bike just after it started last fall.

1. There’s LOTS of luggage storage room aboard the train. Pretty much: if you can carry it on yourself, you can bring it aboard. There are luggage racks next to the “bike room” downstairs, where you can leave the panniers. Then you can bring your handlebar bag up to your seat, where you can put it under the seat in front of you or in the huge overhead rack. (Spacious enough, you could climb inside.)

2. You hang your bike vertically from wall-mounted racks that Amtrak provides. Speaking of which, more power to you if you can lift your bike onto the train with panniers attached, but otherwise you can put the panniers aboard, then lift the bike. Since you’re boarding at the first station, you should have plenty of time to arrange everything; it took me less than a minute, and I was boarding in Harpers Ferry.

(Photos of the bike room and the lower-level luggage racks.)

3. At Washington Union Station, there are lots of staff on hand to direct you to the right train car — only one is equipped with bike racks. You won’t get lost. When traveling Amtrak, there will usually be a lot of people around telling you what to do.

4. During busier times, the conductors assign seats to you; at other times, you get to choose your own seat. If you don’t get your preferred side, you can always go to the lounge car and admire the view from its bigger windows. Note that seats are not reserved in the lounge car, so go there as soon as the conductor’s taken your ticket. (Photo)

I hope I answered all of your questions, as it’s a bit difficult to find them embedded amidst the other text.

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