Team Pea Back on Their Bikes

Welcome back friends! In this latest chapter of our “go-go” years, we’re headed out on another epic journey.

This time we’re riding our bicycles from Chicago to New York City. We spent a few days before the trip visiting our friends Deb and Julie in Pennsylvania, where our car will stay for the duration of our journey. Deb and Julie were kind enough to drive us to the Washington D.C. Amtrak station, where we boarded an overnight train to Chicago. We will reunite with them (and our car) at the end of the trip. 

After bidding our friends farewell in the “Kiss and Drop” parking lot, we prepared to board the Capitol Limited train to Chicago. We rolled our bicycles into a baggage car and checked into our “Sleepliner Roomette”. We had expected to hang our bikes on racks in the baggage car, only to discover that racks were not available on this train. The Amtrak agent had us roll our bikes into the car and lay them down. While not the ideal method for storing bicycles, it still beats packing them in a bike box and shipping them in advance or, worse, handing them over to the airlines. The bikes were no worse for wear when we retrieved them from the baggage car in Chicago, but we were troubled by the fact that no Amtrak employee was monitoring the car and we were able to just grab them and walk out of the station.

When we boarded the train, we found that “roomette” is exactly what the name implies. Our living quarters were very compact and efficient. Two seats faced each other, which converted to a bottom bunk bed. A platform above swung down to magically transform into a hard flat surface intended to resemble a bed. A small table unfolded from the side of the car and there was a large picture window to watch the countryside roll by. There was a common restroom shared with other passengers in our sleeper car. It was slightly larger than an airplane toilet but no less disgusting. When we wanted a change of scenery, we headed to the dining car or the observation car with its larger windows and glass dome roof. The “roomette” was comfortable enough but we agreed that we wouldn’t want to spend several days in it.

The train ride was 17 hours long, so food was important. Amtrak recently eliminated waiter service in the dining car. Instead, the Sleeping Car Attendant came around after we boarded to ask what time we wanted to eat and to take our order from the limited menu. We arrived in the dining car at our designated time and retrieved our pre-made meals, which were packaged neatly in a reusable tote bag. The food was edible (comparable to an economy-class meal on a long haul flight) but had we known all of this ahead of time, we would have purchased salads and carried them onto the train. It’s also a stretch to refer to the whole arrangement as a “dining car” when you’re basically eating a box dinner, complete with plastic utensils, at a table of your choice. “Picnic table car” might have been more accurate.

While waiting for our checked luggage at Chicago’s Union Station, an old friend appeared out of nowhere to surprise us. We first met Marlin Keesler nine years ago when we hired him for a Chicago running tour from downtown to Wrigley Field. What a wonderful surprise and a special treat to see him! He even walked us all of the way to our hotel, pulling our suitcases for us while we followed with our bicycles, stopping a few times to tell us some interesting facts about different buildings. If you’re in Chicago and want any kind of tour (walking, running, driving – you name it), Marlin is the absolute best guide you’ll find. Check him out at Chicago Running Tours & More.

The cycling portion of our trip begins on Thursday, September 26th. This is a different type of bike trip for Bev and me, one that requires touring bikes that are built for more comfort and less speed. We will average 50+ miles per day and the entire trip will take 25 days, including extra rest days in Indianapolis, Columbus, Pittsburgh, and Philadelphia. Nine of us are making this trek, with possibly two more riders joining us later.

This genre of cycling is called credit card touring. The idea is to ride more greenways, bike paths, and rails-to-trails; do more sightseeing; and plop down your credit card for a hotel room at the end of each day. The trip has been organized by a few cycling friends who mapped out the route (using maps from Adventure Cycling) and booked all of the lodging. We will have a bike mechanic on the entire trip, who will also drive a rental truck to carry his shop tools and our luggage from point to point. Our ride organizers have arranged some special events, including a bicycle tour of the Gettysburg National Battlefield and a cycling escort when we arrive in Manhattan and ride to Central Park for the celebratory conclusion.

We hope you’ll enjoy coming along with us as we continue to live our lives out loud and make the most out of our “go-go” years!