American Cycling Adventure: Trains

I’ve been stressing a bit over the last couple of days about trains in this country, but I think I finally get it.

Without getting a visa (see all Jess’ recent fun, for those who know her) I can only stay in the US for 90 days. When I worked it out roughly, I think the route I want to follow is probably about 120 days, which means I need to take public transport at some point. Trains in the US are pretty rare. Until last weekend, I don’t think I’d ever met anyone who’d used one. Particularly over a long distance.

Even though the train was going to take 20 hours to do just 800 miles (without any layover), which seems insane, it seemed like everything was going to be perfect. Unfortunately the station I wanted was unmanned, which meant that no one would be around to unload my bike. So I was faced with a choice. Get off 200 miles before or 100 miles after I actually wanted to, which was just a little frustrating.

However, having spent nearly 9 hours on the train, I think I get it. This isn’t a means of long distance travel. For that you drive or fly. This is just an extraordinarily picturesque tour. So far we’ve scaled the snow capped peaks of the Sierra Nevada Mountains and then watched the sun set whilst cruising the desert in Nevada. There’s even an entire lounge coach with virtually floor to ceiling windows down both sides, so you can admire the view unencumbered.

When I wake up in the morning I’ll be in Salt Lake City. No effort. No hassle. And seats that wouldn’t be out of place in premium economy on a transatlantic flight (they might be better than that, but I’ve got no experience of the higher classes). If I had more money, I could have done the whole thing with fine dining and nice wine. Instead I have some pasta I made this morning and half a bottle of red that I was given free on a wine tour the other day. The old lady running the restaurant car seems like quite the control freak though, and her frequent aggressive announcements over the PA make me think I’m definitely in the best place.