Up to NYC Again!

This past weekend I went up to New York City for the third time this year. This time, I took the Washington Deluxe bus service. A biking friend of mine mentioned he's taken it a lot in the past and that he was pleased with their service and bus schedule. I would have taken the Bolt Bus, as before, but for some odd reason, I could not get a later bus coming back on Sunday night. The last available bus on their schedule listed to be at 2 p.m., which wouldn't do. So I thought I'd try the Washington Deluxe bus and see how it compared with the Bolt Bus.

I rode my bike on Saturday morning, leaving my house at 6 a.m., to catch the first bus out, 7:45 a.m., at the Dupont Circle stop. The bus then goes on to pick up at 15th & K Streets, and then near Union Station. I chose the Dupont Circle stop because I didn't know how crowded the bus would be or get, and I didn't want any problems with my bike. There were about 10 or so people at the bus stop and I slipped my Bike Friday (not folded) into the farthest bin. I got a seat in the first row (seems like a lot of people don't like to sit in the front row seat - but I think it's nice - you get a better view). As we rolled away from the bus stop, a lady came up to the driver and said that the driver had left just a couple minutes earlier than the schedule stated, and that her boyfriend was right behind her, trying to get the bus. The driver checked his watch and the schedule, and apologized, and he went around the block to go pick up her boyfriend. There were a couple of other people who were there waiting too, so it's good he went back!

We picked up at the other two locations, and had a full bus. With Washington Deluxe, you can pay in advance online by credit card, but you can also pay cash on the bus. With Bolt Bus, everyone pays upfront online. I think this is better, in a way, because it saves time. On the Washington Deluxe bus, there was another employee who came on the bus to collect the money from passengers, while we all sat waiting on the bus. So, even though I got on the bus at 7:45, it was 8:30 by the time we left D.C.! :/ Also, with Bolt Bus, there is just one pick-up spot. After the bus loads there, you leave the city. I guess there's pros and cons to each bus service...depending on what you prefer.

The bus driver had heard there was a bad accident on 95, so he decided we would take a detour route - going over the Bay Bridge and through the Eastern shore, paralleling 95. He said it would add 15-20 minutes to the trip. But that's better than sitting in traffic. So, we finally got to NYC by about 1-1:30 p.m. - a long trip. One thing with taking the bus is, that even though you save a lot of money (roundtrip on the Washington Deluxe bus was $46 - and you can get lower fares on Bolt Bus), you have to deal with traffic conditions, and there's ALWAYS the back-up getting into NYC through the tunnel. You just SLOWLY creep with everyone else and "funnel into the tunnel." Too bad I just can't grab my bike out and bike into the city from that point. Though taking Amtrak costs lots more (over $100 each way), and you can have delays on the train, at least you don't have to deal with the traffic once you get to NYC. Pull into the station and get off the train, and you're up on the street in a couple minutes. It's more pleasant, not having to deal with the traffic, and see all the congestion on the roads.

On the return bus trip home, both the Washington Deluxe Bus and the Bolt Bus load up at the same location. So, it's a bit chaotic scene - lots of car traffic, lots of buses lined up, and lots of passengers lined up for the various bus lines. I got in line early (3:15) for a 4 p.m. bus. My friend held my spot while I went to grab some food to eat on the bus. When I came back 10-15 min. later, the line had grown to 50-60 people behind where my stuff was! There was one lady who was "in charge" of checking people's reservations and keeping them lined up. Finally at 4 p.m., our bus pulls up. It'd be nice if she would've gone ahead and collected money from passengers when she checked their reservations. That would have saved time. When boarding began, she saw my bicycle and sort of gave a look like she didn't know if the bus would have room for it. There was NO way I was gonna get on the bus without my bike, of course. I told her that it folded, and she said, "Well, you better make it as small as you can, because we have a lot of people and bags." So I folded it in half, and the bus driver had me put it in on the other side of the bus, and I got a seat on the bus.

We didn't leave til about 4:30 after everyone was loaded and fare money was given. Fortunately, there wasn't much traffic leaving the city, so we got out pretty quick. We did run into a back-up at the toll booths at Delaware Memorial Bridge, which can often happen. But sitting there on the bus, looking ahead at the gazillion brake lights, it was sort of strange feeling. I realized that I'm SO used to riding my bike everywhere, and the constant forward motion, that to be sitting at a standstill and creeping along, was like getting stuck in tar. You slowly muck through it, and it isn't pleasant. With biking, if you encounter traffic, you just slide by past the cars and continue.

Why anyone would want to have and drive a car in NYC is crazy - especially for getting around the city. Really, getting around any city, biking is better and easier. I just read in the news today an article about how horrible the traffic is in D.C. - that we're right behind NYC.

One last thing with the bus trip - it was very quiet til we stopped at the rest stop off 95, when we all had a 15 minute break to use the services there. When people came back on, and had food, etc., they were more talkative. There was one guy who was reading quite outloud, tidbits from his New York Times newspaper. He was reading it to his wife, but of course, everyone could hear him. And he didn't read well either! Near him, a lady got on her cell phone and started loudly talking to her girlfriend about various life situations. I turned around and gave her "the look" a few times, to give her the hint that she was talking a bit loud, but of course, she was oblivious. So I put on my headphones and turned on my MP3 player to try and drown them out. At least when you're on your bike, you hear sounds, but you pass by them pretty quickly and they aren't annoying. So, I decided to get off at the first stop (near Union Station), although I had told the driver I'd get off at the 15th Street stop. I just couldn't take being on the bus any more and the people yakking around me. Plus I figured lots more people would be getting off at the 15th Street stop, and it would take longer. I'm glad I got off at the Union Station stop - only about 5 people did, so it was less hassle. It felt great to get on my bike and pedal off towards home and feel the mild air rush past.

Smart Cars

I just came back from a two-week trip in Germany and Austria. These Smart Cars are pretty common there, and always look so funny. I'm starting to see a handful around my area - in fact a neighbor around the corner just got one.

I saw this Smart Car parked in Vienna, Austria. I wonder if anyone has tried parking it like this in the U.S. and what would people think? Notice the cars are parked alongside a separate signed bike path. They have these separated bike lanes for bikes there. Some are separated with a curb, so no cars can enter it, which is nice. I saw a good amount of people biking while in Germany and Austria - most of them don't wear any cycling gear or helmets, and they do fine. I wonder what the accident/collision rate is for cyclists there? I also saw a lot of people walking, and not "needing" their cars with them to go everywhere. A lot of people use the subways and buses. You don't see massive traffic jams or clogged city streets like you do here. Of course, gas is more expensive there. But also, cities are more compact and you can get places easily via walking and public transportation. Another thing I liked was seeing they still have the old street cars running. D.C. evidently used to have them as their main transportation, but those were stopped in the 1960's...my mom used to talk about catching the street cars to go places. D.C. is talking about bringing those back on certain streets, but of course, it takes away from car lanes. Supposedly, there are plans for a demonstration line that will start running either on H Street or the Anacostia area, as of next year. It'll be interesting to see if it will work, and whether you really can "go back" to old transportation modes. Perhaps it would work well on certain streets and grow from there, depending on ridership.

Of course, I opt for bicycles as the top transportation mode. :) I took this picture of some businessmen conversing in Vienna, one of whom had arrived by bicycle - you can see his thin briefcase on the rack.

Up to Philly for the Day via Amtrak

This past Saturday, I got up early (5 a.m.) and rode my Bike Friday Tikit to Union Station to catch a 7:30 a.m Amtrak train to Philadelphia. (Here's a picture of the 30th Street train station in Philadelphia). I picked up some snacks at the station and got to the gate right after they had opened it up for boarding. How's that for timing? :) This was my first time taking the Tikit on Amtrak, so I was a little anxious about finding a place on the train for my bike, and whether I would be able to find a seat right nearby, to keep an eye on my bike. I removed my front pannier, and folded the Tikit - while hearing a young kid pass and say, "Hey, look! A folding bike!" :) I rolled it up to the gate and showed my ticket and made my way to the train. I got on where directed (after the Business Section cars) and lifted my Tikit onto the train. The car I entered had the open area where you can set luggage. So I propped my Tikit there and then took a seat in the front row next to that area. There was a lady sitting at the window seat, and she had a lot of Crate and Barrel shopping bags and a big basket with bottled beverages in it. These were in the luggage area in front of her, next to my Tikit. She was headed to a Bridal Shower in Philadelphia, and amazingly handled all these packages and the basket by HERSELF when she got off in Philadelphia! I thought I had quite enough to handle with my bike and pannier! :)

The lady sitting across the aisle from me was from Connecticut, and it was her FIRST train ride (she looked to be in her 50's or so). She said she wasn't a traveler and that this was quite the adventure. So I congratulated her on being brave and adventurous, and commented that taking the train is a nice way to go. She agreed.

The train left on time, which is always nice. :) When we got up to Philadelphia, I met up with a couple of new biking friends (Teresa and Barbara) to ride the Schuykill River Trail. I haven't ridden the trail in many years, and was surprised to see the development along the trail - new apartments, condos and office buildings. Also, there were additional trails branching off from this trail. It was a beautiful sunny day - you couldn't ask for a better day to ride! :) We stopped at Barbara's house for lunch, and then later stopped in Manayunk for dinner. Teresa and I did over 50 miles of trail riding, and getting to know one another along the way, sharing experiences, etc.

The return train home, unfortunately, was delayed. It was supposed to leave at 7:30 p.m., but instead we left at 9 p.m., so I didn't get to Union Station til 11 p.m. It was a LONG day, but definitely a FUN one!! :)


The next day, I had arranged to rent a snazzy red Mini Cooper Zip Car. :) I drove it up to Baltimore to meet with my sister and brother, to celebrate my sister's birthday. :) I thought it'd be fun to rent a fun car in honor of her birthday, and she enjoyed it. The dash on the car inside was like a space ship - with very modern instruments, etc. :) It also had quite the fast and powerful engine in it. It could easily cruise along at 70-75 mph!! Of course, everyone else around me was doing that speed and MORE! I wasn't the only one!

So, it was a fun intermodal transportation weekend! :)

A "Training" Experience

Last week, I finished a bicycle trip from Buffalo, New York to Albany, New York. Instead of flying back at a cost of $500, I decided to get a ticket ahead of time on Amtrak. That only cost $100! Though it took all day to get home, it would be a pleasant way to travel. I hadn't taken Amtrak in a long time, and thought maybe it was like the airlines in that they would check your baggage and load it and transfer it at various points to your final destination. Not so. Evidently, I would have to do that. Unfortunately, the bike suitcase weighed 50 lbs., and I also had a duffel bag that contained my tenting stuff and clothes. I felt it would be too much of a hassle to try to schlep all of this around on my own, so I asked if it could be sent on a later train and I could pick it up a day later. They said no problem, and it didn't cost anything.

Since I had finished my bike trip a day earlier than expected, I changed my outbound train, and that only cost $20! I was used to expensive change fees on airlines, so this was a nice surprise. It was because I had an existing reservation and ticket. :)

It was nice to travel with just a little carry-on bag on the train that contained a book to read, an MP3 player for music and my bicycle helmet. I enjoyed reading, listening to music, taking pictures out the window and also checking out sights in the distance with my binoculars. It was very pleasant and relaxing. You also have lots of leg room, the seats are comfortable than airline seats and you can get up and wander around the train if you want to stretch your legs.

Our train was delayed in getting to New York City, by an hour and a half, so I had to trek across Penn Station to the Amtrak counter to get my ticket re-issued for a later train. I was glad I didn't have to carry all my bags that way, let alone getting into the ladies room afterwards. If I had had someone traveling with me, it wouldn't have been difficult, but on your own, it's much harder.

The train to D.C. was delayed a half hour, so I finally got into DC at 5 p.m. (a few hours later than I expected). But, I wasn't in a hurry - I had all day to spare, which was nice. It was a long travel day, but really, not too much different from my flight to Albany. Between transferring planes in New York City, and then an hour delay sitting on the runway while 40 (!) planes waited to take off, it took me (door to door) about 9-10 hrs. Same as the train!

My next Amtrak trip will be later this month, when I take it up to Philadelphia for the day, to bike with a friend on bike trails there. I will take my smaller folding bike, which will easy to get on and off the train. Stay tuned!

Go Greyhound!

This July 4th holiday, I'm going to catch a ride with my brother to Baltimore to visit and spend the night. On the return, I'm going to take the Greyhound bus back to D.C. The good news is that the fare is only $14 non-refundable one-way. The not-so-good news is that you have to arrive an hour ahead of time to get your ticket (even though you have a confirmation of your reservation and paid ahead of time), you still need to get an actual ticket. You can pay an extra $5 to choose your own seat and get priority seating, but that has to be done at the terminal, not ahead of time, nor online. The other bad thing is that if the bus pulls up, and is full, you have to wait and take the next one. I hope that this won't happen. I've chosen the 4:45 p.m. bus, which should get into D.C. by 6:30. This will allow for about 2 hours til it gets dark, in order for me to bike home. I'll bring my headlight/rear light just in case.

The ride to D.C. should take about 2 hours, which is an hour longer than if you're driving. I'm going to bring my folding bike, the Tikit, and put it in the baggage bin, and then ride home from D.C.

My brother offered to take me to the Metro subway in New Carrollton, but that's 44 miles from his place, and with the price of gas and the time it would take him to get to and fro, it just seemed better for me to try Greyhound. I'll bring a book and some music to listen to. It's a relatively short ride, and hopefully the bus and driver won't have any problems. There have been some accidents involving Greyhound... hopefully nothing will happen on my ride! Stay tuned for a report.

*******July 7, 2008 - RESULTS OF ATTEMPT:

Well, it was a No-Go for Grehound, though I gave it a shot. My brother and his friend brought me to the Greyhound Terminal on Sunday, arriving an hour and a half before the departure time, to get my ticket. The terminal is not located in the best area - and both my brother and his friend commented ENDLESSLY about both the bad, seedy location, unsafe area, and also about the "unsavory" patrons in the terminal. Funny thing though, one of the people we happened to bump into in the terminal, turned out to be a pastor in my brother's church! Huh- interesting the KINDS of people who take Greyhound, eh? :)

Anyway, I got in line to get my ticket. The man working the counter must have given umpteen "speeches" to people before me who were attempting to get on the bus going to New York City, because he started to give me that same speech...about that the 4:45 bus was most likely going to be full, and that they would have to wait for the next bus at 6:15. But he hadn't heard me correctly when I told him I was going to D.C. "Oh - sorry about that," he said, "I haven't heard anything about the DC bus." So I got the ticket, and we had an hour to wait til the bus came. While we were waiting, a long line formed for people going on the NYC bus. In between that time, an announcement or two were made about buses that were soon arriving at the terminal. Then I saw a bus pulled in, with the destination of "D.C." on the front, but no announcement was made. The bus number didn't match the number on my ticket. I went outside to check with the bus driver, who was standing outside the bus, starting to take tickets from people. There was a line of about 7-10 people who formed out of the blue. I asked the bus driver about the bus, and he said yes, it's going to D.C., but that he only had ONE seat available! :( Since I wasn't in line, I was simply out of luck. :( Nice system, eh? :( I felt sorry for all the rest of the people going to DC (and NYC) who were going to be disappointed and have to wait perhaps long hours before being able to get on a bus..... Who knows how long they had waited already?? I heard one person say they had been there since before 1 p.m. :(

So, I told my brother what happened (he was inside at the sundries shop), and asked him to drive me to the Metro subway. He was pissed about the whole event, and that he had offered to take me to the subway before we had gone to the Greyhound terminal. He thought the whole ordeal was a waste of time. Granted, it did waste our time, and I felt bad that it had wasted my brother's & his friend's time... I gave my brother $20 for his gas and time. But I learned a lesson about Greyhound and how it operated. I learned I won't be taking Greyhound until they have a better system in place. Funny thing, however, is that the Bolt Bus I had taken to NYC in May, was OWNED by Greyhound. WHY can't they run the rest of Greyhound like they run Bolt Bus?? Seems like if it works so well for the Bolt Bus, it'd work good for the Greyhound buses.... Oh well, live and learn.

So I got dropped off at the Metro subway, and the ride back to Alexandria was uneventful. When I got off the subway and was getting my stuff in order on my bike, a lady came over, smiling and sort of laughing - and asked about my "cute" small Tikit bike. :) So we had a nice chat about bikes and about living car-free. She said she had owned a couple cars a while back, but it had gotten too expensive to own and maintain them, and how her cars would often get banged up in the parking lot. She's given up on cars, and just takes public transportation. She lives on Rt. 1 in Alexandria (a major bus line), and has no problem with it. It was nice to meet a kindred spirit who uses public transportation locally. :)

Hopefully my experience on Amtrak will be a better time, when I take it at the end of August, to Philadelphia to meet a friend to go biking for the day. Stay tuned...

Oh, by the way, while I was at my brother's, I mapped out for him and his friend, a way to bicycle commute to their jobs. His friend and I then bicycled his route (about 9.7 miles), which took about an hour. It had a few good up and downhills, which would be a nice work out. It had a spot or two of "hairy" traffic areas, but he could tinker with the route to make it better. The route currently is on quiet suburb streets most of the way. I encouraged him to try it out sometime. He is currently borrowing my brother's small car to make the commute, and is interested in getting a car of his own. He said he spends about $70 every two weeks in gas. It would be nice if he could try going car-free, at least until late Fall. I know winter bike commuting isn't for everyone, but you can do it when the weather is decent... I don't know if he'll give it a try, but he's got the route and the ball (or wheel, should I say) is in his court.....

Car Shopping

What a great cartoon! :)

A co-worker told me recently of having a car accident that totalled her year-old car. What a shame, in a way. I can see if your car was 5 or 10 years old, and you had gotten some good use out of it. The insurance paid for a good amount of it, but she still owes $5K on it. So, she's on the "hunt" for another car.

She described going to a couple of dealers and checking out a couple of models. She knows she wants a particular make (Toyota). She talked about the models, year, engine size, leather interior, gas mileage, size of the interior, odometer reading, etc. Her descriptions sounded like she was describing a wonderful meal - a meal she couldn't wait to sink her teeth into. A meal that aroused all of her senses - she was practically drooling! Her new car desire was so strong, almost overpowering. She has to turn in her rental car in a few days, as her insurance only pays for it a certain period of time, since her car was totalled.

It's too bad that she hasn't considered living car-free. This is a good opportunity and time for her to try it, if she wanted to. She talked about next month she'll be moving in with her brother nearby for six months, to be able to save money so she can buy her own place. Think about much more money she COULD save if she didn't have to have car expenses... The location she's thinking of moving to (about 20 miles from DC) has commuting "slug lines" that could get her here to DC easily and for free. Or she could get into a carpool, or take the Virginia Railway Express train and connect to the Metro subway.

People think that you absolutely NEED a car to get around, but you really don't. You CAN work around it (or at least try it), once you find out what your resources are.... And living in this area, with so many resources, really makes it a lot more do-able, compared to some people who live in more rural areas.

"Bolting" to NYC

As mentioned in my April post below, there is a new express bus service that started at the end of March, from Washington, D.C. to New York City, called the Bolt Bus. Tickets can be purchased as low as $1 each way (limited seats at that price). If you fly or take Amtrak, it's about $150-$200 round trip. The Bolt Buses are brand new, have either faux leather or cloth seats, restrooms on board, and plug-ins for your laptops/DVD players and WiFi service. This makes for a comfortable and enjoyable ride.

So, in the past month, I've made two trips on the Bolt Bus up to NYC. I was able to get the tickets at about $30 roundtrip. On both trips, I rode my bike to D.C. early in the morning to the bus stop, and then put my bike in the baggage bin of the bus.

My first trip was a day trip in mid-May to attend a folding bike festival and bike ride in Manhattan. That turned out to be a pretty long day - getting up at 4:30 a.m., leaving at 5:30, biking to DC to catch the 7:30 bus. It was lightly raining outside. The bus was late pulling up and leaving town, made a food stop at the travel plaza (adding a half hour onto the trip), then we ran into a traffic back-up on the highway due to an accident, took an alternate way, had overheated brakes on the way, and FINALLY arrived in New York City SIX hours later (vs. the advertised four hours). We just managed to make the bike event in time and enjoyed the bike ride, but just a few hours later, were zooming to catch our return bus ride back. It left on time, but it was slow going out of the city through the tunnel, and then we made the food stop again. So our return trip took FIVE hrs. By the time I got home, it was about midnight. Yawn! That didn't exactly make me fall in love with the Bolt Bus, though I had had a great day.

I was a little apprehensive to take the Bolt Bus again this past weekend. This trip was an overnight trip - staying with a biking friend and his wife. We enjoyed biking all around Manhattan and the Bronx, seeing many sights along the way. Some of the biking was on bike paths, and some on busy city streets, but I'm used to that, since I bike to work every day.

Perhaps someone had complained about the food stop/extra travel time, because this time, the bus didn't stop at the travel plaza. The bus arrived and departed D.C. on time, and arrived within a few minutes of the stated arrival time in NYC. Same with the return bus ride. The weather was better and we didn't run into any traffic back-ups. Ahhh..... MUCH better! I guess you never know what you're going to run into with taking the bus, but at least the price is right!

I'd like to also take Amtrak down to Richmond to visit some friends and have lunch and hang out, so I'll make those plans soon. It'll give me an idea of how things work with taking my Bike Friday Tikit on the train. :) With regular-sized bikes, you normally buy a bike box and partially disassemble your bike, and then check the box as your luggage. A year or so ago, Amtrak changed their bike policy, in that if you have a folding bike, you can just tuck it away at the end of any rail car where there is room. Hopefully this will go well, as I have tickets to take Amtrak at the end of August, to meet up with a biking friend in Philadelphia to bike for the day. Both trips are just a couple hours' train ride. I could take Greyhound for half the price, but it wouldn't give me as much time to be in either city as the train would, since both trips are day-trips.

So, stay tuned for reports on these Amtrak Adventures!