Great American Rail Trail | Hacker News Reader

Great American Rail Trail

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315 pointspseudolus128 comments

The part of the trail that's in Washington state is in pretty good shape. Next summer, the crucial missing link will be restored when the Beverly bridge across the Columbia is repaired. Amazingly, this project has an approved budget and a plan that that is (so far) being executed on schedule.

The western part of the trail (from the North Bend to the Columbia, across the Cascade mountains) is in very good shape. The most scenic and pleasant part of the trail from North Bend to Thorp is amazing. It includes the 2.1 mile Snoqualmie Tunnel, which is exciting the first time you try it. The section through the Yakima River Canyon is my favorite.

The eastern part (from the Columbia to Idaho) is pretty rough and a few small pieces are missing, but a road detour for a mile or two is probably a welcome change from the endless trail.

A few years ago, some state representatives conspired to give away the eastern half of the trail to private land owners, but their own incompetence doomed this attempted theft of public land. The law, as written and passed, specified a section of the trail that had a length of 0. But it attracted enough attention and outrage, and as a result, there is now more of a budget for maintaining the trail.

> It includes the 2.1 mile Snoqualmie Tunnel

I ran a race through this tunnel back when races were still a thing. Very surreal experience running in a dark, wet tunnel with hundreds of others in the clouds of steam illuminated by headlamps. I really love this section of trail.

I rode the majority of the route through Washington in 2018. Parts were clogged with mud and another section blocked with a wall of tumbleweed at the time. I had to cross the Columbia River on I-5 at 4:30am to avoid traffic as there is no shoulder on part of the bridge. Despite its incompleteness, the trail is amazing and is a treasure. Improvements keep coming and the Beverly Bridge over the Columbia is scheduled to be finished in 2021, as is are the bridges at Renslow and Takoa. Progress is being made.

We owe it to future generations to help make this happened. https://www.railstotrails.org/greatamericanrailtrail/ https://palousetocascadestrail.org/

I rode from the Preston WA area out past Cle Elum with a school trip in high school in the 90s. The Snoqualmie tunnel was a trip, especially with 90s era incandescent flashlights, where you can only see the walls of the tunnel if you stare straight ahead and use your peripheral vision.

Coincidentally, I took COVID WFH as an opportunity to spend a week in Idaho. While there, I rode both the Trail of the Coeur D'Alenes (30mi out and back for me), as well as the Hiawatha Trail which is another rail-to-trail (probably not on this proposed route, though?) which includes a 1.6 mi tunnel that's not even straight, so you can't see the light at the end.

It's amazing to me how each mode of travel has its own cadence. I've cycled along paths I've driven, and seen far more on the bike than in the car. And then I've run or walked the same path, and still seen more. It never feels like you're 'wasting time' when you're going slower.

I will probably never through-hike the AT or PCT, but I've motorcycled from California to Alaska, and will probably make it a point to take a sabbatical some day in the future to bike tour cross country with my wife when this trail is near completion. We've never done any bikepacking, but can you think of a better reason to start?

Amazing to hear of this, I'd always dreamed of a coast-to-coast bike route and never realized that it's actually been in the works for decades. Curious to see how it deals with the Rockies, looks like it goes through Wyoming which has less extreme slopes but is still extremely elevated. I'll definitely be donating to this, even if I won't get to experience the full thing for another 20 years.

it's using rail tracks, so as long as there are usable tracks and tunnels, the route will be perfectly fine for bikes

Not entirely true, the old track beds need some serious work to be ridable on a bike after the rails and ties are removed.

In fact many miles of the trail they are showing are undeveloped and you gotta push your bike still.

right, i meant in terms of elevation. any converted rail track would not be to steep for bikes.

but obviously, just ripping out the rails is not enough. a lot more work id needed to make a rail track usable for biking.

If you look at the state by state maps, it looks as if there are basically no actual plans to build anything in Wyoming other than an existing short segment around Casper. More generally, rail through mountain ranges made use of scarce passes and built expensive tunnels and bridges. There are some examples of abandoned route segments that can still be walked (and maybe biked) on in whole or in part--for example near Steven's Pass in the Cascades. But I imagine the main routes through major mountain ranges are still in use. There are gaps in Montana too and a small one in Washington.

I assume it's the same reason people bike on I-5. If there's a good route through the mountains, either a major road or rail or both is likely using it.

The better example of an abandoned route through the Cascades is the old railway route through Snoqualmie pass, which connects the metro Seattle area to the east side of the mountains. It's now a state park, and you can hike or bike from one side to the other.

As technology improved, a longer tunnel was built lower down the pass to decrease the elevation gain for trains, and the old route became obsolete. I suspect that this is not a unique story, and the question would be whether the old railway routes are still safely navigable.

That's a similar story to the old Cascade Tunnel. Part of the route is at least walkable (which I've done) but it's apparently closed at at least one point. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cascade_Tunnel I think it's the Iron Goat Trail that you take to walk along where you can. https://www.wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/iron-goat-trail

You can see a similar story with Loveland Pass & the Eisenhower Tunnel.

The Eisenhower Tunnel is just an automotive tunnel. I believe rail always used the Moffat Tunnel since it was completed in 1928. The two aren't that far apart. (AFAIK it used the Rollins Pass--which had problems with grade/avalanche/etc. previously or just bypassed to the north or south.)

This happens a lot. But the new road/rail often shares the line of the old on the easy sections, so you may not get a continuous bike trail out of the old route. (Plus, as you say, old bridges/tunnels/steep slopes may be unsafe, or simply damaged & not repaired.)

Perhaps the plan is something like, finish the rest and then the feeling of "almost there" will put the pressure on to make it happen in Wyoming.

"Almost there" is doing a lot of lifting when you're talking about cutting through the entire state of Wyoming and much of Montana :-)

To a very large extent, that's probably true, but there are some situations where a route that's OK for one mode of transportation is unusable for another.

Trains need gradual inclines and really large radius turns. Cars can handle steeper inclines and sharper turns. If necessary, humans can do very steep inclines and very sharp turns. And they can handle narrow paths. You'd obviously want to minimize that, but it's possible.

Since the requirements are different, the possible routes may be different.

Fair enough although I assume that realistically a bike is going to want at least a 3-season 4WD road through the mountains--and even that may not really be suitable for someone doing distance cycling. And, to your point as well, there are certainly (usually 3-season) roads through mountain ranges that may not even be especially challenging but aren't suitable for high volume traffic.

There are also rare situations trains can handle, which road vehicles can't (safely): very long tunnels, extreme cross-winds, limited width for the track/road, steep ascent (rack railway).

Old railroad beds are 2% grade, so it's very doable as long as the tunnels are usable.

You might be interested in the Adventure Cycling Association, which provides excellent printed weatherproof route maps for the continental USA:

https://www.adventurecycling.org/

As another commentor has noted in this thread, routes may not always be ideal because they often have to use existing available road infrastructure, so be careful and check road conditions in advance (and if you can, provide feedback to other cyclists and local communities) - but cycling can be a unique and self-determined way to explore that you'll rarely find in any other kind of travel.

In my experience, Wyoming was one of the most pleasant states to bike across (apart from the bits of interstate you need to take). Highways with wide shoulders and little traffic. Just get started early to avoid the afternoon wind.

I cycled New York to San Fransisco 5 years ago. Fantastic way to see USA.

How long did it take? How many miles per day?

What route? Describing it like that makes it sound like you rode alongside I-80 the whole way, which sounds rather unpleasant.

What's the cycling route through the Sierra Nevada? I've only ever done it via i80 by car, would love to do it by bicycle but definitely not on i80.

Also curious about this - Donner Pass Rd parallels I-80. Beckwourth or Walker passes are lower and less steep, but both add a lot of distance to connect to the I-80/Humboldt River corridor though which seems like the only sane route across Nevada.

Of course there are options to go around both the Sierras and the state of Nevada, Route 66 and up the San Joaquin valley being one example.

Numerous other roadways. For one, Highway 89 and 88 (Monitor Pass and Carson Pass) south of Lake Tahoe, which are both part of the annual Death Ride which I've done a few times. I suppose if I was coming from 50 I'd do 89 (Monitor) and then take 4 (Ebbetts Pass/Pacific Grade) into the Angels Camp area, which is a much nicer ride than 88.

Looking at the map:

https://gis.railstotrails.org/grtamerican/

It includes the Route of the Hiawatha:

https://www.ridethehiawatha.com/the-trail

Which is on the Montana-Idaho border way up in the mountains in a very sparsely-populated area. It's operated by the Lookout Pass Ski Area and one end of the trail is the ski lodge. Going on that trail is truly memorable:

> The Route of the Hiawatha mountain bike or hike trail is 15 miles long with 10 train tunnels and 7 sky-high trestles. The ride starts with a trip through the 1.661 mile long St. Paul Pass Tunnel, also known as the Taft Tunnel. It is a highlight of the trail that follows the crest of the Bitterroot Mountains near Lookout Pass Ski Area. The best part is.... it's mostly downhill with shuttle buses available to transport you and your bike back to the top.

https://www.traillink.com/trail/route-of-the-hiawatha/

Nice, that's a part of the old Milwaukee Road from Chicago to Seattle! In photos from your link, you can that some of the structures for holding the overhead catenary wire are still present. When that line was built, that section was the longest electrified train line in the world. I'm pretty sure they did it because of the grades.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympian_Hiawatha

I just rode the Hiawatha this summer! Really touristy, but lots of fun and so scenic. I would have guessed that more of the Trail of the Coeur D'Alenes would have been used as opposed to the Hiawatha. Or perhaps my geography is failing me, but I think you have to go a bit north off the Cd'A to get to Hiawatha.

Nice interactive map here: https://gis.railstotrails.org/grtamerican/

I live about a mile from a connecting path into this system. As nice as that is, it also means I always have to go up some short but steep hills to get home from a ride. Great fun when coming home from a century. :o)

Electric assist is tempting, but that becomes extra weight when I'm not using it.

beware the surprise 18% grade cooldown.

What is that?

when the last hill before the house is unexpectedly real damn steep.

The hill up to the house I grew up in is a hill with 14% gradients. It’s only a km long and 1/3 of it is flattish but it’s always a nice way to fully drain the tank at the end of a long ride. Something much more satisfying about ending a ride that way.

I live just off a portion of this trail (the Racoon River Trail) in Iowa. Judging by the pace of trail construction here, it will take many years to complete, but I am still excited to see it happen.

I have ridden over 1000 miles on the RRVT in the past couple of years and especially in the pandemic it was a great way to relax and recharge. I never get bored of riding the same trail segments. This provides: 1- Moving meditation, just pedal, relax, contemplate. 2- Exercise 3- Motivation - There are Strava segments all over and around this trail, I really like to compete against myself. Friends supply encouraging kudos. 4- Connection - Even at a social distance, it is great to see "trail friends". 5- Nature - Lots of wildlife along the trail. Extra race in heartbeat when you see the back end of a skunk aimed at you. 6- Safety - Other than road crossings, avoiding cars is a big deal. No fear of some texting driver smashing you from behind.

There are all kinds of bikes and people on the trail, recumbents, ebikes, families, race teams, etc. The trail is well maintained and affordable at $26/year for a pass. My guess is that >90% of the users don't pay the fee.

Right behind my house is the Panhandle Trail in WV. Old coal town that used to have several tracks running through it.

Not very long, Length: 29.2 miles, but it crosses a couple longer trails in PA.

"The Panhandle Trail crosses the 61.5-mile Montour Trail, which links to the 150-mile Great Allegheny Passage and the 184.5-mile C&O Canal Towpath for an off-road connection to Washington, D.C."

https://www.traillink.com/trail/panhandle-trail/

Photo of my back yard, Panhandle trail can be seen across the creek. https://i.imgur.com/VbQehh4.jpeg (Dec 18th 2020)

What kind of traffic do you see? Are there a lot of through riders?

A lot of locals and dog walkers mostly. Always see them go by twice. Once up once back.

From time to time I see what look like long haul bikers - proper gear and a pack. Couple times a month I’ll see em in the summer.

I am near the dead end side close to Ohio. Thinking that reduces the traffic a lot.

Also the WV leg of the trail is gravel. The PA side is all blacktop.

This is a fantastic thing.

In the America of our imaginations, this modest low-tech thing would be done by 2025.

But the article states, it should be done by 2040. Which is a staggering underachievement.

There seems to be no will to actually get things done in America, anymore. This thing is one appropriations vote away from not being a thing. Over the next 20 years, you can bet on that happening.

It's conceivable that all the people who will see this complete are not born yet.

Here in Denver, we're trying to get passenger rail service to connect northwards through Boulder - about 35 miles. We've been working on it(and paying for it) for 10 years, and the estimated completion date is sometime in 2050.

Love that this is a project, anything to get more people doing long distance biking in the US.

I'll just add that on my tours, I tended to avoid rail trails. They are nice at first, but quickly become boring. Too straight, too flat and monotonous. Roads are far more exciting. That said -- I'd probably prefer a rail trail in those parts of Wyoming that you have to bike on the interstate!

I’ve done a lot of long distance rides on brevets, and I too appreciate rides with hills and turns.

That said, I’ve also been hit by a car intentionally. And seen many fellow riders hit unintentionally. There is a rail-trail from Atlanta to Alabama that’s 100 miles and very pretty. It’s the only riding I’d do in Alabama.

Luckily, I've never been hit intentionally, although I've had some drivers steer towards me and come close.

I've had all sorts of things thrown at me: bottles (empty and full), rocks, eggs, fast food sodas, and more.

what the honest fuck is wrong with people? We've got loads of litter near most roads around my town, and I just don't get it. bottles, cans, boxes, bags, etc. I saw a guy pull off the side of the road and dump a bag of garbage - like... opened the bag and dumped it out, then drove off. He was 200 feet from a convenience store that had garbage cans and an open dumpster. He explicitly chose to avoid that, pull off on the dirt, and dump trash.

I was going to approach him and my wife said "no way, he's probably got a gun". And she was probably right. Somehow my objecting to him open dumping trash in public (8:45 am) would be some form of liberal aggression and he'd have been within his rights to shoot me.

Your wife was wrong, you should have said something.

If he took a bullet between the eyes would it have been worth it?

It's a rural-ish area, which is where the concern came from.

This kind of thinking is precisely why people get away with it.

Ok, well you go first.

Putting bags in someone else’s dumpster is theft of services a commercial trash pickup is typically charged by weight.

Drivers are rarely charged or ticketed when they hit people on bikes in the US.

If you ever want to kill someone, run them over with your car while they're riding a bike and say they swerved in front of you. The justice system will bend over backwards to make sure that you don't suffer any consequences.

If you think litter is bad in the US, just come visit the Philippines or any other developing-world country. This is not whataboutism, I'm saying that it's exponentially worse here having lived in both countries. That said, I'm also not making any excuses for the States. I know all too well how much garbage is thrown out of windows onto the side of the road. We need to do everything we can to clean up our environment and set an example for the rest of the world.

The Silver Comet trail is amazing. I lived about 5 miles away from one of the trailheads and I used to go riding and walking there all the time. It goes through some very pretty areas.

I like riding on our local rail trail but there is another side.

Once tracks are taken out of service, it’s very unlikely they’ll ever be put back. 2020 being a strange year, but heavy traffic is returning and public options around Boston and many cities are seeing service cuts.

This short article about Maine’s debate of it summarizes pretty well.

https://www.railwayage.com/passenger/intercity/rails-vs-trai...

I assume that's something of an edge case in that there's a fairly successful Amtrak extension to the Northeast Corridor and further extending it to Maine's capital seems pretty logical.

I expect most rail trails are on old rail right of ways that have no realistic hope of being converted back to rail in the foreseeable future. That said, it's a valid concern that rail-trails pretty much squash any possibility of that ever happening.

I'd figured that rails-to-trails would actually help the odds of restoring old rail lines as they keep the right-of-way intact. Perfect being the enemy of good and all that.

I guess I can see that perspective. Screw the recreational trail users is probably easier than screw the suburban home owners who built on the former right of way. But in practice I assume it's still pretty irreversible.

something has to give, but considering this as people getting screwed feels like a NIMBY attitude.

as an active biker, i'd rather bike trails are converted to rails than no rails at all.

besides, especially for those rails in remote areas, tracks require maintenance roads and there is no reason those couldn't double as bike paths as well.

i forsee a future where railtracks and bike paths live side by side, away from car traffic.

bike paths don't need much space. for a long distance trail, a 1m wide path is enough. should not be to hard to find space for that.

My comment was really in the context of the upthread Brunswick to Augusta discussion that would go through at least the outskirts of a small city. In that context, if you decide to put a railroad back in safety and other concerns probably would preclude a rail trail in the same location--but maybe not. The issue with rail trails in very remote areas is probably more about low utilization than right of ways. (Which is why you see that this trail isn't actually planned in a big chunk of the West.) No one is building new rail routes in Wyoming in any case.

That's actually, theoretically, the plan for a set of tracks adjacent to my house. In practice though, its easier said than done. Besides width concerns, which are easy in some places and much harder in others, do you really want young children riding their bikes a few feet away from a speeding train? Do you put up a fence?

I would assume putting up a fence at a minimum would be a given.

Fences are detrimental to nature, and quite expensive.

"no realistic hope of being converted back to rail in the foreseeable future"

I think the two biggest issues are changing regulations around setbacks and turn radius requirements. Both of these impact maximum loads and speeds, and can mean that even if an existing right of way is there, it may not be practically usable.

i would hope the rails can be converted without the right of way being lost

Certainly. But now you have a trail for recreational users that would probably have to be taken away if it were converted back to rail.

while i agree with your point, i think many trail tracks will need rebuilding for modern trains anyways. at least if you want trains to go faster than 100 miles per hour.

Here in Rhode Island, we have the beautiful East Bay path which goes South-SE down the Eastern side our of Narragansett bay, gorgeous! Then the blackstone valley path starts NW of PVD in Lincoln, very nice and woodsy and gives you a historical view of mills and old industry, now mostly condos, and plenty of dams.

For me, the issue is linking these up. You have to drive through urban streets in poor areas. Last time I did the 3 mile linkage, I was honked at 4 times by cars behind me, simply for going bike speed and staying cautious. It shocks your ears and adrenaline to have a blast from a car horn, someone is mad at you due to their own impatience, it's sad.

Car culture is a great economic boon for many, but it's polluting and anti-cyclist and anti-pedestrian. We need separated bikeways, not shared surfaces with a faded painted bike which no one cares about.

For anyone that has experience with bike trails like this, is crime a problem? I live in the city and bike theft here is rampant enough for me to not feel comfortable parking at a grocery store in broad day light.

I’ve seen/ experienced bikes stolen, murders, mugging, and homeless encampments in my travels on bike paths; just wondering if I’m an odd case. Would love to see this trail work out

Crime rates on bike paths tend to match the neighborhood they are in. If they go through bad neighborhoods, there is crime. If they are going through low-crime suburbia and rural areas, not so much. For a trail like this that does go through the middle of some cities, we can guess there will be a few spots to watch out for, but the vast majority of the trail should be fine.

Where do you live?

Could you please list where you've seen each or experienced each of these events?

I'm surprised to hear of a murder on a bike path.

I vaguely recall news of rapes having occurred on the Illinois prairie path around where I grew up.

In that locale at least, the paths are some of the most isolated and wooded areas in otherwise dense suburban sprawl. Akin to a dark alley where the walls aren't even buildings containing occupants, it's trees and marshland. Prime territory to stalk a vulnerable jogger or cyclist.

> I vaguely recall news of rapes having occurred on the Illinois prairie path around where I grew up.

I don’t mean to be a dick but this is completely meaningless and useless. So why post it?

Are you requesting citations or take issue with the general contribution along the lines of "FYI Shit Happens on the Illinois Prairie Path"?

Because if it's the former this is no more than a trivial search away from multiple news results...

And in case it's not obvious, the Illinois Prairie Path forms a substantial swath of the often rail-adjacent trails used by joggers and cyclists throughout the state.

My issue is that it’s worse than anecdata. You’re saying “I’m pretty sure really bad things happen here.” And that’s it. Nothing any more of substance. Just more negative noise with no evidence, links or anything. Just noise.

The preface of your comment is literally “I vaguely recall... <really bad thing>”

Is that what you want to bring out here to the world? Its a meaningless contribution to chaos.

I find your comments here far more useless.

How is it noise when it's more than enough information to go perform a relevant google search, accompanied by a reason to do so for those interested in the subject.

Whereas what you're bringing to the table amounts to something like "I don't like the negativity of what you're saying, shut up, we already have enough negativity, I would like to keep my head in the sand on this one."

Talk about noise...

I googled “Illinois prairie path rape” and your comment is the third result. That’s how hard it is to back up what you vaguely “claimed.”

The other results don’t even talk about rapes happening on the Illinois prairie path. Bodies being dumped there which is tragic sure, but your comment is essentially saying something maybe bad happened once? Idk? I can’t find it! Even if it happened once does it happen at a regular occurrence?

And to top it all off here I am, frustrated with the vapidity and negativity of your comment- and you ask me to look it up myself- and there’s nothing there and you’re angry at me for some reason.

Like I said, I’m not trying to be a dick, but maybe you should put some more thought into what you put out into the world.

Surprised this is not 100% FUD. My Uncle was telling me about the farmer opposition to the Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes, and how all the farmland-billboard-propaganda was that a bike path would bring drugs and prostitution to their fine rural community.

Are you sure the problem is not your city, rather than the bike path?

I'm not sure a bike is a great way to pick up prostitutes, but that's just me.

I love rail trails and trails in general, but it’s a huge disappointment to me when they are paved. Besides the fact that asphalt is unnecessary and decidedly not beautiful, paved trails encourage cyclists to treat them like racetracks - a problem that ebikes will only make worse.

When the whole point of a mixed use trail is to serve as an alternative to roadways, paving them really gets my goat.

I also think a poorly-maintained asphalt trail is worse than dirt/gravel; the cracks and potholes feel like they hit harder when the surface is paved.

Given that in the twenty years I’ve lived here, King County refuses to do anything with the 520 trail and those fucking tree roots through the Microsoft campus, I’d rather they’d left it unpaved. It is embarrassing to have a bike trail in such pathetic shape, especially when it is a busy transportation corridor through a major local employer. As an added irony bonus, it’s within the city limits of a city that laughably claims to be the “bicycle capital of the Northwest”.

But we have asphalt left over to pave a gravel trail that parallels another paved path a half mile away (Willows Rd. and the Sammamish River trail). ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

The strategy in my state seems to leave them unpaved except where doing so would cause excessive erosion, or turn them into mud pits. Segments that go through towns are often paved for this reason. The trails also have to handle snowmobile traffic during the winter.

Being paved opens them up to more types of use, like normal strollers.

That could be said of trails anywhere, yet I firmly believe we should not pave trails everywhere.

Also of interest - https://www.transamtrail.com

My dream is to do this, or at least part of it. I'm an adventure motorcyclist and ride a lot here at home in South Africa. For the TAT I would probably rent a smaller motorcycle like an F650GS. Or maybe just buy one there and sell it on my return.

Motor vehicles are usually banned on these sort of trails.

The TransAm trail is explicitly intended for street legal off-road motorcycles

I rode the trail from Pittsburgh to DC two years ago. The little towns on the trail were all welcoming. The scenery was fantastic. I look forward to doing more multi-day rail trail rides in the future.

I’ve been wanting to do this but I don’t know the route. Should I just check the rail trail site or do you know of a better resource?

The route itself is very easy to follow and well-marked. I did the southern half (C&O), and if you camp along the way using the free sites, you don’t even have to get off the trail except to resupply.

This is a great resource: http://bikewashington.org/canal/

The C&O Canal Towpath [1] connects Washington, DC and Cumberland, MD.

The Great Allegheny Passage (GAP) [2] connects Cumberland, MD and Pittsburgh, PA:

For maps, I recommend the two available from the Allegheny Trail Alliance (ATA)'s website at:

https://gaptrail.org/explore/printable-maps

Also, there is a mobile app for the C&O Canal Towpath from the C&O Canal Trust (the official nonprofit partner of the C&O Canal National Historical Park)

https://www.canaltrust.org/plan/explorer-mobile-app/

  [1]: https://www.canaltrust.org/plan/co-canal-towpath/
  [2]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Allegheny_Passage

Thanks so much! When it warms up again I’ll give it a whirl!

This is a good source for up to date information: https://bikecando.com/forum.aspx.

Railway right-of-way was often procured with eminent domain. In some cases, original landowners had received guarantees that land would revert to them if the railway ever ceased to operate; but those agreements were not honored. The big first wave fiber giants of the 90s dealt with a lot of that.

It's a shame amtrak's bike transport service is so terrible. It would be nice to be able to take the train w/ your bike to start and finish points.

I was lucky to take my bike up to Cumberland, MD from Raleigh, NC a couple of years ago by train to do the C&O trail. I really do wish they’d offer more ways to travel with your bike, because that was a great experience. I’ve also done the trip from Raleigh to Durham, which makes for a nice little day trip.

What's the issue with it. When I take the train to Portland from seattle they just roll the bike on and I grab it quite fast when I get off. Sure it's in the bag car but it's a 3-5 hour ride

Every time ive tried to book a trip w/ bikes for me and friends they never had enough availability. It was always limited to 3 bike spots

ok, yeah that sucks. Esp on a commuter train. The portland route will generally just toss extra bikes on in the baggage car and strap them up. yes it can damage your fancy ass paint job.

That looks awesome. I always feel bad for the US that it doesn't have a decent use of the rail network for such a beautiful country.

Hands down one of the best things you can do as a young European is get an Interail/Eurorail Pass. Wake up with your friends in a hostel in Berlin? How about looking on a map and deciding going to Prague that day? Easy.

We did about 15 countries in five/six weeks the first time and it gave such a great feeling of being a European, of the benefits of EU membership and getting to explore the culture, history, partying etc of the place. For very cheap. The train is so nice to chill out compared to a car and to see things you wouldn't see by flying. Plus you find yourself going to places you wouldn't do otherwise as you can just jump off somewhere along the way and maybe stay there for a few hours or days.

It's so awesome that the EU is bringing in a discounted/free pass for young citizens soon. It's by far the best way for people to really appreciate some of its best benefits as you sit chatting to people doing the same thing from half a dozen other countries over a beer on a train adventure somewhere.

I live in a small town that is actually quite near to Canada. It's 175 miles to the border, where there is medium sized Canadian town on the border. There's ~500,000 in the whole region, it's just not the same, passenger rail would be extremely expensive to operate in parts of the US that are like this.

For reference, it's a bit further from Detroit to Toronto than it is from Berlin to Prague.

Oh yeh I totally get the size and scale is in an issue. Maybe what I mean is more of the culture and comfort of using the train lines that do exist in that way. Opening up the places that sort of gotten bypassed along the way also.

The Eurorail was out of my price range in high school/college but the continent is beautifully accessible by car. We did a roadtrip with an old car and a tent just after college, 3 weeks, 8000km, 11 countries. Beyond amazing there’s so much to see that you don’t get by plane.

USA is huge by comparison. Did a long roadtrip a few years ago, 3300km, and we barely made it from SF to the Grand Canyon and back.

Trains and roadtrips beat planes when you wanna see the country.

One day I wanna do all of USA on my motorcycle. That would be grand.

Totally. Sleeper trainers are an awesome way to burn off the miles on some of the longer journeys as well.

Good luck getting anywhere from Prague once you are there - the Czech railway network is seriously lacking. :P

In general and this applies to most of Europe to greater and lesser degrees, while there is much more of a usable passenger rail network than there is in the US (for various reasons), that doesn't mean you can travel pretty much anywhere by train. There are swaths of countries that have very limited train coverage so it depends on where you want to go. This is true elsewhere also. Japan has a great train network in general. But that doesn't mean, for example, you can necessarily get to more rural and mountainous areas by train.

In the case of the Czech Republic, I've never noticed an issue but then I've only needed to travel between Brno and Prague or Vienna.

Yeah, major cities in Czech Republic are fine, smaller ones are much more spotty and you need to really plan beforehand if you don't want to get stuck somewhere on the road till the next day.

Agreed that even in Japan it's not perfect in the countryside, but definitely much better than here in Czech Republic at least based on our two three week trips so far to Japan.

Trains are usually barier free EMUs/DMUs, stations are clean and have amenities, mostly stop at markers so are easy to locate even on big stations and are basically always on time. Like, there is not even a place to show a delay on the station signage usually!

With Czech trains its very rare if it arrives on time, often the platform is only reported a couple minutes before arrival and might change if the delay is too long. Then the train arrives at random part of the platform and people trying to get in or out fan out around the carriage doors. Once you climb on board up a couple steps from the platform to the train, you can expect more delay to be accumulated as you travel. Also the toilets on the stations might often be an "xperience".

I’m skeptical. There was a big thing about a 100 mile bike trail going through my county but when I looked it up, 3/4 of it was just dumping you on various roads and they counted that as part of the trail.

Bicycle route mapping is an iterative process, and often relies upon local cyclists recommending the best routes that they know of through a given area.

Cycling communities often provide guidance and cautions about route sections, and if you become familiar with cities & counties then you may be able to let them know about risk areas and possible improvements.

That said, if you want to cycle a given route and you know of better options than the existing roads, let the trail mappers know; it could lead to learning a bit more about their choices, and perhaps improvements to the maps.

Beyond that, let's hope that more roads and infrastructure are constructed with cycling in mind so that trail routes can be improved. It's an inexpensive, healthy transit method that fits to your own schedule.

I lived near a rail trail like this, but over the last 15 years or so, the separated segments were connected to the trail instead of roads.

> Further west, the trail crosses the Mississippi River that famously inspired Mark Twain and has long shaped the US’ history and culture at Moline, Illinois, before spanning the Continental Divide in Montana.

Well that's quite a jump! Well over 1000 miles between Moline, Illinois and the continental divide in Montana. Is it that boring?

> Well that's quite a jump! Well over 1000 miles between Moline, Illinois and the continental divide in Montana. Is it that boring?

Pretty much. If the trail goes through SD, you might see the badlands and the black hills. Otherwise, it’s mostly cornfields, soybeans, wheat, and pasture/range from IL to MT.

Two mid-Atlantic routes. Gravel-focused to stay off roads and in the woods, but the valley option is very doable on a touring bike or hybrid.

https://www.transvirginia.org/

I’ll be riding one or the other next Memorial Day. I’ve ridden parts but never the whole length.

I rode the whole TransVA 550 this summer. The route is beautiful, breathtakingly rugged. And logistics couldn't have been easier, as the route is very well planned, with great resupply points, camping, water, etc.

It made for a fantastic introduction to real backcountry touring.

Nice! We should have a group of 5 or so riding it. Pretty sure most will opt for the Valley route, but it looks like I might be able to split off and do some of the original route (possibly past Harrisonburg). Just need to sit down and do the mileage math to see if it actually works out on meeting back up further south.

I've done two tours in the US: the west coast and the southern tier from CA-->FL-->NY. The latter was a life changing, eye opening journey into the heart of America. Being a "coastal elite", I gained a level of empathy and cultural understanding for "middle America" at 13mph and in crashing with strangers via WarmShowers.org I can't imagine any other 67 day trip could provide.

I recommend this experience to anyone who will listen, though it's not for the feint of heart...pretty dangerous riding alongside traffic (i.e. insta-death is a swerve away) for starters.

If we can lower the bar to this kind of socially transcendent experience -- starting by making it safer sans cars/trucks -- I firmly believe this has the power to connect America in ways she needs so badly these days.

We have ninety plus miles of trails from Cobb County, suburb to Atlanta to Alabama named the Silver Comet Trail. We have the Atlanta Beltline trail system which will connect to the Silver Comet by some time in 2022 as well.

There are obviously other major walking and riding routes based on rail lines that are no longer in use and it would be interesting to see more of them interconnected

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silver_Comet_Trail

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BeltLine

and for the east coast north to south route:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Bicycle_Route_1

And for the Europeans: https://en.eurovelo.com/. I've done parts of a few routes on a tandem. Would highly recommend it. Still annoyed that 2020 prevented us from biking. Hopefully next year will be better.

Huh, this is different from the East Coast Greenway.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Coast_Greenway

https://www.greenway.org/

We have a converted rail road track that's now a bike path near where I live. It's nearly completely straight and so pretty boring. Plus, because it's not a loop you have to ride back every time, which feels like drudgery. Practically it's a good idea because there are not a lot of uses for an old rail track, but you won't get kids to do it repeatedly and us adults get sick of it pretty quickly too.

I live near one as well. It’s straight and boring but it’s 50 miles long, which gets it from just outside DC all the way to the edge of the suburbs. So, I can ride out (I live near the mid point), loop on country roads, and ride back. It’s not exciting but it beats driving 25 miles to start my ride.

Before I had a car, the W&OD trail was how I got places. Maybe I was just a weird kid, but the freedom of getting places on my own, trumped any monotony of the ride, and I doubt my parents would have let me bike in car traffic.

Also of note: https://thegreattrail.ca/ completed in 2017

Live in dc and have done the 180 miles of the C&O, it’s absolutely beautiful. You’re in nature pretty much the whole way.

As a backpacker I totally understand the appeal, only challenge I foresee is where to set up campgrounds so its secluded, flat and legal.

Nice article! A map would've been nice, though.

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