So that was the end of the GAP Tour.
Which means I was ready to get back with Titus for some “grandson squeeze” time.
Pondero
to weigh, consider, reflect
So that was the end of the GAP Tour.
Which means I was ready to get back with Titus for some “grandson squeeze” time.
Pondero 
I love the handwritten entries… awesome touch! What a great tour all around, thanks for documenting and sharing it so well!
Loved following your trip. BTW how long did it take for your bike via AMTRAK to ship east, and how much did you need to dismantle on your bike?
Thanks!
As I recall, I dropped it at Amtrak around noon on a Wednesday, it arrived in Chicago and changed trains on Thursday, and arrived around mid-afternoon on Friday.
The only things I removed were the basket and pedals. I rotated the stem roughly 90 degrees, and and rotated the bars grips down. I zip-tied a few pieces of cardboard to strategic places on the frame, and I zip-tied the bars to the top tube to keep the front fort from turning. Then I rolled it into the box. I used this same approach for my Hilsen when we did the C&O Trail last year. So four times across the country on a train with good results.
Did you store those removed parts in the box? Did you store anything else in the box? Wondering if I can leave my Saddleback on the rear rack?
I sort of recall that Amtrak warns that the box is to include “bicycle” only…which I interpreted to mean (a) keep the weight reasonable, and (b) don’t allow stuff to flop around and cause damage. So I packed my basket with my suitcase (since it is a boxy shape that doesn’t take up much effective space) that I carried with me on the airplane, and I strapped my pedals to my front rack to keep them from flopping around. That’s just the way I handled it.