robow

A group of us are going to be needing a shuttle from Cincinnati to Cleveland, Ohio this July and the gentleman we used beforehand is not available. Anyone know of potential shuttles out there? Could be up to a dozen of us, so renting cars and trucks not as feasible. Anyway I know it's a long shot but thanks for your input.

mev

I'm curious why renting isn't feasible, since that would be what I would otherwise suggest, e.g.
- rent a uhaul or other truck sufficiently large to carry bikes and gear.
- rent a 15 passenger van if you can find one to carry people or otherwise, two minivans.

The challenge part of this is an otherwise tight rental market. In my experience, this affects both prices and availability. Curiously in Austin at least, I found one of the least expensive alternatives are these delivery vehicles (e.g. Ford Transit type); they seat only two people, but have a large cargo area behind. I can't always find them, but when I do they are a lot less than otherwise a compact sedan e.g. $300/wk + tax vs. $800-$1000/wk.

staehpj1

Just priced and reserved a rental for an upcoming trip. The prices right now are shockingly high. Also I am told cars are in short supply so getting one on short notice is tough.

10 Wheels

This might work for you.
Cincinnati to Cleveland Train - Amtrak Tickets $90 | Wanderu

mev

9 hour train ride Cleveland to Chicago
6 hour train ride to Chicago to Cincinnati

add a layover to make it a 24-hour journey of ~600 miles when the more direct distance is ~250 miles. Include $40 additional cost for the bike.

So yes, I expect it could be done, but wouldn't be my first choice.

staehpj1

That is so often the way it goes with train travel. I always want to like using Amtrak and when I try to it usually looks like this. Even when I do manage to find a better logistical service it somehow manages to suck. Commuter trains like light rail service can be great where they exist though.

bblair

Try this guy:
Vega's Velo Bicycle Transport
Vega's Velo® Bicycle Transport : Transport Service
VegasVelo.transport@gmail.com

We are also riding the Ohio to Erie Trail, but South to North. His availability didn't mesh with ours, so we had to find a friend.

I checked out the train thing also. Almost could have ridden back at that rate.

a_d_a_m

Vegas Velo is the only game in town as far as I'm aware, and as far as I know, they don't run weekdays if that's a concern.

robow

I appreciate all the ideas and info. Yea, the rental scheme is always more difficult when you have so many people and currently seems even more difficult. The last time we did the 325 mile Ohio to Erie trail we used Bryan with Ohio Shuttles and he was GREAT, but unfortunately he has retired. He referred us to Vega Velo, the only commercial shuttle we could find, and this gentleman was not quickly responding to our inquiries but I guess that has now changed and so we will using him. Looking into back up contingencies now but hopefully this will work out as it can be made very simple if he comes through for us.

saddlesores

https://www.greyhound.com/en-us/bus-...to-cleveland-2

$35 one way on the greyhound. plus bike fee.

https://www.ridebooker.com/transfers...cle/47-pax-bus

or just rent a whole damn bus! $1500

robow

Interesting. Thanks Senior Sores. I wonder if they limit the number of bicycles per bus ? A dozen seems unlikely. I didn't see anything about bicycles as baggage, anyone with experiences of this nature ?

AeroGut

Not answering your specific question, but just a heads-up for anyone doing ohio to erie this summer - there's a closed section of the little miami trail north of cincinnati that you'll need to detour around between June 7 and probably end of July. There isn't going to be any posted detour:

https://www.miamivalleytrails.org/cl...old-3c-highway

Closure at Old 3C Highway

The Little Miami Scenic Trail will be closed at Old 3C Highway from June 7, 2021 until mid or late July.

There will be a project on 3C Highway (a.k.a. US 22) in the vicinity of where it crosses the river and the Little Miami Scenic Trail. The project will start June 7, 2021 and is anticipated to run for 40 to 50 days. During the project Old 3C Highway will serve as the motor vehicle detour for US 22 traffic, and because of anticipated increased traffic on Old 3C the decision has been made to close the Little Miami Scenic Trail where it crosses Old 3C Highway. No trail detour will be provided for this closure.

robow

Thank you Aero, will take a look at re-routing options.

indyfabz

Because they take up a lot of space, especially if not boxed. My local club runs an event ride to Brooklyn. Some people take a chartered bus to the start. Only so many people are allowed to ride the bus because of the cargo hold capacity. IIRC, the limit is 20, and loading and securing that many bikes is a squeeze. And we don’t have other passengers with potentially large suitcases to accommodate.

I always bring mine on board to avoid damage.

staehpj1

Would that be 20 without boxing them up?

a_d_a_m

A local member of one of the OTET groups I follow on Facebook advised that this was the best option:
https://goo.gl/maps/VJwLMq5hWN1L88D46

Disclaimer: I'm not local and I don't know what their credentials are - just passing it along as potentially useful

indyfabz

Yes. It's only about a 45 min. ride to the start, and it's a day event, so no boxing.

They also take some work to secure. Bus baggage holds are not designed to accommodate assembled bikes well. Rider are told to bring bungee cords and blankets, but few do. I usually bring a couple of extra cords to the departure point.

mev

One summer I worked from Bangalore India and ended up one weekend with a local cycling group on a weekend trip they made. There were about 35 participants, though I think I was the only one that wasn't Indian. We drove overnight from Bangalore to Kerala and then cycled two days before returning back on a ~8 hour bus ride.

It was interesting to see how the logistics went in a place that didn't assume everyone had automobiles. The cycling club chartered *both* a bus and a truck. Everyone gathered in one spot and we packed the bikes into the truck and then went on the bus. There wasn't a huge amount of luggage otherwise and I forget where it went