Bike storage near Union Station Sat to Mon

Hey,

My friend and I are taking the Amtrak to MT and will be passing through Chicago. We have a friend we want to visit, but she lives well outside of town (the College Ave stop on the Union Pacific line), and thus we will stop in Chicago until Monday afternoon when our train leave for MT. We have two bikes in boxes and two boxes of gear (we just finished a bike tour from Bolivia to Texas). The Metra won't allow for the big boxes, and so I was looking for a plan. My options seem to be:

-unpack the bikes, put all the gear on the bikes and take them on as bikes (I have done this before). We would have to loose the boxes but we could buy new ones on monday (or find a bike shop with some spares).

-unpack the bikes and bike.

-Find a place near Union Station that we could leave our boxes of bikes and gear at from 4pm Saturday to 1pm Monday.

-unpack the bikes, ride them and the gear to a place close to Union Station, leave the bulky gear behind and the empty boxes, and take bikes on the Metra or ride.

Any ideas? Anyone have a good spot near Union Station?

Thanks,

Sara

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Permalink Reply by Skip Montanaro 0mi on May 7, 2014 at 3:09am

This is just a wild-ass guess, but there is a Kozy Cyclery just north of the Loop: 219 W Erie St, Chicago, IL. You might check with them to see if you can stash your stuff there for the couple days you'll be in town. They are open until 6pm on Saturday, and open Monday at 10am.

Permalink Reply by Julie Aberman (Hochstadter) on May 7, 2014 at 3:14am
Ask for PJ there.

Skip Montanaro 12mi said:

This is just a wild-ass guess, but there is a Kozy Cyclery just north of the Loop: 219 W Erie St, Chicago, IL. You might check with them to see if you can stash your stuff there for the couple days you'll be in town. They are open until 6pm on Saturday, and open Monday at 10am.

Permalink Reply by dan brown on May 7, 2014 at 3:16am

Skip - I thought the same thing; except there is a Kozy's even closer : 811 South DesPlaines. It's a few blocks south of the (lovely) Greyhound Bus Depot.

Maybe you could have them do some (easy / cheap) repair or adjustment and inform them in advance you are gone for the weekend ?

Permalink Reply by Skip Montanaro 0mi on May 7, 2014 at 3:22am

Dan> 811 South DesPlaines

Right you are. I had it in my head that that location was closed a couple years ago.

Permalink Reply by Alex Z on May 7, 2014 at 4:04am

Boliva to Texas????? Awesome!!!! :D

Permalink Reply by Tricolor on May 7, 2014 at 5:17am

I agree with Cameron.  Union Staion's automatic storage lockers are too small but maybe Amtrak's baggage room could store your boxed bikes for a few days if they're going to be loaded on the Empire Builder anyway.  There's no harm in calling the baggage room to ask.  The staff downstairs was pretty good to me when I traveled with my bike, but I don't know how they are with storage.

Permalink Reply by sara dykman on May 7, 2014 at 5:18pm

Thanks everyone for the ideas. I ended up calling amtrak (and talking with the nicest customer service folks ever) and even though my tickets are separate if I take them both when I check in they will route my checked luggage to the final destination.  

Thus I'll be bike-less in Chicago. But I am sure I can survive a few day.

Thanks again and happy riding,

Sara

Permalink Reply by Michael A on May 7, 2014 at 6:28pm

no such thing as bike less in Chicago, get a divvy pass

Permalink Reply by Alex Z on May 8, 2014 at 2:21am

+1

Michael A said:

no such thing as bike less in Chicago, get a divvy pass

Permalink Reply by Ryan Stahlman on May 8, 2014 at 2:50am

In case you want to reconsider, I have a storage unit nearby the Union Station. I would be open to meeting you and letting you stash your bikes there. Send me a private message if you are interested.

Permalink Reply by Julie Aberman (Hochstadter) on May 8, 2014 at 3:23am
That's awesome.

Ryan Stahlman said:

In case you want to reconsider, I have a storage unit nearby the Union Station. I would be open to meeting you and letting you stash your bikes there. Send me a private message if you are interested.

Permalink Reply by Paul on May 25, 2014 at 6:54am

To generalize what Sara said, if you are going from A to B, Amtrak will check baggage (including boxed bikes) through from A to B, no matter how many segments are included.

Now my wife and I solve this problems with folding bikes.  They go as carry on luggage.  So we just roll them on and off whenever we want. 

sara dykman said:

Thanks everyone for the ideas. I ended up calling amtrak (and talking with the nicest customer service folks ever) and even though my tickets are separate if I take them both when I check in they will route my checked luggage to the final destination.  

Thus I'll be bike-less in Chicago. But I am sure I can survive a few day.

Thanks again and happy riding,

Sara

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