Talk:2010-03-11 50 12

Besides your passion for cycling, and the cost of the fare, is there a reason for your dislike of transit? Juventas 01:44, 15 March 2010 (UTC)

There are several. One is, that I had to use rail for getting home from my army base every weekend for nine months. It was a 4-hour ride (if there were no delays) with twice changing the train. Trains were always crowded and it wasn't unusual that I had to stand for hours or sit on the floor which the train staff didn't like. An other annoying incident was on the day of the 2006 soccer final which I wanted to view with friends in Jena. I took the train from Erfurt (only 50 km away) hours before the match was going to start, but there was a technical problem with the train in front of mine which couldn't pass. We went back to the nearest station after an hour of standing still. Than I had to take a train back to Erfurt, where I already had missed the first halftime and watched the rest of the game with my mother. Eventually, I took her car to get to Jena somehow. Then, of course, there is the inconvenience of travelling by train. You have to get to the station, from the station to your destination, mostly with heavy luggage. Taking into consideration all parts of the trip, in most cases it's slower than driving. And one last thing that keeps me from using trains frequently: In Germany you're not allowed to take bikes into the faster trains (IC/ICE), which makes travelling by bike with trains ridiculously slow. --Reinhard 09:51, 15 March 2010 (UTC)

You are allowed to take a bike on the IC (see [1], in german ) in a special Bike Compartment. You need to get a reservation one day in advance and pay 9€ (6€ with BahnCard). But you are right, no bikes on the ICE, which is a pain in the ass... --Default 10:04, 15 March 2010 (UTC)

You may even take your bike into ICEs, if you hide it in a bag and declare it as golf equipment. I know people who did that without problems. But it's no option, when you want to use train and bike each half of the way (somewhere and back), because the bag is too big for carrying during cycling.--Reinhard 10:47, 15 March 2010 (UTC)

Forgot something. Trains follow schedules (if you're lucky). They don't go, when you want them to go. And especially they won't be there for you at all in the late evening or at night.--Reinhard 11:01, 15 March 2010 (UTC)