Away on the Greyhound

I left a fun night of karoake at a San Fran gay bar with Hannah, Sara and Torii to hop on a greyhound bus on Wednesday at 1am for a two and a half day ride to Pittsburgh, PA. My current plan is to assemble my bicycle in Pittsburgh and officially complete the last unfinished leg of my cross country tour on the C & O Canal. 

I decided to take the bus because I couldn't fathom getting home in a few hours after traveling for four months to get to California. It is also something I have always wanted to do and by far the cheapest option for both me and my bicycle.

The greyhound experience has indeed been quite a trip. At my second transfer point in Salt Lake City, the bus was overbooked. Myself and my bus buddies from the previous transfers stood anxiously at the end of the line. I got somewhat virile about possibly not being able to get on and waiting another twelve hours for the next one--talking rapidly and loudly about my frustration. We were relieved to be of the last seven able to board. 

After the bus was fully boarded, the baggage handler stated that it was doubtful my bike was going to fit. I was well into a full forced susancoates-style lecture about how that bicycle was going to get on the bus without question when another guy arrives at the terminal to board. He was less than happy to discover a full bus, shouting at the baggage handler about the flight he was going to miss, how much this delay would cost him and the sheer idiocy of the situation. 

For a brief moment, I got a full outside view. The packed bus, the baggage handlers attempting to jam my bicycle into the storage space and the young man losing his mind at the greyhound employee. I yelled out over both of them to get their attention before offering my seat up to the guy. Just after I said goodbye to my bus buddies (who laughed hysterically after seeing my attitude about staying just before we boarded) and the bus left, greyhound offered to hold my luggage for free (normally 5$ a bag), put me up at a hotel for the night, two meal vouchers and a discount on my next ticket- awesome!