h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Is it possible, therefore, to fly in to either airport with a bicycle (in a box) assemble it in the airport, bring it onto Caltrain, and then ride off at the nearest stop to your hotel/destination? In other words, does the airport shuttle take bicycles, or can you ride easily from the airport to Millbrae?

I ask only because it seems like a neat thing to be able to do and one that you could find out about.

I think the ideal approach would be to fly into San Jose, assemble your bike at the airport, and ride to the Santa Clara Caltrain station.

The San Jose airport is much less chaotic than the San Francisco airport; I could actually visualize riding a bicycle out of it. Riding a bicycle out of SFO would be like running a white-water river in a mop bucket.

The San Jose airport is a perfectly doable one-mile bike ride away from the Santa Clara station. On the other hand, the Millbrae station is a rather threatening two-mile ride from the San Francisco airport (U.S. Highway 101 is in the middle).

You probably could get a bicycle onto the San Francisco airport shuttle; it'd probably have room in the rear luggage/wheelchair area. The only two obstacles would be (a) getting the bicycle through the door, and (b) dealing with the bewilderment and alarm of the shuttle driver. If you wanted to try this, you might try wheedling the driver into letting you put your bicycle into the back of the shuttle bus through the wheelchair lift. Or take the bicycle on in two pieces: the front wheel, and then the rest of the bike. Smile pleasantly at the driver.

I've never taken the San Jose airport shuttle, so I don't know whether it would have room for a bicycle. But I wouldn't bother with that option unless it was raining.

Brian

Thanks for the tips. I'll try that next time I'm out in the Bay Area.