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Advice on Heading South in Winter

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Haven:
Hi Everyone!
I'm new to the forum and new to bike touring-- though I have been a bike mechanic with Nice Ride Minnesota and a commuter/alleycat racer for some time-- and I have an urgent question:

I'm planning to snowbird from Minneapolis and do my first bike tour down on the Southern Tier route this winter (as in, starting in less than a month), but I can't for the life of me figure out how to get somewhere warm enough to start from.  We just had our first (albiet briefly) lingering snowfall here for the season, and the temperatures are regularly dipping below freezing now, so I don't feel confident about riding out of town on my bike in a couple weeks.

I was initially planning to take Amtrak to the Southeast and start down in Jacksonville by the East end of the Southern Tier route, but despite the low price of the train fare, I'm not sure it will work; it seems taking a bike (much less a touring bike and a set of large panniers) on Amtrak is quite difficult. I'm not shy about assembly and disassembly of bikes, but I'm a little leery of stripping parts off to fit my baby in a cardboard box and having to partially reassemble her upon arrival in a strange city.  I also don't know how I would manage to bring my panniers aboard; they're a full set of "kitty litter" box panniers, and are quite bulky even when empty. I had considered removing the mounting hardware and stacking them together and packing their contents into a large duffel bag, but again that sounds like a huge hassle to deal with upon arrival in Florida.

If anyone has either any advice on taking Amtrak with a loaded bike, or on alternate means of transportation-- ride-sharing websites, car rental feasibility, et cetera-- I'd really appreciate it.

~Jessamine

adventurepdx:
Haven, if you use the Amtrak provided box, you won't have to "strip parts" or any of that business. All you need to do is remove pedals and turn bars sideways. (Note: if your bars have enough flare, this may cause issues.)

You may be able to use the kitty litter panniers as check on baggage, but I've never done it so I can't speak from experience. When I've taken Amtrak, I usually check a couple of my panniers with checked baggage, and bring two on board as "carry-on". (When I have full panniers.)

More on Amtrak bicycle/baggage policies here:
http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServer?c=Page&pagename=am%2FLayout&cid=1251621565020

geegee:
I would pack up the panniers and and things you don't need on the train into one box and check it in. You probably have to transfer in Chicago, and if you have a few hours of layover, it's not much fun if you have to lug around or worry about stuff.

pdlamb:
Another option would be to ship whatever you don't want to carry and can't check.  Pick a hotel or bike shop near your Amtrak arrival point, call them and ask if they'd be willing to receive and keep a package for a few days before you arrive.  If you go this route, check the heavier items on the train and ship the light stuff, as UPS, FedEx, and USPS charge by weight.  And since you're going to be starting before Christmas, beware of the holiday shipping rush and allow an extra few days to get there.

staehpj1:
Amtrak is super easy to manage as long as every station where you start, end, or change trains has baggage service.  The boxes are pretty big and require almost no bike disassembly.  Panniers will probably fit in the bike box if you choose.  Worst case load everything in a cheap duffel bag and dispose of the duffel on arrival.

That said I have not always found Amtrak all that cheap.  I sometimes find I can fly cheaper and you can get to more destinations by plane.  Southwest and Frontier are especially bike friendly as is AirTran now that Southwest bought them.  If going really long distance the train can take a long time and be very tiring.

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