DC Hostel

I am looking for information from people who have stayed in the DC Hostel. I am looking to ride from Cumberland to DC over three days in April and spend my last night in the Hostel and then ride the train back the next day.

I plan on camping on my way to DC and read of sleeping bags not being allowed in DC. Is there some way I would be allowed to store my sleeping bag at the Hostel. Also I will have my Ortlieb front and rear panniers and at least also a handlebar bag. Can these be safely stored in the Hostel and are the stored somewhere away from the room I would be staying in.

I wanted to add when riding the train from DC to Cumberland with my bike and gear. Do you somehow need to pack your bike and other than the panniers take anything off the bike for it to ride the train. Where is your luggage or in my case panniers stored on the train.

I can address the train questions. Amtrak recommends removing luggage, panniers, etc. before hanging the bike on the rack. You take your luggage with you. If you are in a sleeper, it should fit in the room, or if not then in the downstairs community luggage rack (in my hundreds of long distance trips, I've never heard of any theft). If you are in coach, it would go in the overhead rack (think wide open spaces, not tiny closed airline style bins) or in the downstairs community luggage rack.

However, and this is based on a trip fro Chicago to Pittsburgh and return from Cumberland to Chicago only a week or so after the service began in the Fall. My wife booked space for her "regular" bike and I went with a folder, which goes as carry on luggage. The conductor had me put my folder in the lounge area of what is known as the transition sleeper (or crew dorm) right behind the baggage car, from which I got to know the conductors (unlike on board service personnel, they change several times between DC and CHI). In addition to all of them being surprisingly cordial and upbeat about the new service, one even suggested that I could have left my panniers with the bikes. Not only that, but I would have access to them during the trip (unlike checked baggage) because to door from the lower level to the bake compartment was not locked.

The supposed drill is that you let a staff member on the platform know you have a bike, and they will open the door for you. You can recognize the bike car by the large metal door to the left or right of the center door where passengers enter. The original information said that the bike car would be the last car on the train. But both times for me it was the middle of three coaches (the Capitol Limited line up is 2 engines, baggage, 3 sleepers, diner, lounge, and 3 coaches). By the time I got back to Chicago, I knew enough to not bother the conductor, but simply headed back to the bike car and rolled it off through the normal