You’re going on a cross-country trip. Airplane, train, bus, car, or bike?

AUTHORS NOTE: This post is the first of three posts to satisfy this weeks goal for my 2026 Launch Challenger Series for my Pelotonia Fundraiser. You can find more details here.

If there was ever a chance for me to go on a cross country trip anywhere in the world, my preferred mode of transportation would be a train. While I have been on trips using every other mode of transportation listed, a train trip is most definitely on the bucket list. The only weakness to this plan at the moment is that I have to go to either Toledo or Cleveland to board a train.

My ideal trip would start in my home state of Ohio, and then catch the Empire Builder (Amtrak) to Seattle, before going north of the border to Vancouver. I would then proceed to return east through the Canadian Rockies to Toronto, then return back to Ohio via a train from Toronto to New York City. The photographer in me would have plenty of time to take pictures while I was on this journey.