Sorry for the hijack, X !

Teigyr, the big downside to Amtrak is that it takes a long time - lots of stops, lots of delays. In my (admittedly limited) experience with Amtrak, it's never been on time. So if you're pressed for time, it probably wouldn't work. If you have the time though, it could be fun. I might ride Amtrak to visit SadieKate in Bend sometime. It's only a 13 hour trip

You'd need to box up the bike but Amtrak sells boxes that (according to DH) don't require you to disasemble the bikes at all (we haven't checked on this so don't take my word for it, yet). The seats in the main cars are very wide and comfy, but you might want a sleeper room for that length of trip.

As for stations or airports - for Amtrak stations the closest would be Martinez or Emeryville (the latter which is near Oakland). The ride starts from Pleasanton? (I think - check the Cinderella website) and there are serveral hotels near the ride start which offer deals for Cinderella participants. Again, check the web site. If they're not listed now they should be in the next couple of months.

Closest airport is Oakland, but San Jose and San Francisco aren't all that far away.